PRESSROOM

WRI Joins North America’s Largest Greenhouse Gas Reporting Partnership

Paul Mackie — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:51:34 -0400

The Climate Registry, which uses accounting methodologies created by the World Resources Institute, will name WRI one of its founding reporters next month.

To date, WRI and more than 100 businesses and organizations have committed to report to The Climate Registry, which bills itself as “North America’s largest climate change organization.” It is, according to the Denver Post, “a nationwide program in which participants quantify and publicize their greenhouse gas emissions as a first step in reducing them.” The Registry was founded by 39 U.S. states, seven Canadian provinces, six Mexican states, three Native American tribes, and the District of Columbia.

“WRI has demonstrated exemplary environmental leadership by courageously stepping forward to support The Climate Registry in its preliminary stages,” said Gina McCarthy, chair of The Climate Registry.

“We have reported our annual emissions publicly on our Web site since 2001,” added Jonathan Lash, WRI president. “Registries like this are tremendously important as tools to allow companies, organizations, and civil society to track our progress in managing and reducing emissions.”

The Climate Registry is a non-profit organization established to measure and publicly report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a common, accurate and transparent manner consistent across industry sectors and borders. All emissions reported require third-party verification. The Registry represents a linking of several state-sponsored GHG emissions reporting efforts, including the California Climate Action Registry and the Eastern Climate Registry. It is anticipated that mandatory state-level GHG reporting programs will be linked with the Registry.

The Climate Registry’s protocols are based on the internationally recognized Greenhouse Gas Protocol, which was created by WRI and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and is the most widely used international accounting tool for governments, companies, and organizations to measure and report their GHG emissions. WRI also played an active role in the development of the Climate Registry.

Brazilian Companies Announce Global Warming Game Plan

Paul Mackie — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:18:56 -0400

The Brazil Greenhouse Gas Protocol Program was launched today and its 12 founding corporate members have voluntarily agreed to report their global-warming emissions.

Alec Saunders/Flickr“The program provides options for sound measurement and allows members to take action to reduce their GHG emissions,” said Thelma Krug, secretary of climate change, Brazil Environment Ministry, at the launch event here in the IBAMA Auditorium.

Founding members of the Brazil GHG Protocol Program include: Alcoa, Anglo American, Arcelor Mittal, Banco do Brasil, Bradesco, CNEC, Copel, Ford, Grupo Abril, Natura, Nova Petroquímica, O Boticário, Petrobras, Sadia, Votorantim, and Wal-Mart Brasil.

The Brazil GHG Protocol Program will serve as a voluntary registry - with the information available to the public online - of corporate GHG emissions, similar to The Climate Registry in North America. Corporate participants will log their annual inventories of global-warming emissions based on the standardized framework of the GHG Protocol, and will receive training on international best practices in GHG accounting and management.

Brazil’s GHG emissions are the fifth highest in the world, and the carbon intensity of its economy grew 17 percent from 1990 to 2002. As a developing country, Brazil has no GHG reduction obligation under the Kyoto Protocol international climate treaty, and corporate GHG reporting is voluntary in Brazil. Nonetheless, some companies choose to inventory their GHG emissions in order to identify potential efficiency improvements or participate in the international carbon market.

“Greenhouse gases are a business issue,” said Artur Grynbaum, CEO of O Boticario, a major cosmetics company based in Brazil. “In the context of ongoing international climate negotiations, we need specific approaches for different sectors to measure and verify emissions.”

The program will use the GHG Protocol, which was created by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and is considered the global standard for accounting of GHG emissions by governments, businesses, and other organizations.

“With this new program, Brazil’s government and business community are building the foundation for GHG management. You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Manish Bapna, executive vice president of WRI.

Björn Stigson, president of the WBCSD, added, “Providing business with internationally recognized tools to enable the effective management of their greenhouse gas emissions is a necessary step towards managing and reducing global emissions.”

In a report released last month, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that, “by mid-century, increases in temperature and associated decreases in soil water are projected to lead to gradual replacement of tropical forest by savanna in eastern Amazonia.” The IPCC also warning that crop productivity in Brazil “is projected to decrease for even small local temperature increases” in tropical areas, “which would increase risk of hunger.”

Along with WRI and WBCSD, partners in the Brazil GHG Protocol Program include the Brazilian Environment Ministry, the Brazilian Council for Sustainable Development, and Fundação Getúlio Vargas. Funding for the program is provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the British Embassy.

