Live Stream - Is It up to Business to Save the Planet?

LIVE-STREAMED FROM MIT Critical Questions Live: Is It up to Business to Save the Planet? Thursday, November 1, 2018 1:00 p.m. EDT / 10:00 a.m. PDT. If you’re unable to watch the live-stream, still register!

How much can we expect business to lead on sustainability? What should be a company’s biggest priority: serving its shareholders, providing jobs, or addressing the health of our planet?

Often, these goals are at odds. This event brings together, in a special forum live-streamed from the MIT campus, two leading voices in the sustainability debate. MIT’s Yossi Sheffi and sustainability expert and author Andrew Winston will debate and discuss the role of for-profit businesses in supporting — and investing in — sustainability goals. You’ll be able to ask questions and participate remotely.

At the forum you’ll hear the speakers tackle:
• How much companies really can control their emissions, even when they want to
• Whether consumers are willing to pay to support sustainability
• The extent to which companies can compel their suppliers to sustainability standards
• Whether there’s really a one-to-one trade-off on jobs versus sustainability

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Yossi Sheffi is Elisha Gray II Professor of Engineering Systems at MIT and director of the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics. He is the author of Balancing Green: When to Embrace Sustainability in a Business (and When Not To.

Andrew Winston is a globally recognized advisor, writer, and speaker on sustainable business. He is the author of The Big Pivot: Radically Practical Strategies for a Hotter, Scarcer, More Open World.
Paul Michelman is editor in chief of MIT Sloan Management Review. He will moderate the discussion.

See the video preview below.



If you can't attend the live stream register anyway and you will get an on-demand recording.
Click here to register.

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Event - 2018 Corporate Citizenship Conference

This annual event will take place on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 to Thursday, November 15, 2018 Wednesday, November 14, 2018 - Thursday, November 15, 2018 at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, DC, 2800 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, District of Columbia.  This event is held in conjunction with  the 19th annual Corporate Citizenship Awards.

The theme of this year’s U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation 2018 Corporate Citizenship Conference is Better Together. At this event business leaders and cross-sector partners in Washington, D.C. to explore the possibilities when we come together.

When it comes to driving meaningful progress in a community, together is always better. Community development has a greater impact when all parties at the table contribute their skills and resources. Programs are more sustainable when companies take a holistic approach to their corporate citizenship investments—taking the time to understand and tackle how issues intersect. Communities are more resilient when businesses, nonprofits, and government collaborate around a shared vision. However, creating meaningful, strategic partnerships is not easy. How do we join forces and build coalitions to shape the world for the better?

Conference Focus

• Strategies for building meaningful coalitions of partners that will drive sustainable progress.
• Techniques for establishing innovative business-to-business partnerships.
• Initiatives that have broken down silos both within organizations and in communities.
• Approaches to design your corporate citizenship plans to align local priorities with global impact.
• Methods for fostering a more diverse and inclusive corporate culture to help organizations fully realize the power of their employees, value chains, and stakeholders.

As a society, we will go further if we go together. Be part of this event and learn how your organization can create a greater impact through meaningful collaboration.

Important Registration and Conference Information

While the Annual Conference is held in conjunction with the Chamber Foundation's Annual Corporate Citizenship Awards Ceremony, there is a separate event location and registration process for each event program. Click the "Register" button at the bottom of this page to continue your Conference registration. You can access the Citizens Awards agenda, registration, as well as previous award winners and rising category finalists here.

If you are a 2018 CCC Supporter Company, your organization receives one free registration to the Conference and one free registration to the Citizens Awards. A special discount code will be given to all other colleagues who also wish to attend on behalf of the organization upon inquiry. Please contact Rebecca Mousseau (RMousseau@USChamber.com) or Alex Goodman (AGoodman@USChamber.com) to receive your discount or to verify your supporter status.

Click here for the agenda.
Click here for the list of speakers.
Click here to register.

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Event - The BSR Conference 2018: A Conference to Redefine Sustainable Business

The event will take place November 6-8, 2018 at the Grand Hyatt in New York. The annual BSR Conference is one of the longest-running and most well-regarded sustainability conferences.  Participants will attend from around the world, including senior executives from Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and governments. In total more than 800 people are expected to attend. There will be 100 inspiring speakers participating in 60 sessions and events.

The BSR Conference offers a space for thought-provoking conversations, where people collaborate to identify solutions to our most complex global challenges. We are living in a time of unprecedented change. New technologies, shifting cultural norms, evolving economic structures, and unprecedented environmental threats are reshaping the planet. Business is both shaping and responding to these changes. This increasingly complex environment requires a new blueprint for business, with resilient strategies, effective governance models, and new management approaches to create a global economy that delivers on the promise of prosperity for all in a world with finite resources. At this event attendees will participate in helping to create this new blueprint for business and a more just and sustainable future. Be a part of it and help your company define its own blueprint for sustainability.

Take a sneak peak at the conference:



Click here to see the sessions.
Click here to register.

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How Climate Change Could Hurt Southern Republicans in the Midterms

Global warming has been a non-issue for most Republican voters, but that might change in the forthcoming midterm elections. On November 6th we may see the environment emerge as an important issue for some voters in Trump country. People in southern states are coming to terms with the fact that warming seas are causing toxic algal blooms, violent storms and flooding. This is cause for concern for the GOP who fear that their climate deception could be exposed by anyone seriously interested in examining the facts.

People are coming to the realization that planetary warming is a factor in both storms and toxic algae. This in turn exposes the irrationality of Republican resistance to climate science.  What makes it even more interesting is that these hurricanes and algal blooms are striking in the heart of Trump country. North Carolina and the Florida are red states that helped Trump to win the electoral college in 2016 and some of these voters are beginning to have buyers remorse.

For years Republicans have denied the veracity of climate science and supported policy and legislation that exacerbates the problem. In recent years Republicans have demonstrated that they are not interested in science.  While they used to be able to say that individual storms cannot be construed as evidence for climate change, advances in attribution science have divested them of this talking point.

We have seen a number of studies make the clear connection between human activities and climate change including the most recent IPCC study that makes the point that we are on the cusp of tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.  Many Republicans now concede that climate change is real however, they falsely infer that humans are not the primary cause.

Attribution studies may be compelling but major storms and heaps of rotting sea-life along American coastlines make a powerful case. These events are more convincing than the slew of studies ever could be. One of the reasons Republicans have gotten away with denying the veracity of man-made climate change is because it is invisible. While people cannot see the rising levels of atmospheric carbon emissions, they cannot ignore hurricanes, flooding and algal blooms.

From the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, Americans have witnessed massive sea-life die-offs due to red tide, brown tide, and blue green algal blooms. People on the coast know that rising sea levels are making storm surges worse and causing more flooding. Millions of voters who suffered from recent storms are looking for answers and every algal bloom that kills fish and each storm that destroys life and property shines a spotlight on the GOP's refusal to support mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The Virginian Pilot spoke with some longtime Florida residents and if their views are representative, Republicans are in trouble.  "It is getting worse," 86 year old Betty Hardwick is quoted as saying. "It’s definitely warmer, and that is causing this to stay around so long," another resident said, adding, "We need to do something".

Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott is vying for a Senate seat against Democratic incumbent Senator Bill Nelson. Hurricane Michael may focus voters on Scott's climate denial and these storms may undermine Republicans support in other electoral contests in southern states.

An October 18th Washington Post article by Tracy Jan proclaimed that hurricanes have succeeded where scientists have failed by convincing Republican voters of the veracity of climate change in North Carolina. "I always thought climate change was a bunch of nonsense, but now I really do think it is happening," said Margie White, a 65-year-old Trump supporter from North Carolina.

The article states that while climate change was once a taboo topic there is "a discernible shift...among Republican voters in North Carolina". Hurricanes are prompting farmers fishers and others to believe their eyes over the spin coming from Republicans. "I’m not a scientist. I just know what I see," said Carl Marshburn, a Republican who has operated tour boats along the Cape Fear River for three decades. This shift is reflected in an Elon University survey which showed a significant uptick in the number of North Carolinians who believe that global warming is real. Nearly three times more people in that state have changed their views in the last year.

Changing attitudes may have an impact on the perception of Republican legislators. This includes the 12 congressional representatives from North Carolina who have expressed doubts about global warming or its causes.

Changing attitudes in North Carolina and Florida may signal the start of a long overdue reckoning whereby Republican voters begin to see through the lies of  their political leaders.  Two major hurricanes and algal blooms just ahead of the November midterm election may prove to be problematic for some Republicans.

Republicans have painted themselves into a corner and most won't acknowledge anthropogenic climate change so there is little hope that they can be expected to do anything about it anytime soon. Republicans have been selling a lie to the American people just because it is political expedient to do so. While some may be genuinely ignorant many know that anthropogenic climate change is real and yet they continue to tow the party line.

The truth may be coming home to roost and Republicans may soon be held to account. There is already some indication that people in Florida and North Carolina are moving away from the Republican party line on climate change. Case in point, Tallahassee Mayor and Democratic nominee for the Governor of Florida Andrew Gillum is poised to defeat Republican Rep. Ron DeSantis in the forthcoming gubernatorial election.

Leaders who deal well with with a crisis can derive political benefits, but there are scores of leaders who have fallen by the wayside due to their poor handling of extreme weather events. Presidents like Calvin Coolidge and George W. Bush were hurt by their response to extreme weather events and Mitt Romney's presidential bid was hobbled by Hurricane Sandy.

Just when you thought it could not get worse Trump's vitriol has taken the country to an even darker place. It is in the wake of the assignation attempts against a news network, two former presidents and a former CIA chief, Trump's attacks against his political opponents and the press have intensified.

He refuses to acknowledge that his tirades have contributed to what the FBI is calling acts of domestic terrorism. All the while Republicans have stood by the man who has used his bully pulpit to foment hatred and division. It is in this context that Republicans are asking for voter support.

A growing number of Americans appear to be seeing through the fake news allegations. They realize that the real intent is to demonizes anyone who exposes the lies and malfeasance of the president and his party. If, as many contend the midterms are at least in part a referendum on Trump it may leave many Republicans looking for work on November 6th.

Republican politicians in the south are finding it more difficult to maintain the facade of their lies as an increasing number of voters are looking to explain storms, floods and algal blooms.

Related
Climate Economics: Trump and Republicans Ignore the Math
Trump and Hurricanes are like Oil and Water
The Implications of Trump's Reprehensible Rejection of Climate Science
Trump's Energy Agenda is as Insane as his Presidency
Best Evidence Yet that Climate Tipping Points are Pushing Us Past the Point of No Return
IPCC Study Offers Another Dose of Climate Reality
Attribution Science Connecting Hurricane Florence to Climate Change
US Hurricanes and the GOP's Climate Denial
Trump's Climate Denial Makes Storms and Wildfires Worse
Trump's Climate Denial as Puerto Ricans Continue to Die in the Wake of Hurricane Maria
Trump's Climate Denial the GOP and Fossil Fuels
Hurricane Harvey and Trump's Hypocritical Resistance to Climate Resilience

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Climate Economics: Trump and Republicans Ignore the Math

Neither Donald Trump nor Republican legislators acknowledge the benefits of climate action. They oppose the green economy while increasing US emissions that exacerbate climate change. They have increased the extraction fossil fuels while ending decades of bipartisan support for energy efficiency. The pretexts they put forward to eschew climate action are two-fold. First they question the science proving the anthropogenic origins of climate change and second they ignore cost benefit analyses. Despite the self-serving narrative offered by the GOP, a large body of scientific evidence unequivocally concludes that humans are responsible for climate change and a slew of studies demonstrate the benefits of climate action.
"I don't want to give trillions and trillions of dollars. I don't want to lose millions and millions of jobs" Trump said. This comment sounds very much like the remarks made by Republican Senator Marco Rubio. In an interview CNN's Jake Tapper Rubio said he is not going to "destroy the economy" to address climate change.

The problem is these arguments are untrue. Addressing climate change will benefit the economy and increase the total number of jobs. The green economy is an undervalued opportunity and not only by Republicans. As stated in a Washington Post headline, the idea that climate action is going to destroy the economy could not be more wrong.

They avoid cogent economic analysis for the same reason they eschew science. The facts represent a threat to anyone who deals in climate denial. It exposes the intellectual vacuousness of their policy positions. Trump's energy agenda does not square with the math and his support for energy inefficiency ignores significant opportunities.

Republicans conveniently fail to acknowledge the cost of inaction and they ignore the $28 trillion opportunity.  The idea that investing in the green economy costs jobs is equally absurd. The green economy will produce more new jobs than the old energy economy. Studies show there is more employment potential in renewable energy than there is in fossil fuels. Yet Trump undermines renewables and supports dirty energy.

An IIED study indicates that if we do not invest in climate-resilient infrastructure the cost of climate change could be $1240 trillion.  Alternatively, the same report claims we can preempt the problem by investing $890 trillion in the green economy. By 2060 the mean annual impacts are estimated to be between $1.5 trillion and $20 trillion.

Although the relative values people assign to environmental and economic concerns vary the logic of emissions reduction remains. Most of the data points to a net savings associated with climate action. No matter how you look at the problem the costs of inaction are far greater than the costs of action. The benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions outweigh the costs of runaway climate change by trillions of dollars annually.

The math justifying climate action is hardly new. In 2005 the German Institute of Economic Research and Watkiss et al. suggested the total cost of climate action (cost plus damages) by 2100 is approximately $12 trillion, while the cost of inaction (just damages) is approximately $20 trillion.

Since then a number of reports have come to similar conclusions. The Stern Review, the Risky Business report and countless other studies demonstrate that investing in the green economy will create jobs and generate economic opportunities.

Driven by sound projections climate action is taking hold all around the world. Corporations and various levels of government are engaged in science based initiatives. Republicans appear to be willfully oblivious to the math. As the world invests in the green economy Trump and his Republican minions are handing out tax cuts that will massively inflate the federal deficit. The budget deficit was $666 billion in 2017, versus $585 billion in 2016, an increase of $81 billion or 15 percent. In 2018 the budget deficit is $779 billion, an increase of nearly 17 percent over last year. In 2019 the deficit is expected to be more than $1 trillion. The GOP’s second tax cuts would add $3.8 trillion to deficit and this is unsustainable.

Tax cuts and unbridled degregulation have sparked upticks in economic growth and employment but in a way that is analogous to a sugar rush. As interest rates rise the cost of this burgeoning defit will become unmanageable. The short term spike is putting upward pressure on interest rates. In 2019 it is expected that the entire discretionary budget will be needed to service the debt.

The tariffs are starting to bite and this is already hurting the stock market as investors are anticipating a slowdown. Companies have also been hurt by Trump's tariffs and some of these companies will not survive. The slowdown in foreign trade will force many to layoff workers. Ultimately Americans will be out of work and consumers will have to pay more for some of their goods and services.  What makes this so significant is the fact that it is taking place in America's heartland, this is supposed to beTrump country.

Republicans may bury their head in the sand but this problem will not go away. The threat remains alongside the opportunity. The longer we wait to address it the more other nations will gain a competitive advantage and the more it will cost Americans in the long run. 

Trump's refusal to invest in climate resilient infrastructure and the green economy will cost Americans more than they realize. The costs of extreme weather alone are already astronomical to say nothing of the toll on human lives. The economic and employment arguments are compelling, but even if we put the math aside, common sense dictates that we should be doing all that we can to minimize this civilization altering crisis.

Updated October 24th 10:52 PM EST

Related
We Cannot Afford to Deny the Cost of Climate Change
The Economics of Climate Action
The Economics of Sea-level Rise
Acting on Climate Change: A Cost Benefit Analysis
The Cost of Climate Inaction/Action
Acting on Climate Change Makes Good Economic Sense According to Citibank
An LSE Cost Benefit Analysis of Acting on Climate Change
A Cost Oriented Approach to Climate Change for Conservatives
Risky Business Report Quantifies the Cost of Climate Change
Action on Climate Change a Cost Benefit Analysis
The Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change
Climate Change: Frequency, Costs and Mortality (World Meteorological Organisation)
Economic Benefits of Combating Climate Change (IIED)
Economic Costs of Combating Climate Change (IPCC)

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Trump and Hurricanes are like Oil and Water

Trump does not do hurricanes well. In fact it would be fair to say that Trump relates to hurricanes the way oil mixes with water. Maybe it has something to do with his lack of empathy, perhaps it has to do with the fact that every extreme weather event exposes the irrationality of his rejection of climate science and highlights the insanity of this administration's energy agenda.  A succession of once in a lifetime storms provides tangible support for the veracity of climate change.  However, Trump is not one to accept reality unless it suits him. When he is confronted with the facts Trump does what he does best, he lies.

Extreme weather wreaked havoc in Asia this year. This includes extreme rainfalls, flooding and landslides in Japan, Vietnam, and China. At least 78 were killed by Typhoon Mangkhut. But these events did not seem to register for Trump, which given his America First policy should come as no surprise.

In the span of ten days two hurricanes slammed into the heart of Trump country. Hurricane Florence drenched the US East Coast and killed 53 people, Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida panhandle and is known to have killed 36 so far. Florence brought devastating rains and Michael turned out to be one the strongest storms ever to hit Florida with wind speeds surpassing 155 miles an hour.

