WWF's Long History of Helping Businesses to be More Sustainable

The WWF has been a leader in cooperative partnerships with business for decades. In 1993 the group was instrumental in the development of the Forest Stewardship Council and in 1996 they co-founded the Marine Stewardship Council.

Through its Corporate Partnerships division, WWF works with private business on multiple levels. The WWF is also actively involved in training business executives for sustainability through its Sustainability Training Program.

The WWF has over 5 million members globally and works in over 100 countries. The organization is in the business of protecting nature and has set an ambitious goal: to conserve 19 of the world’s most natural places and change global markets to affect the future of nature, all by 2020.

The WWF works with companies to transform business practices to reduce overall environmental impact and bring about lasting environmental changes. The environmental expertise of the WWF team translates to sector and industry specific programs that are helping companies to implement more sustainable practices.

Some companies choose to partner with WWF through philanthropic efforts while others become partners in marketing, by leveraging the famous Panda logo to stimulate conservation efforts. No matter the scale or depth of collaboration, WWF keeps its doors open to all that are willing to contribute to the ambitious goals the organization has set for itself, and for the planet.

There are numerous examples of successful WWF corporate partnerships including Coca-Cola which has been working on freshwater conservation for almost five years. The WWF has also helps companies with responsible sourcing of materials like the wood and paper products which are part of its Global Forest and Trade Network.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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WWF-UK's Green Game-Changers Initiative for Business

WWF-UK's Green Game-Changers initiative is a "crowd-sourcing exercise" that asks companies to submit examples of green policies, products and business models that lower environmental impact and biodiversity loss.

WWF's Green Business Partnership programs acknowledge the importance of collaborative action to reverse the environmental crisis we are facing. The WWF is working closely with businesses to communicate best practices that ensure an ecologically and economically balanced future. The Green Game-Changers initiative, establishes WWF-UK as a leader in knowledge sharing for business.

If your organization has an innovative product, service or market approach, submit it here. You can also join the community via the Better Business LinkedIn group.

If the submission meets the green criteria established by WWF, then it will be featured on the NGO’s website and online networks. Examples of companies that got involved early include HP, Cisco and Xeros.

For a more complete summary, view the WWF's Game Changer Bank. See summary by sectors: Construction & materials, Consumer goods & healthcare , Energy, Finance, Partnerships/Networks, Transportation, Telecoms & technology, Water. See summary by benefits: Biodiversity & natural resources, Carbon reduction, Energy efficiency , Energy generation, Reduce, reuse and recycle, Water efficiency,

While the Game-Changers program is largely an effort of the WWF-UK, all organizations are welcomed to contribute submissions.

If you wish to share your green business with the WWF click here.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Deal Between Carbon Trust and Siemens Good for UK`s Green Economy

A major new deal between Carbon Trust and Siemens will boost green growth and unlock business investment in the low carbon economy in the UK. According to a deal announced in Germany on March, 4, 2011, Carbon Trust and Siemens have agreed to develop a financing program for green technology and equipment.

The new low carbon finance scheme will enable UK businesses to invest in cost effective energy efficiency equipment or other low carbon technologies. The joint venture will be worth up to £550 million over the next three years, but the financing is expected to pay for itself in cost savings.

The news prompted John Sauven, Executive Director of Greenpeace, to say: “This green finance deal is exactly the sort of initiative that we need to see happening more frequently in the future. A green growth strategy can only work if it is backed by green finance. Deals like this, alongside the development of a green infrastructure bank, could be a tipping point that the UK economy needs to get out of the current doldrums.”

Siemens Financial Services Ltd. in the UK (SFS UK) will provide the financial backing and manage the provision of funding and the Carbon Trust will use its expertise in carbon reduction. The Carbon Trust will also assess the carbon, energy and cost savings of the energy efficiency applications.

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, commented: “Driving green growth in the UK is key to our economic recovery. A missing ingredient at present is access to affordable finance to enable business to make green investments. This new major finance facility will improve business competitiveness, cut carbon and boost green growth.”

James Gearey, CEO from Siemens Financial Services Ltd. UK commented: “We are delighted to be working with the Carbon Trust, their values very much match our own. Siemens has been reporting the performance of its environmental portfolio since 2002, not just the commercial performance, but also the hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon emission reduction that has been delivered through Siemens technology. Siemens Financial Services has extensive experience of asset financing and lending to UK business and is particularly successful in the SME sector. This background combined with our ready access to funding means we are well placed to support the scheme and deliver the associated benefits to its future customers.”

This venture will increase the number of energy efficiency projects by offering procurement support to businesses wishing to purchase energy efficiency equipment at scale from a network of accredited suppliers.​

For more information see Siemen's press release.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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