On May 24-26, GEMI member, Procter
& Gamble (P&G) hosted GEMI’s Meeting
#2 in Covington, KY. More than 60 GEMI members, Local Water
Tool (LWT) project participant companies and guest companies
were in attendance throughout the 3-day meeting. Thank you
to GEMI’s Communications Chair, Steve Shedroff,
P&G, as well as Kym Gaylo,
Sherry Spears and Maxine Dewbury
of P&G for their assistance in coordinating
and hosting the meeting. In addition, thank you to Dr.
Greg Allgood, Director of the Children’s
Safe Drinking Water Program, P&G
for speaking during the P&G hosted evening function
at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.
Pictured: (left) GEMI members at a
P&G hosted evening event at the National Underground Railroad
Freedom Center; (right) Dr. Greg Allgood, Director of
the Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, P&G
On May 24, the GEMI Water Sustainability
Work Group met to continue its work on the development of
the GEMI Local Water Tool (LWT) project. The Framework Workshop
was led by LWT Co-Chairs Karl Fennessey, ConocoPhillips,
Moe Bechard, Diversey, Inc.
and Bill Lechner, The Scotts Miracle-Gro
Company, as well as project consultant Jan Dell,
CH2MHill.
On May 25, GEMI’s Climate Change, Sustainable
Development and Supply Chain Networks met, followed by a
roundtable discussion of emerging issues. The Network meetings
included presentations from members: Woody Keown,
P&G; Jeramy Lemieux,
Diversey, Inc.; and, Steve Schwalb,
Perdue Incorporated, as well as guest speakers;
Alistair Ono and Corinne Reich-Weiser, Climate Earth; Joseph
Fiksel, EPA Sustainability; Alan Hecht, U.S. EPA; John Leazer,
National Risk Management Research Laboratory; and Dina Kruger,
Kruger Environmental Strategies.
Pictured: Keith Miller, 3M, Woody Keown,
P&G, Phil McAndrew, Kraft Foods; (right) Alan Hecht, US
EPA
On May 26, GEMI held its Forum Day #2 on “Stakeholder
Engagement: Making the Connections for a Strong Sustainability
Platform”. The Forum was facilitated by GEMI’s
Communications Network Chair, Bill Nelson, 3M and
Audrey Bamberger, Pathways to Sustainability. The Forum
explored the topic of current trends in stakeholder engagement
(are they changing?), developing key stakeholder relationships,
engaging employees as contributors to corporate sustainability,
and managing difficult stakeholder relationships.
During the Forum, GEMI’s Vice-Chair, Bill
Gill, Smithfield Foods, gave a presentation on
Integrating Sustainability into the Corporate Supply Chain
– Engaging Internal Stakeholders. The Forum also included
presentations from GEMI members, Jack McAneny, P&G
on “Stakeholder Engagement and the New Long-Term Sustainability
Vision” and Heather Tansey, 3M on
“3M’s Success with Building A Culture of Sustainability”,
and guest speakers: Peter Corbyn, GreenNexxus on “Wiring
Employees Into Sustainability Programs”; Brynn Harrington,
Saatchi & Saatchi S on “Employee Engagement from
the Top Down and Bottom Up”; and, Stephen Nemeth,
2degrees on “How Social Media Can Help Make the Critical
Connections”. A related workshop used tools from GEMI’s
Transparency: A Path to Public Trust™ to help
participants critically think through how they can better
develop key, trusting relationships that support business
sustainability objectives.
Pictured: (left) Stephen Nemeth, 2degrees;
(right) GEMI Chair Keith Miller, 3M thanks meeting host
Steve Shedroff, P&G
NOTE: All presentations from GEMI meeting
#2 are posted on the GEMI members only site and meeting
summaries, as well as presentation recordings will be
posted soon.
New items recently posted on GEMI Members
Only Website
• June 20 @ 2pm EDT – Climate Network
with EDF re: Corporate Fleets – Review
the strategies that have driven recent successes and explore
what actions are needed to continue this momentum over
the coming years.
