Ontario and Quebec to Introduce Cap and Trade Protocol

From cbc.ca: “The governments of Quebec and Ontario have formally agreed to work together to cut greenhouse gas emissions, set up a high-speed train service and further integrate their economies.

In the first significant move in the new initiative, Premier Jean Charest and his Ontario counterpart, Dalton McGuinty, on Monday unveiled a cap-and-trade protocol for atmospheric carbon in Quebec City after holding their first joint provincial cabinet meeting.

McGuinty said he would like to see a carbon trading program in place by 2010.Jean Charest and Dalton McGuinty said their provinces should be working together more to harmonize rules on energy and transportation. (CBC) Charest called tackling the issue of climate change a “tremendous challenge for humanity.”

He said whoever becomes the next U.S. president will be doing a “180-degree turn” on climate change policy, and the two provinces shouldn’t wait for that to happen before making changes of their own.

“Why wait for the Americans? We want to subscribe to everything that is being done on the European level and the North American level,” Charest told reporters.” Ontario and Quebec to Introduce Cap and Trade Protocol

Making Green the New Business as Usual: EDF Report 2008

Environmental sustainability is no longer the purview of boutique eco-brands. And it is no longer just about compliance with regulations or securing positive press coverage. It’s about driving cost savings through efficiencies, creating new markets and securing competitive advantage. Smart companies realize that what is good for the environment is also good for business. But after taking care of the basics—like switching to energy-saving lighting, buying recycled office supplies and printing double-sided—what is the next step?

With this new annual review, Environmental Defense Fund aims to showcase some of the most promising new trends and best practices. Our goal is to provide a variety of actionable ideas and some inspiration for more dramatic change. The new processes, products and technologies highlighted in this report were selected based on four key criteria: good for business, good for the environment, ready to be implemented and innovative. We did not include ideas that are still in the R&D stage or those that have already been widely implemented or documented. In some cases, we selected innovations that have already been fully tested and put into commercial use; in other cases, we chose to highlight promising early-stage ideas.

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IBM Introduces Carbon Analysis Tool

ARMONK, NY – 22 May 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the Carbon Tradeoff Modeler, a first-of-a-kind tool that enables organizations to analyze and manage the climate impact of their supply chains. The tool allows organizations to understand the outcome of critical tradeoffs to make smarter energy choices and better economic decisions by optimizing on service levels, quality, cost, and carbon dioxide emissions.

Developed by IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services, the Carbon Tradeoff Modeler models the complex interaction of factors driving supply chain carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from both a manufacturing and distribution perspective. It can also quantify the tradeoffs between CO2 emissions reductions and other supply chain metrics such as inventory levels, and on-time delivery. IBM’s Carbon Management Analysis Tool also identifies areas where carbon dioxide emissions and costs can be reduced simultaneously.

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Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy

From nashow.com: ” Rising energy costs, global concern about greenhouse gases and climate change are driving the world’s biggest companies to pressure suppliers to go green and ask very tough questions about how companies handle environmental and social issues. The NA 2008 Keynote will provide a compelling blueprint for how forward thinking companies can address critical environmental issues, from climate change to energy to water, and improve their manufacturing and supply chain performance, gain competitive advantage, and increase profits.”

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Supply chain reporting: Pandora’s box of emissions?

From ClimatChangeCorp.com: “Reporting leaders, including Tesco, Dell and Nestle, are being urged to find out what their suppliers’ carbon footprints are. The move is getting a mixed response. It is five years since the global climate change initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, first received backing from investors to ask the world’s largest companies to report annually on their direct emissions. Now a new and much more complex side to carbon emissions reporting is beginning to be addressed. Company supply chains. Supply chain reporting: Pandora’s box of emissions?

Fiji Water Releases Carbon Footprint

From fijiwater.com: “FIJI® Water announced today (April 9th) that it had joined the Carbon Disclosure Project Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration to fully disclose the carbon footprint of its products. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the world’s largest investor coalition on climate change, will work with FIJI Water to engage with suppliers to disclose their emissions.

FIJI Water is the first privately-owned U.S. company to join the Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration, which uses the CDP information request to engage with suppliers to encourage them to measure and disclose their carbon emissions. Measurement is the first key step to managing emissions.” Fiji Water Releases Carbon Footprint

Eight Steps to a Greener Supply Chain

From worldtrademag.com: “Just the sheer complexity of today’s long and global supply chains might be enough to daunt any thought of where to start to implement green strategies and technologies. But there is a lot of help available out there to make the journey an easier one.
Companies are carefully evaluating their supply chains—as well as their lean and continuous improvements in manufacturing processes and business management decisions—to make them more sustainable while increasing their bottom lines.” Eight Steps to a Greener Supply Chain

New Carbon Tax Receives Praise, Sparks Criticism

From cbc.ca: ” An environmental group praised the B.C. government for putting a price on carbon emissions but the opposition said the carbon tax introduced in Tuesday’s budget is not revenue neutral to low-income earners. Finance Minister Carole Taylor announced in Victoria that as part of the new tax plan, carbon-based fuels — including gasoline, diesel, natural gas and home heating fuel — will be taxed at $10/tonne of greenhouse gases generated, starting July 1.” New Carbon Tax Receives Praise, Sparks Criticism

The Dirt on Greenwashing from Wikipedia

From wikipedia.com: “Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The term Green sheen has similarly been used to describe organisations which attempt to appear that they are adopting practices benefical to the environment.” The Dirt on Greenwashing from Wikipedia