More big companies say they’re concerned about climate risks
Many US companies report they are already seeing significant climate-change impacts to their business operations, according to a new report by sustainability non-profit CDP. The study into disclosures by S&P 500 companies shows not only that the physical risks from climate change are increasing in urgency, in their assessment, but also that the impacts are already hitting the bottom line. Companies are quickly recognising how their business models are likely to be affected by climate challenges ranging from extreme weather events to a shortage of key resources, the study finds. In 2011, a quarter of S&P 500 companies were worried that climate risks were either already upon them or were expected to hit within the next one to five years. Just two years later, the figure has jumped to just under half. “Dealing with climate change is now a cost of doing business” says Tom Carnac, president of CDP in North America. “Making investments in climate-change-related resilience planning both in their own operations and in the supply chain has become crucial for all corporations to manage this increasing risk”. (The Guardian)
Responsible Investment
US fossil-free financial portfolios up 50 percent from 2013 to 2014
The number of investment professionals in the US offering fossil fuel-free portfolios to investors jumped by more than 50 percent over the past year, according to a new survey by First Affirmative Financial Network. The 2014 Fossil Fuels Divestment Survey found that 76 percent of respondents believe that there are growing risks associated with investing in fossil fuel extractors/manufacturers. Nearly half (49 percent) of survey respondents say institutional investors are interested in fossil fuel-free investing. And 62 percent responded that retail investors want fossil-free investing choices. One particular area of fossil-free investment that is gaining momentum is energy efficiency. Last year, Ceres and its Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) released a report that said energy efficiency could be a multi-hundred-billion-dollar investment opportunity in the United States, but better policies are required to unlock broad-based financing from institutional investors. In fact, energy-efficiency programs are helping industry achieve higher energy savings, cost savings and productivity improvements, according to a report by the SEE Action Network and the Institute for Industrial Productivity (IIP). (Sustainable Brands)
Environment
Whole Foods, Safeway top seafood sustainability ranking
Greenpeace has released the 8th edition of its annual report, Carting Away the Oceans, which evaluates 26 major US retailers on their seafood sourcing and sustainability. For the second year in a row, Whole Foods and Safeway topped the ranking. Employee-owned, Midwestern grocery chain Hy-Vee was evaluated for the first time and immediately ranked in the top five. “When Greenpeace started ranking America’s retailers on seafood sustainability in 2008, every company failed. We’ve seen huge improvements since then, yet grocery giants like Kroger are still stocking too many threatened Red List species, which are often caught using highly destructive fishing methods.” said James Mitchell, Greenpeace Senior Oceans Campaigner. “Consumers want to be able to walk into their local grocery store and know that all the options are sustainable. That’s why Greenpeace is pushing companies to drastically improve their sourcing, so that making the right decision is easy for their customers.” (Sustainable Brands)
Corporate sector told to raise the bar on water stewardship
A leading authority on water has urged the global business community to ‘lift its game’ in delivering corporate water stewardship on the ground. Speaking at the 7th World Water Forum in Washington, DC, Jason Morrison, technical director at CEO Water Mandate – a United Nations public-private initiative that helps companies implement sustainable water practices – said that water stewardship was not just about achieving operational efficiencies. He argued that businesses needed to start socialising water stewardship issues within the communities they operate, by engaging ‘outside their factory fence lines to be part of the problem’. “Companies will have to think about where things play out at the watershed level – it’s new terrain, it requires unorthodox partnerships … when companies have a commercial interest, it evokes a lot of issues at a community level and we need to recognise this,” he told delegates. In response to Morrison, Coca-Cola‘s director of global water stewardship, Greg Koch, acknowledged that trust-building between corporation and community was essential. (Edie)
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