Food giant Kellogg’s has committed to buying palm oil exclusively from sources that guarantee the protection of labor rights and critical tropical forests.
Palm oil is one of the most widely used food commodities. According to Green Century Capital Management it can be found in almost half of all packaged foods. Its popularity comes from the fact that its production requires only half the land that other oils need. It also maintains its properties at very high temperatures.
Another episode in the contentious history of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the United States is playing out around Virginia’s George Washington National Forest. The Forest Service is currently considering permitting fracking in this pristine forest, which stretches along the rugged Appalachian Mountains. If the proposal is successful, it will be the first national forest in the country to allow high high-volume fracking within its protected borders.
Predictably, there is deep resistance from neighboring counties and towns. Fracking operations would flatten mountains for compressing stations, clear forested lands for pipelines, and inject massive volumes of undisclosed chemical cocktails into the ground. Local tourism and the intrinsic, unblemished, beauty of the forest would be damaged.
Even more disturbing is the fact that the proposed fracking would take place around the headwaters of the Potomac River. The Potomac is the exclusive source of water for thousands of Virginia residents, and for the entire metropolitan area of Washington, D.C. The recent water contamination incident in nearby West Virginia demonstrates the risks present when uncontrollable, chemically hazardous, industrial activity is allowed around water sources. In that case, chemicals used to wash coal contaminated the Elk River, leaving nine counties without useable tap water for four days. Fracking related contamination in the Potomac could leave the entirety of the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area without water.
This threat has mobilized opposition from Virginia and D.C., including the District of Columbia’s mayor and Virginia’s congressional delegation. However, a powerful lobbying force and the potential economic rewards mean that the outcome of the proposal is uncertain.
This dispute is playing out in the broader context of a struggle around America’s pursuit of energy independence. Across the country there is substantial opposition to increasingly sophisticated, and yet inherently risky, fossil fuel extraction processes. Proponents of these practices tend to isolate each case. Their arguments also imply that opposition is motivated by self-interested NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) attitudes that deny the greater good of national energy security.
These arguments are accurate in asserting that the benefits are collective. However, so are the risks. This discussion demands a broader perspective that sees beyond isolated towns and counties. We must realize that America is our collective backyard, and all Americans our neighbors. This is a debate about how we treat our natural property, and the risks that we allow our countrymen to face.
According to a recent poll conducted by the NRDC, climate change ranks second only to immigration reform among Latinos surveyed about major issues facing our country. A whopping 80 percent favored presidential action to fight climate change … showing a frustration with the lack of Congressional action on climate and energy policy. Interestingly, the poll results cut across all Latino demographics (although Latinos who identified as Republican were slightly less in favor of government intervention). These results provide evidence of stronger support for government action on climate change in the Latino community than in the U.S. as a whole. Interesting and telling, especially given this country’s changing demographics.
Now how to we motivate the Latino community to take action? Ideas?
Last week, villagers in China attacked a metalwork factory that was polluting the local environment. The incident is only one in a series of confrontations that have taken place in recent months. Social unrest, driven by environmental concerns, is on the rise in China.
Residents of Baha, a town in the southwestern province of Yunnan, blamed the factory for air pollution that has been settling on their crops, making them impossible to sell. Last week, the villagers destroyed equipment and offices after the factory manager refused to meet with them and discuss their concerns. The vandalism led to a clash with police and the subsequent arrest of a number of protestors.
Continuing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are destroying the world’s coral reefs, threatening a vital food source for millions of people around the globe. This constitutes one of the most direct threats of GHG emissions to human life.
GHG emissions threaten coral reefs in two central ways. Firstly, they result in rising ocean temperatures, which threaten coral’s ability to survive. Warmer water results in a phenomenon known as coral bleaching. This occurs when coral reacts to changing temperatures by releasing the algae that give them their color. This release, which renders them white, often results in the death of the coral polyps. According to a World Resources Institute study, 90% of reefs are expected to experience severe bleaching by the middle of the century.
This situation is compounded by ocean acidification. The Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory states that approximately 25% of the CO2 released by human activity in absorbed by oceans, lowering the pH levels (lower pH levels mean a more acidic chemical makeup). Acidification stimulates the breakdown of coral reefs. It also results in a loss of carbonate ions throughout the ocean, making it increasingly difficult for many species, including the vital plankton, to build their shells and skeletons. The impact of this change on food chains is potentially disastrous.
