Sustainability reporting key goal of Rio summit (and other news)
The United Nations has put global sustainability reporting by companies among its proposed key outcomes for the Rio+ 20 environmental summit in June.
See the Guardian newspaper report:
A samba school dancer at Rio Carnival 2012. Image by Leandro Neumann Ciuffo, via Flickr
The key to sustainability is data
I found this interesting blog on World Water Day, which was March 22, by Amy Sample Ward: Key to sustainability article
UK to press for green accounting at Rio
Britain will be calling on governments to adopt “green accounting” at the forthcoming world conference on sustainable development, to be held in Brazil in June.
Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, will announce an initiative to get all countries to produce accounts based on “GDP-plus”, an enhancement of the traditional gross domestic prduct (GDP) including assessments of “natural capital” such as rivers, forests and other natural resources. Read more
Study finds corporate responsibility data “appalling”
Environmental claims by UK companies are often based on “incorrect and irrelevant” data, according to a Leeds University study.
The researchers from the University of Leeds and Euromed Management School (France) found unsubstantiated claims, gaps in data and inaccurate figures when they analysed more than 4,000 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, rankings and surveys published by companies worldwide, going back ten years. 
Read more
Today’s MBAs – the “sustainable generation”
Good news – tomorrow’s business leaders are a lot “greener” than today’s. According to a new study commissioned by Sky MBA students are likely to see themselves as part of the first “sustainability generation”. They are more knowledgeable about sustainability and see business opportunities in it which today’s leaders are not generally taking advantage of.
Launch – sustainability reporting guidance for event organisers
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) launches its Event Organisers Sector Supplement on 24 January 2012 at the London 2012 offices in Canary Wharf, London.
The launch will be of interest to event organisers wishing to report on sustainability issues such as impacts on communities, natural environments and local and global economies. The range of events is diverse, for example business meetings, conferences, sports events and cultural festivals. Each has a different environmental impact.
Date: Tuesday 24 January 2012
Time: 5.00-7:30pm (GMT)
Location: London 2012 offices
One Churchill Place
Canary Wharf
London E14 5LN
United Kingdom
RSVP by 15 January 2012 to: http://conta.cc/siMDh3
There is also a webinar on 25 January at 4pm CET. Register: http://bit.ly/tVQuK7
The Carbon Trust Standard – Measuring carbon reduction
This is one of a series of short articles that highlight environmental standards and measures organisations can use to raise their level of sustainability. And one of the most effective ways to secure measurable improvements is in the area of carbon emissions.
What is the Standard?
The Carbon Trust Standard was set up in 2007/08 and according to its website is “widely considered as the world’s leading certifier of organisational carbon footprint reduction”. The Standard recognises a commitment to measuring, managing and reducing carbon emissions. Key areas measured are:
- Carbon footprint
- Carbon management
- Carbon reduction
SAP On Track to Meet its Sustainability Targets
Business Intelligence global giant SAP AG recently released its quarterly sustainability update for the third quarter 2011. Areas monitored break down into corporate environmental, social, and economic performance metrics.
The company believes reductions in greenhouse gas emissions is the area where it can make the most impact. SAP’s goal is to reduce its emissions to their 2000 level by the year 2020 in ways that best support profitability. It managed to reduce its carbon footprint from 528.1 kilotons in 2008 to 423 kilotons in 2010, despite double-figure growth in revenue in this period. However, the third quarter figure is up 2% on the same period last year, although emissions per employee is down 2%. This per-employee reduction was achieved through targeted energy efficiency programs and a decrease in air travel.
For example, a nine percent reduction in electricity usage was achieved by
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Corporate Cars: 1% reduction
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Business Flights: 33% increase
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Employee Commuting: 14% reduction
SAP reduced its overall footprint by 11% by increasing its purchase of renewable energy to 48% in 2010.
Data centre energy consumption was down in 2010 from 147 GWh to 134 GWh despite an increase in headcount, reducing energy consumption per employee by nine percent, from 3038 KWh to 2763 Kwh
Innovative investments in cooling and energy efficiency in 2010 included:
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“Aisle Containment” strategies which focus cooling energy directly to the rows of server racks rather than the whole computer room were applied in Bangalore, Shanghai, Regensdorf and Brussels.
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An investment in passive cooling in Shanghai reducing heat from direct sunlight
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Computer room thermal imaging and electrical use software
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Thermal panels
SAP recently ranked 20th in the Newsweek 2011, ranking fourth globally in the “Information Technology & Services” category.
High-speed rail link needs rethink
The proposed high-speed rail link (HS2) between London and Birmingham would run through or near 51 designated sites, including
- four sites of special scientific interest
- a further 28 ancient woodlands
- an additional 19 local wildlife sites
photograph by Jim Ash, from www.butterfly-conservation.org
This puts a number of mammals, insects, birds and wild flowers at risk – like the protected black hairstreak butterfly (pictured), seven species of bat, tawny owl, woodpecker and several species of wildfowl.
Join the Wildlife Trust campaign to stop this happening – www.bbowt.org.uk
Good tuna, bad tuna – the choice is yours
By Clive Margolis
Buying tinned tuna is bad for the environment, right? Not necessarily – it depends on how the fish are caught. We all know overfishing the oceans is a major problem, but supermarkets and suppliers are changing their methods thanks to largely to a campaign from environmental group Greenpeace. Read more