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The World Resources Institute (www.wri.org) is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and promoting policies that will help protect the Earth and improve people’s lives.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (www.wbcsd.org) brings together some 200 international companies in a shared commitment to sustainable development through economic growth, ecological balance, and social progress.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (www.ghgprotocol.org) is the most widely used international accounting tool for government and business leaders to understand, quantify, and manage GHG emissions. It is a decade-long partnership between WRI and WBCSD, working with businesses, governments, and environmental groups around the world to build a new generation of credible and effective programs for tackling climate change.

MEDIA ADVISORY: UN Roundtable to Update How Climate Change is Being Added to Development Strategies

Nate Kommers — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 15:37:44 -0400

WHAT: UNDP Washington Roundtable: “Baking Adaptation to Climate Change into the Cake of Human Development”

WHO: Manish Bapna, executive vice president, World Resources Institute
Ad Melkert, associate administrator, UNDP
Katherine Sierra, vice president for sustainable development, World Bank

WHEN: Wednesday, April 30, Noon – 2:00 p.m.
Lunch will be served

WHERE: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC

WHY: Climate change threatens to reverse many of the gains in human development. As temperatures rise, millions of the world’s poor could go hungry, see their homes flooded, or have higher chances of contracting diseases like malaria, meningitis and dengue fever. At the Bali conference last December, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said, “Climate change policies cannot be the frosting on the cake of development; they must be baked into the recipe of growth and social development.” In fact, the Bali Action Plan called for the urgent implementation of adaptation actions.

UNDP’s Roundtable will provide an update on how exactly adaptation is being baked into the cake of human development. Is climate change being made a part of national development strategies? How is it being financed? And what are the roles of the private sector?

RSVP: Cara Santos Pianesi (202) 331-9130

New Toolbox Demystifies Green Forest Product Purchasing

Paul Mackie — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:00:38 -0400

Corporate managers will now get powerful help with today’s release of a “Guide to the Guides” - a toolbox that helps them understand and find the best advice on how to purchase products originating from the world’s forests.

Virtual Rolodex of Forest-Purchasing ResourcesCountless resources have been developed to help businesses sustainably procure forest-based products such as construction materials and paper. This proliferation is confusing many buyers.

Now a representative number of these resources have been referenced in an easy-to-use toolbox - which includes a full report that details the top 10 questions that corporate managers should ask when purchasing forest-based products and references to resources for help, a shorter overview report, and a Web site with a spreadsheet tool - released by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Top 10 Elements of Forest Sustainable Purchases“Finding credible purchasing information around the complexity of the issues - including forestry, climate change, energy, and manufacturing - has always been a maze,” said David J. Refkin, director of sustainable development at Time Inc., who participated in a launch event here today at the National Press Club. “This is a virtual Rolodex of the issues and resources out there.”

The Guide to the Guides will help sustainability managers to define and implement purchasing policies for the entire range of forest-based products, from wood products like construction materials and furniture to paper products like packaging, tissue paper, and countless other products. It details topics such as forest certification, legality, environmental-friendliness, social impacts, and recycled-content percentages, and directs managers to advice on tracing their supply chains, implementing monitoring processes, and many other issues.

“Corporate managers are taking a close look at what they buy because of consumer preference for sustainable products, competitiveness, production costs, and the prestige of having a green brand,” said Jonathan Lash, WRI president. “We want to help them make smart choices - both for the bottom line and to benefit the environment, particularly in addressing climate change.”

Cassie Phillips, vice president of sustainable forests and products at Weyerhaeuser Company, thinks the environmental benefits match the business payoffs. “Finally having a more complete picture of the landscape will make it easier for buyers to design purchasing policies that fight illegal logging, promote sustainable forest management, and protect the environment.”

Björn Stigson, president of the WBCSD, added, “The idea is that simplified information, supported by specific advice on where to go for the details, can make decisions less complex for procurement managers and help ensure their purchasing supports both sustainability goals and corporate reputation.”

The World Wide Fund for Nature - International, for example, focuses on leveraging the global marketplace to help save the world’s valuable and threatened forests by combating illegal logging and promoting responsible trade between producers and purchasers. It also produced a popular “paper scorecard.” Bruce Cabarle, head of the WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network, said, “WRI and WBCSD have provided a useful toolbox that compliments WWF’s efforts to promote trade based on a stepwise approach to credible certification.”

Guide to the GuidesThe United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 28,000 square miles of forest - the approximate size of Ireland - were converted to other land uses each year between 2000 and 2005. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment found that 54 countries have lost 90 percent or more of their forest cover.

