Home Archive for September 2012

Sustainable Jersey Certification Program for Municipalities (Event)

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The "Sustainable Jersey Fall Networking Event" will take place on October 23, 2012 at 6:30 pm at Careme's Restaurant in Atlantic Cape Community College Campus 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing.
The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) invites towns and interested members of the public to this event.

The honorable Dr. Ed Mahaney Jr., Mayor of Cape May City, will be the guest speaker and will share his experience leading his community to a more sustainable future. Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey interested in taking steps to sustain the quality of life for residents. Sustainable Jersey identifies concrete actions that municipalities can implement to become "certified" and be considered leaders on the path to a sustainable community.

While the program provides extensive guidance and tools to help towns complete the actions needed for certification, the certification process is comprehensive and rigorous, and may be seen as a daunting task.
This event is intended to offer people a chance to talk with other community leaders about their successes and challenges on the path to certification as a sustainable community through this program. Collaboration is the key and this informal evening offers opportunities to connect with experienced groups and individuals for support and information.

With 376 towns registered and 109 certified across the state, there is a lot of collective knowledge about the program and successful certification. Certified communities, large and small, possess a wealth of experience that can benefit other towns moving towards this common goal.

The cost to attend is $10 and includes a dinner featuring local seasonal food prepared by the Atlantic Cape Community College Culinary Institute.

For more information or to register click here or call 609.272.6950

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Renewable Energy - Going Forward with Working Solutions (Event)

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On Tuesday October 16, 2012, in Toronto, Ontario, there will be an event titled "Going Forward with Working Renewable Energy Solutions." The event will take place at the North York Civic Centre Council Chambers. Three experts present on real renewable energy solutions, their impact, plus new and future developments.

This is another Climate Change Toronto Feature Event. This event is sponsored by the Innovative Initiatives Co-op.

For more information click here or contact Betty at climatechangetoronto@gmail.com

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Climate Change 2012: Security, Resilience and Diplomacy (Event)

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On the 15th and 16th of October, 2012, the event "Climate Change: Security, Resilience and Diplomacy" will take place at Chatham House in London, UK. The conference will examine the key economic, social and geo-political security threats caused by climate change and debate what national and international responses are required to manage these security challenges.

The 16th Annual Chatham House conference on climate change will assess what national and international actions must be taken now to manage 21st century climate security challenges. Although disunity remains over how to manage the climate challenge, there is agreement that action is now needed to adapt to the impacts of climate change that can no longer be prevented and to build resilience against the impact of extreme climate events.

Key issues that will be addressed include:
  • What will be the impact of climate change on border shifts, migration, health, security of critical infrastructure and competition for natural resources?
  • Is there a role for geoengineering in managing climate?
  • If so, what would be the impact on international climate action?
  • What has been achieved between Durban and Doha and what are the goals for the 2012 UN talks?
  • How will essential climate change mitigation and adaptation be financed?
To register click here.  

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Low Carbon Earth Summit 2012 and the World Sustainable Energy Conference (Event)

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The Low Carbon Earth Summit 2012 (LCES-2012) will take place on October 19 to 22, 2012 in Guangzhou, China. LCES-2012 Conference participants include energy experts, decision makers, academics, concerned environmentalists, legislators and government executives. This is the second Low Carbon Energy Summit - a very necessary and timely event after the Sustainable Development Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where good intentions were formulated but without much concrete solutions.

This event is timely as 2012 is the United Nations year for sustainable energy. This event also follows the World Sustainable Energy Conference in Geneva, that started this historic year.

The LCES-2012 event will promulgate practical solutions and policies needed to cope with the urgent task of Greenhouse gas mitigation in order to bring the climate and biosphere into a natural harmonic balance. Carbon is an essential component for the organic chemistry of life and industry, but excessive emissions from fossil fuels must be restrained as fast as possible to halt the rise of the oceans and avoid weather disasters.

Come to Guangzhou to be part of the historic task of rescuing our planet for future generations.

To register click here.

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Green Careers Summit 2012 (Event)

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This event will take place on Friday, October 12, 2012, in Calgary, AB at the Red & White Club. Are your students Canada's future environmental leaders? ECO Canada is inviting students in grades 11 & 12 and their teachers to the Red & White Club on October 12, 2012 for a day of environmental career exploration and learning at the 2012 Green Careers Summit.