The twin threat of rising water temperatures and increased acidification will likely result in the loss of the majority of the world’s coral reefs within decades. A recent article in The Seattle Times addressed this issue, and pointed out that six million people, from Africa to Indonesia, rely directly on reefs for food. Another 400 millions are indirectly linked to them. Researchers are, as of yet, unable to pinpoint exactly who will be impacted and to what degree. However, it is imperative that a lack of concrete understanding not delay action. Human livelihoods and lives are at hazard. The precautionary principle, which demands action on the basis of substantial risk, should be applied in the strongest terms when the stakes are this high.
“Climate change is a fact. And when our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.”
This was the message Barack Obama sent to the nation, and indeed the world, during his State of the Union address last week in Washington, D.C. The President took time in his speech to emphasize that his administration will act decisively over the next three years on both climate change and energy issues, with or without the help of Congress. Obama painted a picture of strong cooperation between his administration and businesses around the country on these two key issues, pledging that the federal government would work to make it easier for businesses to become more environmentally sustainable. For example, he stated that he would cut red tape in order to help businesses build new factories powered by American natural gas, which he described as the “bridge fuel” America needs to help the transition to more sustainable energy sources.
Last week, GreenBiz held its seventh annual webinar on the State of Green Business. The webinar presented the top ten sustainable business trends of 2014. These trends represent what the GreenBiz team has identified as the most important factors that will shape corporate sustainability this year. A full report of the webinar can be found here.
1. “Collaboration Becomes An Accelerator”
GreenBiz has recognized business-to-business collaboration as one of the most important trends for 2014. As stated in the GreenBiz webinar report, company collaboration is “proving to be a potent tool for accelerating change within a sector, and particularly within a supply chain.” Collaboration will continue to be used as a central tool as businesses pursue greater sustainability.
“Chemical Transparency Creates a Window of Opportunity”
Several factors are coming together to accelerate corporate action on hazardous chemicals. California’s Green Chemistry Initiative represents a big leap in the regulatory sector. This law is forcing companies that sell goods in the state to take a closer look at the chemicals in their products, and replace harmful ones. Some large retailers, particularly Walmart and Target, are also driving change by independently responding to a growing number of studies and increasing public concern about chemicals by demanding that their suppliers disclose the ingredients they use or promise to cut out dangerous substances. These combined factors are breaking down the business-as-usual approach and providing an opportunity for the growth of green chemistry.
3. “Water Rises as a Risk Factor”
Water is absolutely essential to people and, in fact, to many companies. Water shortages in the supply chain can be disastrous. In recent years it has become one of the biggest global risk factors. GreenBiz asserts that companies increasingly have to compete with households and agriculture for the valuable commodity. Some corporations are being used as scapegoats for shortages and contamination incidents. GreenBiz also points out that the risks associated with water are not only to do with physical access, but also regulatory and reputational. Managing the risks associated with water will continue to be a top priority for many companies in 2014.
4. “Shadow Pricing Steps into the Limelight”
A growing number of companies are putting an estimated price on carbon emissions, water use, and land conservation, as part of “shadow pricing” initiatives. Often companies do this as part of long-term risk management strategies. It allows them to internally analyze sustainability issues using the financial value system that business understands. A growing and diverse group of companies are using the tactic, including companies in the utility, energy, technology, airlines, consumer brands, financial and retail, industries.
5. “The People Side of Sustainability Gets Legs”
Social issues are finally gaining the appropriate level of attention in many companies. The social side of sustainability has generally been overshadowed by environmental concerns. In 2013, news outlets were full of social labor rights stories, particularly in the apparel and technology industries. These industries, and the corporate world in general, will be paying much more attention to managing social risk and exploring potential opportunities in 2014.
6. “Food Sustainability Gets a Seat at the Table”
A growing global population and the rising demand for meat and protein in the developing world are creating more demand for food worldwide. At the same time, climate change, erosion and water shortages are limiting the availability of arable land. 2014 will see a focus on these issues.
