Late last month, The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced a set of five ambitious sustainability goals for the forest products industry.
Published as Better Practices, Better Planet 2020, the AF&PA says these goals are the most extensive and quantifiable set of sustainability goals for any major manufacturing industry in the US. Specifically, by 2020, the AF&PA wants the industry to: (more…)
For years now, sustainability advocates have urged manufacturers to use carbon footprint labels on consumer products. These labels would show the volume of greenhouse gasses emitted during a product’s lifecycle, so that consumers could make more educated choices based on the environmental impact of the products they buy.
And, as a result of these efforts, carbon footprint labels are in use in a few limited areas. For instance, the Carbon Trust has established carbon footprint labels for some products in the UK. (See earlier posts about Walkers crisps and the UK dairy sector, e.g.) But, the idea has never really caught on in the US.
Michael Vandenbergh, environmental law professor at Vanderbilt Law School and director of the Climate Change Research Network, Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University and Paul Stern of the US National Research Council would like to see that change.
In their commentary, recently published in the premier issue of the journal Nature Climate Change, the three argue that adding carbon labels to products has benefits for both consumers and manufacturers alike. Carbon footprint product labels allow consumers to choose a product based on its lower carbon footprint. That, in turn, may influence how businesses produce, package and transport products, leading to even lower carbon emissions. Plus, as I have pointed before, greening the supply chain in these ways can lead to significant financial benefits to companies, as well. (more…)
Sprint Nextel is now the first wireless carrier to complete and publicly release a comprehensive Scope 3 supply-chain assessment.
As you may recall, emissions are defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative as:
Sprint partnered with Trucost for the analysis, which examines Sprint’s total supply chain carbon emissions and then quantifies and identifies “hot spots” where the company can focus its efforts.
“Measuring and understanding carbon footprints is the first step toward managing and reducing them,” Cary Krosinsky, Trucost senior vice president, said. “Carbon emissions are increasingly resulting in financial costs for companies, and by undertaking such a thorough carbon assessment of its supply chain, Sprint Nextel is taking a major step toward effectively reducing its overall carbon footprint.”
Trucost’s analysis covered 98 percent of Sprint’s supply-chain expenditure, and the report includes these interesting findings: (more…)
Since 1997, the Gallup poll has tracked Americans’ attitudes about global warming, and over that time, the survey found that in general terms, the American public was growing increasingly concerned about the threat of climate change –up until 2009.
In 2009 –just two years after Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing climate change awareness –Gallup detected a turn in the tide. That year, Gallup measures showed a slight retreat in public concern about global warming, and now, unfortunately, the downturn is even more pronounced.
Gallup’s latest annual update shows that while a majority of Americans still agree that global warming is real, the percentage that thinks so is dwindling. Based on these survey results, it appears that the average American is now less convinced than at any time since 1997 that global warming’s effects have already begun or will begin shortly.
Here are a few specifics from the Gallup research: (more…)
New research from global consultancy Mercer carries a stern warning.
According to the report, Climate Change Scenarios – Implications for Strategic Asset Allocation, continued delay in climate change policy action and lack of international coordination could cost institutional investors trillions of dollars over the coming decades.
Already, we have seen how climate-related natural disasters (drought in Russia, floods in Australia, etc.) can have a devastating impact on regional economies. This new study takes a broader approach and analyzes the potential financial impacts of climate change on investors’ portfolios, identified through a series of four climate change scenarios playing out over the next twenty years. For example, the research found that by 2030:
