Benchmarking Climate Change Performance Across Supply Chains
Supply chains are businesses’ lifeblood—they are the means through which products and services are created and delivered to the customer. Supply chains are where one can see how raw materials travel and transform into goods. They also reflect companies’ value chains, indicating cash outflow from costs of raw materials and resources along with profits from customers’ purchase of their products.
Join the Growing Supply Chain Trend on Voluntary Carbon Disclosure to CDP
The supply chain is definitely one of the top solutions a company uses to address the issue of climate change. However, as reported by CDP in its 2013-2014 CDP Supply Chain Program Research Initiative, reducing a supply chain’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions still remains to be a formidable challenge.
Going Beyond Climate Change Adaptation through Environmental Risk Management
“We live in an era of man-made climate change”. This is what climate change consultant and co-chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN IPCC) Vicente Barros said in the report entitled Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. It is evident that the impacts brought about by climate change can be felt all over the world. The recent IPCC report discussed the repercussions of climate change as it affects people, economies and the Earth’s ecosystems.
FCS and CDP Expand Global Partnership: S&P 500 and FTSE 350
Sustainability has become pivotal to the success of many companies, as environmental externalities such as climate change, water scarcity, flooding, pollution and deforestation present material risks. Accordingly, a growing number of investment groups and customers now require transparency in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), making it critical for organizations to participate in standards such as CDP to document their commitment to climate resiliency. CDP not only provides an information platform for investors to protect their long term investments and reduce the risks arising from environmental effects, it also helps organizations implement successful supplier engagement strategies, reduce supply chain emissions, control water impact and manage risk in a changing climate.
CSR: Sustainability’s Foothold in Business
Businesses today are steadily realizing the positive impacts of integrating sustainability into their structure and practices. This has ultimately led some companies into undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, through focusing on sustainability concerns such as taking care of the environment, ensuring employee and consumer safety, and community engagement. As a relatively nascent practice among many companies, many businesses are still struggling to integrate CSR into their structure and operations. To help create more robust CSR initiatives and programs, companies would do well to remember the following:
‘Tis the Season…To Start Hibernating!
Did you know? Many animals hibernate through the winter to make the most out of scarce resources and survive the cold weather. While most people associate hibernating with bears, other small animals such as bats also hibernate through the winter months. Another misconception is that hibernating animals sleep solidly throughout their entire hibernation period. In some bat species, particularly in temperate-zone bats, hibernation occurs in cycles with periods of rest and periods of consciousness. This blog post will shed light onto the hidden world of the hibernating bats — how they survive even with very limited resources and how they endure the cold weather.
The Benefit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Reporting
Constant information flow and growing environmental consciousness — the interweaving of these two factors upholds Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) more as a business necessity than a mere option. As daily lives are affected by the changing environment, people are more likely to seek and share information about all business types; so operating sustainably can bring rewards.
What do you Mean I Missed the Survey Season?: CEQA Planning
Two Examples of Building Energy Management
Throughout the United States, green or sustainable buildings are being built for a variety of uses. For example, green buildings are being built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. These standards provide a basis for identifying and implementing a practical, measurable, and, most importantly, sustainable building design. LEED rated structures include schools, homes, mixed use and commercial buildings.
California’s New Water Resources Management Plan
The transfer of water to meet the demands of various populations in different geographical areas is not a new concept. The ancient Romans built aqueducts to supply water for public baths and drinking. In more recent times, New York City is supplied by a web of tunnels and pipes that stretch 125 miles north into the Catskills Mountains. Due to the accelerated pace of population growth and an increase in the amount of water each person uses, the need to convey water to meet this increase in demands suggests that the need for conveyance will persist.
Senate Bill 18 and Cultural Resources Management
Senate Bill 18 was authored by Senator John Burton in 2003 and signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger in September 2004. The intent of SB 18 is to provide California Native Americans with the opportunity to participate in local land use decisions during the early planning stages.
Environmental Compliance Reporting Reduces Business Risk
Business risks come in three varieties: known risks, unknown risks, and unknown unknown risks. The latter two present the greater challenge to identify. Unknown risks are those not readily or typically linked with a particular industry or project type but become revealed through a deliberate identification process. The third variety is elusive by nature. An example of this was the Icelandic volcano eruptions in 2010 that disrupted air cargo transport between Europe and Asia causing supply chain disruptions and manufacturing plants to temporarily shutdown. This was an unknown unknown risk.
FirstCarbon Solutions to Perform Hollywood Central Park EIR
Sensitive Species Investigations: Are Bats Really Blind? (Part 2)
Sensitive Species Investigations: Are Bats Really Blind? (Part 1)
Did you know? Bats are not blind. In fact, they see very well. However, their sense of hearing is so well developed and adapted for processing a large amount of data that they prefer to navigate with their ears. Just as humans process spatial data better with their eyes than with any other organ, bats are better adapted to determining their surroundings using their ears. It’s a centuries-old myth that bats are blind, and hopefully this 2-part blog post will help change your mind.
Using Solar Panels to Improve Energy Resource Management
As detailed in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) reference guide for Green Building Design and Construction (click here for the free 2009 version), use of renewable energy in lieu of fossil fuel-based energy can dramatically improve outdoor environmental quality. Generating renewable energy on-site is an excellent way to reduce the negative environmental impacts associated with a building’s energy use.
Practical and Cost Effective Mitigation Planning
Most environmental planners and (in California) CEQA experts have heard the phrase “mitigate or litigate” during their professional careers. While clever and a bit flippant, there is a lot of truth to this little timeworn rhyme. Ill-conceived and poorly executed mitigation is arguably one of the leading causes of environmental grief (legally and financially) for developers and other business entities. It is clear that environmental documents that underestimate or ignore impacts – and consequently undersize mitigation – are vulnerable to legal challenge. It is also true that mitigation “overkill” and mitigation that is ill-timed, vague or general in nature can be equally debilitating to the health of a project in terms of time and money.