7. “Employee Engagement Becomes Strategic”
Employee engagement has been part of corporate sustainability for years. However, recently, companies are switching gears and making it a much more strategic part of their sustainability plans. This is happening in part because there is a growing body of research on how best to engage employees in sustainability. Furthermore, more companies are realizing that engaging their workforce in sustainability can increase their productivity and workplace satisfaction.
8. “Energy Storage Becomes a Game-Changer”
Advances in battery technology are only now making the storage of renewable energy truly financially viable. 2014 will see a dramatic increase in the deployment of new technology that will help businesses move towards a low-carbon energy future.
9. “Cities Become Hotbeds of Promise”
Cities look set to continue to be the great hotbeds of sustainability innovation. “Smart city” technology is changing the way metropolitan areas function. The business world will find opportunity and chances to share innovations in the urban world.
10. “Buildings and Companies Go Positive”
“Net-Positive” has emerged as a new way of thinking in sustainability circles. Rather than companies trying to merely avoid doing harm, some are attempting to give back to society and the environment, leaving them better off than they were before. Coca-Cola and Pepsi, for example, are endeavoring to be water positive by giving back more water than they take with a variety of initiatives. This same principle is also being applied to buildings and will be an important facet of corporate sustainability in 2014.
This week, GreenBiz held its annual webinar in conjunction with its release of the State of Green Business 2014 report. The webinar, which discussed the leading headlines and trends in sustainability and business detailed in the GreenBiz report, also presented corporate sustainability assessments based on the Natural Capital Leaders Index. This Index was recently developed by Trucost, a UK-based organization that specializes in the analysis of economic and environmental data.
The Natural Capital Leaders Index assesses companies in one of two ways: eco-efficiency success or their success at successfully “decoupling” environmental impact from economic growth. Joel Makower, CEO of GreenBiz, stated that he believes that the decoupling metric, “will become a new standard for assessing which companies are truly leaders in sustainability.”
The Cambodian garment industry remains at a crossroads in the wake of last week’s violent government crackdown on striking laborers. The ten-day strike, called by labor unions to protest the garment factories’ minimum wage, ended abruptly when police opened fire on a crowd of workers in an industrial park on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. Four were killed, and many more injured and detained, in a government response that garment union leaders described as “beyond belief”. The incident has drawn the attention of the global media and placed pressure on both the Cambodian government and the apparel retailers who buy from factories in the country.
This drama is playing out in the larger context of a global struggle in which apparel companies are being forced to redefine their approach to labor rights. Working conditions, safety, and wages have been under constant media scrutiny in Asia since the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, last April. The pressure from this incident and the subsequent strikes focused apparel retailers’ attention on labor rights and has led to increasingly public and rapid responses to incidents and general concerns.
In our last blog post, we discussed some of U.S. president Obama’s most important environmental achievements. While the president has accomplished much over the past five years, not all has gone according to plan. This post will look at Obama and his administration’s most notable environmental policy failures.
Despite the president’s many achievements on climate change, Obama and his team have been heavily criticized for not being more vocal on the issue. Many activists argue that he has failed to use his platform to educate the American public on the importance of the issue. This silence is in part, as critics argue, a capitulation to Republican opposition. Whatever the cause, the U.S. has no national climate change policy.
Failures in other areas have compounded his critic’s views that his environmental policy has been too soft and has been, to a certain extent, overpowered by Republican resistance. Despite initially delaying a bill drafted by the Bush administration that would allow drilling off the U.S. coast, the president eventually reversed his stance and allowed oil companies to continue with these operations.Obama has also signaled several times that, although he opposes the Keystone pipeline, he does not have the power to stop it from going ahead.
Rather than complete failures in policy, some of these examples can be partially seen as a purposeful political strategy. They demonstrate that Obama has accepted that some issues are currently too contentious to be handled without political caution. In the case of climate change, by keeping the issue relatively low profile, Obama has been able to stealthily implement modest but successful policies. However, there is no doubt that opposition from the Republican party has led directly to the failure of various policies and the watering-down of Obama’s overall environmental plan.
One of Obama’s most significant environmental defeats was the failure of the 2009 cap-and-trade bill (entitled the “American Clean Energy and Security Act”), to make it through the Senate. In his first term, the president may have lacked the political will to push more aggressively for legislation such as this; however, there are signs that he may opt for a more assertive approach to environmental policy in his final three years in office.