2Sustain

Earlier this year, toy and game maker Hasbro, Inc. directed its suppliers to stop using paper sourced from unsustainably managed forests.

Now, the company has unveiled a comprehensive policy intended to ensure that all procurement decisions align with the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability and support sustainable forest management.

Hasbro’s new Paper and Forest Procurement Policy (PFPP):

• sets stringent vendor requirements for credible third party certification (such as the Forest Stewardship Council) of fiber.
• requires that no sources of Mixed Tropical Hardwood (MTH) virgin fiber be used in products, including packaging.

The PFPP underscores a goal Hasbro already had established: By 2015, the company wants 90 percent usage of paper packaging and in-box game content derived from recycled material or sources that practice sustainable forest management. (For 2011, the goal is 75 percent.)

In addition, Hasbro has taken the supplementary step of achieving Forest Stewardship Council certification for its US manufacturing facility, and the company is pursuing similar certification for its manufacturing facility in Ireland.

According to Kathrin Belliveau, Hasbro’s Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Government Affairs, the company recognizes these moves have important strategic benefits. As I’ve mentioned before, “peak deforestation” creates three specific valuation risks for your company and its associated investment portfolios: (more…)

Earlier this month, Sprint announced it is joining the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Climate Savers program.

As one of only 28 companies in the Climate Savers program, Sprint joins IBM, The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson and others that have agreed to take aggressive measures to scale up climate protection efforts.

Even among these sustainability leaders, however, Sprint’s commitment is particularly noteworthy. It is now one of only two companies in the Climate Savers program to address all scopes of GHG emissions through the WWF agreement. Sprint is the only US company to do so, and it joins KPN, a Dutch telecommunications company, as the only other partner in the Climate Savers program to commit to such a multifaceted GHG emissions reduction strategy for its own operations, suppliers and consumers.

Sprint’s commitments include: (more…)

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is now the first US tissue maker to offer branded consumer tissue products that meet the sustainable sourcing requirements of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

What is the FSC?

The FSC is a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world’s forests.

FSC certification is a market-based, non-regulatory forest conservation system recognized globally for having the highest social and environmental standards in forestry. The program uses third-party experts to verify forest management practices and track materials as they leave the forest and become products downstream. As a result, any FSC labeled product can be traced back through the chain of custody to a certified source.

So now, Kimberly-Clark’s Kleenex brand facial tissue and Scott Naturals brand products sold in North America will include fiber sourced from suppliers who have been independently certified to follow the highest standards in forestry management while also protecting high conservation-value forests and habitat.

Consumers will be able to identify FSC-certified Kleenex and Scott brand products by the FSC label on every package. (more…)

The logistics sector is an increasingly significant contributor to the global economy –and it’s also an increasingly significant consumer of fossil fuels.

To me, that indicates that logistics companies are facing considerable sustainability-related risks. Are there steps these companies can take to mitigate these risks while enhancing their competitiveness in today’s increasingly complex global business environment?

A new report from RBC and Supply Chain & Logistics Association Canada (SCL) takes a detailed look at that question and ultimately, concludes that environmental sustainability should be considered both a key issue and an important opportunity for Canada’s transportation and logistics companies.

According to the report, CEOs in the logistics sector need to grapple with five specific environmental challenges: (more…)

Water is quickly becoming a significant business growth and development risk.

In fact, after polling 150 large corporations, CDP Water Disclosure found that nearly 40 percent of responding companies had already experienced disruptions in operations, increases in expenses and other detrimental impacts related to water. Of course, government entities are also increasingly concerned with water-related disruptions, and they’re seeking viable approaches for mitigating risks, as well.

Fortunately, a new group promises to offer the kind of information needed for public and private sector decision-making regarding water risks.

Launched just last week, the Aqueduct Alliance is a consortium of leading water experts from the private and public sectors, NGOs and academia. It was founded by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Goldman Sachs and General Electric, but already the alliance has added Bloomberg, The Dow Chemical Company, Talisman Energy, and United Technologies. The Coca-Cola Company is also engaged and will be providing an extensive global database of once proprietary water risk information to support Aqueduct’s work.

From the alliance’s website: (more…)