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It always horrifies me when I see consumers clamor for the latest and throw out the old.  It's disturbing that most lack the curiosity to ask where their latest trinket came from, or who made it.  Even the best of us give in to such temptations on occasion. Here are two articles to help you give a second thought to the choices you make.  We live in a finite world, and need to look beyond the horizon of our own lives. Dire Glimpses of What Pollution Is Doing in Bangladesh  -- Bangladeshi photojournalist Probal Rashid's disturbing photos of his country's transformation as the world's clothier Faster, Cheaper Fashion  -- Irish fast fashion retailer, Primark, is coming to North America.  Their grand openings rival the black Friday shopping horrors we see south of the border.

The Guardian recently ran  an article  referencing a few pieces of research that make a compelling argument for a balanced executive team.  Numbers are numbers, and while there are always exceptions to the rule, apparently, having women in leadership roles bode well for environmental and social issues.  Women seem wired to take the long view, where men are focused on the short-term -- which isn't a bad thing if you have shareholders. Vision, and the ability to convey it convincingly to others, are two core attributes that McElhaney ascribes to female leadership, and ones that differ from male traits of goal-driven short-termism.  They also help explain why, according to McElhaney’s research ( pdf ), companies with higher female representation on their boards tend to give higher priority to environmental and social issues. The more gender-balanced an executive team, the more likely the company is to invest in renewable power, low-carbon products and energy...

The latest OECD report on inequality paints a disturbing picture. The world is getting more unequal. The richest 10% of the OECD population now earns 9.6 times more than the poorest 10%. In 2012, the poorest 40% owned 3% of the household wealth in the OECD countries -- while the top 10% controlled over half; with the top 1% owning 18%. Increasingly, the culprit is low paying, non-standard work (temporary and contract). Between 1995 and 2013, 50% of new jobs created fell into this category -- and the disproportionately are youth and females. No surprise there. The OECD warns that the long term economic and social cohesion impacts will be significant if governments don't take steps to address the gap. Businesses also need to step up, as there is a direct impact to their viability. In Canada, income inequality has not increased during the economic downturn -- with Canada trending with the OECD average. But, the gap in pay between full-time workers and non-standard work...

I had the opportunity to attend the ESF (an Intertek shindig) in NY.  So much of my last two years have been tied up with worker safety efforts in Bangladesh, that I took note of the presentation given by Sarah Labowitz of NYU Stern.  The Sourcing Journal has a piece on her presentation that may be of interest: https://www.sourcingjournalonline.com/ethical-sourcing-forum-subcontracting-prevalent-brands-believe-td/ Labowitz describes Bangladesh’s RMG sector as a hub and spoke model of production, where the hub factories are the ones that have direct relationships with foreign brands, are often in good condition, with their own power plants, and are well lit and ventilated. And those hub factories have a lot of relationships with spoke factories. “The spoke factories are the invisible factories,” Labowitz said. They are often in mixed-use buildings, above auto repair shops, for example, and some don’t appear on any registry of factories in Bangladesh. Labowitz and her...

The Ontario government (Minister of the Environment and Climate Change) is currently in public consultations on Ontario's plans to tackle climate change. ref:  http://www.downloads.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/env_reg/er/documents/2015/012-3452.pdf The government is looking to implement a carbon pricing policy, with four potential approaches: a cap and trade system; baseline and credit system; carbon tax; and, regulations and performance standards. Have your say, here:  Environmental Registry

Recently, MIT Sloan Management Review published the above titled report.  It makes for an interesting read.  If you're working in industry, it doesn't matter your size -- sustainability isn't something you can tackle alone and in isolation.  It's something that requires collaboration -- and not just the basics of collaboration -- but meaningful effort beyond the sharing of ideas, best practices and standards.  Effort to develop and implement solutions to collectively have a bigger impact than one company, one industry, going at it alone. "In the 2014 Sustainability Report, new research by MIT Sloan Management Review, The Boston Consulting Group and the UN Global Compact, shows that a growing number of companies are turning to collaborations — with suppliers, NGOs, industry alliances, governments, even competitors — to become more sustainable. Our research found that as sustainability issues become increasingly complex, global in nature and pivotal to success, ...

