BSR Insight Articles About Environment
European Environmental Agency Report: Sustainability Themes for the Coming Year
Julia Robinson, Communications Associate
The European Environment Agency's latest annual report covers four main sustainability trends for the year ahead: Read more
Going from ‘What’ to ‘How’ in Sustainable Procurement
Celine Suarez, Manager, Advisory Services
Making sense of the increasingly dizzying array of product certifications, labels, data and other sustainability initiatives is a challenge, even for experts. While the best of these efforts provide comprehensive, accurate data on a product's many sustainability attributes, it can be exceptionally difficult to synthesize the data and judge the relative "sustainability" of different products. Procurement professionals face the additional challenge of integrating these criteria into purchasing decisions that must also account for traditional considerations like cost, quality, and delivery. Even initiatives such as the Sustainability Consortium, which takes a comprehensive, science-based approach to conveying the full lifecycle of products' sustainability impacts, will need to be applied to thousands of products that companies purchase before the system can realize its full impact. So how can companies start using the information from the Consortium and other initiatives to evaluate things like light bulbs, bath towels, or milk? How can companies begin to unpack and compare the lifecycle sustainability attributes of the products they procure? If a light bulb is Energy Star certified, is that the best indicator of its overall energy efficiency? If a bath towel was made with certified organic cotton, but that cotton was shipped from Uzbekistan to Saskatchewan, is it considered sustainable? If a gallon of milk is hormone-free but made on a factory farm, is it healthier for humans, or is that benefit outweighed by the fact that it's polluting the soil? A single product might be rated on as many as 20 to 30 sustainability metrics covering issues from natural resource extraction, material inputs, manufacturing, carbon footprint, waste, water use, packaging, and more. BSR's Center for Sustainable Procurement (CSP), an initiative funded by Hilton Worldwide, is examining how procurement professionals can more effectively and efficiently integrate sustainability considerations into their day-to-day purchasing decisions. Read more
Priorities for Emerging Economies: Environment over Economic Growth?
Julia Robinson, Communications Associate
BSR at Rio+20
Julia Robinson, Communications Associate
Rio+20, an important milestone that marks two decades since the first Earth Summit, kicks off this week in Brazil. BSR--which is also celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2012--is excited to join companies, NGOs, and governments to develop new strategies and innovative partnerships for sustainability. BSR Senior Vice President Eric Olson, South America Director Joe Sellwood, and Advisory Services Manager Alison Colwell will attend the UN Global Compact Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum from June 15 through 18: Read more
Assessing Terminals’ Environmental Performance: New BSR Report and Tool
Laura Ediger, Associate Director, Advisory Services
Global shippers and carriers have increasingly adopted practices to improve their environmental performance. It is now important for terminal operators to align with these efforts. BSR's recently released report and assessment tool for terminal operators, developed with support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, will allow terminals to benchmark their environmental performance based on a common standard and prepare for the increasing demand for supply chain sustainability data. BSR's 2011 terminal operations case study analyzed efforts related to improving port and terminal environmental performance and found that ocean-based terminals lack globally applicable environmental frameworks and standards for performance. Based on this information, BSR developed an assessment tool in Chinese and English for terminal operators to track and report on environmental performance, such as emissions management and impacts on air pollution and community health. This report shares the results and feedback of three terminal operators who used the pilot tool, as well as our recommendations for implementation. Read more
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