2Sustain

Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, announced last week that the company has become carbon neutral across all of its global operations.

In a letter to his employees, Murdoch says that reaching this major sustainability milestone puts News Corporation on the path to becoming the “innovative, regenerative business we want to be.” He writes:

In the long term, we aim to grow our business without growing our carbon footprint, to power our operations with clean electricity, to minimize solid waste to landfill from our production operations, and to continue to engage our audiences on sustainability issues through partnerships and content of the highest caliber.

Murdoch also outlines how the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability has resulted in significant business benefits. For instance, News Corporation has: (more…)

BT wants to drive further engagement on climate change, and the company now expects its suppliers to actively manage and drive engagement in this area within their own supply chains, as well.

Last month, BT introduced a Climate Change procurement standard that will apply to all suppliers. One of the first of its kind in the UK, this new standard includes three minimum expectations to be undertaken by all contracted suppliers. Specifically, BT suppliers must: (more…)

Shipping just got much more transparent –and that’s great news for any company that’s working to reduce its environmental impact.

Earlier this month, Maersk Line became the first shipping line to receive independent verification of its CO2 emissions data, vessel by vessel.

The company will now add the CO2 data – which is verified by Lloyd’s Register – as one of eight performance measures in score cards that are presented to customers.  Starbucks Coffee Company, one of Maersk Line’s customers, says this improved emission data will help reduce its overall carbon footprint.

“Being a good environmental steward is important to Starbucks Coffee Company. Our global logistics providers can aid us in lowering the carbon footprint of our supply chain by improving their CO2 emission data. Quantified measurement and verification is a step in the right direction. Together, we continue to strive to better the world in which we do business,” John Bauer, director of global transportation, Starbucks Coffee Company, said. (more…)

Unfortunately, the energy-climate bill has fallen off the national agenda for now. However, it’s encouraging to see that companies across all sectors are continuing to make impressive progress towards their sustainability goals. What’s more, many are discovering that relatively simple initiatives can have significant impacts.

For instance, late last month, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP announced that it met its 20 percent carbon reduction goal in FY09, a full two years ahead of schedule. Specifically, the firm has reduced carbon emissions by more than 62,000 CO2 metric tons since FY07, its baseline emission levels.
PwC says its strategy included: (more…)

CEMEX announced last week that its United Kingdom operation (CEMEX UK) is the first cement company in the world to provide certified carbon labels for its cement using the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label.

The label will show the carbon footprint generated by CEMEX cements in the UK. This measurement is the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases generated by the cement from cradle to grave, including the extraction of the raw materials, manufacturing, distribution, use by customers and disposal at the end of life.

“People are increasingly interested in the carbon impact of the products they buy. The challenge for businesses, such as CEMEX, is to get meaningful information to them, so they can begin to make informed low carbon choices,” says Euan Murray, Head of Carbon Footprinting at the Carbon Trust. “The Carbon Reduction Label is designed to help customers quickly identify the brands that have measured their footprint and are committed to carbon reduction. We hope more companies will follow the example of CEMEX and adopt the Carbon Reduction Label.” (more…)