2Sustain

Earlier this month, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol launched two new standards to help businesses better measure, manage and report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions:

• The Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard reveals opportunities for companies to make more sustainable decisions about their activities and the products they produce, buy and sell. Large and small companies can look strategically at greenhouse gas emissions across their value chain, showing them where to focus limited resources to have the biggest impacts.
• The Product Life Cycle Standard enables companies to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of an individual product. Covering materials, manufacturing, use and disposal, the product standard will help companies improve and design new products and provide insights for more informed consumer choices.

The two new standards were developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). They were created in response to businesses that want to better understand and measure their climate impacts beyond their own operations, and they’ll enable companies to save money, reduce risks and gain competitive advantage, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol says.

“The new standards provide companies with a comprehensive view of the emissions produced when making a product and across the value chain. They will help companies make better business decisions and stimulate innovation of products and production methods,” explained Björn Stigson, President, WBCSD. “In today’s world, it is necessary to understand and measure the costs for production, labor and transportation of products, which become visible and actionable through emissions.”

Already, these new standards are gaining widespread traction: (more…)

Launched in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) were the first global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.

Each year, SAM, an investment boutique focused exclusively on sustainability investing, invites the world’s 2,500 largest companies, measured by free-float market capitalization, from the 57 sectors to report on their sustainability performance. The result of the Corporate Sustainability Assessment provides an in-depth analysis of economic, environmental and social criteria, such as corporate governance, water-related risks and stakeholder relations, with a special focus on industry-specific risks and opportunities.

“The DJSI have become the gold standard in recognizing the world’s corporate sustainability leader,” Michael A. Petronella, President, Dow Jones Indexes, said. “These indexes have become an invaluable market tool for those seeking to support companies that are committed to creating and adopting sustainable business practices.”

The results of this year’s assessment were announced last week, and the data shows some very interesting changes to the DJSI World. Overall, 41 companies will be added, and 23 firms will be deleted, resulting in a total of 342 components.

The largest additions (by free-float market capitalization) to the DJSI World include Medtronic Inc., Schneider Electric S.A. and Societe Generale S.A. The largest deletions (by free-float market capitalization) are Coca-Cola Co., Hewlett-Packard Co. and EnCana Corp.

The changes will become effective with the opening of trading on September 19, 2011.

Here are the 2011-2012 DJSI supersector leaders: (more…)

Earlier this week, Ford Motor Company released its tenth annual sustainability report. The 2008/9 report, “Blueprint for Sustainability: Our Future Works,” contains detailed updates about the company’s progress in key areas of climate change, fuel economy, mobility, vehicle safety, and human rights.

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