2Sustain

I first wrote about UPS’s carbon neutral shipping option when it was first launched in the US back in 2009. Last week, the company announced that it is expanding the availability of this popular program.

Now, customers in many countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas can select carbon neutral as an option within the UPS WorldShip shipping system.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, WorldShip is UPS’s full-featured, Windows-based shipping software designed for customers who ship five or more packages per day. With more than 550,000 installations worldwide, WorldShip is one of the most widely deployed transportation software applications in the world.

UPS’s recent announcement means that the majority of the company’s WorldShip customer base now have the option of paying a small fee to calculate and offset the carbon emissions associated with their shipments. (more…)

Whether they call it Waxman-Markey, cap-and-trade, or greenhouse gas emission reductions, everyone these days is talking about carbon management –and for good reason. As Stephen Stokes and Kevin O’Marah sum it up in the preface to their excellent article from Monday:

“The Bottom Line: Carbon can be a game changer—positively or negatively. Ignoring this issue is no longer an option. It’s time to develop holistic corporate and supply chain wide strategies that minimize business risk and maximize opportunities associated with carbon.”

Still, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering, “Is that really what corporate America is doing?”  What evidence is there that businesses across the country preparing for emerging themes relating to “green” initiatives, such as sustainability reporting, GHG footprint reduction, and carbon trading?

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Today’s blog post contains the first in a series of interviews with thought leaders in the world of sustainable business.

Our guest today is Dr. Peter Williams, Chief Technology Officer for IBM’s Big Green Innovations initiative. Peter is a management consultant with over 20 years’ experience, and is responsible for identifying environmentally focused businesses for IBM to either develop or participate in. He is personally responsible for assembling, maintaining and developing the portfolio of businesses included in the division.

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