Ray Anderson Speaks

The biggest culprit in the massive mistreatment of the earth by humankind is business and industry, which happens to be where I have spent the last 52 years. Thanks to Interface Carpet, I have become a recovering plunderer. I once told Fortune magazine that someday people like me would go to jail [since] theft of our children's future is a crime. Tomorrow's child has spoken to me with this message: 'We are each and everyone a part of the web of life and we have a choice to make on our brief visit to this beautiful blue and green living planet. To hurt it or to help it.'

Ray Anderson  is the CEO of Interface Carpet. Those words above were part of  his TED talk.  (Please note that Interface Carpet is an extremely successful business.)  You can find his speech at:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ray_anderson_on_the_business_logic_of_sustainability.html 

For Those of you Who Wish to Invest Greenly

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33214&Cr=climate+change&Cr1=

The private sector arm of the World Bank today launched the first ever eco-friendly stock market index that allows investors to track the carbon efficiency of companies doing business in emerging economies.

In partnership with the giant financial services corporation Standard and Poor’s (S&P), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) established the S&P/IFC Investable Emerging Markets Index expecting it to mobilize more than $1 billion for carbon-efficient companies over the next three years.

The pioneering index is meant to encourage carbon-based competition among emerging-market businesses, give carbon-efficient companies access to long-term investors and result in lower carbon emissions in developing countries, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of investors’ portfolios.

“With growing pressure on investors to diversify and maintain returns by increasing exposure to emerging markets, and with more and more investors keen to demonstrate a preference for sustainability… IFC hopes that the launch of this index will help ensure that carbon efficiency is rewarded,” said IFC Vice-President for Business Advisory Services Rachel Kyte.

Check Your Pension Fund

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/pension-funds-cast-eyes-on-oil-sands-stake/article1395300/

The hot rumour in Calgary this week - and there's always a hot rumour or two in the oil patch - has one or more public sector pension funds negotiating with ConocoPhillips for the oil sands holding the U.S. energy giant put on the block last month. The Syncrude stake could be worth anything up to $4-billion, and ConocoPhillips wants to deploy this capital on new reserves.

Check the investments your pension fund holds: if it contains tar sands companies (like Suncor, Syncrude or others mentioned in the article,) let your pension fund know you don't want your pension funded by the destruction of the boreal forest and  by greenhouse gas emissions.  Check out the coporate triple bottom line link on this blog to find alternate investments your pension fund could make - or better yet, send your pension fund administrators the link . The adminstrators could then check out all prospective investments for their triple bottom line statements.  This is an alternate way of slowing tar sand development: pension funds invest big bucks.

Noranda/Falconbridge Finds Reducing CO2 Saves Money (originally posted June 20, 2009 )

I went to a workshop on corporate social responsibility last week (and hey , the words corporate and social responsiblity are not mutually exclusive in my mind anymore!) I learned really cool stuff (at least it is really cool stuff to an environmental geek like me.) Noranda/Falconbridge found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing energy consumption saved them money. How much money? Brace yourself - the discounted present value of future savings was $ 438 million dollars! Their output increased 6% while their energy costs were reduced by the same percentage - and, of interest to you corporate accountant types out there - their break even point went down by $ .19 per pound on nickel and $ .05 per pound on copper. This isn't pocket change to anyone! I came away from the workshop with renewed hope and optimism. It is obviously in everyone's financial interest to save the world by rolling back greenhouse gas emissions. Thank you, Nick Shepard of EduvisionInc http://www.eduvision.ca/ for an amazing workshop. 

If you are contacting Prime Minister Stephen Harper regarding the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, please mention that reducing greenhouse gas emissions can save individuals and corporations money.

Corporate Social Responsibilty

Last week I learned that a mechanism exists for voluntarily reporting on corporate social responsibility. Why would any business entity do this? Simple: reporting on the triple bottom line (fiscal; social; and environmental) assists a business in building goodwill and market share. Furthermore, a corporation might also undergo this process to be proactive - after all, reporting on environmental impacts may be legislated in the near future. About 23,000 corporations have filed reports at http://www.corporateregister.com/ . Hearteningly, the suggested format of the report includes energy consumption; greenhouse gas emissons; and biodiversity impacts. This gives one hope for the future .....Thank you Nick Shepard from http://www.eduvision.ca/ .