"They say that we had hurricanes that were far worse than what we just had with Michael," Trump told 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl who went on to ask, "What about the scientists who say it's worse than ever?" the president replied, "You'd have to show me the scientists because they have a very big political agenda."

Casting aspersions on the scientists who point out the link between hurricanes and climate change is an example of Trump's deflection, one of the many ways he obfuscates. Trump completely ignores attribution science including the most recent research that links climate change to Hurricane Florence.

In a move that speaks to Trump's insensitivity he held a rally as Hurricane Michael ravaged parts of northern Florida. A day after Hurricane Michael made landfall Trump met with Kanye West in a surreal White House spectacle. When Trump visited a FEMA aid distribution center in Lynn Haven the next day he proclaimed, "we've called for maximum relief." He also made a number of confusing comments including his conviction that those involved in the recovery efforts are "doing more than anybody would have ever done" and Trump called Hurricane Florence "very wet, in terms of water". It all reads like a comedy and it would be laughable if these were not comments uttered by a man who is the leader of the world's most powerful nation.

Trump is perhaps most disliked for kicking people when they are down as he did to San Juan's Mayor Carmen Yulin, Cruz. After Hurricane Maria hit San Juan was devastated and Mayor Cruz pleaded for help Trump responded by calling her "totally incompetent". He did something similar recently when he attacked Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum just before Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle.

Polls show that Gillum is poised to beat Trump's candidate Ron DeSantis in the forthcoming Florida Gubernatorial election. Trump is the kind of man who is not above trying to score political points by attacking people who are facing calamity. This flagrant disregard for the suffering and death of Americans does not offer very good optics.  

Some Republicans may respond well to Trump's callousness and his resistance to the science, some may even mistake it for strength. However, the polls suggest the majority of Americans are not impressed.. Those outside of his base see him in a far less flattering light. With a 60 percent disapproval rating, he is one of the most unpopular presidents in history. His propensity for being insensitive colors the way Trump is seen by broad swaths of the American public.

These negative perceptions are corroborated by Trump's actions on the ground. Some of his most insensitive remarks were directed at Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Trump is infamous for handing out paper towels as Puerto Ricans were trying to cope with the widespread devastation caused by two successive hurricanes. With total losses estimated at upwards of  more than $91 billion Hurricane Maria is one of the most costly storms on record, it is also one of the most lethal. As people were dying last October Trump was quick to commend his administration for doing a  "tremendous job". He even had the audacity to brag about the low death toll.

According to a George Washington University study commissioned by the governor of Puerto Rico, there were 2,975 fatalities attributed to Maria. Another independent analysis from public health experts at Harvard University estimates that 5,740 people likely died as a result of the hurricane. The official death toll now stands at 3,057.

Trump demonstrated that his insensitivity knows no bounds when he continued to tout his administration's hurricane relief efforts even after it became clear that the death toll in Puerto Rico was far worse than he had originally claimed. Trump and the White House simply refused to accept the facts. Press secretary Sarah Sanders said Trump "remains proud of all of the work the Federal family undertook to help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico."  To which Mayor Cruz responded, "what is there to be proud of? 2,970 dead. Is that what he's proud of?"

Mayor Cruz pulled no punches saying the administration led her to believe they were helping when they weren't. She blamed Trump, the federal government and Puerto Rican officials for failing to provide adequate assistance in the aftermath of Maria. "Many of them died because of what was done by the administration and that was silently approved by most of the political class in Puerto Rico," Cruz told CNN. "The administration killed the Puerto Ricans with neglect," Cruz said, adding "Shame on President Trump."

Trump's most recent  statements reinforce the view that in addition to being dishonest he is woefully misguided.  He made ridiculous statements about climate change and touted his "instinct" for science, he even called himself an "environmentalist". Although these comments may seem outlandish, this should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the seemingly endless succession of lies streaming out of his administration.

Later in the same interview he said Washington is, "the most deceptive, vicious world. It is vicious, it's full of lies, deceit and deception." This is how Trump rolls-out from underneath his mountain of subterfuge. He tries to deflect attention away from his dishonesty by saying others are doing what he himself is guilty of. His go to move is a twisted game of, "I know you are but what am I".  The fact that this kind of schoolyard banter is coming from the man who occupies the Oval Office is troubling to say the least. Trump's callousness makes his puerile behavior that much more unsettling.

Trump is a painful combination of ignorance and insensitivity. Trump is a nightmare and not just for climate action. Rather the combat the conditions that fuel these hurricanes, this president is stoking the fires of climate change and adding to the likelihood of even more devastating storms.

President Obama seamlessly assumed the role of comforter-and-chief whereas Trump's response has added insult to injury. Presidents like Calvin Coolidge and George W. Bush were hurt by their response to extreme weather events and Mitt Romney's presidential bid was hobbled by Hurricane Sandy.

When it comes to the connection between hurricanes and climate change it is a contest between the facts and the world's leading purveyor of fake news.  It remains to be seen whether Teflon Don can manage to avoid being singed by the encroaching heat.

Related
The Implications of Trump's Reprehensible Rejection of Climate Science
Best Evidence Yet that Climate Tipping Points Threaten to Push Us Past the Point of No Return
IPCC Study Offers Another Dose of Climate Reality
Trump's Climate Denial as Puerto Ricans Continue to Die in the Wake of Hurricane Maria
Trump's Climate Denial the GOP and Fossil Fuels
Attribution Science Connecting Hurricane Florence to Climate Change
Attribution Science Proves that Climate Change is Deadly
The Eye of the Storm: Hurricane Matthew, Attribution Science and Climate Change (Video)
Growing Levels of GHGs are Warming the Planet and Contributing to Disasters
Trump's Climate Denial Makes Storms and Wildfires Worse
Hurricane Harvey and Trump's Hypocritical Resistance to Climate Resilience
Hurricane Harvey and the State of Climate Science
US Hurricanes and the GOP's Climate Denial
Biblical Rains in South Carolina are Consistent with Climate Change
Louisiana Flooding Climate Change and the Politics of Ignorance
 

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Event - EHS & Sustainability Management Forum

EHS&S Management Forum, October 23-26, Louisville Downtown Marriott, Louisville, KY, is NAEM’s annual conference for EHS and sustainability managers, directors and vice presidents. The 26th Annual EHS&S Management Forum

This year's EHS and Sustainability Management Forum will offer five tracks, a focus on EHS&S Business Strategy, Leadership and EHS&S Tools

NAEM's EHS & Sustainability Management Forum is the largest annual gathering for environment, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability decision-makers. This year's program will offer attendees 5 tracks of breakout sessions emphasizing alignment of EHS and business strategy, leadership excellence, and tools and tactics for day-to-day EHS excellence.

