2Sustain

These days, more and more companies are seeking out ways to measure and reduce their environmental impact. They’re responding to new targets set by in-house sustainability programs, industry guidelines, and impending government mandates –and as a result, they’re creating a market for innovative carbon management services designed to help them meet their goals.

In fact, according to a new report from Pike Research, the global market for carbon management software and services will expand from $384 million in 2009 to more than $4.3 billion by 2017 –that represents a compound annual growth rate of more than 40 percent! (more…)

It’s becoming increasingly commonplace for companies to present environmental information on their websites, but most can do better on data substance and timeliness, according to new research from AltaTerra Research.

The new report, “Greening the Company Website: A New Era in Sustainability Reporting,” details the results from a study of the websites of 60 recognized corporate sustainability leaders, representing 13 different industries.

Here are a few findings that caught my eye: (more…)

This month’s RetailSolutionsOnline.com includes great commentary by Casey Chroust, EVP of RILA, the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

Chroust opens his piece, “The Future of Environmental Sustainability in Retail,” with this bold statement:

“Ten years from now, the term ‘environmental sustainability’ will have slipped entirely from the retail vocabulary. Why? Because by then the practices we define today as environmentally sustainable will have been so engrained in retail operations that they will simply be a part of how retail businesses operate and no longer require their own definition.”

(I certainly hope he’s right.)

Then, he goes on to list precisely how the retail business landscape is changing as retailers embrace a wide range of sustainability practices and supply chain innovations. (more…)

McDonald’s is planning a three-year study of methane emissions from cattle on 350 farms across Britain.

Why? Because the fast food giant wants to reduce the environmental impact of its beef supply chain.

As The Observer reports, this initiative will be the first of its kind to provide accurate methane emissions data from working farms. It’s being run by the E-CO2 Project, an independent rural consultancy and energy-auditing company, and a sophisticated greenhouse gas (GHG) calculator accredited by the Carbon Trust will measure the data over the three-year period.

Researchers estimate that methane from livestock accounts for 4 percent of the UK’s total carbon emissions. That may not sound like much, but remember: methane is a potent GHG agent, more than 20 times more powerful that CO2. (more…)

The 2008 UK Climate Change Act establishes an aggressive UK target of 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2050. It also creates an interim target of 34-42 percent reductions in GHG emissions by the year 2020, compared to 1990 levels.

So, are companies in the UK on track to meet these national targets? (more…)