Now is a great time to take action on the environment.
In a February 28th an article published in the Globe and Mail quoted a poll by Ipsos Reid in which a majority of Canadians support the government taking measures to address the environment even if it means running a deficit in a time of difficult economics. There is now a large opportunity for Canadian organizations to engage their workforces to capitalize on this societal sentiment and reduce their impact on the environment.
Taking action on the environment involves many things to a company. If done well, embarking on a green strategy becomes a way to create a competitive advantage. It can reduce inefficiencies through the way it delivers products and services. It is a way to generate growth by serving new, emerging green market segments. It is an important way to rally employees around their workplace at a time when so many feel vulnerable.
To achieve the benefits, the green strategy has to become fundamental to the organization and encompass the entire company. Programs have to produce measurable results, to show that the initiatives have reduced the environmental footprint in a real way. Employees and other stakeholders are no longer accepting platitudes. You need much more than creating a green branding campaign or a carbon offset purchasing program if you are going to get their trust.
It takes a clear plan and dedicated leadership to review your entire business process to find opportunities. You stimulate a way of doing business across the company where everyone thinks about how they can contribute. You create innovation and competition. When you get this approach and culture in place, it becomes a very powerful tool for accelerating company progress. People will be stepping up with new ideas. Your systems need to be able to incorporate these effectively. Doing this will create real marketing and PR messages for the market place.
An effective program will include knowledge centers to monitor looming regulation and law. Through this, the company will be able to take proactive action relative to its competitors. For example, through President Obama’s announcement last week in the U.S. budget proposal, there will very likely be a cross-industry mandatory carbon cap-and-trade scheme in the US by 2012. This means that Canada will shortly follow.
Now Canadian companies need to start to plan around a carbon price. Energy intensive industries need to think about how they mitigate and manage that extra cost. Canadian companies need to figure out how they apply carbon in capital planning. These are things that only the most progressive businesses are doing at this time. These companies will have a competitive advantage as we get closer to the low carbon economy.
In conclusion, companies are right now struggling to cut cost and find growth. Taking action on the environment can be an opportunity to do both, while creating something valuable for the future.
Francisca Quinn is the business manager for Loop Initiatives in Toronto, which works with Canadian companies to create sustainable business strategies. Prior to joining Loop, Francisca worked with large British companies and investors on climate change strategies at the Carbon Trust in London, UK.
Francisca Quinn
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Thursday, July 17, 2008
How Recycling Can Impact Your Bottom Line
It’s a simple premise, the more efficient a business is, the more profitable. And one area where companies have the opportunity to become more efficient is waste reduction. Currently commercial, industrial and institutional sources account for half of Canada’s waste. The irony is that before these companies have to pay for the removal of this waste, they first had to purchase it.
Office recycling programs are on the cusp of significant change and the driving force is public demand and the realization that it can be cost effective. This article provides a number of practical examples of how a typical office can reduce waste.
Step 1 - Assess where your impacts are
A waste audit is the most definitive way in determining the type, source and amount of waste being produced and how. A first step is simply looking at what’s in your garbage cans at the end of each day. Here are some simple ideas one where to start:
- Replace disposable cups, plates with ceramics – no more plastic cutlery.
- Start a paper recycling program. For more advice on reducing your paper consumption, click here.
- Consider an alternative to disposable paper towels in your washrooms. A roller towel for example is one alternative.
- Look at purchasing recycled products and identifying opportunities to reuse or recycle materials.
- Look very closely at your e-waste. PC’s, Printer Cartridges, and Mobile Phones can all be recycled. There are a lot more recycling choices available now to deal with e-waste. Here are some suggestions.
o Many electronic manufacturers now have recycling programs in place that include both drop-off depots and mail in programs.
o Check what municipal and provincial electronics programs are available in your area.
o Donate your electronics to charities, non-profit organizations, or participate in Canada’s Computers for Schools program which puts working PC’s into libraries, schools, and other non-profit organizations.
- Consider a simple waste bin system within your office for selected waste streams.
Step 2 – Eliminating the misconceptions
- Recycling will cost us money
- We do not produce enough to make it worth the effort
- Recycled products are more expense and quality is not as good
Step 3 – Engaging your team
Putting a simple, workable recycling program in place can be easy once you have identified where the opportunities are. Empower your team to implement change, and make sure your achievements are shared and communicated on an on-going basis.
Office recycling programs are on the cusp of significant change and the driving force is public demand and the realization that it can be cost effective. This article provides a number of practical examples of how a typical office can reduce waste.
Step 1 - Assess where your impacts are
A waste audit is the most definitive way in determining the type, source and amount of waste being produced and how. A first step is simply looking at what’s in your garbage cans at the end of each day. Here are some simple ideas one where to start:
- Replace disposable cups, plates with ceramics – no more plastic cutlery.
- Start a paper recycling program. For more advice on reducing your paper consumption, click here.
- Consider an alternative to disposable paper towels in your washrooms. A roller towel for example is one alternative.
- Look at purchasing recycled products and identifying opportunities to reuse or recycle materials.
- Look very closely at your e-waste. PC’s, Printer Cartridges, and Mobile Phones can all be recycled. There are a lot more recycling choices available now to deal with e-waste. Here are some suggestions.
o Many electronic manufacturers now have recycling programs in place that include both drop-off depots and mail in programs.
o Check what municipal and provincial electronics programs are available in your area.
o Donate your electronics to charities, non-profit organizations, or participate in Canada’s Computers for Schools program which puts working PC’s into libraries, schools, and other non-profit organizations.
- Consider a simple waste bin system within your office for selected waste streams.
Step 2 – Eliminating the misconceptions
- Recycling will cost us money
- We do not produce enough to make it worth the effort
- Recycled products are more expense and quality is not as good
Step 3 – Engaging your team
Putting a simple, workable recycling program in place can be easy once you have identified where the opportunities are. Empower your team to implement change, and make sure your achievements are shared and communicated on an on-going basis.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Loop Initiatives and Cooler Solutions Design Office Composting Solution
Our work with Cooler Solutions to design a Biophilic Composter has generated positive press coverage across North America, including the National Post, CBC Radio, Oattawa Citizen, Vancouver Sun and more.
A sample article (taken from the National Post) is below:
Office composting system for green-conscious businesses
Anne Howland, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, August 03, 2007
OTTAWA -- Most modern offices have the recycling of paper, pop cans and plastic down pat, but what to do with those pesky coffee grinds, apple cores and banana peels?
A businessman from Toronto and a lawyer from Ottawa hope their new workplace composting system will be an environmentally friendly -- even productivity-enhancing -- solution.
"Almost no offices, even the most progressive ones, have picked up on office composting," said Rodney Wilts, founding director of Ottawa-based Loop Initiatives, a management consulting firm that helps businesses with sustainability issues.
The average office worker produces half a kilogram of organic waste each day, Wilts said. That's about the same weight as a loaf of bread. But because of odour, fruit flies and the "hassle factor," businesses often just send that waste to landfill. A recent Canadian study shows that as much as 33% of office garbage can be returned to nature.
With this in mind, Wilts teamed up with friend Chris Ferguson, partner at Toronto-based Cooler Solutions, which develops and designs sustainable products. Together, the pair created a workplace composting system that cuts out the smell and the bugs, while also growing an appealing array of greenery that looks good and cleans the air.
The system - which resembles a work bench with several waste bins stored underneath - uses "a few innovations that we think are exciting," Wilts said. For example, bokashi - a type of bran developed in Japan - rapidly reduces the waste to a gel-like compost. A process that usually takes a couple of months is reduced to a few days thanks to the bran, Wilts notes, thereby cutting down on odour and insects.
A pinch of the compost added to the system's garden "roof" and "wall" then produces lush greenery, mostly ferns, which is visually appealing, cleans the office air and, according to Wilts, makes employees feel good - for a variety of reasons.
"Humans have an innate love of nature and we've done a poor job in an urban environment of maintaining that connection," said Wilts, citing a Harvard professor's work on "biophilia" that shows people can experience psychological problems, or at least diminished productivity, when this connection is not present.
The system also makes employees feel they are contributing to the environment, adds Ferguson, who first met Wilts when the law student came to work at Ferguson's organic farm in Victoria. "It's not just that the plants are nice, but you're contributing to those plants by composting," Ferguson said.
The system can be installed in the office kitchen -- close to the coffee grinds, the largest contributor to workplace organic waste -- or in a more visible area, adding a little green public relations value for the company, Wilts said.
The system uses about a bag of bokashi a year and requires minimal watering. "We take what is ugly, smelly and unattractive and often hidden under the kitchen sink and make it into something appealing," he adds.
Of course, Wilts and Ferguson have other types of "green" in mind for their system. "It has tremendously wide applications" in any typical office environment, Wilts said. The pair is currently seeking a corporate or municipal partner to help bring the concept to the pilot stage, and hope to have it on the market next year, he adds. They're starting in the Ontario marketplace, using Toronto as a launching pad, and are already in discussions with the City of Toronto, which has an ambitious 100-per-cent diversion plan by 2012.
They're also talking with various waste service providers, many of whom have shown "keen interest," who would maintain the composting system at offices where they already pick up garbage and recycling, Wilts says. These providers could also sell the system's excess compost, which is "like gold" for businesses such as organic farmers, Ferguson said.
Wilts said they have not yet set a price for the system, pending discussions with waste service providers, who would likely provide the system to offices for free. "It's an innovation that will fairly quickly pay for itself," he adds.
Ferguson said they would like to see the system adopted across North America, and spawn other similar innovations. "The legacy we're creating with our products is as important as our company's success," he said.
Both men say that while there's been a lot of talk and "sabre rattling" about waste diversion, there needs to be more immediate action.
"We'd love to see this and other innovations like it as commonplace in offices as recycling is now," Wilts said. "We need to get there."
A sample article (taken from the National Post) is below:
Office composting system for green-conscious businesses
Anne Howland, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, August 03, 2007
OTTAWA -- Most modern offices have the recycling of paper, pop cans and plastic down pat, but what to do with those pesky coffee grinds, apple cores and banana peels?
A businessman from Toronto and a lawyer from Ottawa hope their new workplace composting system will be an environmentally friendly -- even productivity-enhancing -- solution.
"Almost no offices, even the most progressive ones, have picked up on office composting," said Rodney Wilts, founding director of Ottawa-based Loop Initiatives, a management consulting firm that helps businesses with sustainability issues.
The average office worker produces half a kilogram of organic waste each day, Wilts said. That's about the same weight as a loaf of bread. But because of odour, fruit flies and the "hassle factor," businesses often just send that waste to landfill. A recent Canadian study shows that as much as 33% of office garbage can be returned to nature.
With this in mind, Wilts teamed up with friend Chris Ferguson, partner at Toronto-based Cooler Solutions, which develops and designs sustainable products. Together, the pair created a workplace composting system that cuts out the smell and the bugs, while also growing an appealing array of greenery that looks good and cleans the air.
The system - which resembles a work bench with several waste bins stored underneath - uses "a few innovations that we think are exciting," Wilts said. For example, bokashi - a type of bran developed in Japan - rapidly reduces the waste to a gel-like compost. A process that usually takes a couple of months is reduced to a few days thanks to the bran, Wilts notes, thereby cutting down on odour and insects.
A pinch of the compost added to the system's garden "roof" and "wall" then produces lush greenery, mostly ferns, which is visually appealing, cleans the office air and, according to Wilts, makes employees feel good - for a variety of reasons.
"Humans have an innate love of nature and we've done a poor job in an urban environment of maintaining that connection," said Wilts, citing a Harvard professor's work on "biophilia" that shows people can experience psychological problems, or at least diminished productivity, when this connection is not present.
The system also makes employees feel they are contributing to the environment, adds Ferguson, who first met Wilts when the law student came to work at Ferguson's organic farm in Victoria. "It's not just that the plants are nice, but you're contributing to those plants by composting," Ferguson said.
The system can be installed in the office kitchen -- close to the coffee grinds, the largest contributor to workplace organic waste -- or in a more visible area, adding a little green public relations value for the company, Wilts said.
The system uses about a bag of bokashi a year and requires minimal watering. "We take what is ugly, smelly and unattractive and often hidden under the kitchen sink and make it into something appealing," he adds.
Of course, Wilts and Ferguson have other types of "green" in mind for their system. "It has tremendously wide applications" in any typical office environment, Wilts said. The pair is currently seeking a corporate or municipal partner to help bring the concept to the pilot stage, and hope to have it on the market next year, he adds. They're starting in the Ontario marketplace, using Toronto as a launching pad, and are already in discussions with the City of Toronto, which has an ambitious 100-per-cent diversion plan by 2012.
They're also talking with various waste service providers, many of whom have shown "keen interest," who would maintain the composting system at offices where they already pick up garbage and recycling, Wilts says. These providers could also sell the system's excess compost, which is "like gold" for businesses such as organic farmers, Ferguson said.
Wilts said they have not yet set a price for the system, pending discussions with waste service providers, who would likely provide the system to offices for free. "It's an innovation that will fairly quickly pay for itself," he adds.
Ferguson said they would like to see the system adopted across North America, and spawn other similar innovations. "The legacy we're creating with our products is as important as our company's success," he said.
Both men say that while there's been a lot of talk and "sabre rattling" about waste diversion, there needs to be more immediate action.
"We'd love to see this and other innovations like it as commonplace in offices as recycling is now," Wilts said. "We need to get there."
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Goldman Sachs Weighs In On Renewables
Renewable energy has proven to be a hot commodity in the investment world, with stocks soaring for companies involved in wind, solar, biomass, and sustainable hydro (for example see Plutonic Power's stock chart over the past two years).
Goldman Sachs, the large investment bank, continues to be enthusiastic about renewable energy. They have identified five key events for sustained growth in this area. These areas include:
1. Enacting renewable portfolio standards - requiring power companies to provide a set percentage (usually between 10 and 25%) from renewable sources;
2. Boost enforcement of existing renewable portfolio standards;
3. Enact a carbon tax or a cap and trade system - many provinces and states have already indicated they are heading in this direction. Tim Kingston, a managing director with Goldman's expressed confidence that one or the other would be in place imminently across the US;
4. Continued escalation of oil prices - most analysts agree that the long term forecast for oil is higher prices; and
5. New administration in the White House in 2008 - George Bush has steadfastly resisted a carbon tax or a cap and trade system. Early indications are that a new administration would be more receptive to moving forward in combating climate change.
Renewable energy has proven to be a hot commodity in the investment world, with stocks soaring for companies involved in wind, solar, biomass, and sustainable hydro (for example see Plutonic Power's stock chart over the past two years).
Goldman Sachs, the large investment bank, continues to be enthusiastic about renewable energy. They have identified five key events for sustained growth in this area. These areas include:
1. Enacting renewable portfolio standards - requiring power companies to provide a set percentage (usually between 10 and 25%) from renewable sources;
2. Boost enforcement of existing renewable portfolio standards;
3. Enact a carbon tax or a cap and trade system - many provinces and states have already indicated they are heading in this direction. Tim Kingston, a managing director with Goldman's expressed confidence that one or the other would be in place imminently across the US;
4. Continued escalation of oil prices - most analysts agree that the long term forecast for oil is higher prices; and
5. New administration in the White House in 2008 - George Bush has steadfastly resisted a carbon tax or a cap and trade system. Early indications are that a new administration would be more receptive to moving forward in combating climate change.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Are Carbon Offsets for Real?
There has been no shortage of press recently on carbon offsets. Depending on the source they are a quick and easy way to reduce a company's impact on climate change, or they are greenwash run by scam operators looking to make a quick dollar out of the climate crisis. The short answer is that they can be either.