This conference is for those who are in charge of developing and integrating strategic environmental, health and safety programs. Join your peers from leading companies, get exposed to new ideas, and come away energized and ready to implement what you've learned.

Benefits

• 700+ attendees from more than 300 companies across industry sectors
• A conference program developed by a committee of EHS&S peer leaders who are laser focused on providing actionable information to tackle your most pressing EHS&S management challenges and build your leadership capacity
• Inspiring, engaging and informative keynote presentations designed to help you start each day refreshed and ready to learn
• Peer gatherings including community service, a golf outing, behind the scenes tours of local companies’ facilities that will ensure long-lasting professional connections

Network with other EHS&S professionals and complete your community service requirement at NAEM’s Day of Service Special Event at the Forum on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Learn more about this year’s community service activity here.

Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)

This year's event is in partnership with the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). It will include speakers and topics for retailers in order to provide the same type of environmental compliance content, meetings and networking as the Retail Sustainability and Environmental Compliance Conference (RSECC). RILA will host a retailer-only environmental compliance meeting at the Forum venue on Tuesday, October 23, 2018. Click here for more information.

Click here for the agenda
Click here to register

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Event - Net Impact Annual Conference: outside the lines

Net Impact Annual Conference, will take place on October 25-28,  2018 at the Phoenix Convention Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. This is the annual gathering of purpose-driven university students and the organizations seeking to harness their talents after graduation. This year’s theme is “outside the lines."

Each year Net Impact brings leaders together for a dynamic exchange of ideas about how to tackle our toughest social and environmental problems. Today's challenges are more complex than any one person or organization can solve. Collaboration is essential to developing innovative solutions to change the world.


Explore transformational change that defies traditional expectations. Dive deep into bold new trends and practices that challenge conventional wisdom and break barriers. Gain skills, experiences, and connections so you can have the greatest impact now and throughout your career.

Who Attends

NI18 brings together in one space the brightest and most innovative impact leaders from around the world. It's a unique experience that encourages students, recent graduates, and established professionals to connect and share ideas about what works, potential career paths, and forward-looking innovations.

Top Reasons to Attend

Network with innovative impact leaders and immerse yourself in inspirational ideas. Explore cutting-edge trends, see what’s next and learn what your peers are doing.

Meet Your Kind

Connect with students, recent graduates, and professionals. Exchange ideas with like-minded changemakers. Collaborate with others thinking about big ideas. Learn from innovative impact leaders.

Keynote Speakers

• Douglas M. Baker Jr. Chairman and CEO Ecolab
• Jean Case CEO The Case Foundation
• Gina McCarthy Administrator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Paul Dillinger VP Global Innovation Levi Strauss & Company
• Alessandra Soler Executive Director ACLU of Arizona
• Andrew Yang Founder and CEO Venture for America
• Adam Foss Founder and President Prosecutor Impact
• Harley Dubois Chief Transition Officer Burning Man
• Kavita Shukla Founder and CEO The FRESHGLOW Co
• Antony Bugg-Levine CEO Nonprofit Finance Fund TRU Colors Brewing Co. Founder & Company Members TRU Colors Brewing Co.

Click here for the program
Click here to register.

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Event - New Metrics: The ROI of Sustainable Business

New Metrics, will take place on October 29-31, 2018 at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel, in Philadelphia, PA. is a geek fest for those steeped in the monitoring, measurement and reporting functions surrounding sustainability. The goal of the event, is to “translate social and environmental impact into corporate financial performance indicators,” according to Sustainable Brands.

Discover the ROI of Sustainable Business and learn to measure the risk and impact of previously unmeasured forms of value with thought leaders using the newest credible tools and solutions. Translate social and environmental impact into corporate financial performance indicators to help your business succeed.

You’ll discover the newest data on notable trends, investigate new ROI studies, analyze tools for impact assessment in the supply chain, and discover new links between sustainability performance and stock performance. Most importantly, network with your peers leading the evolution of business metrics and grow with the Sustainable Brands community.

Leading businesses are creating and valuing entirely new forms of positive environmental AND social impact as well as quantifying previously ignored costs and risks. Define your success in the new economy with expanded methods for measuring risk and identifying new forms of value.

Over 300 professionals will gather for insights, inspiration, and collective conversation about how businesses can measure environmental & social impact in previously unexplored ways.

For more information click here to get the New Metrics ’18 event brochure gives an overview of the conference including the topics to be discussed, the learning and networking opportunities, reasons to attend, who you are going to meet, the venue and much more.

Click here to register.

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The Implications of Trump's Reprehensible Rejection of Climate Science

Like the Republican party he now owns, Donald Trump derides science because it exposes his ignorance. The enormous body of scientific evidence reveals the clear-cut fallacy of the denial of anthropogenic climate change. This is an egregious lie that jeopardizes national security and compromises people's health and well being. It also exacerbates divisions by fraying the unifying fabric rational thought. He rejects science for the same reasons he maligns the press. To give him license to enact an agenda that is at odds with the national interest. His obfuscation serves corporate interests, especially the fossil fuel industry which is the single largest contributor to the climate crisis.

