2Sustain

Sea level rise due to global warming has already doubled the annual risk of coastal flooding across widespread areas of the United States, according to a new report from Climate Central, a climate and energy focused non-profit research and journalism organization.

The report, Surging Seas, is not only the first to analyze how sea level rise caused by global warming is compounding the risk from storm surges throughout the coastal contiguous US, but also it’s the first to generate local and national estimates of the land, housing and population in vulnerable low-lying areas and associate this information with flood risk timelines.

Here are a few of the report’s sobering conclusions: (more…)

Last month, the athletic apparel company PUMA announced its first “environmental profit and loss statement.” PUMA’s CEO Jochen Zeitz explained the decision by insisting that, in order to remain profitable, companies must integrate into their business models the true costs of relying on nature.

PUMA’s move is an example of “corporate ecosystem valuation,” the process of businesses making strategic decisions by assigning a financial price to both ecosystem degradation and the services that ecosystems provide. For example, clean water and forests provide services like erosion control, CO2 absorption, and food.

But, why would companies consider adding a value to resources like water or timber? After all, these are not line items an analyst typically finds on a balance sheet. Data from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) tells part of the story: (more…)

Companies are emerging from the recession tentatively, at best, and yet intriguing new research found that most businesses remain quite committed to their sustainability goals.

In fact, the new study, conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), found that 69 percent of the more than 3,100 corporate leaders surveyed actually plan to increase their investment in and management of sustainability this year.

Just over one-quarter (26 percent) plan no change, and only 2 percent intend to cut back on their commitment.

What’s more, the second annual Sustainability & Innovation Global Executive Study also discovered that what the authors are calling a “two-speed landscape” is emerging. These days, there’s a growing gap between sustainability “embracers”—those who place sustainability high on their agenda—and nonembracers or “cautious adopters,” who have yet to focus on more than energy cost savings, material efficiency, and risk mitigation.

When comparing embracers to nonembracers, the report concludes that: (more…)

Water security has made its way onto the corporate agenda.

Virtually all (96 percent) of companies in a recent survey were able to identify whether or not they are exposed to water risk, and more than half of those that reported risks classify them as current or near-term (1-5 years).

The survey, prepared by Environmental Resource Management (ERM) and sponsored by CDP Water Disclosure, polled more than 100 of the world’s largest companies asking for information on their water use and other water-related business issues. The results show that water is already impacting business operations. For instance: (more…)

Two things jumped out at me while I was reviewing the results of A.T. Kearney’s recently released 2008 Assessment of Excellence in Procurement (AEP) study.

First, the study found that procurement leaders are placing a high priority on risk management. Whether they’re using internal risk mitigation strategies or mega-trend analysis, AEP leaders seem to agree that supply risk and performance management are becoming increasingly critical in today’s complex global supply chains.

Second, this latest A. T. Kearney analysis also shows that sustainability has emerged as a hallmark of procurement excellence. A whopping 89% of AEP leaders have procurement sustainability plans in place; many have comprehensive sustainability programs that are integrated into their overall corporate strategy.

(more…)