The principle behind carbon offsets is sound - there is a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are unavoidable for a business in our society. As we all share the same atmosphere those emissions can be offset by creating carbon savings elsewhere. While environmentalists agree on the principle, the problem has come in the execution. There are two main arguments against offsets: they are just ways to assuage guilt, and they are ineffective.
Arguing that offsets assuage guilt is a specious argument. The companies and individuals that have made the effort to voluntarily invest in carbon offsets are generally validly concerned about the climate crisis. Overall the public is becoming increasingly environmentally savvy, and recognize that offsetting a flight is not the equivalent of not taking a flight. Assuaging some guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it does not become a barrier to altering environmentally irresponsible behaviour.
Things become more complicated when we start considering the effectiveness of offsets. There are an ever-increasing number of providers of offsets, with varying schemes and varying credibility. Part of the reason offsets have received a bad name was the early reliance on tree planting projects. David Suzuki Foundation has posted an excellent summary as to why trees do not make good offsets. There are a whole host of considerations when it comes to creating a valid offset. These considerations include: are the carbon savings from the project independently verified, does the sale of carbon offsets directly contribute to new greenhouse gas emission savings, and do the majority of the funds go towards climate positive projects as opposed to profits and overhead. Clean Air-Cool Planet released a thorough report comparing carbon offset providers and giving recommendations.
An interesting option increasingly being pursued by climate leaders is to create their own offset programs. Creating your own program ensures that objectives are achieved and provides additional marketing opportunities. It does however require creative thinking and thorough research to ensure that the program can stand up to public scrutiny.
The most credible response to climate change is for businesses and individuals to take a long hard look at their carbon footprint and find a way to reduce it as much as possible. When opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been exhausted, it makes good environmental sense to invest in credible offsets.
The principle behind carbon offsets is sound - there is a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are unavoidable for a business in our society. As we all share the same atmosphere those emissions can be offset by creating carbon savings elsewhere. While environmentalists agree on the principle, the problem has come in the execution. There are two main arguments against offsets: they are just ways to assuage guilt, and they are ineffective.
Arguing that offsets assuage guilt is a specious argument. The companies and individuals that have made the effort to voluntarily invest in carbon offsets are generally validly concerned about the climate crisis. Overall the public is becoming increasingly environmentally savvy, and recognize that offsetting a flight is not the equivalent of not taking a flight. Assuaging some guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it does not become a barrier to altering environmentally irresponsible behaviour.
Things become more complicated when we start considering the effectiveness of offsets. There are an ever-increasing number of providers of offsets, with varying schemes and varying credibility. Part of the reason offsets have received a bad name was the early reliance on tree planting projects. David Suzuki Foundation has posted an excellent summary as to why trees do not make good offsets. There are a whole host of considerations when it comes to creating a valid offset. These considerations include: are the carbon savings from the project independently verified, does the sale of carbon offsets directly contribute to new greenhouse gas emission savings, and do the majority of the funds go towards climate positive projects as opposed to profits and overhead. Clean Air-Cool Planet released a thorough report comparing carbon offset providers and giving recommendations.
An interesting option increasingly being pursued by climate leaders is to create their own offset programs. Creating your own program ensures that objectives are achieved and provides additional marketing opportunities. It does however require creative thinking and thorough research to ensure that the program can stand up to public scrutiny.
The most credible response to climate change is for businesses and individuals to take a long hard look at their carbon footprint and find a way to reduce it as much as possible. When opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have been exhausted, it makes good environmental sense to invest in credible offsets.
Monday, April 9, 2007
Are Biofuels a Sustainable Investment?
Various jurisdictions across North America and Europe have been mandating increased use of biofuels. In Canada the federal government is requiring 5% average renewable fuel content by 2010. By 2017 the U.S. wants to have 24% of fuel coming from crops.
Already farmers and agricultural producers have started to recognize increased economic gains as corn is up by 30% compared to where it was a couple years ago and land prices are escalating. Biofuel producers such as CR Fuels and BioStreet Canada have been able to access generous government subsidies to increase production.