Why should you bring your students to the Green Careers Summit?

• Meet environmental professionals and learn how they found their green career
• Talk to post-secondary students about studying in an environment-related program
• Discuss your interest in making positive environmental changes with other Calgary students
• Test your knowledge in an Environmental Career Case Competition, and present your solution to a real-life environmental problem in your community.

Registration for the Green Careers Summit is FREE and includes breakfast and lunch.

To go to their Facebook page click here.
To register click here.

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Sustainability Applied 2012 (Event)

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On October 17 and 18 more than 300 leaders, decision-makers and doers from across Canada and around the world will attend Sustainability Applied 2012. This event will explore the business value of sustainability, and to share ways of integrating it within their organizations to improve resource efficiency and create long-term economic, environmental and social benefit.

This unique two-day event will feature hands-on workshops, keynote presentations, plenary sessions and interactive discussions to share knowledge, inspire change, create new business relationships and opportunities, and celebrate outstanding accomplishments in sustainability.

For more information or to register click here.

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The Business Case for Sustainability (Event)

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On October 18, 2012, the event titled "The Business Case for Sustainability," will take place from 8:30 AM to Noon at the Enterprise Center in Burlington County College 3331 Route 38 – 300 College Circle Mount Laurel. At this even you can see how “The Triple Bottom Line” can help your small business save money, gain customers, and improve the environment.

Learn the “real” definition and economic benefits of sustainability for small businesses from experts in the NJDEP’s Sustainability and Green Energy (SAGE) Division, and hear from owners who are gaining efficiency, customers, profits, and competitive advantage from green practices.

Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) network is also funded by the State of New Jersey and is hosted by Rutgers Business School: Newark and New Brunswick.

The cost is $25 per person. Continental breakfast is included.

To register here.

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Wall Street: The New Driver for a Sustainable World? (Event)

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On October 9, 2012, between 4:30-7:30 EST at Bennett Jones, 1st Canadian Place, 100 King St. W., 34th Floor, Toronto, there will be a unique opportunity to learn, discuss and debate with one of the world’s foremost thinkers on sustainable investing. Is Wall Street beginning to drive transformational change? If not, what’s holding it back? What does this mean for your organization? How will this affect the strategies that are being developed?

“This event will be of special interest to investors, corporate executives and managers, and NGOs, as well as to those who advise them.”…Matthew Kiernan.

Dr. Matthew Kiernan, President and CEO of Inflection Point Capital Management and author of Investing in a Sustainable World, explores how Wall Street is increasingly using sustainability metrics to value companies and how this trend is wrought with inconsistency between words and actions.

The Questions that will be Addressed Include:
  • What does this mean for your organization? 
  • How does this trend affect the strategies that top corporate executives are developing? 
  • Have you ever wondered why 117 billion dollars from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan invests without a thought to the environment? 
  • Does the UN Employee Pension Fund (40 billion) or the Nature Conservancy Investment Endowment (2 billion) adhere to a strong environmental policy with its investments? 
During the event you will also learn:
  • What is the finance sector doing to effect change towards greater sustainability? 
  • What is this sector NOT doing and why? 
  • What will it take to make the finance sector act differently? 
  • What does 70 trillion global investment dollars look at when considering an investment in your company? 
There will will a live webcast and a Twitter chat (#tssschat) from 5:00 – 6:30 PM EST.

For more information or to register click here.

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CBSR Sustainability Investment Forum (Event)

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This event will take place on Monday, October 15, 2012, 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM (MDT) in Calgary, Alberta. Explore how investors assess market value and ways to gauge how CSR practices add to that value. Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) is pleased to host world-class experts who will stretch our knowledge on sustainability investments and then lead us through some open dialogue to explore what this means for Alberta's businesses.

Jane Ambachtsheer, Partner and Global Head of Responsible Investment at Mercer Investments, will provide some background on the topic and challenge attendees to increase our understanding of sustainability investment. Jane’s presentation will be followed by discussions lead by sustainable investment, investor relations, and CSR experts (see Speaker biographies).

Participants are encouraged to bring their questions and opinions and to join in the discussion during facilitated afternoon dialogue sessions.

This event particularly targets investor relations professionals, investment professionals, people working in CSR-related roles, and academics.

