Environment and Sustainability news and comment CCB 105
May 18, 2009
McDonald’s agrees to reduce potato pesticides after shareholder pressure
In response to shareholder concerns, McDonald’s Corporation – the largest potato buyer in the US – has agreed to survey its American supply chain and promote best practices for reducing the use of pesticides on potatoes. The move, prompted by a shareholder resolution, saw the company agree to: survey its potato suppliers in the US; compile best practices in pesticide reduction that will be recommended to the company’s global suppliers; and report best practice findings to shareholders and include those findings in the company’s annual corporate social responsibility report. Contact: McDonald’s www.mcdonalds.co.uk
PC makers break promises to phase-out toxic chemicals
Greenpeace International’s latest update to its Guide to Greener Electronics, found that HP, Lenovo and Dell will not meet their promise to eliminate vinyl plastic (PVC) and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from their products by the end of 2009. Lenovo has delayed its deadline to the end of 2010, while HP and Dell have not set a new timeline for completely eliminating the substances from their products. The study reveals that Acer
currently remains committed to phasing out PVC and BFRs in 2009, while of the world’s five top PC makers, only Apple products are now PVC- and BFR-free. The electronics company that made the biggest turnaround is Philips, which jumped from 15th to 4th place in the ranking of electronics companies who are cleaning up their act. Contact: Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org
Cadbury acts to reduce water consumption
To coincide with World Water Day, Cadbury has announced a 17% reduction in water consumption since 2006 by increasing its efficiency in production, recovery, harvesting and recycling water. The company reported that it met its target of implementing water reduction programmes at all of its water scarce sites as part of its Purple Goes Green initiative, launched in 2007. Cadbury recognises that water scarcity is a key issue and water reduction programmes are now being extended across all Cadbury sites, not just those in water scarce areas. Cadbury also is working with local communities in areas of water scarcity to give more water back to the watershed than is taken out. To achieve this, plants are implementing a variety of water-saving methods. Contact: Cadbury www.cadbury.com
McDonald’s making energy from rubbish
McDonald’s announced on 8 April that a pilot programme to turn waste from 11 Sheffield restaurants into electricity and heat has reduced the company’s carbon impact from waste disposal in the area by 54%. Designed to reduce the amount of waste McDonald’s sends to landfill, the highly successful scheme converts waste into energy to heat local buildings – including Sheffield City Hall and Weston Park Hospital. The Sheffield trial programme is part of McDonald’s goal of sending zero waste to landfill by 2010. This comes at a time when there have been significant increases in Landfill Tax aimed at encouraging businesses to produce less waste and look for alternative, greener methods of waste disposal. Contact: McDonald’s www.mcdonalds.co.uk
The market for global organic cotton booms
The organic cotton market is booming, and looks to continue growing into the future. According to the latest Organic Cotton Market Report 2007-2008, published by the nonprofit organisation Organic Exchange, the global market for organic cotton hit $3.2 billion in 2008, up from $1.9 billion in 2007. The top ten organic cotton-using brands and retailers globally were (in descending order) Wal-Mart (USA), C&A (Belgium), Nike (USA), H&M (SE), Zara (Spain), Anvil (USA), Coop (Switzerland), Pottery Barn (USA), Greensource (USA), and Hess Natur (Germany). Despite the global retail outlook, most brands and retailers selling organic cotton products remain committed to their sustainability plans and expect to expand their product lines by 24% and 33% in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Contact: Organic Exchange www.organicexchange.org
New report on cutting-edge environmental innovations
The Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) new report highlights environmental innovations that are helping companies cut costs, create business opportunities and carve out competitive advantage. Innovations Review 2009: Green Advances for a New Economy, was released on 21 April. The approaches highlighted in the report were chosen on four criteria – environmental benefits, business benefits, ability to be replicated and creativity. The report identifies actions from companies including Cisco Systems, Coca-Cola, Google and Wal-Mart. Innovations include commercial and residential energy efficiency efforts, lowcarbon meals, environmental-related compensation, fertilizer reduction and supply chain transparency. Contact: Environmental Defense Fund www.edf.org
Friends of the Earth condemns factory farming
On the 27 April, Friends of the Earth launched a report – Feeding the Beast – that claims that over £700 million of public money is spent each year on funding factory farms. This financial support fuels demand for imported animal feed from South American plantations; which in turn leads to further clearance of rainforests, contributing to climate change, according to the campaign group. The report, which is part of Friends of the Earth’s new
