Social Sustainability

Sustainability leadership- what does it really mean to staff and organisations?

By Ms Tania Crosbie, Director, Sustainability at Work

Almost 70% of Australian workers believe that it is important for their organisations to behave in a sustainable way*. And they are looking to their senior managers to lead real change.

So what does sustainability leadership really mean to staff and organisations?

Sustainability at Work believes that understanding current attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability in both the workplace and at home can provide insights and a platform for organisations to promote positive sustainable behavior within organisations.

A national study of more than 1,000 Australian workers found that overwhelmingly, Australians believe that change needs to come from the top.  Senior managers need to implement processes and systems that help staff with more sustainable practices at work.

Ms Tania Crosbie
Taking Care of Business: Sustainable Transformation Conference
Radisson Resort, Gold Coast – May 21 & 22,

Rethink! Addressing the global consequences of urbanisation in Cities

By the end of the 21st century 85% of our global population will be living in cities. By then cities as we know it today have ceased to exist. The majority of humans would have organized themselves into Megacities and Super Urban Conglomerates of 40 million people or more and Megacities would have replaced nations and became self supportive as economic drivers and engines for growth and compete at a global level for resources, top talents and businesses. This urbanization trend would be exclusively for the new and upcoming global economy. However we are under threat of over stressing our global environment put in place by the general ignorance that resulted into over-consumption, environmental degradation and destruction, pollution and resource depletion.

The 21st century now gives us the opportunity to use the urbanization trend and address the human inflicted calamities and stress put on to our global environment during the 20th century and reverse and reset the global environmental imbalances. Megacities and Super Urban Corridors clearly behold the opportunity and in their drive to attract top talents and businesses and operating in a stressed and scarce natural resources environment. Megacities and urban areas in general will demand new performance specifications, design parameters and conventions to create highly efficient community support structures and address all pertinent environmental issues and embed long terms solutions.

My presentation will be outlined the thoughts, principles and ideas that have formed the baseline of our current thinking and summarizes the key trends and a kaleidoscope of opportunities, ideas plus potential solutions. We recognize that there will be no single answer or a single solution other than we have to Rethink! our cities now.

Robbert van Nouhuys
Director ACLA, Hong Kong

Association for Sustainability in Business 2011 Conference
“Taking Care of Business: Sustainable Transformation” Gold Coast Australia, September 2011

US Fracking Rules Would Disclose Drilling Chemicals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pressing companies for more information about the chemicals in fluids, something they say is a trade secret. The agency holds the last in a series of community meetings on hydraulic fracturing, called fracking, on Wednesday in New York.

The new Wyoming rules say companies must submit to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission [3] a full list of chemicals they plan to use in fracking operations on a well-by-well basis. Companies will also have to report the concentration of each chemical used once the job is done.

Drillers retain the right to claim that certain details of the chemical mix are proprietary and should be kept confidential. It remains unclear to what extent industry will make this claim, but the commission’s supervisor, Tom Doll, expects those cases will be the exception.

“What we’ve explained to the operators and what we expect is each of these components, whatever is in that mix, will have to be disclosed,” he said.

If so, the Wyoming rules would offer the most detailed look so far at the composition of drilling fluids.

While the EPA has sought disclosure, the agency said the list of chemicals would be kept confidential. In Pennsylvania, a couple [4] of companies [5] responded to public concerns by partially disclosing the chemicals used there. The companies list hazardous components and their concentration by well, but do not provide a full list of chemicals.

10 Ways to Cut Carbon Emissions in Your Buildings

Johnson Controls Inc. and its Make Your Buildings Work program offer 10 tips on how your company can reduce its carbon footprint and emissions by minimizing the environmental impacts of facilities and operations.

 The advice is part of Johnson Controls’ campaign to emphasize practical solutions for building owners, managers and operators to improve the energy efficiency and performance of their properties.

The company’s “10 Tips” series is among resources available on the JCI microsite MakeYourBuildingsWork.com. Here are Johnson Controls’ recommendations for cutting carbon emissions:

1. Consider investigating in renewable energy technologies to become less dependent on the grid. This is good for the economy, environment and energy security. Using renewable energy technologies can increase owner revenue, revitalize rural communities and reduce dependence on the power grid — all without consuming natural resources or emitting pollution or greenhouse gases.

2. Promote recycling. Establish a recycling program and distribute recycling containers around your buildings and/or campus to encourage separation of waste and recyclable items.

3. Make cleaning and maintenance greener. Reduce the environmental impact of in-building operations such as cleaning, pest management and maintenance by using more environmentally friendly cleaning products and organic — or eco-sensitive synthetic — filters for equipment.

