A few days ago, in our post Connecting the Links of a Cleaner Supply Chain, we mentioned Wal-Mart’s move to institute massive supply-chain emission reductions. The significance of this move cannot be overemphasized, as roughly 90% of Wal-Mart related emissions fall within this field.  There is much to the discussion of how the reductions will be achieved, however, as the actual emission reductions will have to be implemented by the suppliers who want to keep doing business with Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is jump-starting action based on the public conversation, and creating an important feedback mechanism for consumer-driven energy reductions. Wal-Mart will still have to participate when the conversation continues beyond their current paradigm. A new level of transparency across industries will show the numbers. When the numbers come to bear they will reveal any existing failures in the system including planning and designing as well as use of cheaper/less renewable materials. The pandoras box is open and cannot be closed. As dialogue and policy around climate change grows, along with the continued emergence of other environmental-health related information around many goods (especially food) that they distribute, Wal-Mart will likely find it makes good business sense to continue to shift some basic practices.

Aside from launching their Sustainability Index, WalMart has taken steps to improve fleet efficiency and utilize more sustainable packaging. They have captured waste heat from their refrigeration systems and used it for hot water in bathroom and kitchen areas. Some of their refrigerated distribution centers are now 60 per cent more energy-efficient and they have installed some rainwater collection systems and green roofs. Wal-Mart is also one of the big companies currently piloting the use of the Bloom Box in California.

Their size and broad reach leaves many more actions they could take to continue to improve upon supplier-distributor-consumer impact. The hope is that they will use this reach to eventually also provide better access to other newer, more eco-friendly consumer options and practices. They could, for instance, find ways to profitably provide charging stations for electric cars, or establish recycling hubs for things they distribute like paint, vegetable oil and electronics. Wal-Mart could look at how consumers get to their stores and begin working with communities to help improve that infrastructure.

Wal-Mart is responding to a shift in consumer awareness that gains momentum daily. Their actions reveal that they see the shift as necessary to protect their bottom-line moving into a carbon constrained future. Their vision of sustainability is big news because they are so big. They have taken significant and admirable action—using their talent for restructuring the paradigm they operate in to spearhead the vitally important task of rapidly achieving emission reductions across all consumer-goods related industry. They are big enough to demand, on behalf of consumers they want to sustain, that those who want to be in their club have to play by certain rules.

There are many points of view and perspectives on how to tackle a complex issue like climate change. Everyone needs to contribute - governments. businesses and individuals. At Kraft Foods we know we have a role to play and that we can have a meaningful impact.

This statement on climate change from Kraft’s website shows an impressively clear and realistic approach to managing their impact. They have also devoted a separate website exclusively to an communicating how their sustainability strategy helps reduce their impact on climate change at www.kraftfoodsbetterworld.com.

Kraft Foods relies on the ability of the earth to produce the raw materials used every day to make its products. Conducting business in a way that respects the intersection of environmental, social and economic responsibility is the right thing to do and it makes good business sense.

Kraft has embraced changing business practices as necessary and has made strong progress toward stated 2011 sustainability goals. They have:

• Reduced plant energy use 12 percent (goal of 25 percent)
• Reduced plant energy-related CO2 emissions 14 percent (goal of 25 percent)
• Reduced plant water consumption 21 percent (exceeding goal of 15 percent)
• Reduced plant waste 14 percent (goal of 15 percent)
• Eliminated 116 million pounds (nearly 53 million kilograms) packaging material (goal of 150 million pounds)

Kraft Foods, the world’s second largest food company and the only U.S.-based food company to be a World Index Sustainability Leader, has been named for the last 5 years in the Dow Jones North American Sustainability Index. Kraft also participates in the Carbon Disclosure Project and you can register at the CDP site to view their 2004 – 2009 submissions.

It seems that Kraft is a leader in climate change - this is without fanfare or “green washing” but through action. We applaud you!

The recent 60 Minute interview with K.R. Sridhar, former NASA rocket scientist and CEO of Bloom Energy, focused on home use of his much talked-about invention, the Bloom Box. However, current adoption and testing of the Bloom Box has been driven by 20 large companies in California with the immediate bottom-line necessity of cutting energy consumption. Some have been utilizing the technology for over a year, in part aided by heavy subsidization in California for energy upgrades.