Health Risk Assessment and POP
Persistent Organic Pollutants and their Impacts on the Arctic Ok I’ll be the first to admit, it’s not the kind of POP that most of us have come to know; however, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that contain carbon that resist degradation and can have just as much impact on our health as those sugary beverage drinks. Although many different chemicals, both natural and anthropogenic, may be defined as POPs, the most common known POPs include many of the first generation of insecticides such as DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) and industrial chemicals like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). POPs may persist in the environment for periods of several years and may bioconcentrate up to ten thousands fold. [1] As a result, POPs are being identified all over the world – even in regions where they have never been used. A perfect example of this is in the Arctic, where some of the highest levels of POPs have been recorded in the polar areas.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Delisting Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle
For more than 30 years, the valley elderberry longhorn beetle (VELB; Desmocerus californicus dimorphus) has been listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act (FESA) as a threatened species. Signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1973, FESA was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a “consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation” ESA; Title 7 of the United States Code § 136, Title 16 of the United States Code § 1531 et seq. Under FESA, species identified as “threatened” are species which are likely to become an endangered within the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
CSR Reporting Solutions in Regulated Industries
Within the recent past, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become increasingly topical, breaking the perception that it considers only philanthropy. Now, CSR is fundamentally about how companies integrate philanthropy along with their core business practices, and public policy dialogue, as reported in a Harvard Kennedy School article. Moreover, according to an article in the Journal of Business Ethics, CSR presents the following four dimensions:
The Role of the CFO in Corporate Sustainable Management Solutions
When one thinks of individuals involved with incorporating sustainability into their business, the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is not usually what comes to mind. However, the CFO plays a large, if not critical, role in sustainable management solutions that companies and organizations across the globe are addressing. To become sustainable, an organization must become energy efficient, maximize their resource use, and streamline their processes. Achieving these goals requires intensive resource planning that directly affects the core activities of a business. And achieving these objectives has enormous impacts on the bottom line. If these goals and P&L influences are so centrally influential to a company, shouldn’t the CFO be ultimately responsible for sustainability matters?
The Role of the CFO in Corporate Sustainable Management Solutions
When one thinks of individuals involved with incorporating sustainability into their business, the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is not usually what comes to mind. However, the CFO plays a large, if not critical, role in sustainable management solutions that companies and organizations across the globe are addressing. To become sustainable, an organization must become energy efficient, maximize their resource use, and streamline their processes. Achieving these goals requires intensive resource planning that directly affects the core activities of a business. And achieving these objectives has enormous impacts on the bottom line. If these goals and P&L influences are so centrally influential to a company, shouldn’t the CFO be ultimately responsible for sustainability matters?
After the Presidential Election: Carbon Management and Climate Change
These days, many of us approach the time after a US presidential election with a sigh of relief. I believe most of us, however, simply request that our government governs, does the work of the people, and ensures our great nation continues to progressively move forward. While learning more about the candidates by listening to […]
Need a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment? Check Credentials Twice and Hire Once
On June 27, 2012, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 1018, which contains the necessary statutory and technical changes to implement the Budget Act of 2012 related to resources (leginfo.ca.gov). As part of SB 1018, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Environmental Assessor Program was officially disbanded. In their words, the program was identified as being “unnecessary, unenforceable, and largely duplicative.”
Five Strategies to an Expedited Environmental Entitlement Process
In most jurisdictions throughout California, the typical project review and processing for discretionary planning applications, such as Conditional Use Permits, and the related California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review, ranges from six months to one year. Depending on the jurisdiction’s staffing levels, presence of controversial project issues, and level of community engagement, this timeframe can […]
Will the Presidential Election Shape Environmental Planning?
A generation or two ago, the protection and conservation of our environment was an overlooked subject for most Americans. While there were always a few who voiced their concern over our interaction with the environment, only recently has the topic served as a catalyst for discussion in the greater public forum. Terms considered commonplace today such as greenhouse gas emissions, global climate change and carbon footprint were unfamiliar ideas not too long ago; and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), all of which were designed to protect the interests of the environment, were still in their relative infancy. The lack of environmental conciseness bled into American politics as well, and with the exception of a handful of prominent political figures (see T. Roosevelt, Carter, Gore), politicians preferred to take a laissez faire approach to the environment.
The Importance of Efficient Environmental Data Management
There are several factors that contribute to a business’ success through the incorporation of efficient environmental data management. Current market trends undergoing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process are finding more involvement with the storage of environmental data, in some cases utilizing various offsite facilities.
The Business Case for Sustainable Companies: The Perfect Storm
An interview with renowned speaker Bob Willard. Before Harvard’s Michael Porter coined the theory of “shared value” which means that “societal needs, not just conventional economic needs, define market,” there was Bob Willard.
Use of AB32 Compliance for NEPA Purposes
Californians were introduced to Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) in 2006, when the California Global Warming Solutions Act was adopted. At first, environmental practitioners scrambled to understand what this regulation meant for their projects, particularly in the realm of compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and in City and County land use planning and discretionary actions. Six years and a myriad of opinion pieces and guidance documents later, the impact of AB 32 on a project or plan-analysis level is, if not well understood for most actions, at least navigable.
Top Three Tips for Projects Going Through Greenhouse Gas CEQA Review
Seven years ago, addressing greenhouse gas emissions or climate change in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review documents was unheard of. But not now; not since California’s Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32) was passed in 2006 and the long circuitous process of determining what it meant at the project level began. If you have a project going through CEQA review, you will need to address greenhouse gases; otherwise, your document could be vulnerable to legal challenge. Here are a few tips to help.