Although biofuels have been packaged as a green solution some environmentalists have serious concerns. George Monbiot, the author of Heat, is leading the charge. The main concern with the use of biofuels is redirecting land from food production to fuel production and the impact on the world's food supply (particularly the poor).
In the recent article in the Guardian Monbiot points to rainforest destruction due to palm oil and soybean production for biofuels. The Globe and Mail reports that some farmers are foregoing crop rotation and conservation initiatives to take advantage of rising corn prices. With corn prices doubling from the beginning of last year and wheat prices reaching ten year highs the impact on biofuels is starting to impact poor consumers around the globe. Even more dangerously is that stockpiles of wheat and grain are at twenty-five year lows.
It is going to be difficult for biofuels to maintain their green cachet with prominent environmentalists calling for a moratorium. If corn and wheat prices continue to rise and subsidies are removed the industry may have a difficult time staying competitive. One answer supported by environmental groups such as the National Resources Defense Council is exploration of cellulosic biofuels. Cellulosic biofuels use the entire plant - cornstalks and corncobs, or even using waste byproducts of industrial processes such as tree bark to make fuel. If biofuels are going to be part of a sustainable solution in the mid to long term it will be by using waste products, not be redirecting food supplies to the gas tank.
Various jurisdictions across North America and Europe have been mandating increased use of biofuels. In Canada the federal government is requiring 5% average renewable fuel content by 2010. By 2017 the U.S. wants to have 24% of fuel coming from crops.
Already farmers and agricultural producers have started to recognize increased economic gains as corn is up by 30% compared to where it was a couple years ago and land prices are escalating. Biofuel producers such as CR Fuels and BioStreet Canada have been able to access generous government subsidies to increase production.
Although biofuels have been packaged as a green solution some environmentalists have serious concerns. George Monbiot, the author of Heat, is leading the charge. The main concern with the use of biofuels is redirecting land from food production to fuel production and the impact on the world's food supply (particularly the poor).
In the recent article in the Guardian Monbiot points to rainforest destruction due to palm oil and soybean production for biofuels. The Globe and Mail reports that some farmers are foregoing crop rotation and conservation initiatives to take advantage of rising corn prices. With corn prices doubling from the beginning of last year and wheat prices reaching ten year highs the impact on biofuels is starting to impact poor consumers around the globe. Even more dangerously is that stockpiles of wheat and grain are at twenty-five year lows.
It is going to be difficult for biofuels to maintain their green cachet with prominent environmentalists calling for a moratorium. If corn and wheat prices continue to rise and subsidies are removed the industry may have a difficult time staying competitive. One answer supported by environmental groups such as the National Resources Defense Council is exploration of cellulosic biofuels. Cellulosic biofuels use the entire plant - cornstalks and corncobs, or even using waste byproducts of industrial processes such as tree bark to make fuel. If biofuels are going to be part of a sustainable solution in the mid to long term it will be by using waste products, not be redirecting food supplies to the gas tank.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
The Business Case for Sustainability
Abstract
We are starting on the next economic revolution. The industrial revolution rewarded innovators who embraced mechanization and industrialization. We have just experienced the internet revolution, with it now being unthinkable to have an office without high speed connections and email.
The next wave is starting now – a revolution towards clean green innovation. Companies who are leaders will capitalize in it’s wake. Our economy of the future will not pollute, create waste, or systematically mine the earth’s crust for non-renewable resources. Environmental leaders are discovering ways to profit in this new economy while reducing very real future liabilities. Click here for an examination of the business case for a leading-edge sustainability program.
We are starting on the next economic revolution. The industrial revolution rewarded innovators who embraced mechanization and industrialization. We have just experienced the internet revolution, with it now being unthinkable to have an office without high speed connections and email.
The next wave is starting now – a revolution towards clean green innovation. Companies who are leaders will capitalize in it’s wake. Our economy of the future will not pollute, create waste, or systematically mine the earth’s crust for non-renewable resources. Environmental leaders are discovering ways to profit in this new economy while reducing very real future liabilities. Click here for an examination of the business case for a leading-edge sustainability program.
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