FedEx, Wal-Mart, Staples, Google, and E-bay are among the companies that are testing the technology in California. Google was the first customer, and they have been running four units for the last eighteen months. Google’s use of the technology is not carbon neutral, as they are using natural gas to run the cell. However, they now use ½ the gas they used to for operations. John Donahoe of E-bay says that for its size, footprint, and consistent generation—their Bloom Box installations have provided five times more energy compared to the huge solar installation on their campus. In the 9 months since their implementation, the cells have saved the company $100,000 in energy cost. E-bay also uses bio-gas to fuel the cells—so their use of the fuel cell is carbon neutral.

KR originally developed the cell to produce oxygen on Mars. When the Mars mission fell away, he decided to work on a reverse process in the machine so that instead of releasing oxygen, it would use the air  to feed a chemical reaction to produce electricity. Though much skepticism hovers around the efficacy of large scale adoption of fuel cell technology because of the cost or rarity of  some materials previously needed to build and operate older-generation cells; the potential to harness the more efficient direct conversion of chemical energy, along with fuel flexibility (potentially carbon neutral), have held the technology in a strong position for further development.

John Door of Kleiner-Perkins, the man who discovered & funded Netscape, Amazon, and Google is the original funder behind the project. He saw great potential in the project and when KR asked for the first $100 million, John was undaunted; even though it was his first clean energy investment and he wasn’t at all sure it could be done. Stating that “new energy technologies could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.” he took on the project.

At this point, investment in the Bloom Box has run closer to $400 million and, along with the secrecy that has shrouded the project until recently, there has been a tense buzz around the launch of the new fuel cell. KR gave 60 Minutes the first public peek at his invention. He takes beach sand, bakes it into a ceramic, cuts into squares and coats opposite sides of the disk with green & black inks (secret formula). The disks are stacked with metal plates between each, and this is the heart of the Bloom Box fuel cell. One disk powers one incandescent light bulb. The bigger the stack of disks and plates, the more potential for energy generation.

The Bloom Box is revolutionary in that it has removed several previous barriers to mass production. The metal plate between each disk in the stack is a cheap metal alloy instead of the platinum usually used. The cell also does not need pure hydrogen to feed into the energy creating reaction, but simply uses air. JK says the Bloom Box can use fossil or renewable fuels, or even solar and wind. There have been several kinks among the cells already in operation, but thus far each has been resolved.

So, a bit of fuel & air go in and out comes a lot of electricity. John Door says that the Bloom Box is intended to replace the grid for it’s customers, but believes that the utility companies will buy the cells to generate electricity, rather seeing the Bloom Box as a threat to their business. KR, would like to see the Bloom Box in every home and within 5 to 10 years at a unit to cost of less than $3,000. KR also envisions a bloom box at the White House, next to the organic vegetable garden. He said, “it’s about seeing the world as what it can be and not what it is.”

We have seen quite a bit of nay saying on the technology. That it is a rehash of old ideas, that it cannot work, that it is not viable as a large technology. However, this is exactly the type of innovation and driving attitude behind the “energy miracles” that Bill Gates called for at this year’s T.E.D conference. With beach sand, 2 kinds of mystery goo, cheap metal, and about $400 million toward the development and launch—KR has managed to produce a potentially carbon neutral and readily deployable energy source.

Is it perfect? Probably not, but we all too often let the search for Perfect stop us from using the Good Enough!

In 2007, after nearly a decade of involvement in building more ethical and humanitarian trading practices, UK retailer Marks and Spencer set 100 “eco-targets” toward better sustainability.  Among those targets are goals such as becoming carbon neutral and eliminating all landfill waste by 2012. This year, with nearly half of the first 100 targets achieved, they have already seen savings result from increased efficiencies and have committed to 80 new targets. By 2015, with a road-map to move forward, Marks and Spencer plans to be the worlds most sustainable retailer.

M&S has committed to work primarily with suppliers who meet at least one criteria for ethical or sustainable production. By 2020, they hope to source all food, clothing and home items from sustainable or more ethical sources, and are encouraging best practices among suppliers. Overall, the commitments that they have made span seven key areas, and show a comprehensive view of what sustainability means to them. Categories of commitments include: community involvement, climate change, waste reduction, sustainable raw materials, healthy products, employee wellness and well-being, and ethical trading. Actions within each category are deeply considered and implemented. For instance, they are offering free home insulation to all employees in a pilot program to start selling home insulation and services. The move could result in making over 30,000 homes more energy efficient.

