| |
Editor's Note
Taking the Lead on Climate Change
By Eric Olson, Senior Vice President, BSR
Welcome to the second edition of the BSR Review, our bi-monthly update on issues central to sustainable business. This edition features a collection of BSR’s recent work on climate change and energy management—a topic we selected to coincide with the COP-16 conference underway in Cancun, Mexico, which comes less than a year after a disappointing summit in Copenhagen.
Over the past year, we've learned the limits of what we can expect from the political process, and by the same token, the critical leadership role that global business can and must play to tackle climate change. Through our research and project work, three areas of opportunity have emerged for both impact and profit:
- Energy and resource efficiency has “graduated” from a sustainability or environmental management priority to a core business imperative, with innovative efforts extending from company operations to a total supply chain approach.
- Leaders are increasingly taking action on climate adaptation and risk management, preparing for the most likely and/or threatening possibilities. And there is a growing body of information and tools to get started and support these efforts.
- Finally, one of the most valuable things business can do—amid continuing political stalemate and uncertainty—is to communicate and motivate people, individually as well as through various partnerships and coalitions. This can take many forms, from increasing transparency to guide consumers toward more sustainable choices, to partnering with industry peers to go above and beyond regulation.
BSR is attending the conference in Cancun as part of our ongoing climate work; you can read about what to look for, our first impressions, and more on BSR's blog.
We hope you find this issue of the BSR Review useful and thought provoking. Please let us know.
Efficiency and Innovation Across the Supply Chain
Supply Chain Energy Innovation (November 3, 2010)
BSR Conference 2010 session summary: This session reviewed emerging standards in supply chain energy use as well as tips and lessons learned to help companies start their own energy management programs.
The Latest CDP Results Reveal the Rise of Scope 3 Reporting (October 21, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
GreenBiz.com feature: Last month's release of the Global 500 Report, Carbon Disclosure Project's annual summary of climate reporting by the world's 500 largest companies, gives the most insight to date on corporations' reporting about climate change and their supply chains. See what it told us.
Three Tools for Managing Supply Chain Transparency on Climate (October 5, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
BSR Insight article: As guidance on supply chain reporting by the GHG Protocol becomes more readily available, companies will have more clarity on how to manage "Scope 3" emissions, and investors will increasingly see transparency as an indicator of a company's competence. To overcome hurdles to transparency, we recommend a practical, three-part approach that involves monitoring your impacts, translating that data into actionable information, and promoting governance standards that catalyze progress.
BSR Kicks Off New Energy Management Collaboration…and Just in Time (September 3, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
Blog: Recent pressure from the Chinese government to curb energy waste was on everyone's mind at the launch of BSR's Energy Efficiency Partnership, a group of 11 member companies working with 80 of their suppliers on energy management.
A Practical Approach to Greening the Electronics Supply Chain (June 2010)
Research report: This report, published by BSR and the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC), reflects on the EICC's efforts to increase transparency and focus on emissions reductions with respect to greenhouse gases in the industry.
Unlocking Energy Efficiency in China (May 2010)
Research report: This guide helps global sustainability professionals establish supply chain energy efficiency programs, with a focus on China. The report outlines how companies can succeed with a four-step process that includes building foundations for a comprehensive program, helping suppliers take the first steps, facilitating progress over time, and enhancing the program's impacts.
Sustainability Matters: Unlocking Energy Efficiency in China (May 26, 2010)
Webinar: In this webinar, Walmart's Vice President of Global Sourcing and the World Resources Institute's Director of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative explore emerging standards and tools for partnering with suppliers on energy efficiency. BSR Member login required.
A Buyer's Guide to GHG Accounting Tools (May 20, 2010)
By Betsy Fargo, Manager, Advisory Services
GreenBiz.com feature: Despite (or perhaps because of) last year's failed climate talks in Copenhagen, the demand for tools and software programs that help companies track greenhouse gas emissions has increased dramatically over the past year.
Getting Started on Supply Chain Energy Efficiency in China (May 11, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
BSR Insight article: Following Walmart Vice Chairman (now CEO) Mike Duke's announcement that the company would improve the energy efficiency of its top 200 China-based suppliers by 20 percent by 2012, Walmart enlisted BSR to help launch its first supply chain energy efficiency effort in China. Based on BSR's experience working with Walmart, here is a series of steps to help companies effectively engage with suppliers in China on energy efficiency.
Climate Adaptation and Risk Management
A Sense of Urgency and Optimism in Cancun (December 3, 2010)
By Joyce Wong, Associate, Advisory Services
Blog: The call to curb global carbon emissions remains strong, and the voices are getting louder from climate scientists, vulnerable nations, organizations working in those countries, and even an impassioned youth movement to mobilize committed funds to start implementing measures now to prepare for the challenges of living in a warmer world.
Financial Perspectives on Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation (November 3, 2010)
BSR Conference 2010 session summary: This session explored professional finance perspectives on climate adaptation that can inform companies' sustainability strategies.
Preparing for the Unpredictable: Lessons on Adapting to Climate Change (August 31, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
BSR Insight article: A key to effectively managing the physical effects of climate change is preparedness—which can be achieved through developing literacy, identifying plausible impacts, evaluating priorities, and building resilience.
Practical Frameworks to Help Business Prepare for Climate Change (August 31, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
BSR Insight article: While it's impossible to predict the exact impacts climate change will have on business, this article looks at several practical frameworks that are designed to help managers understand and prepare for climate change.
Where Desertification Meets the Bottom Line (June 17, 2010)
By Laura Ediger, Environmental Manager, Research & Innovation
GreenBiz.com feature: Businesses can invest in local social and environmental projects to halt or reverse desertification, engage with suppliers to reduce degradation, and create products that improve agricultural sustainability and enable restoration of damaged land.
Communication and Motivation
Corporate Climate Reporting: How to Communicate About Policy Engagement (March 16, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
BSR Insight article: A look at what companies are reporting on today, what BSR recommends that companies focus on going forward, and how companies can approach reporting on climate policy engagement.
U.S. SEC Directs Companies to Disclose Material Climate Issues (January 29, 2010)
By Ryan Schuchard, Manager, Climate and Energy
Blog: On January 27, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that climate change is a category of risk that companies should consider when disclosing material risk and opportunities. The SEC is also providing interpretive guidance for disclosing climate risks on key issues.
For Real Results on Climate, Look Beyond Copenhagen (December 11, 2009)
By Aron Cramer, President and CEO
Reuters.com op-ed: As world leaders seem uncertain about whether a binding treaty is even possible at Copenhagen, it’s important to remember what was already clear: Twelve days in Copenhagen were never going to solve climate change anyway.
Climate Leaders: A Break From the Industry Pack (September 24, 2009)
By Aron Cramer, President and CEO
Blog: The decisions by Pacific Gas & Electric, a major California utility, to withdraw from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce altogether, and by Nike to very publicly dissociate itself from the Chamber's lobbying efforts on climate legislation, are both strong signals that many leading businesses are dissatisfied with business associations' often lowest-common denominator approach.
Less Stick, More Carrot in the Carbon Tax Debate (August 20, 2009)
By Farid Baddache, Director, Europe
Blog: The carbon tax debate is all over the French media these days—and this fascinating battle may hold lessons for how this debate will play out across the rest of Europe and more widely.
|
|
|
