Living Buildings

Watch this lecture by Jason McLennon, CEO of Cascadia Region Green Building Council, about how his organization is constructing more efficient environment- and human-friendly buildings. 

His use of biomimicry (mimicking nature’s engineering genius) can be applied to any sector or industry – not just buildings.

Watch Part 2 and Part 3 of this lecture.

EPA’s New Greenhouse Gas Emissions Ruling

On October 30, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the Final Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule requiring that large sources and suppliers in the U.S. emitting more than 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs)* per year monitor and report their emissions to the EPA on an annual basis.  The rule applies to all sectors of the economy and will be effective starting on December 29, 2009.

According to EPA’s website, this “new reporting system will provide a better understanding of where GHGs are coming from and will guide development of the best possible policies and programs to reduce emissions.”  This move to collect and analyze nationwide emissions data is the EPA’s most recent attempt to address climate change.

Facilities that currently emit more than 25,000 tons of GHG emissions per year must begin collecting data on January 1, 2010.  The first annual report of 2010 emissions is due March 31, 2011.   Participating facilities must continue to submit GHG reports every year. A facility is able to stop reporting once their GHG emissions are less than 25,000 tons per year for 5 consecutive years, or less than 15,000 tons per year for 3 consecutive years.  

Click here to see EPA’s final rule.  To access EPA’s Applicability Tool, click here.

For help addressing your facilities’ emissions monitoring and reporting, visit www.brownflynn.com.

 

*The gases covered by the proposed rule are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride, and other fluorinated gases including nitrogen trifluoride and hydrofluorinated ethers.

Trends in the Investment Community

Dear Friends and Colleagues-

We wanted to share the following links with you to keep  you abreast of trends in the investment community with regard to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting.

Responsible Investor, “SEC reverses position on environmental and social shareholder resolutions”

Responsible Investor, “PRI sign-ups buck financial crisis – Bloomberg joins and launches ESG data on screens”

All the best,

Barb and Margie

The Story of Stuff’s Annie Leonard

This is the plenary address of Annie Leonard, creator of “The Story of Stuff”, at the 2009 National Bioneers Conference.

Will we change by design or default?

Bioneers Conference 2009

Bioneers is a 20-year-old nonprofit headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico that prides itself on popularizing sustainable solutions for both people and planet.  Every year, Bioneers holds a national conference and cities all around the nation host 3 days of workshops, plenary speakers (both on-screen national speakers and local) and tours.

Bioneers Cleveland is hosting the 2009 Conference next weekend on November 5-7.  Visit their website to find out about the speakers, workshops, tours and other events available at this ‘beaming site’ of the conference.

Below is the 2009 National Bioneers Conference plenary address of Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food.

The Evergreen Cooperatives

An innovative and sustainable business initiative has started in Greater University Circle.

The Evergreen Cooperatives are businesses working together with Greater University Circle communities (Hough, Glenville, Fairfax, Buckeye-Shaker, Little Italy and East Cleveland) and some of Cleveland’s anchor institutions to create green jobs for local residents.

Each year, these major institutions–including CWRU, the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, among many others–purchase billions of dollars worth of goods and services from suppliers that are outside of our region.  Through the Evergreen Cooperatives, these institutions can begin sourcing some of their products and services locally–generating economic development and green jobs where they are desperately needed.

“Beyond Green”

By Margie Flynn, Principal and Co-Owner of BrownFlynn

Originally published in Paperboard Packaging on March 1, 2009.

Many leaders today believe “going green” will enable their company to gain competitive advantage and market share, especially during a challenging economy. That may be true, but how deep does the commitment to “green” permeate their organizations? While manufacturing and selling environmentally friendly paperboard and packaging products can increase sales, generate efficiencies and potentially enhance your company’s brand, two key questions remain:

• Is your commitment to green authentic and core to your company’s culture and operations?
• Have you explored the benefits of thinking beyond green to reap the wide-ranging benefits of sustainability?

More consumers are seeking to buy green paperboard packaging, versus plastics and other forms of packaging, but that doesn’t mean they’re overlooking a company’s true intention in selling such products. If a company, on face value, appears to be committed to “green” environmental practices based on its product marketing, yet the majority of its operations and manufacturing processes are brown (far from green), then the company is “greenwashing.”

