Category: environment

State of Green Business: The Sustainability Cha-Cha

Following is an excerpt from GreenBiz Group’s 16th annual State of Green Business, which explores sustainable business trends to watch in 2023. Download the report here.

“Stay the course” is a brief summation from Joel Makower, chairman and co-founder of GreenBiz Group.

He writes: “That may be the key message coming out of the convulsing, confounding year that was 2022. For all that those 12 months threw at us — a still-raging pandemic, a global economic downturn, major supply-chain chokepoints, political upheavals, climate-exacerbated natural disasters, and a global energy crisis spurred by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine — there’s no turning back for sustainability professionals.

“Of course, inflation and low economic growth led some companies to tap the brakes, slowing some initiatives, including the increased headcount that goes with companies’ growing sustainability ambitions. But not for long. There’s a general sense that the critical nature of social and environmental challenges, and the risks they pose to companies and society, will keep sustainability a hot-button business issue for the foreseeable future.

“It’s another round of the sustainability cha-cha: two steps forward, one step back.”

The risks are growing, he says, “but so are the rewards — to professionals, their organizations and, ultimately, to the planet and all who live here.” Since 2008, the GreenBiz editors and analysts have focused on 10 key trends worth watching, reflecting a broad spectrum of environmental and sustainability topics: transportation, carbon removal, the circular economy, climate tech, sustainable food systems, renewable energy and more.

Much of the sustainability wish list is coming to fruition, according to the report. “At last, biodiversity and natural capital are being recognized as critical inputs to business and industry; healthy ocean ecosystems are linked to climate mitigation and resilience; the financial sector, from insurance to banking to venture capital, is awakening to a post-oil future; and forthcoming transparency and disclosure frameworks promise to help separate leaders from laggards.”

Stakeholder capitalism “is alive and well, as companies and mainstream investors increasingly view environmental and social issues not as some social engineering conspiracy but as activities critical to business and macroeconomic success.”

For the 16th consecutive year, we’ve tapped the GreenBiz analyst and editorial teams to identify 10 key trends and developments GreenBiz will watch over the next 12 months. To learn more, download the free report here.

Dueling for compliant fuel

Bunkering by Cycling Man via Flickr

Container shipping operators are scrambling to come into compliance with United Nations decarbonization rules, according to IHS Markit.

In 1973, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) expanded the powers of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to regulate the environmental impacts of shipping. A MARPOL update in 2008 called for a reduction of the maximum sulfur content in marine bunker fuel from 3.50% to 0.50% in 2020, unless a supply study would conclude insufficient availability of compliance fuels and a delay to 2025 deemed necessary. But, in October 2016, the IMO came to a broad agreement to implement the global reduction in the sulfur content of marine bunker fuel from January 1, 2020.

IHS Markit estimates that about 55,000 ships of a total fleet of about 110,000 vessels burn heavy fuel oil bunkers and that roughly 30,000 ships account for about 80% of global fuel oil bunker use.

Compliant fuel means seven and eight-tenths (7.8) pounds per square inch (psi) low Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) gasoline, federal reformulated gasoline, or ethanol-blended low RVP gasoline as described in section 5 of the IMO rule.

Operators must therefore compete to secure shore-side production of eco fuels such as hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol with other energy-hungry industries. The current global supply of hydrogen, ammonia and methanol would barely cover the needs of the shipping industry, even without competition from other critical sectors such as manufacturing, oil refining, and the production of fertilizers, said the Shipping Gazette.

The shipping industry uses more than 300 million tons of fossil fuels every year, about five percent of global oil production, and there is still no clear pathway toward replacing that volume with renewable fuels.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), predicts ammonia will be the dominant alternative fuel for shipping by 2050.

Jonah Sweeney, a European marine fuels analyst at oil price reporting agency Argus, told the IMO that alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol produced less energy than very low sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO). One ton of VLSFO produces 2.2 times more heat content than one ton of ammonia and 2.1 times more than methanol.

“It is important when looking at alternative fuel options to compare like for like in terms of energy output, otherwise if you take the outright price of methanol, for example, you will have a substantial discount to VLSFO, but you will need about twice as much,” Sweeney said, quoted in the Shipping Gazette.

This is a big problem, because about 93 percent of the global companies that have set net-zero goals are on course to fall short of their carbon emissions targets, according to Triplepundit.