Republicans are complicit in the fossil fuel industry's climate denial because they are handsomely rewarded for their rejection of science. Aided by the Citizens United ruling the fossil fuel industry gives Republicans vasts sums of money to propagate lies that protect their interests. The facts are a threat to their multi-trillion dollar business.  Embracing science means rejecting this form of dirty energy.

The goal of their disinformation is to muddy the waters of scientific research and ultimately undermine the perceived veracity of scientific findings.  Trump's resistance to crafting policy based on science allows him to execute an insane energy agenda. It also facilitated the deregulatory orgy of the former EPA administrator Scott Pruitt who waged war against science during his stint at the EPA.

Pruitt not only purged scientists, according to the Washington Post he excluded them from participating in the rule-making on the use of scientific studies. The goal of the rewrite was to find a pretext to reject valid data that contradicts his agenda of radical deregulation. The Post reports that almost 70 prominent scientific, medical and academic organizations challenged Pruitt's proposal. Pruitt ignored his mandate while at the helm of the EPA and in so doing he compromised the health of Americans.  He turned a blind eye to things like fine particulate pollution which is know to put people at risk for coronary heart disease and respiratory illnesses.

Trump recently made a series of clearly inaccurate comments about climate change. When asked about whether he still thinks climate change  is a hoax Trump appeared to modify his position bringing him in line with many other Republicans who question its anthropogenic origins. "I think something's happening. Something's changing and it'll change back again," Trump said. "I don't think it's a hoax. I think there's probably a difference. But I don't know that it's man-made." He completely ignores the vast body of research that demonstrates the anthropogenic origins of climate change.

Trump also said, “I want to look at who drew it—you know, which group drew it."  The answer seemed to indicate that the President had never heard of the IPCC, the world's leading climate science organization. This represents a level of ignorance that is more concerning than surprising.

When the Associated Press asked Trump about the report he gave an even crazier response.
"And you have scientists on both sides of the issue. And I agree the climate changes, but it goes back and forth, back and forth." When the interviewer pointed out that this is not in fact true Trump said:
"My uncle was a great professor at MIT for many years. Dr. John Trump," he said. "And I didn’t talk to him about this particular subject, but I have a natural instinct for science, and I will say that you have scientists on both sides of the picture." He even had the audacity to call himself an "environmentalist".  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Trump's lies with predictable regularity and he is infamous for his doublespeak but to say that he is an environmentalist or that there are scientists on both sides of the climate issue is patently false. His suggestion that he has an instinct for science is a bizarre oxymoron even for the liar-and-chief.  Science is a meticulous methodology, it is premised on procedures not instinct.

The few scientific findings that purportedly question the veracity of climate science have been all proven to be incorrect. There are only three papers that deny climate change and they have all been found to be flawed. Replication is a corner stone of the scientific method and the findings of these three papers cannot be replicated.

Other pseudo-scientific right-wing front groups have developed elaborate disinformation campaigns. Some have been exposed for falsifying data.  Groups like the fossil fuel funded Heartland Institute are going into schools and depriving children of a fact-based education by handing out fake science textbooks that downplay the importance of anthropogenic climate change.

Trump may be the laughing stock of the world but his actions still bite. His withdrawal from the Paris Climate agreement makes it that much more difficult to achieve emissions reduction targets that will keep the earth from warming beyond the upper prescribed limit.

 According to the most recent IPCC report we are quickly approaching the point of no return. We are on the cusp of climate tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.

Trump is making an already perilous situation even worse. Even if all nations on earth honored the emissions reduction pledges they made as part of the Paris Climate Agreement we will not be able to keep the planet from dangerous levels of warming. Improving on these commitments is a daunting task in the light of Republican climate denial and Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the agreement.  To make matters worse Trump has adopted an insane energy policy and embraced what can only be described as a national policy of energy inefficiency.

"Unfortunately, the Trump administration has become a rogue outlier in its shortsighted attempt to prop up the dirty fossil fuel industries of the past. The administration is in direct conflict with American businesses, states, cities and citizens leading the transformation." Climate guru and former Vice President Al Gore said.

To make matters worse the international cooperation that is required to combat climate change is being undermined by Trump's assaults on international institutions like the United Nations. The departure of Nikki Haley as US ambassador to the UN may signal an even harder line.

The Trump administration and his Republican minions use science as a political football to further their destructive agenda. Both Republican legislators and the Trump administration are virulently opposed to science. They have made an already daunting situation far more difficult. Their mendacity in the face of this civilization altering crisis is unconscionable. History will not be kind to this generation of Republicans, nor will it be kind to this president.  

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Attribution Science Connecting Hurricane Florence to Climate Change

We can now saw with ever increasing confidence that climate change is making storms more severe and more frequent and the situation will only worsen as the planet continues to get hotter. Advances in attribution science are making it clear that climate change is fueling deadly extreme weather events.

The basic physics (the laws of thermodynamics) connecting climate change to extreme weather are well known. Warmer oceans cause more evaporation and a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. This in turn increases rainfall and Hurricane Florence is a good example.

"Florence is yet another poster child for the human-supercharged storms that are becoming more common and destructive as the planet warms," said Jonathan Overpeck, dean of the environment school at University of Michigan.

Florence caused a record deluge. Over a four-day period there was an accumulation of nearly 36 inches of rain in places like Elizabethtown, North Carolina. This is way above the previous rain record for a hurricane anywhere on the East Coast. It broke the North Carolina record by nearly a foot. This is a once in a 1,000-year storm. To put it another way, under stable climate conditions there is  a 0.1 percent chance every year that we will see rainfall like we saw in Elizabethtown.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb looks at basic physics and the peer-reviewed studies that link climate change to wetter storms. "We have solid data across decades of rainfall records to nail the attribution – climate change is increasing the frequency of extreme rainfall events," Cobb said.