Greenwashing triggers increased scrutiny and criticism by a multitude of key stakeholders, including customers, shareholders, advocacy groups, and many more. Therefore, before going too far down the green path, be sure to align your internal practices with your external actions and intentions.

But, why stop at just green? Think beyond green. Think sustainability. Companies integrating sustainability into their business operations recognize the convergence of environmental, social and economic values will truly set them apart from the competition. In doing so, your company can create value for customers by providing packaging solutions they want and need to enhance their lives while reaping the benefits of sustainability.

A good example is MeadWestvaco Corp., named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the fifth consecutive year, which believes sustainability is both a business strategy and an ethical imperative. The company sees it as the driving force behind its innovative products and environmentally responsible manufacturing processes. Most importantly, however, it describes sustainability as “the foundation of a company built on integrity, accountability and stewardship.”

In this tough economy, however, does it pay to be sustainable?

Barb Brown listed in 2009 Most Powerful & Influential Women of Ohio

Barb Brown, Principal and Co-Owner of BrownFlynn, was honored to be listed as one of the 2009 Most Powerful & Influential Women in Ohio.

She was listed as one of 16 inspirational women, including:

Surge in Socially Responsible Investing Builds Business Case for Sustainability

Many companies are taking note of the recent surge in socially responsible investing (SRI), which is swiftly making the business case for corporate responsibility and sustainability.  Essentially, socially responsible investors recognize that companies’ impacts on the environment, society and the economy are all valid components of investment decisions.

Demonstrating the power of SRI:

Chevron Corp. recently became the first major U.S. oil company to announce that it would track and report on the carbon content of its products.  As a result of the decision, The Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, N.J., a faith-based institutional investor, withdrew its greenhouse gas emissions shareholder resolution against the company, in addition to praising Chevron’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

The Sisters of St. Dominic consists of a group of 16 investors and is a member of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (a coalition of nearly 300 institutional investors representing over $100 billion in invested capital). The Sisters of St. Dominic filed a proposal on the carbon content of Chevron’s products earlier in 2009.

Chevron’s competitor, Exxon Mobil Corp., may now be under more pressure to reduce its own carbon footprint.  The investors group criticized Exxon directors for asking their shareholders to vote against a similar proposal.

A growing market:

The SRI market currently comprises an estimated $2.71 trillion out of $25.1 trillion in the U.S. investment marketplace today.  In order to capture the growing SRI market, Dow Jones, NASDAQ and S&P (among others) have all launched Sustainability Indices to show how companies compare in terms of sustainable practices.

SRI works to the financial benefit of companies that consider and address their environmental, social and economic impacts, while delivering more long-term returns to shareholders that understand the link between sustainable corporate practices and the ‘sustainability’ (read: longevity) of the companies themselves.

Patricia Kelley, an investment consultant of UBS Financial Services, Inc., stated, “We believe a solution to the current credit crunch is a greater focus on sustainability.”  She explained the current credit crunch as a catalyst of the cultural paradigm shift towards sustainability and corporate responsibility.

She continued, “The fact that a burgeoning number of investors care about corporate responsibility builds the business case for companies to deepen their focus on integrating sustainability into the core of their operations.”

Obama works toward a more sustainable nation

In addition to winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama has been busy making the United States government more environmentally and socially responsible. 

His new Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy will work to coordinate action on climate change.  Obama also recently signed an Executive Order to promote ‘Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance’. 

On the social side of sustainability, Obama created the White House’s new Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.  This new office will identify the most effective non-profit programs that are transforming their surrounding communities, especially in the priority policy areas of education, health care and economic development. 

The President will ask Congress to give $50 million of his 2010 budget to the Social Innovation Fund, which was authorized by the recent Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act.  The Social Innovation Fund will be used as growth capital to help expand those innovative programs and to improve data collection and evaluation for programs the government funds.  The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation will partner with foundations, philanthropists and corporations to provide additional resources, funding and technical assistance to these programs that are creating positive social change in the US.

It remains to be seen as to how all of Obama’s policies will contribute the national economy, but taking responsibility and being accountable for national environmental and social issues is no small undertaking.