Senior executives call for ‘urgent and immediate’ action on climate change
A poll of 2,324 senior executives from across the globe found that almost half of the respondents agreed that ‘urgent and immediate action’ on climate change was necessary by leaders in government, business and civil society. The poll, carried out by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), showed that 33 percent of respondents agreed that the effects of climate change ‘require significant changes to lifestyles and business practices’, while 11 percent say the effects of climate change are manageable without major ‘political and economic adjustments’. Results of the poll come just weeks after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change‘s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment report, which claims that global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change. Further highlighting concerns of the corporate sector, last week a coalition of companies from around the globe, including Coca-Cola Enterprises, Tesco and Unilever, called on policy makers to take a number of actions in line with the science of the IPCC. (Edie)
Study identifies how companies generate business value from product sustainability
Companies that have gained widespread business benefits from product sustainability share specific business practices, according to a new research report by US sustainability consulting firm Pure Strategies. The Path to Product Sustainability is based on quantitative surveys of 100 global consumer product companies involved in product sustainability and qualitative interviews with heads, directors, and managers of sustainability at leading companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Timberland, Seagate, RB and Henkel. The report found thatsettingproduct sustainability goals is the most common best practice among “performing” companies that claim to have achieved widespread financial and organizational benefits from their programs. “This report provides valuable insight for companies looking to understand, build or enhance product sustainability programs,” said Pete He, Senior Research Fellow, Sustainability at Henkel. “While it takes substantial organizational commitment to integrate sustainability into the core business effectively, there is a clear payback,” Pure Strategies’ managing director and cofounder Tim Greiner added. (Sustainable Brands)
Green Technology
Plan to equip buses with F1 technology boosted by UK auto funding
Proposals to use Formula One technology to make buses and diggers use less energy are among the first funded under a £1 billion scheme to make the UK a world leader in environmentally friendly vehicles. The funding is part of a broad government strategy designed to keep the UK car industry at the forefront of new technological developments. Led by Jaguar Land Rover and investment in British plants by overseas companies Nissan, Toyota and BMW, the UK car industry has defied a decline in the wider European automotive sector by increasing its focus on technology and high-end vehicles. “The next generation of cars, buses and diggers will be powered by radically different technologies and I want them to be developed here in Britain,” business secretary Vince Cable said. “These projects will be the first of many to receive funding … to turn technologies into products.” (Financial Times)*
Innovation
Canadian firm CarbonCure Technologies innovates concrete production with carbon capture
By sequestering carbon dioxide into the manufacture of concrete blocks, Canadian clean-tech company CarbonCure Technologies has developed a new way to reduce carbon emissions, which can also potentially revolutionise the building industry. Carbon dioxide emissions, along with other greenhouse gases, are a contributor to global warming; however this company has found a way to use them in concrete production such that it now contributes to carbon reduction instead. CarbonCure Technologies has devised a way to inject carbon dioxide into the production of concrete blocks by taking carbon dioxide waste, from large emitters such as refineries and fertilizer plants, and mixing it into the concrete during the production phase. According to the firm, this not only helps cement and concrete manufacturers to create a significantly green building material, but it also addresses the wider concern of global emissions reduction. (Eco-Business)
Novelis introduces high-recycled content aluminium can
The world’s largest recycler of aluminium, Novelis, has launched the first global commercial use of evercan™, an independently certified high-recycled content aluminium sheet for beverage cans. The company’s efforts to increase the recycling of beverage cans are a key component of its strategy to increase the recycled content of its products across its global operations to 80 percent by 2020. Recycling aluminum requires 95 percent less energy, and produces 95 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, than manufacturing primary aluminium. “Novelis’ evercan is an excellent model for sustainability-based innovation, which will enable beverage brands and retailers to advance their own sustainable packaging goals,” Stuart L. Hart, S. J. Johnson Professor Emeritus in Sustainable Global Enterprise, Cornell University, said. “This introduction also serves as an important catalyst to educate other brand holders and consumers about the value of closed-loop aluminium recycling and engage them to take action themselves.” (Sustainable Brands)
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