The Forum aims to explore the value and nuances of sustainability investments by engaging:

1. Business CSR/Sustainability, Investment, and Investor Relations professionals in discussion around core elements and benefits of integrated reporting, i.e. quantifying the value of environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. 2. University students and members of Faculty to stimulate thoughts on the topic.

In the afternoon, the tables will be both literally and figuratively turned so attendees can discuss the morning’s presentations.

The Forum will conclude with a networking Reception.

Featuring Speakers and Panelists from:

Alberta Invesment Management Corporation, Raymond James Ltd., University of Calgary, Enbridge, CBSR, Cenovus, and NEI Investments.

The cost for the event is $350 + tax CBSR for members & associates and $400 + tax for non-members

Each paid registration covers the cost of entry for one university student or faculty member.

This event is presented by CBSR in collaboration with the University of Calgary’s Enbridge Centre for Corporate Sustainability.

For more information or to register click here.

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Green Buildings of the Future at UC Irvine (Video)

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Sprout Educational Program (Video)

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Kid Wind Challenge (Video)

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Kid Wind Education Company (Video)

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Educators strive to bring experiential learning for future life skills into the classroom. Less time sitting at a desk and more time with stimulating hands-on experimentation. New curricula and learning standards are incorporation new disciplines in math, physics, and social sciences of wind power. Kid Wind, a St. Paul based education company, manufactures wind turbine models for classroom learning and teacher lesson plans for in depth study.The University of Minnesota is launching a new curriculum of study focusing on wind turbine implementation and installation for future sites across the nation.

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Popular Media is Distorting the Facts about Climate Change

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Major news organizations are not accurately reflecting the truth about climate change. Fox News, the Wallstreet Journal and even PBS have been charged with misrepresenting the facts about climate change.

According to a report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, 93 percent of Fox News' and 80 percent of the Wall Street Journal opinion pages' climate coverage is inaccurate and misleading. This is the finding of an analysis titled "Is News Corp. Failing Science". Even the PBS aired an interview with a biased climate skeptic tied to the controversial Heartland Institute.

However the worst offender is Fox News, followed closely by the Wall Street Journal. As explained in the report, during the period between August 2011 to July 2012, Fox news made inaccurate climate statements in 37 out of 40 mentions and the Wall Street Journal's climate references were found to be inaccurate 39 out of 48 times.

Many scientists have supported the analysis and as reported in Media Matters 10 scientists have gone as far as calling the Fox News and the Wall Street Journal's coverage "Utter Nonsense."

Click here for Media Matters guide for reporters covering climate change.

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Businesses Need to Do More to Reduce Emissions

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According to The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the average long-term emissions reduction target for the companies covered in their report is just 1 percent per year -- below the 4 percent annual cuts needed to limit global warming, according to PwC. One percent is “well below the level of ambition needed” to ultimately limit the rise in global temperatures to no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above what it was in pre-industrial times.

While 82 percent of those responding set emission reduction targets, most of those targets are short-term. Only 20 percent have targets that extend beyond 2020. While Germany was the top ranked country, the CDP report reveals that countries like France, Japan and the UK are grossly under-represented in their carbon reduction efforts.

It is appalling that 33 percent of the companies covered by the report reported no emissions reductions. And some major Global 500 companies still refuse to share emissions data with CDP. Here are some of the world's largest companies that do not provide the requested emissions data:

Apple Inc. Berkshire Hathaway Royal Bank of Canada Caterpillar Inc. Amazon.com Inc. Comcast Corp. America Movil Lukoil Bank of China National Oilwell Varco Inc.

“Even with progress year on year, the reality is the level of corporate and national ambition on emissions reduction is nowhere near what is required," said Malcom Preston, http://www.ukmediacentre.pwc.com/News-Releases/Carbon-Disclosure-Project-Global-500-Report-PwC-comment-on-findings-and-implications-12ac.aspx PwC's global lead for sustainability and climate change.

The Carbon Disclosure Project’s report concludes: “Those companies that have an awareness of long-term climate-change risks and opportunities reflected in their business strategy will gain strategic advantage over their competitors.”

