Low-energy opportunities, Samsung’s properly smart phone, novel banking remuneration plans and why children should watch fewer cartoons
Unlocking investment in energy efficiency
Energy efficiency represents an investment opportunity worth hundreds of billions of dollars in the US. However, a recent report by Ceres and its investor network on climate risk suggests that the policies that would bring energy efficiency investments to scale are still lacking.
Ceres policy programme manager Brandon Smithwood, co-author of the report, says: “With rare exceptions, such as appliance and equipment efficiency standards, little energy efficiency policy for buildings and the utility sector is made at the federal level in the United States.”
The report says the three main areas of policy that need to be revisited in order to unlock institutional investors’ capital are utility regulations, demand-generating policies, and innovative financing policies. Smithwood says: “Hopefully the investment community weighing in will be a catalyst for more widespread and aggressive implementation of the policies highlighted in the report.”
Often, institutional investors will hold shares in energy services companies or consider green building metrics in their property investments. However, the report argues that the ability to drive the financing of energy efficient projects or retrofit loans through a secondary market is unavailable to them. Smithwood says: “With the exception of the late 1970s and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, there has not been much in the way of federal funding to energy efficiency retrofits.”
The potential in unlocking large institutional investments into energy efficiency reaches far beyond the dollar value: it is a valuable opportunity for economic reward and risk resilience in an increasingly resource constrained world. Smithwood says: “One can easily make the decision to pursue an energy efficiency related investment based on returns alone, but these investors are often seeking more than returns. They want to see not only that their investments grow, but that they’re being put towards good aims. They want to find investments that yield a return while promoting sustainability.”
Samsung smartphone certified
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 has scooped up the first ever smartphone sustainability certification. The certification was granted to the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer by TCO Development, an independent organisation that specialises in sustainability certifications for IT products.
The certification is awarded on the basis on a multitude of product life-cycle parameters, including the use of hazardous materials as well as recycling potential. Niclas Rydell, certification director at TCO Development, says: “The TCO certified programme wants to address sustainability aspects of the usage, production and end-of-life phase of smartphones.”
This sustainability certification places Samsung in pole position to spearhead sustainability in an industry that carries great social and environmental responsibilities. With the rapid replacement rates of smartphones among consumers, ensuing waste creation, as well as the large amounts of resources needed such as rare earth metals and petroleum to manufacture them, increasing smartphones’ sustainability makes sense.
However, the complexity of their supply chains means it is no easy task. Rydell says: “The challenges in assessing the whole lifecycle of smartphones are huge; the use of raw material, the complex supply chain, working conditions in the supply chain, and environmental aspects in the lifecycle are just a number of them.”
TCO certification can help place higher sustainability and social responsibility demands on smartphone manufacturers. Rydell says: “By offering this certification we make important steps towards more sustainable IT. That one of the largest mobile phone manufacturers chooses to certify and agrees to be revised and checked by a third party is a big step towards increased transparency and dialogue.” He adds that TCA has initiated dialogue with a number of other market leaders in the smartphone industry.
Goldman to pay staff for good behaviour
As the banking industry continues in its efforts to promote transparency and ethical behaviour following the global financial crisis, Goldman Sachs has released a new business standards report that states that the banking giant will offer financial rewards to staff for good behaviour.
Besides products now having to go through an increased number of scrutinising management screening layers before being sold to clients, staff bonuses will depend not only on financial performance but also good conduct.
According to the report, the scheme will involve 450 partners as well as 1,900 managing directors. Goldman Sachs, which already has policies in place to cut pay on grounds of misconduct that causes legal or reputational harm, says it will take some 100,000 hours to implement the new conduct standards via enhanced training sessions.
At the annual shareholder meeting in Salt Lake City, in the US state of Utah, where the report was unveiled, chief executive and chairman Lloyd Blankfein said: “Unless you have a process and stop the clocks so that people of good judgment have the time and the incentive to exercise that judgment, then you don’t necessarily benefit from their good judgment.” The goal of the new business standards at Goldman Sachs is to allow their staff to do just that.
App to boycott brands
A newly launched smartphone app, Buycott, allows shoppers to vote with their wallets. By swiping the barcode on a product, consumers are able to navigate through the often complex corporate ownership structures and check the ultimate parent company behind a particular product.
Besides unveiling the corporate source of a product, app users can also join user-created campaigns to boycott businesses whose practices violate their principles. Ivan Pardo, developer of Buycott, explains: “Users can create campaigns around causes that they want to support. Buycott campaigns are our way of giving consumers a voice in the marketplace.”
Pardo says: “By joining a campaign, you actively take a stand on the companies included in the campaign. When you use the app to scan a barcode, the app will immediately trace the ownership structure of that product and cross-check it against the campaigns that you've joined in order to tell you if you’ve joined a campaign related to that product.”
Campaigns span from those targeting cocoa-related child slavery to opposing the use of palm oil in products. For example, the campaign named Demand GMO Labelling will scan your box of cereal and tell you if it was made by a corporation that opposes the mandatory labelling of genetically modified food.
Pardo, a 26-year-old Californian, says the app is about opening up a “bi-directional route” for education. “In one direction, we want to help the consumers educate themselves about the products they buy.” This is done by offering background and ownership information on any product they scan. “The other route is educating companies and brands about what it is that consumers want from them. This is achieved by making it as easy as possible for users to give feedback to companies.”
Sustainable cocoa for Crunch bars
Nestlé has recently announced that it will source 100% certified Nestlé Cocoa Plan cocoa beans for its popular chocolate bar Crunch. Edie Burge, head of corporate and brand affairs at Nestlé USA, says: “Nestlé Crunch is the confections product US consumers most closely identify with our company. We use more cocoa beans in our Nestlé Crunch brand than any of our other US confectionery brands.”
In order to honour its recent commitment, the company has announced that by the end of 2013 it will buy enough certified Nestlé Cocoa Plan beans to produce the entire line of Nestlé Crunch bars.
The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is the company’s $120m global initiative established in 2009 that aims to improve the livelihood of cocoa farmers and ensure a sustainable supply of cocoa while upholding product quality. The beans will be certified by UTZ, a leading independent sustainability programme and label for sustainable farming of coffee, cocoa and tea worldwide.
As Nestlé works to meet its sustainable cocoa targets, Burge says challenges remain. She says: “The current supply of Nestlé Cocoa Plan beans is limited, as is the global supply of certified, sustainable cocoa beans. We share the available supply of Nestlé Cocoa Plan beans with other Nestlé markets globally.”
The Crunch bar’s packaging will feature the seal of the Nestle Cocoa Plan – and there will be no premium to pay for the improved sustainability.
Nestlé’s ambitions for certified cocoa are, well, ambitious. The company says its ultimate goal is to produce its entire confectionery line with Nestlé Cocoa Plan cocoa. “We are committed to increasing the quantities of Nestlé Cocoa Plans beans purchased each year for our US confectionery business until all of our US confections brands are produced with Nestlé Cocoa Plan cocoa,” Burge says.
Still junk on Nickelodeon
US children entertainment network Nickelodeon has stated that it has no intention to cut junk food adverts from its channels, despite public pressure and rampant childhood obesity concerns.
According to the American Heart Association, about one in three US kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963.
While national rival giant Walt Disney announced in 2012, as reported in Ethical Corporation, that it would be banning advertisements for “non-compliant” foods by 2015, Nickelodeon has reaffirmed that its business is children entertainment, adding that the science of nutrition should be left to the experts.
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