• June 29 @ 11am EDT – Supply Chain
Network: International Trade Centre – “Roles
and Impacts of Sustainability Standards in Global Value
Chains”, Market Analysis Tools.
Please note: These webinars are for GEMI members
only. Call-in and WebEx log-in information will be distributed
to GEMI members via calendar notices.
3M,
through its New Ventures Business, has invested in GoNano
Technologies Inc., a developer and manufacturer of high
surface area nanomaterials for pollution control, catalysis,
composites and sensory technologies headquartered in Moscow,
Idaho. More
Information.
3M announced the new Filtrete™ Wi-Fi
Touch Screen Programmable Thermostat, which allows homeowners
to easily control or monitor their heating or cooling system
from a computer, tablet or smartphone from anywhere in the
world. Designed to help reduce energy costs and consumption,
the Filtrete Wi-Fi thermostat may help reduce your heating
and cooling bills by up to 33 percent or more when used
as instructed and depending on your HVAC system and how
you use your remote access. More
Information.
Cargill
recently received the 2011 Dayton water award at the 2nd
annual Dayton Water Conference held by the Waters Innovators
Alliance, a Washington D.C. based industry association focused
on reducing regulatory barriers, increasing collaboration
and raising awareness for cutting edge water technologies
and the problems they solve. Over the past five years, the
Dayton facility has seen a 22 percent per unit reduction
in waterbourne waste streams and over the past three years,
the Dayton facility has seen a 12.8 percent per unit reduction
in water usage. More
Information.
CSX
Transportation commended Richard J. Spatafore,
division engineer, Jacksonville, for receiving the 2010
Association of American Railroads’ John H. Chafee
Environmental Excellence Award. CSX nominated Spatafore
for the award, named for the late Rhode Island senator who
devoted his long career in public service to protecting
the environment and who understood the important environmental
advantages of rail. More
Information.
Diversey,
Inc. and Standard Textile Co announced the formation
of a joint venture to bring innovative, cost-effective and
sustainable laundry cleaning solutions for the lodging and
healthcare industries. Called Proteus Solutions, LLC, the
venture will deliver new innovation to these industries
through differentiated products and solutions that redefine
cleaning and sanitizing processes. More
Information.
Cintas Corporation and Diversey, Inc.
announced a strategic alliance to provide custom cleaning
and hygiene products and services to Cintas customers. Branded
Signet™ Cleaning Chemical Service, the new foodservice
offering combines a portfolio of industry-leading green
chemicals with the service excellence of Cintas to provide
customers fully integrated management of their cleaning
and hygiene needs. More
Information.
The
need to package food, consumer and industrial products in
a more sustainable and affordable way dominates the worldwide
packaging industry, according to DuPont’s
global survey of consumer packaged goods companies and packaging
converters. More than 500 packaging professionals were surveyed
and over 40% cited sustainability as the toughest challenge
while 33% named cost as a major factor. More
Information.
FedEx
Express announced that its Enterprise Data Center-West
(EDC-W), located in Colorado Springs, Colo., is now LEED
Gold certified under the Green Building Certification Institute
(GBCI) Rating System for New Construction and is a winner
of IDG's InfoWorld Green 15 Award. More
Information.
Cost
savings and government incentives are the top influencers
driving an increased focus on energy efficiency in buildings,
according to the results of the second annual Johnson
Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey
for Europe. The survey reinforces the growing trend of “greening”
buildings seen in Europe in recent years. More
Information.
Kraft
Foods announced expanded sustainability goals and
highlighted progress against its focus areas. The company's
new goals – now including the Cadbury and LU businesses
acquired since 2007 –build upon previous success around
energy, carbon dioxide, water, waste and packaging reductions.
More
Information.
Procter & Gamble, Africare, H2O for
Life and the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group
(Wasrag) announced a new partnership to address the urgent
need for safe water, effective sanitation, and hygiene education
in schools in developing countries while connecting school
children in the developing world to US and Canadian school
children. The collaboration will initially bring 19 million
liters of clean water and sanitation services to 30 schools
in Malawi and Tanzania. More
Information.