For more information click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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US Firms are Improving but they are Being Outperformed on Sustainability

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According to The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), European firms are outperforming US firms in terms of sustainability. Although the United States has the most companies on the CDLI, Germany has four firms ranked in the top ten while the US has none. European firms like Bayer, Nestlé and BMW are among the companies that are doing more than US firms to address climate change.
The absence of government leadership in GHG emissions reductions means that the business community must work on their own to make meaningful progress. The leading US firms are Microsoft and UPS, both of which earned 99 points apiece, and a "B" grades for their actual results.

While the US may not be in the top ten, the latest survey suggests these companies are narrowing the climate strategy performance gap compared with the Global 500.

"The scores also show a market increase in the number of companies addressing these issues at the board and executive level," says CDP in its S&P analysis. "The data suggests that, in the absence of global or national regulation, business is stepping into the leadership vacuum and embracing climate change as a business imperative."

The average disclosure scores among the S&P 500 companies improved by 13 percent and far more of them were eligible to receive a performance score rating their credentials as a sustainable business investment. The top five S&P companies for carbon disclosure in 2012 are Microsoft, UPS, Hess, Pepco Holdings and Sempra Energy.

A total of 15 companies from the S&P 500 are recognized for their carbon performance. They include Ace, Allergan, Allstate, Autodesk, Bank of America, Best Buy, Eaton, Exelon, Intel, Lockheed Martin, North Grumman, NYSE Euronext, Pepco Holdings, Pfizer and Wells Fargo.

The Carbon Disclosure Project’s report concludes: “Those companies that have an awareness of long-term climate-change risks and opportunities reflected in their business strategy will gain strategic advantage over their competitors.”

For more information click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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The Low Carbon Business Opportunity

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According to The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a total of 48 percent of companies polled believe that climate change yielded opportunities for new products and service. However, only 21 percent had set aside a dedicated budget for low-carbon research and development.

IBM, the services provider, is one organization that is driving new revenues through offering solutions in this field. It received 86 points, and a "B" grade, for its own eco-friendly efforts.

"We do it because it makes good business sense," said Wayne Balta, vice president, corporate environmental affairs and product safety, at IBM. As an example, IBM saved nearly $500m on energy bills from 2000–10.

For 68 percent of interviewees, climate change presented the opportunity to tap new customer behaviors or improve their corporate reputation, up from 58 percent last year.

For more information click here.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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New Study Quantifies the Costs of Climate Change

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According to a new study the current economic impacts of climate change are more than $1.2 trillion a year, or 1.6 percent of the annual global GDP. The 331-page study was launched on September 26th, 2012, it is the second edition of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor: A Guide to the Cold Calculus of A Hot Planet. The study was produced by the DARA research center and released at the Asia Society in New York. More than 50 scientists, economists and policy experts contributed to the report which was commissioned by 20 governments.

Climate change is already contributing to the deaths of nearly 700,000 people a year, with almost 80 percent occurring among children in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Agricultural production is being hurt by climate change induced extreme weather causing deaths from malnutrition, poverty and their associated diseases. Air pollution caused by fossil fuels is also contributing to the deaths of an additional 4.5 million people a year.

Bangladesh illustrate the greater costs being incurred by developing nations. While the current global average cost of climate change is 1.6 percent of the annual GDP, Bangladesh faces total losses of about 3-4 percent of GDP due to climate change.

According to the report in less than two decades climate Change could kill more than 100 million people. A total of 6 million people could die annually by 2030 if action is not taken. More than 98% of those deaths will occur in developing countries.

The researchers estimate that by 2030 the cost of climate change and air pollution combined will rise to 3.2 percent of global GDP. Climate change will have the biggest impact in the developing world, which according to the report will suffer losses of up to 11 percent of their GDP.

Major economies like the US are expected to experience 2 percent decline in GDP by 2030, while China is expected to lose $1.2 trillion.

The report concluded, “[T]he worst impacts of climate change … can still be avoided if strong action is taken in the very near future to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that lead to the earth’s warming.” The report indicates that creating a low-carbon economy would require only 0.5% of GDP over the next ten years.

“Reducing short-lived climate pollutants provides the fast mitigation that the world needs to save millions of lives and avoid the worst of the predicted climate impacts,” Durwood Zaelke, President of the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development was quoted as saying. The short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP)include black carbon, tropospheric ozone, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Unprecedented Arctic ice melt and severe drought in the US are clear indications that we are already experiencing the effects of climate change. This is sure to worsen as long as we do not take the necessary steps to reduce global emissions.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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