Encouragingly, forest area in Europe, North America, and China has been growing in the past decade due to reforestation initiatives. However, rapid forest loss continues in the tropical regions of South America, Africa, and Asia, where socio-economic and political problems present formidable challenges to forest conservation and sustainable management.

The new toolbox is located here and further information is available here and here.

Coastal Populations Losing Livelihoods to Polluted Waters

Paul Mackie — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:18:05 -0400

Coastal communities worldwide are witnessing their livelihoods choked by agricultural and industrial pollution, according to findings released today by the World Resources Institute.

Eutrophic Zones Worldwide“A significant portion of the world’s population - nearly half of which lives within 40 miles of a coast - is vulnerable to harmfully over-enriched ecosystems,” said Mindy Selman, senior associate at WRI and lead author of WRI’s findings.

Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus has emerged as one of the leading causes of degraded water quality. WRI identified 415 over-enriched - or “eutrophic” - coastal areas throughout the world. Of these, 169 are depleted of oxygen, creating “dead zones” that are unable to support marine life. Another 233 of the systems identified are experiencing one or more symptoms of eutrophication, including toxic algal blooms, loss of biodiversity, and die-off of coral reefs. Only 13 of the coastal areas identified exhibit signs of recovery.

Some of the coastal areas studied include the Chesapeake Bay, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Tampa Bay. Seventy-eight percent of the assessed continental U.S. coastal area and 65 percent of Europe’s Atlantic coast are eutrophic.

“There is a dramatic growth in areas receiving nitrogen and phosphorus created by agriculture, sewage, industry, and fossil fuel combustion,” said Robert Diaz, a co-author of the findings and professor of marine science at the College of William and Mary.

Over the past 50 years, human activities have caused a doubling of nitrogen pollution and a tripling of phosphorus pollution in coastal areas. By comparison, human activities have increased atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide - the gas primarily responsible for global warming - by 32 percent since the beginning of the Industrial Age.

The most severe form of oxygen depletion in coastal areas has escalated dramatically over the past 50 years, increasing from about 10 documented cases in 1960 to 44 in 1995 to at least 169 today.

The sources of pollution vary by region. In the United States and Europe, agricultural sources such as animal manure and commercial fertilizers are typically the main causes of eutrophication. Sewage and industrial discharges, which usually receive some treatment, are a secondary source. However, elsewhere in the world, wastewater from sewage and industry is often untreated and a primary contributor to eutrophication. Only 35 percent of wastewater in Asia is treated, 14 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and less than 1 percent in Africa.

The full findings appear in Eutrophication and Hypoxia in Coastal Areas: A Global Assessment of the State of Knowledge.

“The number of degraded coastal areas around the world is sure to be a much greater problem than even our study of 415 areas suggests,” Selman said. “Many countries will need to take initial steps in monitoring their water and eventually reducing pollution through smart policies.”

Unfair Forestry Policies Abet Poverty, Finds New Study

Jon Talbot — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 11:41:00 -0400

Unfair government policies fail to benefit poor people who live in the forests of many developing countries. Those same policies fail even to protect forests, according to a new study.Charcoal Trucks, Senegal. Photo by Allyson Purpura.

Double standards and arbitrary enforcement are the main culprits. In Senegal, for example, rural communities must produce and follow detailed forestry management plans, while corporations need only a simple permit. In Honduras, authorities ensure that community groups follow certain regulations, while ignoring the activities of corporations bound by the same laws. Similar stories have played out in Mali, Honduras, Cameroon, Uganda, Brazil, Nicaragua and India, according to the study.

“People in poverty are not just left behind by government policy. They are excluded,” said Jesse Ribot of the Institutions and Governance Program of the World Resources Institute and co-author of the report. “Deliberate policy choices, including some environmental laws and decisions by environmental agencies, are a major cause of that exclusion.”

With an estimated 80 percent of the world’s forests on state-owned land, and 1.6 billion people dependent on forests for their livelihoods, government decisions about the use of forests are all-important to the effort to eradicate poverty.

“History shows us that the traditional model of ‘scientific forestry’ management focuses on maximizing profit for a few,” said Anne M. Larson of the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the study’s other co-author. “Governments have the ability – and we would argue the obligation – to use these resources to combat poverty by first reexamining their forest policies.”

Forestry laws in many countries have changed very little since European colonists emphasized control of natural resources with no safeguards for the forest dwellers and few for the health of the environment. More participation in drafting forest policies by the people who live in the forested areas might help reduce poverty and the natural landscape, the study concludes.

