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…)

Earlier this month, Consolidated (Con) Edison issued its 2010 Sustainability Report, detailing its long-term business strategy, an approach that relies on energy efficiency, renewable energy and recycling.

Con Edison is a New York-based utility that employs 15,000 employees, has $13 billion in revenues and holds $36 billion in assets. The company provides nine million people with electricity while balancing sustainability principles based on six fundamental points:

• Insist on green behavior from employees.
• Encourage green behavior to external stakeholders.
• Meet customers’ demands for a greener lifestyle through innovation.
• Partner with governments to create policies that match Con Edison’s sustainability vision.
• Develop an infrastructure for renewable energy.
• Include environmental and social values within its decision making process.

What are the results so far?

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Last week, I blogged about sustainability initiatives in the retail sector, and a reader commented on the pressing need for food retailers to develop similar green programs and processes. It was a great point, and on that lead, I decided to keep the dialogue going by taking a look at the corporate websites of a few of the nation’s leading grocery retailers.

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