Pantene, a P&G brand, announced it
has started producing its new shampoo and conditioner bottles
made primarily from plant-based plastic. This innovative
material, a first for the hair care industry, is made from
sugarcane and will be featured on the Pantene Pro-V Nature
Fusion collection. The new bottles will be initially launching
in Western Europe with expansion plans to the rest of the
world over the next 2 years. More
Information.
Southern
Company has been recognized as the third most sustainable
company in Georgia and the sixth in the Southeast for 2011.
The Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings evaluate
the top 300 publicly traded companies with headquarters
in the South on their environmental, social and governance
performance indicators. More
Information.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized
Southern Company subsidiary Georgia Power
for the fifth consecutive year as one of the nation's top
five pledge leaders for driving energy efficiency awareness
under EPA's "Change the World, Start with ENERGY STAR"
campaign. This year Georgia Power collected 102,429 pledges
from consumers through its local offices, energy efficiency
fairs and community outreach events. More
Information.
Almost 300 tons of concrete and aluminum donated by Southern
Company subsidiary Gulf Power could soon be teeming
with sea life. The electric utility is providing the retired
materials to help make an artificial reef about 2 miles
south of Pensacola Beach in 60 feet of water near the Three
Barges site. More
Information.
Union
Pacific Distribution Services (UPDS) achieved the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SmartWay Transport
program's highest score, joining the ranks of exceptional
environmental performers dedicated to energy efficiency
and air quality. A Union Pacific Railroad subsidiary, UPDS
became a SmartWay Transportation Partner in 2008. UPDS earned
the program's highest score by utilizing most of the commercially
available fuel saving strategies and actively evaluating
the latest emerging technologies. More
Information.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) presented
Union Pacific Railroad with an Environmental
Excellence Award for developing some of the most environmentally
friendly locomotives, which are now operating in the Lone
Star State. Union Pacific's Genset switcher locomotives
were recognized in the technical and technology category.
More
Information.
If you have news and notes you would like to
share with the GEMI members, please email them to Kellen
Mahoney.
• 
GRI
announced that the next generation of its Sustainability
Reporting Guidelines is now under development. A public
“Call for sustainability reporting topics”
has been launched to collect input on what new issues
should be covered in G4. The GRI Guidelines’
development is influenced by changes in the reporting
field, such as the introduction of new concepts, trends
and tools, and requests by new players. The closing
date for sustainability reporting topic submissions
is June 30, 2011. More
Information.
• 
The
Climate Registry, The Pew Center on Global Climate
Change and the Association of Climate Change Officers
(ACCO) announced that they will jointly sponsor a
new national awards program with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize exemplary corporate,
organizational and individual leadership in response
to climate change. An event to honor award recipients
will be held in January 2012, and will be held in
conjunction with a conference hosted by The Registry,
Pew and ACCO in partnership with EPA. More information
is available online at www.epa.gov/climateleaders.
• On May 3-4, GEMI’s Director,
Amy Goldman attended the Carbon War Room’s
“Creating Climate Wealth Summit” in Washington,
DC. The Summit focused on identifying specific US
pathways to accelerate deployment of green solutions
in the areas of energy efficiency, low-carbon energy,
efficient transportation and biofuels. The more than
300 global attendees from the US, Europe, Australia
and Asia participated in workshop driven discussions
focused on distributed generation, energy efficiency,
aviation & renewable fuels, shipping & freight,
future of personal transportation, sustainable agriculture,
and island nations.
• On May 4, GEMI’s Executive
Director, Steve Hellem, gave a presentation
on GEMI and its solution tools at a sustainability
session during the National Center for Defense Manufacturing
& Machining (NCDMM) Summit 2011. The Summit was
attended by nearly 200 attendees from 130 companies
traveling from 26 states, and included NCDMM Alliance
Partners, manufacturers, and DoD prime and tiered
suppliers. More
Information.
