Obama Speaks on the Fight Against Climate Change

Yesterday, 25 June 2013, President Obama braved the heat and took to the stage at Georgetown University to give a speech on his climate change plan. Addressing his audience, Obama began with a bold statement that brought the real impacts of the subject at hand immediately to the surface. “It was important for me to speak directly to your generation, because the decisions that we make now and in the years ahead will have a profound impact on the world that all of you inherit,” he stated.

The president proceeded by defining the reasons for why this speech was necessary, and why climate change is such an important topic in the United States today. He stated the scientific facts: that the measurement of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has dramatically increased since the 1950’s, and that 12 of the warmest years in recorded history have occurred in the past 15.

Obama further emphasized the evidence by referencing the droughts, floods, storms, and heat waves that the U.S. has recently experienced- all weather events that may not have been caused by global warming, but were directly affected by it. The progress made in recent years, such as the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase in both sun and wind generated electricity was addressed, but ultimately referred to as a ‘good start’.

President Obama stated that he would direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to put an end to the excessive carbon pollution from power plants, and create standards for new and existing power plants. Other highlights included Obama’s call to develop a better plan to help us prepare for climate change impacts, and his pledge to seek greater international engagement in regards to climate change.

On par with every other hot political topic, the president’s speech did not come without controversy, and certain parts were hailed by some and criticized by others. However, a few key takeaways are as follows: the severity of the United States climate change situation and the urgency to make this a top priority have been made clear.

This means it is more important than ever for organizations to take full responsibility for their GHG and carbon emissions, and energy consumption. The need to properly track and manage all their operational environmental and compliance information is apparent, and will play a crucial role in the fight to subdue climate change. Locus will continue to work it’s hardest to develop the most comprehensive software available to assist companies with the management of their critical, big data, and provide them with the necessary tools to not only comply with new and anticipated regulations, but also to harvest their data for actionable information to lower operating costs.

GRI G4 & the Sustainability Reporting Competitive Advantage

A recent hot topic in the arena of corporate sustainability is the new Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines that were just released. GRI is a network-based organization that provides all companies from around the world with a comprehensive and voluntary sustainability reporting framework. It’s no surprise this new G4 milestone is receiving such publicity, given how popular sustainability reporting has become today, and the fact that this is the first major overhaul to the GRI guidelines since the G3 version in 2006.

One main difference is that the new guidelines place a strong focus on materiality- more explicitly requiring that organizations reporting efforts be centered on impacts, risks, and opportunities. While this idea is not entirely new, the G3/G3.1 framework did not have this as such a specific and strong focus.

The new GRI framework also attempts to quell the problem of companies feeling overwhelmed by the number of options provided. G4 draws a line between requirements and guidance; so companies understand the differences and do not feel compelled to report on every single metric described. The G4 framework offers many other updates and changes, a few of which include up-to-date disclosures on governance, ethics and integrity, supply chain, anti-corruption and GHG emissions.

While the G4 framework is an important milestone for sustainability reporting, there are various other guidelines being implemented around the world as well; for voluntary, as well as financial and mandatory reporting. It is clear that corporate sustainability has become a much more recognized business approach as of late, and that including it as part of a company’s identity can both ensure environmental responsibility and enforce a positive public image. However, while some organizations fully embrace the benefits of being transparent about their ‘green’ strategy, some others may be just starting to dip their toes into the water, and quite a lot remain stagnant and unwilling, or perhaps ignorant on how to take the plunge.

No matter what category a company falls in, it’s important to remember that employing the help of a sustainability management software application, such as Locus’ ePortal Resource Management Module (RMM), can be a great advantage in reaching your sustainable goals. Having the necessary tools to create powerful reports and track KPIs such as resource consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water and wastewater usage across the enterprise can ensure reporting success. Also, the information you collect and organize during the reporting process will help to lower your operating costs by reducing resource consumption.

Whatever you do, don’t wait much longer- the time to reap the benefits of the sustainability reporting competitive advantage is now.