Event - GRI Global Conference 2016

The fifth GRI Global Conference will take place on May 18 - 20, 2016 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Up to 1,500 sustainability leaders from around the globe will be present to exchange leading-edge knowledge on best practices, innovations and trends that are empowering sustainable decisions and changing the world. GRI is  the globally accepted standard for enabling business, governments and other organizations to understand and communicate their impacts on critical sustainability issues.

Best Practice in Sustainability Reporting and Sustainability Communications

Ethical Corporation has recently published its complimentary Annual Review on CR Reporting and Sustainability Communications. Ethical Corporation helps thousands of businesses all around the globe to be more responsible. They work with NGO's, think-tanks, academia, governments and consultancies. Their work not only benefits the wider world, it also makes good business sense for the organizations that they serve. Their efforts include work in CSR, compliance, risk and governance communities.

Webinar - The Current & Future State of EH&S Regulatory Compliance

The Current & Future State of EH&S Regulatory Compliance: How to Implement Compliance Programs that Reduce Risks & Increase Performance will take place on Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - 11am CT/12pm ET. This one hour webinar will be presented by Enablon, RegScan, and Environmental Leader.

Most companies today manage operations globally, across national borders. Regulatory requirements are constantly evolving and it’s becoming more & more challenging to understand which regulatory changes may impact your company.

This webinar will be hosted by experts from RegScan and Enablon.

Complimentary e-Book: How to Add Value with Environmental Data

"How to Add Value with Environmental Data" is a complimentary e-book that teaches you how to put your data to better use. It helps readers to to take full advantage of the Environmental Data they collect.

The book is intended for those who want to know more about how environmental data already captured in your systems can be usable information that creates business value.

In the book you will learn about critical tips to help you better manage your data, streamline operations and create cost savings.

Don't wait – get the 5 Ways to Create Business Value with your Environmental Data e-book today!

Click here to download the book.

Profit Oriented Sustainability Guide for Small Businesses

F

The "Small Business Guide to Increasing Profit by Putting People and Environment First" was developed by the Network for Business Sustainability and Funded by the TD Bank.

This practical guide on how to make money by becoming more sustainable provides an overview of how to cut costs, motivate employees, enhance reputation and increase sales – while helping the environment, employees, and the community.

The guide is broken down into two section, retail service and manufacturing and addresses with the following four areas:

GEMI Sustainable Supply Chain Tool: Free & Interactive

On October 10, 2013, the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) announced that it is creating a new tool to help businesses with supply chain sustainability and the procurement decision-making process. This complimentary tool will be an interactive and online, it is designed to help business prioritize supply chain processes and identify “hotspot” processes as well as opportunities for improvement. It is ideal for sustainability and purchasing professionals.

ISO Revisions Seek Overarching Guidance on 14001 Environmental Management Systems and Other ISO Standards

Revisions are being undertaken in ISO 14001 in order to create an overarching format in conformity with Annex SL (previously ISO Guide 83) which defines the framework for a generic management system. This new guidance is holistic and is intended to end conflicts, duplication, confusion and misunderstanding from different MSS management systems. Since being issued in 1996 and then revised in 2004, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems standard has been adopted by more than 250,000 organizations around the world.

Annex SL, is described as a “high level structure and identical text for management system standards and common core management system terms and definitions.” Annex SL offers overarching guidance on ISO management system standards (MSS). It is intended to help explain how different standards fit together with minimum redundancy. Annex SL offers a common format, structure and core requirements for ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 27001 and ISO 50001.

Sustainable Australia Report 2013

According to a new report, crowded cities and bigger regional centers will drive sustainability in Australia. On 9 May 2013 The National Sustainability Council presented a landmark report titled Sustainable Australia 2013. According to the report an ageing population, rising health costs, growing cities and changes in traditional work and family roles are key issues.

The report provides a picture of Australia and tells the story of how the nation has changed over the last three decades. There has been significant progress (life span, health, education, economy, and employment), however inequality has increased and the health of Australia's natural environment has continued to decline in some key areas.

