Top Stories
Intel Amends Charter – Sustainability Now a
'Fiduciary Duty'.—reliability high.
"Responding to pressure from an environmental investment group, Intel
said it would include 'corporate responsibility and sustainability
performance' in the committee’s overall policy responsibility. The
company’s charter now says it has a 'Fiduciary duty' to do so. ... Now
the Governance and Nominating Committee will 'review(s) and report(s)
to the Board on a periodic basis with regards to matters of corporate
responsibility and sustainability performance, including potential long
and short term trends and impacts to our business of environmental,
social and governance issues, including the company’s public reporting
on these topics.' Intel sought an outside legal opinion on Delaware
Law, finding that directors have a fiduciary duty to address corporate
responsibility and sustainability performance as specified in the
committee charter." Story in Environmental
Leader.
Study questions credibility of FTSE 350
sustainability and carbon data.—reliability high.
"The way that FTSE 350 companies report their carbon emissions is
patchy, inconsistent and lacks credibility, according to
government-backed research from consultancy Smart Sustainability. The
study, which was sponsored by a coalition of organisations including
SAP, Defra, Barclays, BP and British American Tobacco, found that of
those FTSE 350 firms that make carbon and sustainability data
available, a shockingly low proportion provide any sort of assurance on
their data. Despite investor and regulatory body demand for a way to
verify and compare the credibility of sustainability reports, only 75
companies in the FTSE 350 publish some form of assurance alongside
environmental reports. Moreover, only 62 of those use assurance checks
that are carried out independently and based on a recognised assurance
standard." See story at BusinessGreen.
[While financial
reports are universally audited, environmental reports must still be
taken on trust.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
NYSE Goes Carbon Neutral Through Wind RECs.—reliability
high.
"The New York Stock Exchange is purchasing renewable energy credits to
offset the approximately 28 million kilowatt hours it uses annually,
reports the Baltimore Sun. The NYSE is buying RECs to support the
installation of wind energy. Constellation NewEnergy is providing the
certified offsets. As a result, the NYSE estimates it will avoid about
57 million pounds of CO2 emissions a year." See Environmental
Leader story. [More about RECs
in this
earlier post. Do you agree that by buying these the NYSE "will
avoid about 57 million pounds of CO2 emissions a year"? An interesting
puzzle.]
Solar Parking Lots for Electric Bikes in
Tokyo.—reliability medium.
"Sanyo has just completed two solar parking lots for electric bikes in
Tokyo. And a third one is on its way. ... By combining 'HIT solar
panels' with 'lithium-ion battery systems', SANYO's Solar Parking Lot
enables recharging the electric hybrid bicycles without any commercial
power source, even at night or on a rainy day. The lithium-ion battery
system also features AC power outlets that can be used to power
external equipment during an emergency. In addition, the installed
system incorporates a 'DC charger.' The 'DC charger' enables
photovoltaic energy generated and stored in DC (direct current) to be
used directly and effectively without AC (alternative current)
conversion." From CleanTechnica.
[This system, with
its auxiliary AC output and potential to charge other DC devices, seems
almost designed for village applications more than for urban Tokyo.]
How IT Helped Citi Become 'America's
Greenest Bank'.—reliability high.
The company upgraded 300,000 PCs and laptops, cutting emissions 3%,
and consolidated data centers. "A massive virtualization drive saved
the company 73 percent in server power and cooling requirements,
trimming its carbon footprint by more than 300 tons of carbon dioxide.
... Citi's telepresence centers located throughout the globe helped the
bank reduce its air travel emissions by nearly a third between 2008 and
2009." "All of these moves combined to propel Citi to the top of
'America's Greenest Banks,' a new list compiled for the first time by
Bank Technology News (BTN)." See GreenBiz.
Accenture Targets 40% Carbon Footprint
Reduction by 2012.—reliability high.
"Accenture is committed to reducing its per capita carbon footprint 40
percent by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2012 from its 2007 baseline,
according to the company’s 2008-2009 Corporate Citizenship Report. In
fiscal 2009, Accenture achieved its initial target of a 25 percent
reduction in carbon dioxide emitted per employee by implementing energy
efficiency programs throughout its offices, reducing travel and
boosting employee awareness. Measures included the increased use of
interactive technologies and virtual conferences as well as using
public transportation when possible." Examples of specific actions.
"Accenture also increased its supply chain sustainability efforts
through the launch of its Supplier Standards of Conduct. The company
reports its requests for proposals (RFPs) that included environmental
questionnaires rose from 90 percent to 98 percent of all RFPs issued in
fiscal 2009." See story in Environmental
Leader. [Deceptive
Headline Alert: Not "40% Carbon Footprint Reduction" but 40% reduction
in per capita carbon footprint.
Total emissions might actually go up, if headcount grows rapidly.
Carbon efficiency improvements don't necessarily lead to overall
emissions reductions, but headline writers sometimes overpromise.]
Government and
Regulation
E.P.A. to Limit Water Pollution From Mining.—reliability
high.
"The Environmental Protection Agency issued tough new water quality
guidelines on Thursday that could curtail some of the most contentious
coal mining techniques used across Appalachia. ... Ms. Jackson
suggested that one practical result of the guidelines would be to make
it far more difficult for so-called valley fill operations, where
layers of soil and rock are removed from mountaintops and piled in
nearby valleys and streams, to receive permits." Story in The New
York Times.
DOT, EPA Set GHG Levels for Cars, Light
Trucks.—reliability high.
"Starting with 2012 model year vehicles, automakers must improve
fleet-wide fuel economy and reduce fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions
by about five percent a year." "the EPA will require that by the 2016
model-year vehicles must achieve a combined average emission level of
250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile." "The rules are set to phase in
over the next five to six years and should save the owner of the
average 2016 model year car $3,000 in fuel costs over the life of the
vehicle. Nationally, the effort is estimated to save about 1.8 billion
barrels of oil and slash almost a billion tons of greenhouse gas
emissions." See Environmental
Leader.
Electric cars get initial '0'-emission
rating.—reliability high.
"Electric cars will initially be given a "zero" emissions rating in
new U.S. auto fuel efficiency regulations as an incentive for industry
to mass produce them, the U.S. government said on Thursday. ... Under
an incentive program unveiled by the Transportation Department and the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the first 200,000 vehicles
produced by each manufacturer will be given a zero emissions rating.
After that, the rating of the vehicle will reflect the upstream
greenhouse gas emissions associated with charging the vehicles." From Reuters.
New Efficiency Standards for Water Heaters.—reliability
high.
"The Obama administration on Thursday released new energy efficiency
standards for water heaters and other appliances that it said would
save consumers $10 billion over 30 years while cutting greenhouse gas
emissions. ... The biggest change increases the energy efficiency
mandates for water heaters that hold 55 gallons or more of water.
Although the Energy Department does not specify which technologies
manufacturers must adopt, the new standards would effectively require
the use of more advanced technologies like heat pump electric water
heaters and condensing gas water heaters, according to energy
efficiency experts." More in The
New York Times Green Inc. blog.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