A Washington Post article by Christopher Mooney and Brady Dennis made the explicit connection between Hurricane Florence and climate change in their headline, "Climate change has made Hurricane Florence worse". Climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf, a sea-level expert at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research said, "It’s a no-brainer".

Climate change is also making coastal storms more destructive due to sea-level rise. Warmer temperatures contribute to ice melt and cause the ocean to expand, this in turn increases storm surges and associated flooding.

"Essentially every coastal flood today is made deeper and more damaging by sea-level rise caused by climate change," said Benjamin Strauss, CEO and chief scientist at the research organization Climate Central

After Hurricane Matthew hit attribution science was able to make a connection. This is part of a growing wave of attribution science that is making increasingly accurate connections between a warming planet and specific extreme weather events.  Two recent independent studies have both concluded that climate change exacerbated Hurricane Harvey. A report from the World Weather Attribution consortium and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that, rainfall increased by 15 and 40 percent respectively.

Normally attribution studies take years to complete, but as reported by Grist, just before Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas scientists published a model that tracked Florence in real time. They concluded that climate change increased rainfall associated with Florence by around 50 percent. The study was conducted by researchers from Stony Brook University in New York and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. What makes this research so important is the fact that it is a departure from traditional studies which either report on past events or predict future one. 

A report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that storms that hit Texas with more than 20 inches of rain are six times more likely now than they were at the end of the 20th century.

Even without attribution science the connection between extreme weather and climate change is pretty clear. "I think we can say that the storm is stronger, wetter and more impactful from a coastal flooding standpoint than it would have been BECAUSE of human-caused warming," Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann wrote in an email. "And we don’t need an attribution study to tell us that in my view. We just need the laws of thermodynamics."

As quoted by the New York Times David W. Titley, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University, said we can expect the situation to worsen going forward. "Communities all along the Gulf Coast need to adapt to a world where the heaviest rains are more than we have ever seen," Titley said.

Updated October17, 2018, 7:30 pm EST

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Best Evidence Yet that Climate Tipping Points Threaten to Push Us Past the Point of No Return

A slew of studies confirm that we are nearing tipping points from which we may not be able to recover. Common sense calls for urgent action and if we act soon there may still be time. However, the hotter it gets the more likely it is that we will surpass tipping points that will accelerate warming past a point of no return. The most recent IPCC report reaffirms that we are teetering perilously on the cusp of imminent turning points.  A recently published study in the Journal of Earth System Dynamics also concludes that we are rapidly approaching a point of no return. The study is titled, "The point of no return for climate action: effects of climate uncertainty and risk tolerance".

"In our study we show that there are strict deadlines for taking climate action," Henk Dijkstra, a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and one of the study authors, said in a statement. "We conclude that very little time is left before the Paris targets [to limit global warming] become infeasible."

Another paper published in PNAS explores the risks of crossing thresholds that augur "hothouse earth" even if we reduce emissions. Like all the other studies, this paper warns to the need for immediate broad spectrum international action. The paper is titled, "Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene".

"Collective human action is required to steer the Earth System away from a potential threshold and stabilize it in a habitable interglacial-like state. Such action entails stewardship of the entire Earth System—biosphere, climate, and societies—and could include decarbonization of the global economy, enhancement of biosphere carbon sinks, behavioral changes, technological innovations, new governance arrangements, and transformed social values."

If we fail to deal with the problem the earth's average temperature could rise 4 or 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, leading to sea levels up to 200 feet higher than they are now.

Even though there is concern that it may already be too late to avoid catastrophic feedback loops scientists are trying to soften their language to make their conclusions more palatable. The terrifying reality of the climate crisis causes people to avoid the nature of the problem. As explained in Washington Post article the language in the IPCC report was toned down to garner more interest.

However, the truth about climate change is terrifying. This is not hyperbole, this is born out by a number of studies. We know that global warming is driving sea level rise and this on its own will cause devastating civilization changing flooding if we fail to act. There are also a number of other potentially far more serious threats.

One of the tipping points that has garnered some attention is melting permafrost. If the permafrost in the far north keeps melting, it will unleash tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases (methane and carbon) that will cancel out all mitigation effort. For years scientists have been studying methane emanating from melting ice in the Arctic. Scientists have called melting Arctic ice a  ticking time bomb and they have declared a state of emergency. We know that the Arctic is warming faster than anywhere on earth and this is a concern for us all. This warming is creating feedback loops that are further accelerating warming.

We have been warned over and over again. If we fail to reduce emissions and decrease warming we will trigger tipping points that will augur an irreversible collapse of the earth's natural systems.  

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IPCC Study Offers Another Dose of Climate Reality

New research reaffirms that we are teetering on the cusp of a man-made climate calamity. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warns that governments must take urgent action to avoid "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society". The effects of catastrophic warming includes cataclysmic flooding from sea level rise, more extreme weather, wildfires and food shortages.

The report warns that by 2030 we will will breech the upper threshold limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a level of warming deemed catastrophic  The world is already two thirds of the way there having warmed by 1 degree C since preindustrial norms and the Arctic has already warmed by 1.5 C.

Present day reality

As quoted by CNN, Panmao Zhai, co-chair of IPCC Working Group I, climate change is not some future reality it is with us today and left unchecked it will get far worse. "One of the key messages that comes out very strongly from this report is that we are already seeing the consequences of 1 degree C of global warming through more extreme weather, rising sea levels and diminishing Arctic sea ice, among other changes," Zhai said.

We are destroying the earth's natural systems. This is evident from hotter temperatures, rising sea levels, extreme weather, melting ice, collapsing fisheries, water scarcity, expanding deserts, forest fires, dying coral reefs and species extinctions. The situation is perilous and it will only get worse unless we radically reduce emission in the short-term. 

Urgent emissions reduction

Carbon dioxide emissions are the main culprit in anthropogenic climate change, to stave off the worst impacts of global warming we will need to reduce emissions by 45 percent from 2010 levels by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.