“The poverty of forestry policy: Double standards on an uneven playing field” is published in Volume 2, Number 2 of the Journal of Sustainability Science, and is also available at www.wri.org.

Latin American Leader Roberto Artavia Elected to WRI Board

Paul Mackie — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:40:29 -0400

The World Resources Institute (WRI) has elected Roberto Artavia to its board of directors. Artavia is a distinguished leader in business education, conservation of marine resources, and sustainable development in Latin America.

“We are honored to have Roberto as the newest member of our distinguished board of directors,” said WRI President Jonathan Lash. “His commitment to education and sustainable development, and his deep experience in Latin America, will be invaluable additions to our global efforts.”

Artavia officially joins the board today during its twice-annual meeting at WRI headquarters here in Washington D.C.

A doctoral graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Artavia most recently served as president of INCAE Business School. He was previously a director and then dean at that school, and continues to serve on its board.

He is the recipient of awards given to foreign citizens by the governments of Guatemala and Panama for his contributions to progress in competitiveness and sustainability.

In 1996, Artavia was the founding director of the Latin American Centre for Competitiveness and Sustainable Development, a think tank on topics including industrial competitiveness, sustainable development, and institutional innovation. In 2004, he co-founded the Central American Leadership Initiative.

Artavia is the president of Marviva de Costa Rica, a non-profit organization devoted to the protection and conservation of marine resources, and the Protector of Viva Trust, the largest philanthropic organization focused on the sustainable development of Latin America.

He currently serves as strategic advisor to the Panama Canal Authority, the Foundation for Economic and Social Development of Guatemala, and several other organizations in Latin America. Artavia is on the board of the Costa Rica Presidential Commission on Renewable Energy. He advises numerous governments, development banks, and academic and development organizations in the topics of his expertise.

Artavia joins a board that also includes Chairman James A. Harmon; Vice-Chair Harriett Babitt; Chairman Emeritus William D. Ruckelshaus; Gay Barclay; Frances G. Beinecke; Afsaneh Beschloss; Antony Burgmans; Fernando Henrique Cardoso; Jessica Catto; Leslie Dach; Jamshyd N. Godrej; Al Gore; Denis Hayes; Aditi Kapoor; Jonathan Lash; Gretchen Long; Preston R. Miller, Jr.; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; James W. Owens; Michael Polsky; C.K. Prahalad; Qian Yi; Theodore Roosevelt IV; Stephen M. Ross; Alison Sander; José Sarukhan; James Gustave Speth; Ralph Taylor; Lee M. Thomas; Todd S. Thomson; and Diana H. Wall.

Leading Companies Responding to Ecosystem Degradation

Paul Mackie — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:35:37 -0400

Corporate Ecosystem Services Review road-tested by Akzo Nobel, BC Hydro, Mondi, Rio Tinto, and Syngenta

Global warming may dominate headlines today. Ecosystem degradation will do so tomorrow.

To prepare businesses for this new landscape, three organizations today launched a set of guidelines designed to help companies proactively develop strategies to manage risks and opportunities arising from ecosystem degradation.

The guidelines, called the “Corporate Ecosystem Services Review,” were developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with the Meridian Institute and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Five WBCSD members - Akzo Nobel, BC Hydro, Mondi, Rio Tinto, and Syngenta - “road-tested” the methodology and provided input to its design.

“The world’s forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems are under tremendous pressure due to climate change, land conversion, and many other factors,” said Jonathan Lash, president, WRI. “As ecosystems degrade, companies will face operational, regulatory, and reputational risks while those that offer solutions may find new business opportunities and new sources of revenue.”

Ecosystems provide companies with a wide variety of benefits or services including freshwater, wood, pollination, climate regulation, and protection from natural hazards, to name a few.

“Ecosystem services are often unacknowledged, yet they underpin many corporate activities,” said John Ehrmann, managing partner of the Meridian Institute. “I am pleased with the feedback from company managers who are finding the guidelines helpful for developing strategies that improve both corporate performance and ecosystem stewardship.”

The road-testers found that the guidelines can provide a number of other benefits as well. They can help companies anticipate new markets and government policies that may emerge in response to ecosystem degradation. They can strengthen corporate environmental impact assessments by adding considerations traditional methods may overlook. They also can help companies better manage conflicts over resources, identifying options for better trade-offs between ecosystem services.

“The methodology helped us identify and rank emerging problems, and provided us with a framework for turning risks into opportunities,” said Peter Gardiner, natural resources manager at Mondi, a leading international paper and packaging manufacturer.