• GEMI’s Chair, Keith Miller,
3M and GEMI’s Director, Amy
Goldman have been asked and agreed to be
part of the Advisory Council of The Center for Environmental
Innovation and Leadership (CEIL), sponsor of the GOVgreen
Conference and Exposition. As part of our role on
the Advisory Council, we will be developing a GEMI
panel for the conference to provide a live demonstration
of the GEMI Solution Tools Matrix™ and member
company case examples. CEIL’s
GOVgreen Conference and Exposition on November
30 – December 1, Washington Convention Center
offers educational tracks on energy, facilities, conservation
and transportation and an exhibit floor of companies
that provide green products and services to the government.
GOVgreen’s conference program is free to government
and military professionals.
CLIMATE
Source: GreenBiz
A Superior Court in San Francisco issued a final judgment
in a lawsuit filed in 2009 by environmental justice (EJ)
groups concerning California's groundbreaking 2006 law,
the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), which sets limits
on global warming pollution in the state.
Source: National Research Council
Warning that the risk of dangerous climate change impacts
is growing with every ton of greenhouse gases emitted into
the atmosphere, a National Research Council committee reiterated
the pressing need for substantial action to limit the magnitude
of climate change and to prepare to adapt to its impacts.
Source: WRI
As the reporting deadline for 2010 looms, developed countries
will need to prove that they are meeting their $30 billion
commitment.
Source: The
Global e-Sustainability Initiative
This report, from the Global e-Sustainability Initiative,
was published in the run-up to COP 16 in Cancun, Mexico,
and lays out the ways that information technologies can
help countires achieve their greenhouse gas reduction commitments.
SUPPLY
CHAIN
Source: GreenBiz
The past five years have seen supply chain sustainability
creep up executives' list of priorities. Multinationals,
such as Walmart or Unilever, have already extended their
sustainability strategies so that they trickle down through
the supply chain.
Source: Triple Pundit
Puma has published an economic valuation of the environmental
impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and water
consumption along its entire supply chain.
Source: Triple Pundit
Logistics managers attempting to optimize supply chains for
sustainability and emissions reductions face a tough question:
how to implement those goals without breaking the bank.
Source: GreenBiz
What are conflict minerals? In essence this is the issue
made famous in the movie "Blood Diamond." In the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and surrounding region,
the profits from mining mineral resources have contributed
to one of the world's worst conflicts -- with millions killed
and heinous human rights violations.
Source: Environmental Leader
The growth of investment in sustainable business programs
will be between 50 and 100 percent higher in 2013 than
in 2011, according to new projections by analyst firm
Verdantix.
Source: GreenBiz
Many business leaders have approached us giving markedly
different assessments of the opportunities they see and
the challenges they face since last year's CEO study on
sustainability by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC)
and Accenture.
Source: TriplePundit
We know a lot about the sustainability performance of
about 5,000 large companies. We know something about the
sustainability performance of another 16,000 smaller companies
and organizations. But, our world economy includes millions
of economic entities. How can we get data on their social
and sustainability performance?
Source: Yale e360
Marine conservationist Charles Saylan believes the U.S.
educational system is failing to create responsible citizens
who consider themselves stewards of the environment. To
do that, he says in a Yale Environment 360 interview,
educators need to go beyond rhetoric and make environmental
values a central part of a public education.
WATER
Source: EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced
improvements to the availability and usability of drinking
water data in the Enforcement and Compliance History
Online (ECHO) tool.
Source: Environmental Leader
Water services provider Veolia Water has launched GrowingBlue.com,
a site that uses animated maps, infographics and case
studies to help municipalities, businesses and consumers
better understand water challenges in 180 countries.
Source: Yale e360
As temperatures rise and water supplies dry up, semi-nomadic
tribes along the Kenyan-Ethiopian border increasingly
are coming into conflict with each other. A Yale Environment
360 video report from East Africa focuses on a phenomenon
that climate scientists say will be more and more common
in the 21st century: how worsening drought will pit groups
— and nations — against one another.
Source: Guardian
The Three Gorges dam, the flagship of China's massive hydroengineering
ambitions, faces "urgent problems", the government
has warned. In a statement approved by prime minister Wen
Jiabao, the state council said the dam had pressing geological,
human and ecological problems. The report also acknowledged
for the first time the negative impact the dam has had on
downstream river transport and water supplies.