The Economist declares that the notion of "peak oil" is being dealt a death blow in its latest special report on energy and technology. There is no shortage of hydrocarbons in the Earth’s crust, and no sign that mankind is about to reach “peak technology” for extracting them. That of course, is a short-term view.  We are living off the past with hydrocarbons, and as large as the planet is, and as long as the past is, hydrocarbons are a finite resource.  Cutting dependence on this finite resource that has long term negative consequences to sustaining a planet as we know it.  And here, the Economist helpfully suggests curbing subsidies that encourages dependence on hydrocarbons. For now, though, low oil prices put money in consumers’ pockets and give a bit of breathing space to governments, making it easier to cut fossil-fuel subsidies (and perhaps even tax carbon emissions). In 2013 some $550 billion was spent on subsidising fossil fuels, a policy of extraordi...

Source Intelligence just published a summary of the activities involving their solution for managing conflict minerals risks in the supply chain. ref.  An Insightful Look at 2014 Conflict Minerals Efforts  (free registration required) The report aggregates their client data from 2013 efforts, covering the apparel, electronics, manufacturing, oil & gas and retail industries.  At tier 1 in the supply chain, they have 1,336 suppliers -- which increased significantly as they delved into deeper tiers -- and impacted around 2M products.  Source Intelligence is definitely doing the sales pitch.  Their report shows efficiency and effectiveness gains if you use their resources for education and data collection.  But it isn't smoke and mirrors.  It makes sense that supply chain partners who are educated (having awareness of context) are better suited to effectively participate in reporting.  It also makes sense that automating the data capture is...

Here's some news to cheer about -- every little bit helps. Walmart to Add 400 New U.S. On-Site Solar Energy Installations - Store Brands Decisions  -- with their scale, Walmart can have significant impact to the solar power industry.  Targeting to go fully renewable eventually, and having 1B kWh by 2020 is awesome. Ikea Group Purchases 165 Megawatt Texas Wind Farm - Store Brands Decisions  -- Ikea has committed to building its second wind farm in the US, to generate 165MW.  Ikea has committed to own and operate 279 wind turbines in 9 countries (nice round number).

Today is World Toilet Day : World Toilet Day is a day to take action. It is a day to raise awareness about all people who do not have access to a toilet - despite the human right to water and sanitation.  It is a day to do something about it.  Of the world’s seven billion people, 2.5 billion people do not have improved sanitation. 1 billion people still defecate in the open. Women and girls risk rape and abuse because they have no toilet that offers privacy.  We cannot accept this situation. Sanitation is a global development priority. This is why the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 designated 19 November as World Toilet Day. This day had previously been marked by international and civil society organizations all over the world but was was not formally recognized as an official UN day until 2013. World Toilet Day is coordinated by UN-Water in collaboration with Governments and relevant stakeholders. 

See the full PwC GMA financial report here [pdf]. An analysis of the financial performance of CPG companies alongside sustainability reporting shows companies that report have stronger financial results. Disclosure on sustainability, particularly greenhouse gas emissions, continues to spread through the corporate world, and the information flow—whether through Bloomberg terminals, supplier sustainability scorecards, or annual reports—keeps growing. In 2010, 70% of S&P 500 companies submitted voluntary disclosures to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP),up from 56% in 2007. Of interest in the article: PwC looked at the financial performance of CPG companies that produced sustainability reporting, versus those that didn’t – and concluded that sustainability reporting companies were on average, more successful than their counterparts   Reporting companies had a high gross margin Reporting companies had a high median SG&A spending as a percent of...