Twelve Online Tools for Greener Businesses

There are a growing number of online tools that make it easier for businesses to understand and assess their environmental performance and that of their peers. Here are a suite of 12 online tools from Environmental Leader. These tools run the gamut and deal with a wide variety of issues from construction to water. They are presented in the order that they were published.

RSK Tool Helps Construction Companies Manage Environmental Risk

RSK Business Solutions has launched a web-based tool to help UK-based construction companies mitigate environmental risk and drive legal compliance. For more information click here.

BASF Launches Sustainable Construction Website

BASF’s Green Sense Concrete reduced the carbon footprint of the One World Trade Center by 15,838,267 kg CO2 in the construction. For more information click here.

Guide - Green City Philosophy

There has never been a greater need for the people planning and running our cities, as well as the residents themselves, to understand the critical significance of green space in our urban environment. Working with green is a way to respond to the true needs of people when designing buildings, the public realm, transport and communications infrastructure. This is a goal to which every professional can apply themselves.

These guidelines are a starting point so interested parties can come together internationally and discuss techniques for urban development. What this set of guidelines shows is that the knowledge is already there. The theory, substantiated by empirical scientific research, proves that green infrastructure is a key element in constructing living spaces that work. This is powerful information at a time when budgets are being cut and every cost scrutinised. This set of guidelines and techniques will demonstrate to practitioners that investment and maintenance in green infrastructure is not a cost but brings value from a social, economic and environmental point of view – in summary the ‘Green City Philosophy’.

Guide - Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS)

This guideline on Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) was prepared by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank Group. The health and well being of a workforce is a key part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and it is crucial to the wider issue of sustainable development.

Research by Nuffield Health and Ashridge Business School asserts that “companies need to develop a strategic approach to health and well being and concentrate on building a ‘sustainable workforce’ if they are to remain competitive.” The UK-based report, Developing a strategy for employee wellbeing: a framework for planning and action, calls on companies to focus on improving employee well being as a way of strengthening an organization and reducing risk.

At a 2012 briefing in London, Nuffield Health chief executive David Mobbs said, “We already worry about the sustainability of the environment, but in the future it’s going to be about the sustainability of the health of your workforce. Health and wellbeing will become the new CSR,” said Mobbs.

Event - Ethics & Shareholder Value Summit

The Ethics & Shareholder Value Summit will take 13 - 14 June, 2013 at the Westin New York Grand Central in New York, NY, (on 12 June, 2013, there will be a pre-conference seminar). The Conference Board has retooled the previous Business Ethics & Compliance Conference to the Ethics & Shareholder Value Summit to address the role of the ethics and compliance officer which is reshaping as companies integrate risk, governance and sustainability in their discussions with shareholders. As public companies actively manage reputation-related practices, more emphasis is placed on shareholder value and linking ethics and compliance with Wall Street analysts, investment managers, and institutional investors. This conference addresses how ethics fits into the bigger picture of corporate performance and places a new set of expectations onto the role of ethics as a factor in creating long term shareholder value.

Guide to Government Incentives for Green Commercial Trucks

There are numerous benefits for utilizing fuel efficient commercial trucks. In addition to being better for the environment, fuel-efficient trucks boosts your company image and positively impacts your bottom line.

While these vehicles are more expensive than their less-efficient counterparts, the U.S. government has set up incentive programs to provide loans, offset costs and offer tax credits and exceptions to help companies outfit their transportation operations with green fleets.

At the federal, regional and state level, there are five types of incentives for those that purchase new commercial vehicles or upgrade in fuel-saving trucking equipment:

Guides - Sustainable Events

The Sustainable Event Guide (SEG) was developed to help you find the resources and services to make your events as sustainable as possible. It is a document filled with guidance, resources, and simple advice about organizing an event that benefits the community, promotes ethical purchasing, and reduces waste. For some, this guide may simply act as an information resource about environmentally and socially responsible retailers and/or as a guide in reducing the waste produced at an event. For those who have never organized a big event, this guide may act as a framework for the "how to" of organizing. Regardless of past experience in event organizing, we suggest browsing through the entire guide - it may inspire new ideas or stir up old ones. 