Some of their initiatives against climate change include:

• Reduce energy use by 25%, power stores with green electricity, offset any remaining CO2 emissions.
• Commit to buying as much local food as possible, cut air freight of food products and put an airplane symbol on food that is flown in.
• Develop efficiency products and services to help customers reduce energy in their homes.
• Work with project partners to educate customers and M&S colleagues.

Marks and Spencer spends about $60 million a year on sustainability, but will expand efforts in this area as previous eco-target activities resulted in a savings of over $75 million last year. M&S efforts to cut waste, for instance, have shown a direct impact on the bottom line. Compared to 2006-2007, M&S has reduced non-glass packaging for food by 12% and for other products by 15% – as well as cutting water usage by 11% per square foot.  “It’s not just the right thing to do morally but also makes strong commercial sense,” said Stuart Rose, M&S chairman.

Wal-mart has pledged to eliminate 150% of  their estimated global supply chain carbon footprint growth over the next 5 years, effectively removing about 20 million metric tons of anticipated GHG emissions by the end of 2015.

With more than 100,000 suppliers and sales of more than $400 billion last year, the weight of Wal-mart’s influence is such that this move to promote the production of more energy efficient products will drive down the cost of these products for consumers—thus bringing the new technologies into more homes.

“Reducing carbon in the life cycle of our products will often mean reducing energy use. That will mean greater efficiency and, with the rising cost of energy, lower costs, making our business stronger and more competitive. And, as we help our suppliers reduce their energy use, costs and carbon footprint, we´ll be helping our customers do the same thing.“  Mike Duke, Wal-mart president and CEO

Since Wal-mart is looking at their global supply chain and not just operational emissions, the greater adoption of energy-saving items by consumers is a significant piece of their reduction puzzle. This more comprehensive view is how they plan to stay ahead of the curve and prepare for times when energy is more expensive. Duke emphasized: “We need to continue to build stores and add retail selling space. Yet we know we need to get ready for a world in which energy will only be more expensive and there will only be a greater need to operate with less carbon in the supply chain.”

Walmart’s expanded program to reduce GHGs will focus on 3 main areas:

• Assessment - Reductions will be measured and verified by several 3rd party project partners.
• Product Selection - In order to prioritize areas of the greatest potential reduction, Walmart will focus on the product categories with the highest embedded carbon.  Embedded Carbon = (Life cycle GHG emissions per item) x (# items sold).
• Direct Action – Reduction claims must be bases on Walmart’s direct influence and can only be make for activities that would not have occurred without Walmart´s participation.

Just last year Wal-mart initiated a sustainability index and encouraged suppliers to develop awareness of their product life-cycles. They also made significant investments in solar power. This year, their move to take responsibility for a greater scope of emissions related to their business show that these actions make sense to this company with such a strong bottom-line. Companies that are taking the biggest strides in advancing sustainability are seeing the biggest payoff.

A vision of business practices that build our sustainable future becomes clearer each day as these big leaders join in creating it. Elizabeth Strucken of the Environmental Defense Fund, one of Wal-Mart’s several partners in this endeavor, says this is “precisely the kind of innovative approach to reducing carbon pollution that we need right now.”

NOAA is reorganizing its efforts in order to disseminate usable climate science and climate service information to the public. They have requested $1.5 million in the 2011 budget for the program and have already launched a portal to make the information available at www.climate.gov. With Congressional approval, the new climate service will seek to provide longer-term information on weather related to climate change (much like the National Weather Service provides immediate information on day-to-day weather), as that information has become vital to understanding weather-related risk.

“They turn to the Weather Service for making predictions in the short range, now we need the climate service … because increasingly climate change is affecting everyone’s bottom line.” - Commerce Secretary Gary Locke

The data that NOAA is making available has, in part, been compiled from old log books containing weather information dating back over two centuries through the Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE) initiative. The disparate information has been processed in massive supercomputing efforts through the 20th Century Reanalysis Project in order to help place current atmospheric circulation patterns into a historical perspective.