We will need to radically lower the footprints of industry, buildings and cities. We will need to fully embrace renewable forms of energy, radical efficiency and electric transportation.  Upon release of the report  former US Vice President Al Gore said: "Today the world's leading scientific experts collectively reinforced what mother nature has made clear -- that we need to undergo an urgent and rapid transformation to a global clean energy economy."

If we are to succeed in substantially reducing emissions we will need to radically alter our energy mix focusing on eliminating the use of fossil fuels in both energy production and transportation.  A number of studies have come to the same conclusions, we need to wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and massively ramp-up our production of renewable energy.

International cooperation 

"International cooperation is absolutely imperative to limit emissions and therefore global warming and its impacts, as well as coordinating effective and widespread adaptation and mitigation," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a fellow at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New South Wales. "The next few years will be critical in the evolution of these efforts." 

Even if we were prepared to make a consorted international effort we would still need to invest in adaptation strategies. Limiting global warming to 1.5 degree C is "possible within the laws of chemistry and physics," said Jim Skea, co-chair of IPCC Working Group III. "But doing so would require unprecedented changes.".

"International cooperation is absolutely imperative to limit emissions and therefore global warming and its impacts, as well as coordinating effective and widespread adaptation and mitigation," said Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick, a fellow at the Climate Change Research Center at the University of New South Wales. "The next few years will be critical in the evolution of these efforts." 

Sound Science

The IPCC is the global scientific authority on climate change and the science they produce is construed as valid by all but the uninformed and the politically motivated.

“It’s the biggest peer-review exercise there is,” said Jonathan Lynn, head of communications for the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “It involves hundreds or even thousands of people looking at it.”

The Trump administration and Republican lawmakers are opposed to science especially climate science. They cast aspersions on the facts to pander to the fossil fuel industry which is their most important source of financial support.

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Event - The Paris Design Summit

This event will take place on February 20 - 22, 2019 in Paris, France. It is the largest exhibition of sustainable design products and services offered at the heart of an international and interdisciplinary forum.

The Paris Design Summit 2019 takes real action to demonstrate the power of design to deal with contemporary issues. Professionals, academics, international actors, thinkers and policy makers from urban planning, architecture, engineering, design and other domains will come together to share at all levels – from students to experts in the field – a range of information, proofs of concepts and game-changing metrics regarding better actions locally and globally.

The event is focused on sustainable innovation in design, technology, architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture, with local, national and international pavilions. There are three parts to the Paris Design Summit: Exhibition, Congress, Roundtables, and Summit.

AMERICAS - EUROPE - WORLD

A unique, content-rich exhibition supported by a media campaign for world leader positioning, providing an international B2B forum for your products and services to 10,000 choice, qualified and professional visitors including prescribers and influencers.

Discover the 12 exhibition areas:

1. Design France
2. Interiors & Lighting
3. Startups
4. Design Canada
5. Outdooring & Design in Natural Environments
6. Security, Maintenance & Sanitation
7. Tools and Services for Design, Architecture and Urban Planning
8. Sustainability Around the World
9. Lifestyle, Mobility, Fashion, Events & Experiences
10. Building for the Planet, Eco-Friendly Materials, Certifications and Renewable Energy
11. Health & Wellbeing
12. Special Projects

SHOWCASE YOUR GROUNDBREAKING INNOVATING SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
AT THIS GAME-CHANGING GLOBAL GATHERING!

For more information on exhibition spaces and to request the brochure, please contact: sales@sommetdudesign.paris

There are 3 types of tickets available:

ALL ACCESS (English and French Congresses): 350€ (instead of 500€)
INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS: 300€ (instead of 375€)
INTERNATIONAL FRANCOPHONE CONGRESS: 225€ (instead of 325€)

Contact the various teams working on the Summit of Roundtables, the Congress or the Expo. There are many ways you can participate to the World Sustainable Design Framework: Horizon 2030.

For more information or to register click here.

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Nobel Prize for Climate Economics and Government Investments

Two US economist were jointly awarded the Nobel memorial prize for economics for addressing two of the most "basic and pressing" issues of our times. One economist demonstrated the way government investments boost economic growth and the other was recognized for his work on the relationship between the economy and climate change.

William Nordhaus and Paul Romer were recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences which said the two had "significantly broadened the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge."

Nordhaus is a Yale economist and a pioneer of environmental economics. He has been warning policy makers about climate change for almost four decades. He has repeatedly made the case that economic models do not properly account for the impact of global warming.  He is an advocate of uniformly applied carbon tax as the best way to assign real costs to fossil fuel use thereby decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.  His work supports car bon pricing schemes to combat climate change. 

The Academy indicated that Nordhaus was the first person to design "simple but dynamic and quantitative models of the global economic-climate system, now called integrated assessment models (IAMs)." His model can simulate how the "economy and climate would co-evolve in the future under alternative assumptions about the workings of nature and the market economy, including relevant policies."

Romer is a New York university economists and the former chief economist at the World Bank. He is well known for his support of the endogenous growth theory.  His research suggests that nations can improve economic performance by focusing on supply side measures like research and development, innovation and skills training.  He argues that governments can accelerate technological change with targeted interventions including tax credits and patent regulation.

The Academy recognized both men because they had "designed methods for addressing some of our time's most basic and pressing questions about how we create long-term sustained and sustainable economic growth...[they had] significantly broadened the scope of economic analysis by constructing models that explain how the market economy interacts with nature and knowledge".

Romer optimistically stated that he believes it is possible to keep warming from surpassing the upper threshold limit of 1.5C above preindustrial norms.  He also shed light on the psychology of climate inaction when he said  the perceived expense makes people want to "ignore the problem and pretend it doesn't exist".  He also said the alarming forecasts make people feel "apathetic and hopeless".

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