4. Host meetings with minimal environmental impact. Host and encourage telemeetings. In-person meetings should be held at green hotels that serve water in pitchers instead of bottles, reuse name badges and donate unused food to local food pantries.

5. Offer telecommuting options to employees. Establish a telecommuting program allowing employees to work from home one to five days a week.

6. Institute flex time. Encourage flex time which will stagger start/end times so that employees can avoid getting stuck in rush hour traffic and as a result use less gas and reduce emissions.

7. Increase employee and student awareness. Set up education sessions for employees/students to share home/work tips to reduce their individual and collective carbon footprints.

8. Support green suppliers. Use vendors and suppliers who embrace green practices (i.e. buy local, purchase used office furniture, etc.).

9. Modernize your fleet. Update fleets with more environmentally friendly vehicles where applicable and consider switching to electric and hybrid vehicles.

10. Promote environmentally friendly commuting. Establish carpool initiatives for employees. Provide mass transit passes for employees. Reward hybrid car owners with preferred parking. Johnson Controls launched MakeYourBuildingsWork.com this summer. The microsite features case studies, an energy efficiency calculator, other tools and separate sections on reducing energy costs, efficient operations, creating quality environments and reducing carbon emissions with 10 tips on how to achieve improvements in area.

States call for solar subsidy cut

Heinz, Coca-Cola Announce PlantBottle Partnership

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: CO) and H.J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ) today announced a strategic partnership that enables Heinz to produce its ketchup bottles using Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle^TM packaging.

The PET plastic bottles are made partially (up to 30%) from plant materials and have a lower reliance on non-renewable resources compared with traditional PET plastic bottles. Currently, PlantBottle is made using sugarcane ethanol from Brazil.

Heinz said its adoption of the PlantBottle technology will be the biggest change to its iconic ketchup bottles since they first introduced plastic in 1983… more Heinz, Coca-Cola Announce PlantBottle Partnership.

PepsiCo UK Sustainability Plans

PepsiCo UK plans to make all its packaging renewable, recyclable or bio-degradable, as part of further sustainability targets to “radically” reduce its impact on the environment.

In its second environmental sustainability report, PepsiCo UK looked at climate change, agriculture, water use, its products and how the company works with others, to drive change within the business.

The food and drink manufacture plans to introduce FSC paper-based packaging to its Quaker and Walkers brands within three years as part of its plan to make all packaging renewable, recyclable or bio-degradable by 2018.

The packing material is currently being trialled on its premium Red Sky crisps.

The firm claims to have reduced total waste to landfill by 71% and achieved zero waste to landfill at nine factories.

PepsiCo also aims to be fossil fuel free by 2023 and make sure all the energy used within its manufacturing and distribution comes from renewable sources within 15 years.

One measure it will make is to replace its entire delivery fleet with low-emissions vehicles.

Richard Evans, president of PepsiCo UK and Ireland says: “For me, the business case is clear; building sustainability into our corporate DNA cuts costs, drives innovation, reduces risk and motivates employees. My challenge over the next few years will be to truly embed sustainability into every aspect of our business.”

International Green Construction Code: Game-Changer in Sustainable Building

How to Avoid Greenwashing and Label Your Product Correctly · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader

How to Avoid Greenwashing and Label Your Product Correctly · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader.

This is a good article from Emily McClendon in the Environmental Leader

It will be the subject of one of our Brisbane seminars in early 2011.

Exploring the Role of Business through Vision 2050

The Vision 2050study lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The report ( 2.6 MB) was released at the 2010 World CEO Forum in New Delhi, India.

Twenty-nine companies, led by Alcoa, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Storebrand and Syngenta, have come together to rethink the roles that business must play over the next few decades to enable society to move toward being sustainable. This endeavor has resulted in a call to action that aims to encourage companies to reinvent themselves, their products and services to get where they and society want to be.

Participating companies contributed through workshops, virtual working groups and feedback throughout the project. Vision 2050 also runs a Regional Engagement Program to ensure the project is informed and validated by the major regions of the world.

Why Vision 2050 ?

Vision 2050 addressed thought-provoking questions like:

• What would a vision of a sustainable future look like?
• What are the pathways and solutions for achieving sustainability?
• What does this say for the changes needed?
• What are the risks to achieving this “sustainable” future?
• What are the dilemmas we must address to move forward?
• What are the robust actions, policies and investments needed to move rapidly onto a sustainable pathway?
• …and what is the role of business ?

Source WBCSC

You will find more information on the World Business Council for Sustainable Development website