Food Chain Campaign, outlines how this funding should be switched to save small farms and develop home-grown feed to replace imports. It also calls upon Ministers to overhaul the Common Agricultural Policy. Contact: Friends of the Earth www.foe.co.uk
Green office buidings yield financial benefits
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has announced the first study on the financial performance of “green” office buildings in the United States. The report – Doing well by doing good? An analysis of the financial performance of green office buildings in the USA – evaluates the financial benefits of investing in green buildings that meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and/or Energy Star requirements. It finds that “green” labels can significantly impact market rents and values of commercial space. The study indicates that tenants and investors are willing to pay more for an energy efficient building, but not for a building advertised as sustainable. According to the report, a 10% decrease in energy consumption leads to an increase in rent of about 20 basis points and an increase in value of about 2%. Contact: RICS www.rics.org
ConAgra Foods recognises sustainable business practice
ConAgra Foods Inc. announced the winners of its re-introduced 2009 Sustainable Development Awards programme recognizing projects that slashed carbon emissions by more than 25,000 metric tonnes, cut out 4,000 tonnes of landfill waste, 7,000 tonnes of packaging material and saved 348 million gallons of water during fiscal years 2008 and 2009. Winners were named at the 2009 Sustainable Development conference in Omaha, on 29 April. Winning submissions were awarded a $5,000 grant from the ConAgra Foods Foundation to put towards a sustainable community service project. Contact: ConAgra Foods www.conagrafoods.com
Air flush toilet could save 85 billion litres of water a day
London-based Pheonix Product Development, has developed an air-assisted flushing toilet – propelair – which reduces water consumption by 84% compared to a conventional toilet. It features a sealable lid that enables a displaced air-flushing system and requires just 1.35 litres of water per flush, compared to the 9.2 litres used by conventional toilets. Pheonix Product Development Limited are Industrial Collaborators to the EPSRC funded Water cycle Management for New Developments (waND) research programme, which is a £2.5 million government funded initiative to support the delivery of integrated, sustainable water management for new developments. Contact: Pheonix Product Development Limited www.propelair.com
Mitsubishi’s first electric vehicle hits the road
Following a successful debut at the Melbourne International Motor Show, Mitsubishi’s new MiEV – which stands for Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle – is set to become one of the world’s first truly viable zero drive-time emission car in volume production when it is released in Japan later this year. Currently, the i MiEV is undergoing feasibility studies in several countries including the US, the UK, New Zealand and Canada. Contact: Mitsubishi www.mitsubishi.com
Comment
Companies in the food industry seem to be dominating the environment stories this month. This is a sector that has multiple issues to grapple with, not only in its direct manufacturing operations, but also ‘upstream’ in the supply chain and ‘downstream’ in consumer use and disposal. McDonald’s, the biggest buyer of potatoes in the US, has agreed to look into reducing pesticide use among its US suppliers. This is notable for two reasons. Firstly, it is a good example of a market dominant company making the most of its position to effect positive changes in its supply chain, an area where it doesn’t have direct control, but does have significant influence. Secondly it is an encouraging indication of the power of shareholder activism.
McDonald’s found itself facing a coalition of three investors threatening to raise a shareholder resolution on the issue. The company pre-empted this by agreeing to commission a study and reporting on the issue in its future corporate social responsibility reports. A clear signal that even in these challenging economic times, some shareholders continue to pursue a broader agenda.
The news from Cadbury shows a company concerned about the direct impacts of its operations, particularly through its use of water. The responsible management of this precious resource is set to become a critical issue for all practitioners in this field. The problem for companies is that – unlike carbon emissions – it is not possible to mitigate the misuse of water through offsetting programmes. Bad water management in one geographical area cannot be compensated by good practice somewhere else.
Returning to McDonald’s we see another good example of an organisation managing its responsibilities downstream in its value chain, by turning the rubbish it generates into electricity.
These three examples demonstrate the complexity of corporate responsibility. There is a constant need to be aware of the direct and indirect impacts of each and every aspect of a company’s activities – from sourcing, manufacturing, supply, distribution through to end use.
COMMENTS