The UN Environmental Programme Finance Initiative has been joined by three banks. Industrial Bank, China, was founded in 1988 and is one of the first joint stock commercial banks approved by the State Council and People’s Bank of China. VanCity is Canada’s biggest credit union and Aquila Capital, based in Germany, is an independent investment house and financial service provider.
Tourism can benefit from environmental sustainability
Switzerland, Austria and Germany were named as the most attractive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry on March 4. The announcement was made at the publication of the World Economic Forum’s second annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2008, which this year has placed particular emphasis on balancing economic development with environmental sustainability.
The analysis contained in the report aims to provide useful information for making business decisions and for governments wishing to improve their tourism industries. The top ranked countries emphasised the importance of supportive business, regulatory frameworks, world-class transport, tourism infrastructure and a focus on caring for the natural and human resources. Furthermore, the report examines a variety of issues in more general terms including the best mechanisms for reducing travel-related carbon emissions and how environmental policy will alter how the tourism industry operates.
Leading companies responding to ecosystem degradation
Companies must start managing risks and opportunities arising from ecosystem degradation according to new guidelines published on March 11. The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review – developed jointly by the World Resources Institute, the Meridian Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development – aims to help corporate performance and ecosystem stewardship, as well as assisting companies to better manage conflicts over resources.
The Treasury Committee of the UK Houses of Parliament has recommended that airlines adopt eco-labelling schemes, so that consumers can compare the environmental footprint of each airline when purchasing their tickets. Announced in the committee’s report – Climate Change and the Stern Review: Implications for Treasury Policy – which was published on February 5, the committee describes airlines as “dragging their feet in cooperating on environmental schemes” and calls on the government to ensure that airlines are covering the environmental costs of their actions.
The report also looks at other aspects of the government’s policy approach to the environment such as environmental taxation, adaptation and mitigation, as well as government departments collaborating to tackle climate change.
Increasing numbers of companies are embracing environmental policies and investors are also following this trend by supporting more clean and renewable energy projects according to the UNEP Year Book, which was launched on February 20. However, the year book concluded that despite this, challenges remain if the policies and investment is to be sustained and embedded in the global economy. These include the view that subsidies favour fossil fuel over cleaner energies.
The year book is the fifth in the series and was presented at a 3-day forum in Monaco, which looked at the theme of Mobilising Finance for the Climate Challenge. The event was attended by environmental ministers and representatives from business and civil society.
Twenty-one of the UK’s food and drink manufacturers – including Nestlé UK, Cadbury Schweppes, GlaxoSmithKline and Unilever – have signed up to improve their water efficiency, which could save 140m litres of water a day and a financial saving of approximately £60m per year on water bills.
Companies signed up to the pledge will review their current water use and develop action plans to significantly reduce water use and costs within six months of signing up to the commitment. The businesses will report annually to Envirowise, the government-backed environmental consultancy, and Envirowise will offer signatories a package of support measures to help them.
The Federation House Commitment, launched on January 29, was jointly developed by the Food and Drink Federation and Envirowise.
The Dow Chemical Company, the science and technology company, and International Aid, the humanitarian healthcare organisation, have partnered to help provide cleaner water globally. Dow will provide the plastic resin to manufacture 300,000 water purification devices that are being distributed by International Aid and its partners worldwide.
International Aid’s partnerships involve NGOs, faith-based organisations and individuals to address the world health crisis caused by waterborne illnesses. Dow has committed to the partnership because it is aligned to its 2015 Sustainability Goals of which one is contributing to finding sustainable water supplies.
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