2Sustain

Oil prices were volatile again last week, topping off at about $100 a barrel, and now there’s another new wrinkle that has traders and analysts scratching their heads: futures contracts for light, sweet crude and Brent crude differ by nearly $20 –an unprecedented gap for these contracts, which typically trade within $1 of each other.

Naturally, as consumers, we’re all feeling the pinch of rising gas prices every time we fill up at the pump.

But, what about the ripple effect of $100/barrel gasoline? How much do rising gas prices—and the tremendous volatility in the oil markets –affect everything else we buy?

As Michael Koploy rightly points out at his recent blog post, Gas Stats: How Rising Fuel Prices Affect Logistics, soaring energy prices impact other commodities, such as minerals, food, and consumer goods –even though this effect doesn’t typically get the press it deserves.

Koploy illustrates the direct correlation between the rise in energy prices and the (sometimes dramatic) increases in commodity prices with this infographic, revealing the trickle-down effect of rising gas prices, January 2010 vs. January 2011: (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…)

As I mentioned last week, more and more companies are beginning to realize the business benefits of greening their supply chains. As a result, I expect to see companies sharpening their focus on procurement management systems that include sustainability indicators.

Now, a new report from independent analyst firm Verdantix confirms this forecast. According to the report, Smart Innovators Product LCA Software, a “flood” of new product life cycle assessment (LCA) software offerings is ready to help firms analyze supply chain data to enhance sustainability performance. Verdantix expects the market will pick up in 2012, fueled by three specific adoption drivers.

First, as Verdantix points out, new and existing regulations for environmental reporting underpin demand for environmental product compliance software and innovative LCA software. Europe leads the world in setting standards for product sustainability with regulations like REACH and the French government’s Bilan Carbone which requires Scope 3 emissions data reporting by the end of 2012. It’s no surprise then, that Verdantix concludes that France will become the leading market for LCA software adoption worldwide.
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Below is an excerpt from a speech by Wal Mart CEO Lee Scott at a recent conference for Wal Mart suppliers. In case you missed it have a look below – very interesting comments, particularly in the context of our discussion here on the meaning of sustainability.

In my opinion Wal Mart is well on their way to achieving something that most companies have found somewhat elusive to date: not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. While it remains to be seen if Wal Mart can execute on their lofty goals around reduced energy usage, less wasteful packaging, reduced toxicity, energy efficient stores, etc, I would say they are off to an admirable start. They are even doing things like working with Act Now (Adam Werbach’s sustainability consulting firm) to educate the 1.3 million Wal Mart employees on what they can do to improve sustainability in their own lives.

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