Top Stories
Europe Slashes Low-Carbon Energy Subsidies
as Budgets Shrink.—reliability high.
"Spain, Germany, France, Italy and the Czech Republic have all
announced subsidy cuts, and there are fears that the United Kingdom,
making budget cuts across the board as it desperately seeks to reduce a
deficit of over 160 billion pounds, will be tempted to go even
further." Because of budget constraints policymakers are shifting from
subsidies and incentives to prescriptive requirements like renewable
energy requirements. Investors still need some predictability in public
policy. See New
York Times from ClimateWire. Related article "Spain cuts solar
incentives by up to 45 percent" at Reuters.
[Some subsidies had
gotten out of synch with markets, for example where solar subsidies
stayed high as solar panel costs plummeted. (Of course subsidies are
always attempts to distort markets, to achieve supposed public policy
objectives.) Moving to prescriptive approaches will have the effect of
shifting costs from the public purse to consumers in some cases.
Subsidy policy can be a fragile foundation for investment decisions in
the best of times.]
Lessons for the CSR Industry from the
Deepwater Horizon Spill.—reliability medium.
"Prior to the Deepwater Horizon accident, BP was among the recognized
leaders in sustainability reporting. A long-time "A+" reporter against
the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), BP has been listed by DJSI,
FTSE4Good, has won numerous sustainability-related awards around the
globe and regularly topped sustainability assessments, such as the
Tomorrow's Value Rating. ... the accident in the Gulf highlights the
gap between messaging, perception and reality for the CSR industry."
See GreenBiz
blog. [World-class
CSR reporting and PR are compatible with extreme environmental and
financial risk exposure.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Innovative India water plant opens in Chennai.—reliability
high.
"A desalination plant which begins operating in Madras on Saturday
will provide some of the cheapest drinking water in India, backers say.
They say that the plant will supply 1,000 litres of drinking water for
just over $1 and could well be a "template" for other coastal Indian
cities. The company behind the plant says that it is the biggest in
South Asia. It will provide 100 million litres of water a day ... The
plant - which cost $140m - is the joint venture between an Indian
company IVRCL and Befessa of Spain. ... The government-run Chennai
Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) will buy the
purified water for the next 25 years." Story at BBC News.
Executives Link Sustainability with Business
Strategy.—reliability high.
"most companies see an alignment between sustainability and their
overall business strategy, according to a new report and related
podcast from Deloitte. The Deloitte report, 'Sustainability in Business
Today: A Cross-Industry View,' and podcast, 'Three Things Your Chief
Sustainability Officer Won't Tell You,' also find that many companies
have a gap between their leaders’ sustainability aspirations and the
way that sustainability is enabled within their organizations." See Environmental
Leader story. PDF of report here.
Leading Building Owners, Tenants Join Forces
to Push Green Leasing.—reliability high.
"A group of leading building owners, investment advisory firms and
corporate tenants have become allies in a campaign to make commercial
office space more sustainable by breaking down the barriers to green
leasing. Bank of America, Beacon Capital Partners, Deutsche Bank and
its real estate investment manage arm RREEF, JPMorgan Chase, Jones Lang
LaSalle's investment arm, LaSalle Investment Management, and Whirlpool
Corporation are among the first to enlist in the effort. In doing so,
the participants made a commitment to the Green Lease Action Plan and
its guiding principles -- and pledge to apply the concepts to
properties they own, manage or occupy. .. 'The efficient use of energy
and other resources in buildings requires joint action from property
owners and occupiers, but there are disincentives that often prevent
the two sides from investing in the necessary capital improvements,'
said Michael Jordan, senior vice president of sustainability strategy
at Jones Lang LaSalle, in a statement." See Greener
World Media.
Electric vehicles incentives guide: Country
by country.—reliability medium.
"Now that we know the purchase and lease prices of two of the
biggest-hitters--the 2011 Chevrolet Volt and the 2011 Nissan Leaf--many
buyers will want to know is how much they'll save off the purchase
price once federal and local tax credits have been taken into account."
Details subsidies in U.S., Canada, Europe. From AllCarsElectric
blog.
Government and
Regulation
UN water rights ruling gives business a
chance to lead.—reliability high.
"The UN adopted a resolution this week recognising access to clean
water as a fundamental human right. The resolution passed with 122
votes, although 41 countries, including the US, United Kingdom, Canada
and other developed nations, abstained. ... Although the resolution is
nonbinding, its relevance extends to all industries and geographies,
according to Faris Natour, director of Research & Innovation at
BSR, where leads the organisation's business and human rights program.
'This declaration that water (access) is a human right is a good thing
for business,' Natour said in a telephone interview. 'One of the
reasons it is good is it provides clarity about what is expected from
companies.' ... 'It puts responsibility on companies for
non-infringement,' Natour said. 'They have to ensure in their
operations they are not infringing on human rights, in this case the
human right to access of clean water.' The standard calls for companies
to proactively perform due diligence to ensure they are respecting
human rights through their policies and management systems. They must
also periodically assess human rights as a company and practice
transparency by measuring and reporting impacts." See BusinessGreen.
Press release here.
[Only the UN would
issue a press release 5,700 words long.]
