Environment and sustainability news and comment CCB 111
June 04, 2010
2010 – The International Year of Biodiversity. A celebration of life on earth and of the value of biodiversity in our lives! Sadly, recent research, conducted by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, found no evidence of biodiversity loss reducing in recent years. Are governments failing to take action? Could companies be doing more? Or is it the case that there is huge lack of understanding around the issue. What is biodiversity and why does it matter?
Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth. It is essential to sustaining the living systems that provide us with health, wealth, food, fuel and the other natural resources on which we depend. We have used, or should I say, depleted, our natural resources to the detriment of our environment and caused accelerated loss of diversity. Loss of species. Loss of resources. Irreversible loss.
Over the past few years some companies have been increasing their efforts to tackle the impacts of their businesses on the environment. The focus has been carbon, and more recently, water. The level of commitment is varied; from merely capturing data, to setting stretching targets with strategic action plans in place to manage impacts. But some are not even close to making progress in these areas.
It is time for companies to realise that they depend on biodiversity and start including it in their environmental action plans alongside carbon and water. Biodiversity provides raw materials, technology and business opportunities. It is good to see that Sony has recognised this and selected biodiversity and resource conservation as two of the four priority areas in their “Road to Zero” environmental plan that was recently launched. Sony is not the first company to do this but there are many others that must follow suit and recognise the business case for addressing biodiversity.
Katie is a senior researcher at Corporate Citizenship Email her on Katie.dodds@corporate-citizenship.com to discuss carbon footprints, environmental strategy and supply chain.
Wal-Mart to pay $27.6 million for environmental violations in California
In May, Walmart agreed to pay $27 million to settle charges that it violated California environmental laws over four years ago. The settlement, one of the largest of its kind in the US, was in response to alleged improper handling, storing and disposing of hazardous materials including pesticides, chemicals, paint, acid, aerosols, fertilizer and motor oil. The company claims to have worked with the state on a comprehensive hazardous waste plan since the violations took place. This waste plan includes improved training programmes, policies and procedures which have been implemented in all stores.
Contact: Walmart walmartstores.com
Sony launches environmental plan and sets 2015 mid-term targets
Sony announced its ‘Road to Zero’ global environmental plan on April 7. The plan, which includes a long-term goal of achieving a zero environmental footprint by 2050, uses backcasting methods to set specific mid-term environmental targets for the next five years in line with that goal. Sony’s definition of zero environmental footprint is not only limited to carbon emissions, but also extends to waste and use of finite materials such as oil-derived virgin plastics. Targets are based on four environmental perspectives – climate change, resource conservation, control of chemical substances and biodiversity – across all product lifecycle stages, from research and development to recycling. Specific mid-term targets include 30% reduction in annual energy consumption of products (compared to 2008), 50% absolute reduction in waste generation (compared to 2000) and assessment of impact of resource procurement and facility construction on biodiversity, and promotion of biodiversity programmes such as groundwater cultivation.
Business and biodiversity: are you a green leader?
A new publication from the United Nations Environment Programme, released on April 21, aims to help companies understand the challenges and potential rewards of managing their impact on biodiversity. ‘Are you a green leader? Business and biodiversity: making the case for a lasting solution’, looks at a broad spectrum of business, including mining, energy, agrifoods, fisheries and aquaculture, construction, forestry, tourism, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fashion and finance. The report outlines how a failure to address biodiversity issues could affect supply of resources, access to markets, brand and reputation, licence to operate and access to finance. In addition, companies could face a consumer backlash, as more and more customers are demanded sustainably produced products and services. Many sectors rely on raw materials such as timber, fish, cotton, crops and clean water, or work with supplies and suppliers throughout the life cycle of production processes. But many do not realize how threatened those supplies are, and fail to include this in their calculations and business plans. The economic loss of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation to the world economy is estimated to be $2-4.5 trillion. A specific example is Indonesia, where coffee yields have dropped by 18% in some areas because of falling pollination rates.
This year’s winners of the Green IT Awards have demonstrated how organizations are finding innovative ways to use IT to achieve critical and complementary environmental and business objectives. Increasingly, companies are moving beyond out-of-the-box products and siloed approaches to making IT itself more energy efficient. Such companies are leveraging technology as part of a broader, holistic effort to create greener operations as a whole. Ericsson, for example, has adopted an asset management system that the company and its global partners use to deliver parts, products, and repair services to customers in the most efficient way possible. The project promotes environmental objectives such as reuse, fuel efficiency, and material conservation and at the same time saving money and boosting customer satisfaction. KPMG is using IT to ingrain sustainable practices in day-to-day operations. For example, the company added a Green Travel Advisor to its internal portal that urges employees to use telepresence over air travel whenever practical.
In a new report released on April 19 by Engineering the Future Alliance, which includes the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE), and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, warns that with population growth, urbanisation, changing diets, pollution of water resources and climate change, global water resources are set to become even more stressed. Two thirds of the UK’s water footprint is now effectively imported in the form of food, energy and other goods that require water for production and transportation from countries that are themselves under water stress. Water is one of the most undervalued natural commodities in the world, directly affecting national security through its impact on economic growth, energy security, food supply and healthcare. This domino effect has been described by the Government’s Chief Scientific Advisor Professor John Beddington as a ‘perfect storm’, which could lead to global instability if each of the inter-dependent elements are not addressed.
Birds Eye Iglo, which sells 1.5 million fish fingers a day, has announced that its products will be 100% independently certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) within two years. Martin Glenn, Birds Eye’s chief executive, told the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels on April 28, that the company was acting on ‘enlightened self interest’ moving to 100% sustainability as this was popular with customers who were concerned about overfishing and the amount of illegal fishing in some countries.
Compliance, not marketing, motivates manufacturers to adopt sustainability
Manufacturers increasingly are viewing sustainability through the lens of compliance, instead of marketing, suggesting a shift in perception from opportunity to cost, according to ‘Sustainability reporting and greenhouse gas management-sensing market trends and evolution in US manufacturing’, a report (PDF) from AMR Research. In 2008, manufacturers overwhelmingly cited gaining a competitive advantage with the corporate brand as a top driver for participating in enterprise sustainability, with 33% listing that as a top reason. Now, just 12% cite gaining a competitive advantage with the corporate brand as a top driver.
On May 3, McDonald’s announced a series of sustainable best practices in its supply chain and restaurants in two reports; ‘Global best of green’ and ‘Best of sustainable supply’. Innovators include McDonald’s supplier McCain Foods, which uses wind turbines at a French fry factory to provide up to 60% of the annual electrical power required to operate the plant annually. In Austria, McDonald’s supplier Frisch and Frost takes the solid by-product from potatoes and converts it into gas, and the residue from that process is delivered to farmers who use it as a natural fertilizer. Additionally, more than half of the McDonald’s restaurants in the US participate in an oil recycling program, resulting in the recycling of nearly 13,000 pounds of used cooking oil per restaurant each year.
CEOs from Wal-Mart, Fedex, PepsiCo, Whirlpool and Verizon were among the 97 executives from leading US companies that shared some of their best sustainability initiatives in the Business Roundtables’ annual report, released on April 22. The report, ‘Enhancing our commitment to a sustainable future 2010’, provides best practices and metrics from Business Roundtable member companies that represent nearly all sectors with $6 trillion in annual revenues.
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