2Sustain

What is the state of sustainability in business today?

That’s a provocative question, and one that Deloitte explores in-depth in its new report, Sustainability in business today: A cross-industry view.

The 20-page report offers insights collected from phone interviews with sustainability leaders of 48 US companies with revenues of more than $1 billion across five major industry sectors: automotive, consumer products, process and industrial, technology and telecommunications.

And, as Deloitte concludes, the state of sustainability in business today is quite complex and still evolving. Clearly, large companies in the US continue to be interested and involved in sustainability. However, significant challenges remain as sustainability leaders work to align company practices with company principles and essentially, guiding their organizations to “walk the talk.” From the report: (more…)

General Mills has completed installation of solar panels at its facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, and the company says it now expects solar energy to supply nearly 80 percent of the warehouse’s summertime power needs, and 40 percent of its needs the rest of the year.

This is the first General Mills facility in the US to produce its own electricity using solar energy.

The panels will: (more…)

The General Services Administration (GSA) wants government contractors to track their greenhouse gas emissions or risk losing out on new contracts, according to a recent article at FederalTimes.com .

Under the GSA’s plan, vendors that create an inventory of their overall greenhouse gas emissions will get preferential treatment when bidding on contracts. In addition, companies would get extra credit for tracking emissions throughout their supply chains and getting third-party verification of their findings.

GSA’s 65-page report is currently being reviewed by the Obama administration. (more…)

UK retailer Sainsbury’s is testing new technology that it says will help improve supply chain efficiencies and reduce food waste.

Specifically, Sainsbury’s new system will monitor the food coming off supermarket shelves on a minute by minute basis, enabling the company to make real-time decisions on where to send food from its warehouses. (more…)

Despite challenging economic conditions and regulatory uncertainty, a majority of corporate executives expect to increase spending on climate change initiatives between 2010 and 2012, according to new survey results from Ernst & Young.

The survey, conducted in the spring of 2010, polled 300 global corporate executives from 16 countries with at least US$1b in annual revenue. Among these respondents, 70 percent plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives over the next two years. Nearly half plan to spend between 0.5 percent to more than 5 percent of their revenue on climate change initiatives. (As a frame of reference, for a US$1b company, this represents an anticipated spend of US$5 million to US$50 million annually.)

Here are a few other key finding from Ernst & Young’s new research: (more…)