We believe everyone can make a difference through the way they host academic, social, and fundraising events. Although this guide includes many Concordia University specific resources, there is plenty of information that event planners from other universities and organizations may find very useful as well.

Stock Exchanges Increasingly Recommending Sustainability Reporting

A growing number of stock exchanges around the world are recommending sustainability reporting. A number of diverse groups support sustainability reporting including the Rio+20 (negotiating text) and the U.N. (secretary general’s High Level Panel on Global Sustainability).

The Brazilian stock exchange (BM&FBOVESPA), also recommends that its listed companies either publish sustainability reports or explain why they do not. The initiative is intended to create a public database of reporting which was made available at Rio+20. BM&FBOVESPA says it was the second exchange in the world and the first in the Americas to use the GRI sustainability reporting model in its own annual report, starting in 2010.

The 8 C's of Sustainability Branding by Marc Stoiber

In 2010, Marc Stoiber, creative director, writer, innovator and green brand specialist wrote a piece called the 5C’s of Sustainability Branding. In 2012 he has added some new C's. Here is his original 5C’s, followed by his new C's for 2012.

The 5C’s of Sustainability

1. Consumer-Facing - Not sure what to do first? Look at what the consumer is looking at. There are plenty of ways to improve corporate sustainability, but consumer-facing changes will have the most immediate impact on your brand’s public perception. Think of Method’s Omop, with its compostable / recyclable bamboo and paper packaging – it stands out like a beacon at shelf, where consumers can really notice the difference.

GRI Sustainability Reporting on Anti-Corruption and GHGs: Call for Public Comment

GRI invites you to help shape sustainability reporting on anti-corruption and greenhouse gas emissions, by providing feedback on proposed new reporting guidance before 12 November 2012. The full G4 Exposure Draft is still available for public comment until 25 September 2012. You can comment on the whole draft, and on the proposed new guidance on anti-corruption and greenhouse gas emissions separately, by following a simple process:

1. Download and read the G4 Exposure Draft (click here), or anti-corruption (click here) or greenhouse gas emissions guidance (click here).

Electric Vehicle Buyer´s Guide

The Electric Vehicle Buyer's Guide can help you to avoid costly mistakes when buying your first green car. Many consumers are unfamiliar with the specifics of green cars, so deciding which one to purchase can be challenging. This guide will help you understand more about electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and when it comes time to selecting one, you’ll know what to look for, know the right questions to ask, and how to determine the right car for you. By reading this guide, you’ll learn the characteristics of green cars and be better informed when considering different cars and models. With this knowledge, you’ll purchase a car that you’ll enjoy for years to come.

The Business Case for REDD (Guide)

This complementary guide makes the Business Case for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). It reviews what REDD is and why you need to factor it into your sustainability strategy. The guide addresses how businesses and stakeholders can benefit from REDD's effect to the carbon market. It also reviews how to get involved in REDD investment and the regulations involved.

Objection Handling: A Professional’s Guide to Overcoming Objections to Sustainability Adoption and Implementation

Insiders understand the value of sustainability, but many who are unfamiliar have resistance. When addressing these people it is important to know how to respond to the various reasons offered for resisting a sustainability program.

This discussion paper is titled "Objection Handling: A Professional’s Guide to Overcoming Objections to Sustainability Adoption and Implementation."

To download this complimentary discussion paper click here.


Related Posts
The Business Case for REDD (Guide)
The Guru's Guide to Implementing Sustainability
Carbon Measurement Guide for Companies
Global Solar Companies Guide
Green Economy Guide for Women
Global Green Investors Guide
Major US Environmental Engineering Companies Guide
Greenpeace Green Electronics Guide Green Guide for SMEs from the Carbon Trust
Small Business Guide to Social Media
ISO 14020 Series
Canadian Guidelines on Environmental Claims
Introduction to Sustainable Supply Chains