I imagine that even Darwin, during his famous expedition on the HMS Beagle, had no clue that future scientists would seek the weather data collected by his ship captain to aid in securing a livable future for our species.

Bill Gates is among big business leaders who are focusing on climate change, seeing it as the most immediate challenge to the health of global communities. His previous focus on poverty lead him to examine climate change, as it will expand poverty and disproportionately affect the world’s poorest people.  At the T.E.D. 2010 conference, he recently challenged us to focus on “Energy Miracles” and spend the next 40 years developing and implementing clean technology to completely cut carbon emissions.

He called for us to significantly advance technologies in thermal and photo voltaic solar energy, as well as develop wind-based alternatives. He also emphasized that advancing technologies for capturing carbon should be a priority.  The design for an energy miracle should focus around:

• improved cost
• more efficient transmission
• more effective storage

Steven Chu has recently focused 3.4 Billion in stimulus dollars to carbon capture innovation. Though not as useful for climate change needs as CO2 capture purely for sequestration sake, some plants are capturing their CO2 waste in order to use it to drive more petroleum from the ground.

Though controversial, Gates also emphasized improving technologies to turn nuclear waste into clean energy, mentioning that Paducah, Kentucky has enough uranium waste stored to power the U.S. for two centuries. The French, with great success, have long been utilizing and reprocessing nuclear energy rather than burying it as waste. The problem with reprocessing the spent material is that the technology currently produces weapons-grade plutonium as a byproduct.

Obama is also going nuclear, recently allocating a federal loan guarantee of $8.33 billion for construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia, to begin next year. These will be the first new nuclear reactors in over 30 years and are part of Obama’s efforts to stimulate the economy while developing an energy infrastructure that will keep us competitive within the global energy market.

“If we fail to invest in the technologies of tomorrow, then we’re going to be importing those technologies instead of exporting them,” he said. “We will fall behind. Jobs will be produced overseas instead of here in the United States of America. And that’s not a future that I accept.” - President Obama

Since 2008, TD Bank has taken solid strides toward reducing their footprint and just announced that, not only are they the largest US bank to achieve carbon neutral status, but their entire global operations are now carbon neutral. They achieved reductions through a comprehensive approach that included retrofitting and developing cleaner buildings, investing in wind, solar, and hydro power, and offsetting the remaining emissions that could not be eliminated.

In spring of 2010, they will open their first store to apply for the LEED Platinum certification. That store will serve as a prototype for all future stores. These buildings use 50% less energy compared to  previous branches and 20% of the energy will now be generated on-site via solar panels. The new buildings demonstrate a comprehensive and repeatable approach to energy savings.

• A solar drive-thru canopy will generate electricity for the store
  
• Lots of insulated glass with a low-E coating and sensors to efficiently control lighting will help keep a balanced, temperate environment and allow in natural daylight and views to the outside.
  
• Exterior walls and glazing will keep the store cool in the summer and warm in the winter
  
• Water use intensity is decreased by more efficient plumbing fixtures and landscape design incorporating drought-tolerant plants and shrubs.
• Excellent indoor air quality will be advanced through the use of environmentally friendly materials and finishes made of recycled materials–including wood from sustainably managed forests and low VOC products. They will also incorporate walk-off mats and air filters that trap particles of dirt, dust and pollen and use only green cleaning products.
  
• Stores will will recycle paper, cardboard, glass, metal, plastics and disposable batteries.

With plans to open up to ten new LEED certified stores in 2010, it is clear that their energy saving activities have been a worthwhile and strategically sound investment…and they are not stopping there. “This is a significant milestone but we know there is still a lot to do…Thanks to the terrific effort of our employees as well as the helpful input we’ve received from environmental and community groups, TD is the first North American-based bank - and one of only a few banks in the world - to reach a carbon neutral goal. We look forward to engaging with key stakeholders as we continue to work on environmental issues.” Karen Clarke-Whistler, Chief Environment Officer, TD

The momentum and enthusiasm around this announcement demonstrates how truly engaged and TD Bank is with all levels of ethical business responsibilities. Not only do they strive for excellent customer service in a welcoming and clean environment, their employees now have one of the best work environments available. This year, TD will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, will pass a second year as one of the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and was also recently named a Climate Disclosure Leader by the Carbon Disclosure Project.