The IWC is proposing to " improve the conservation of whales " by improving "the conservation and management of whale populations and stocks on a scientific basis and through agreed policy measures." What does that mean? Japan, Norway and Iceland will continue to hunt whales, because the IWC can't stop them. An impasse has been reached, and instead of forcing these countries to stop hunting endangered species, the IWC is proposing that whale hunts and limits be administer under its control -- in effect, making it OK for whales to be hunted -- again. Help stop the hunting of whales by adding your voice to the international outcry to stop whaling: http://www.avaaz.org/en/whales_under_threat_11/?cl=550282594&v=6017

I went to the Green Living Show with the family today -- and it was much better than I thought it would be. At the show a few years ago, I was disappointed. A lot of green building products and services -- but not a whole lot more. This year, there was a good balance with the construction stuff, consumer products/services and food -- yeah, food -- and it was good, the stuff I sampled. So good in fact, it passed for lunch, and the probiotics are singing and dancing right now ... "heigh-ho, heigh-ho ...." That being said, there was enough to hold my interest walking through the entire exhibition floor. And after having given up a perfectly working 486 (yeah, I know), and several CD-ROM drives and a ZIP drive, to barter for entrance, I was looking for value. Here are a few highlights. Homestead House Paint Co. -- Canada's only milk paint manufacturer, producing odourless and zero-emission paint. Cycling Painters -- these guys cycle to your place and then paint it,...

What a neat idea! This German standard for energy efficient houses, called passivhaus (passive house), requires an annual heating/cooling demand of not more than 15 kWh/m² per year! The typical house today achieves over 200 kWh/m², while low energy houses achieve somewhere around 60 kWh/m². The passivhaus standard dispenses with conventional heating and cooling sources, and instead relies on the house the heat and cool itself. The cost savings realized here is used to fund the higher than average construction cost of these houses -- however the Germans have now managed to bring the cost of passive houses down to the cost of conventional houses. If this design catches on in a big way, energy consumption could drop dramatically. It does however require some willingness on the part of home builders, buyers and regulators to change conventional thinking. Already, there are estimated to be around 15-20,000 of these houses around. For an idea that makes so much sense, saves money and ...

The UN Population Fund has published their latest report, State of World Population 2009. The authors are focused in this report on the impact of climate change on the human population. As I have argued in previous posts, climate change is no longer a question. It is happening and it is due to human activities. The rapid change is inevitable. The uncertainty now is on the impact to the human population and the environment. History has lessons for us on how we will deal with the inevitable change. It doesn't need to be a disaster, like a tsunami or a hurricane or an earthquake -- though disasters like that will occur as a result -- it can subtle -- like changing weather patterns that bring floods or droughts. Just small changes that doesn't necessarily punch an immediate hole in our day-to-day should be reflected on, to forecast what's coming. When subtle change comes, we the rich, will be able to cope. We the rich will have choices. We are much more capable of adap...

It's the Asians -- specifically, China and Japan, that drive the demand -- and the Africans are mixed about wanting to fulfill the demand. Mostly, it's the poachers -- but now, it's Tanzania and Zambia, who are looking to create a legitimate market for elephant tusks. A legitimate market drives demand, and also allows illegal tusks to easily slip through the cracks. The elephant population in Africa has been decimated. Chad has a few hundred left. Senegal and Liberia has fewer than 10 each. Sierra Leone lost their last elephants in November. Elephants are currently on the endangered species list -- for a reason. Other African countries oppose any legitimate sale of ivory -- and are asking the world for help. It would say something if the governments of China and Japan stepped up and voiced support for biodiversity and an endangered animal. Of course, I'm not holding my breath. in reference to: Save the elephant: ivory trading is set to resume - Nature, Environm...

Every single one of us has some cotton clothing in our closets. And every year we buy more, despite not needing more clothing. It's a fashion thing. We want the latest, so we splurge on new tees, shirts, skirts and the like. The world produces lots of the stuff, and the trade of raw cotton is estimated to be around $12B USD -- with the largest producers by far, China, India and the US. The cotton business is big business -- think of all of the cotton China & India consumes, to produce gawdy wear for the likes of you and I -- raw cotton may get imported directly into China & India, or woven into cloth somewhere else, before being shipped to the garment factories, where the poor toil for endless hours to produce a "Eco Friendly" tee. So how "eco friendly" is your tee? Probably not very. Cotton is one of the worst commodity crops traded internationally -- if not the worst. To begin with, the cotton fibre is mostly water -- and for the large cotton p...