Mondi’s newfound strategies include a number of operational changes that will increase the company’s efficiency in using freshwater, a scarce ecosystem service, and lead to new markets for the company’s byproducts.

“The Corporate Ecosystem Review helped us to better understand how a number of emerging environmental changes are likely to affect our business and how our company might best position itself to respond to these changes,” said Steve Hunt, senior vice president, Asia-Pacific, Eka Chemicals, a division of chemical giant Akzo Nobel.

Some road-testers, such as Mondi and BC Hydro, used the guidelines to gain insight into the direct implications that ecosystem trends pose for them. Other road-testers, such as Akzo Nobel and Syngenta, applied the methodology to understand the risks faced by a segment of their customers due to ecosystem degradation and, in turn, discovered opportunities for new products or services that address these risks. The guidelines profile these and other road-test experiences.

“We’re going to be hearing a lot about the Corporate Ecosystem Services Review. A couple dozen more WBCSD members are already taking it up this year,” said Björn Stigson, president of the WBCSD. “Leading companies realize that they need to be prepared for the business challenges posed by ecosystem decline.”

The guidelines were launched at WBCSD’s annual conference of delegates in Switzerland. For a copy of The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review, visit www.wri.org/ecosystems/esr.

Indore, India and EMBARQ Team Up to Improve City’s Public Transportation

Jon Talbot — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:58:20 -0500

New agreement will help ensure success of city’s bus-rapid-transit system

INDORE, INDIA, February 28, 2008 – The residents of Indore, India should enjoy reduced emissions, congestion, and improved pedestrian safety a little sooner. EMBARQ MOU Signing Ceremony, Indore, IndiaThat’s because Vivek Aggarwal, executive director of Indore City Transport Services Limited (ICTS), has signed a commitment to partner with EMBARQ - the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport, to receive technical assistance to develop the Indore bus-rapid-transit system.

The in-kind assistance from EMBARQ involves collaborating with ICTS to improve the quality and timely delivery of all aspects of the innovative transport system that Indore is currently developing. EMBARQ will bring to the project its experience implementing the Metrobus Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in Mexico City, and assisting the cities of Porto Alegre, Brazil; Istanbul, Turkey; and Arequipa, Peru, in their efforts to develop sustainable transport solutions.

“The Indore BRTS Metro Jet is a model for Indian and international cities alike,” said Dario Hidalgo, new business development director and senior transport engineer at EMBARQ. “We will provide the local planning and implementation team with our international experience, ensuring the project continues to meet the highest standards.” Hidalgo was part of the team that crafted the TransMilenio in Bogotá, Colombia, and has collaborated with several other governments and international organizations in planning BRT systems around the world.

“EMBARQ’s assistance encourages us to continue our efforts to deliver a world-class transit system for Indore,” noted Aggarwal. “We know we have several challenges ahead to complete our project. The partnership with EMBARQ helps us address these challenges faster, better and cheaper, for the benefit of the people of Indore.”

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Established in May 2002, EMBARQ - The World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport - acts as a catalyst for socially, financially, and environmentally sound solutions to the problems of urban mobility. EMBARQ receives support from its global strategic partners the Shell Foundation and the Caterpillar Foundation. EMBARQ activities in India are also sponsored under the SUMA program of CAI-Asia.

Leading California Companies Announce Buyers’ Group for Renewable Power

Nate Kommers — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:26:25 -0500

With today’s announcement by fourteen of California’s most prominent energy buyers, green power becomes an even more integral part of doing business in California. The partnership is called the “Green Power Group – California Affiliates.”

Advanced Micro Devices, Apple Inc., BT Americas, Cisco Systems, eBay, Google Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corporation, Intuit, Levi Strauss & Co., News Corporation, Pactiv Corporation, Patagonia, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc will be sharing best practices for purchasing and developing new sources of renewable energy. The partnership will help enable them to meet environmental goals, reduce exposure to volatile electricity prices, and support new clean technologies.

The Green Power Group – California Affiliates is the third commercial and industrial partnership convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI). The first two partnerships, the U.S. Green Power Market Development Group and the European Green Power Market Development Group, have facilitated the development of over 600 megawatts of renewable energy through on-site projects and green power purchases. The California Affiliates will build on this experience to bring corporate renewable energy purchasing to significant scale in California.

“The commercial and industrial sectors can play a critical role in supporting renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies,” said Alexander Perera, director of WRI’s Green Power Market Development Group. “By working together, these companies hope to see improved green-power purchasing opportunities in the state.”