In speaking about TD’s comprehnsive approach, Dr. Ron Dembo, Founder and CEO, Zerofootprint applauded: “TD is a pioneer. They’ve essentially built a roadmap for how large organizations can go carbon neutral and have proven there is a business case for going green.”

Over the past few years, the fashion industry has been dipping its elegant toes into the waters of sustainability. The luxurious and extravagant nature of fashion has kept many from coming out about their environmental efforts, for fear of scorn about what they don’t do. On the other side, however, those wanting to talk-the-talk don’t have specific standards for walking-the-walk. There lacks, in fashion, a clear set of guidelines and certifications around different aspects of ethical, ecological, or system-wide sustainability.

This has lead to much confusion about what sustainability really means when speaking about fashion, as well as raised the issue of truthfulness versus the fantasy that is customarily bundled into the marketing of luxury items. However, even in the fashion industry-the center of the world of fads, ecologically-sound fabrication is not fashion, not a fad: it is the new center from which sustainable business necessarily operates. Though fashion is fantasy, clothing and accessories are a consumer good that will be held to the same accountability for verification and clear definitions as other products making sustainability claims.

As consumers we are daily more inclined to buy what is seen as sustainable, and mechanisms for environmental accountability are being put in place across industries and government to help us make these choices. So, despite the predominance of cutting-edge, “out with the old, in with the new” attitudes that drive fashion, there is a shift happening to gather the pieces of the sustainability picture together. It is a big picture. There are many choices made at all levels of the life-span of these items that can dramatically shift the footprint. Beyond sourcing, production, and distribution-things like laundering needs and the marketing of constantly changing fads affect consumers’ behavior. This is how even more ethereal concepts like “timelessness design” have come to form the basis of some designer’s definition of “sustainable fashion.”

Though this new focus on sustainability in an industry built on perpetual change is often being spoken about as a trend, these are actually the first steps toward defining, expanding, and standardizing best practices in fashion. A WWF report entitled Deeper Luxury, outlined the significance in the public shift in perception and the impact it would have on luxury items. “The definition of success - and the way it is perceived by others - is changing. Many successful people now want the brands they use to reflect their concerns and aspirations for a better world.” Moving forward, conspicuous consumption is out, ethical luxury is in.

Some exciting things are happening on this front, a couple of note:

This is the first year that New York Fashion Week is carbon neutral, marking a shift in the industry’s willingness to bring sustainability to the forefront. They also made other efforts at the event, like providing water to reduce the use of plastic bottles.

Patagonia has made life-cycle information available on-line for of some styles, and there are a number of designers that are incorporating a broad range of production choices meant to decrease impact.

2010 is continuing a several year shift toward emphasizing less expensive accessories over whole garments, so the clothing stays and what you put over it rotates. This type of marketing trend that would serve to extend the lifetime of garments that may otherwise be retired.

In a world where “flawless” is the standard, it is promising to see those with the courage to dress-up and cat-walk toward sustainability, even if the runway looks more like a balance beam.

Looking at the past, it is easy to see the places where we made significant or life-changing decisions. While caught in the throes of daily existence, however, few maintain the ability to act from this broader, deeper vision. Clear vision of the present is further muddled when we multiply this tendency from the individual to an entire culture, divide response along political lines, add massive amounts of new or newly-revealed information, and subtract the rapid-response mechanism of a single, decisive mind.

Unfortunately, in looking at climate change, there is no “after-the-fact.” The science says that we must act immediately and that the bigger our mess, the slower our response; the more severe will be the outcomes we face. We have reached a point where the intimate link between human rights and environmental protection has emerged to the forefront and we know we are hurting ourselves with our actions. Our ability to justify a failure to respond for lack of crystal-clear present vision does not serve us. Though accepting the cost of transition is difficult, we must see a bigger picture and start acknowledging the cost of inaction.

This is what comes to mind as I read about the flush of senators who have jumped on the disapproval bandwagon to deny the EPA’s finding that GHGs are a threat to human health. When looking at the cost of waiting versus acting it isi obvious to act. I am interested to see what they will say when they look back at the effect of waiting.

It reminds me of people saying smoking is not harmful to your health. If we had acted earlier then millions may not have died. I do wonder how these elected officials can be oblivious to the damage that is being done to people today. I must remember to never underestimate the power of people to ignore things that contradict their short-term financial interest.