Green Corridors on the deep blue sea

On the shipping lane by Kari Nousianien via Flickr CC

The ports of Gothenburg and Rotterdam pledged to establish a Green Corridor between the two cities, which will put a framework in place for collaboration on alternative fuels and reducing carbon emissions.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of the Swedish and Dutch royal families. It is intended that the corridor will become part of the European Green Corridors Network, set up in March 2022 by the Maersk McKinney Moller Centre for Zero-Carbon Shipping.

According to a recent report from McKinsey, zero-emission fuels and vessels will need to be deployed over the next decade to achieve full decarbonization of the shipping sector by 2050. “This ambitious goal could be catalyzed by green corridors.”

The zero-emission goal was established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which has mandated emission reductions of 50 percent for all vessels by 2050. (Annex 11 Resolution MEPC.304(72) adopted April 13, 2018, Initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships, International Maritime Organization, imo.org.) A number of countries—including Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States—have declared a target for net-zero shipping emissions in the same time frame.

The U.S. Department of State released a “Green Shipping Corridors Framework” fact sheet in April that states: “Green shipping corridors can spur early and rapid adoption of fuels and technologies that, on a lifecycle basis, deliver low- and zero-emissions across the maritime sector, placing the sector on a pathway to full decarbonization. The United States envisions green shipping corridors as maritime routes that showcase low- and zero-emission lifecycle fuels and technologies with the ambition to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions across all aspects of the corridor in support of sector-wide decarbonization no later than 2050. There are multiple pathways through which a fully decarbonized corridor can be achieved; this green shipping corridors framework therefore provides maritime stakeholders the flexibility to choose the path that best suits their needs.”

It seems that we are in the early stages of actually establishing green corridors in the maritime/port sector, which is why the Rotterdam-Gothenburg agreement is significant. Allard Castelein, Chief Executive of the Port of Rotterdam said: “This Green Corridor initiative is part of our ongoing efforts to bring together parties across the supply chain to help realize more sustainable shipping in support of the Paris Agreement.” And Elvir Dzanic, Chief Executive of the Gothenburg Port Authority added: “We can now present a more distinct path towards the decarbonization of shipping.”

The McKinsey report asserted: “Finding industry-wide solutions is challenging, given the varied and complex nature of the sector. One way to accelerate decarbonization is to implement ‘green corridors’: specific trade routes between major port hubs where zero-emission solutions are supported. A new report, The next wave: Green corridors, produced by the Getting to Zero Coalition in collaboration with the Global Maritime Forum, Mission Possible Partnership, and Energy Transitions Commission, with analytical support from McKinsey, probes the feasibility of two such selected corridors,” the Australia-Japan iron-ore route and the Asia-Europe container route.

The results of this analysis are “encouraging” but there is still a long navigation ahead.

Preserve biodiversity through sustainable forest management

deforested by naqi via Flickr CC

Deforestation is the greatest threat to valuable biodiversity, with around 10 million hectares lost to deforestation each year, mainly for agricultural expansion, according to a new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The key to thwarting deforestation is sustainable forest management, the report says. “Protecting the animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms that thrive in forests must become a fundamental goal of sustainable forest management worldwide.”

The world’s forests provide habitats for about 80 percent of amphibian species, 75 percent of bird species and 68 percent of mammal species. In addition, about 60 percent of all vascular plants occur in tropical forests. The importance of sustainable forest management has long been recognized, but more action in a concerted manner is needed.

“The conservation of the world’s biodiversity is utterly dependent on the way in which we interact with and use the world’s forests,” said Tiina Vähänen, Deputy Director of FAO’s Forestry Division, of the report, Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Forestry.  The report was released at the 8th World Forest Week on the sidelines of the 26th Session of FAO’s Committee on Forestry.

The report assesses tools and methods of ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity is integrated into forest policy, strategy and management. Through a series of case studies from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Finland, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and the United Kingdom it explores lessons learned and identifies good practices.

It recommends actions that governments and development partners can take “to facilitate the mainstreaming of biodiversity in forest management”:

  • Halting and reversing deforestation
  • Combating illegal and unregulated forest activities
  • Recognizing the forest tenure of Indigenous Peoples and local communities
  • Preventing the conversion of natural forests into monospecific forest plantations
  • Ensuring the sustainable management of harvested species
  • Managing and controlling invasive and overabundant species
  • Leveraging global momentum on restoration to enhance biodiversity conservation
  • Adopting a multisectoral perspective
  • Providing economic incentives
  • Facilitating market-based instruments
  • Investing in knowledge and capacity development

“We hope that the wealth of information and recommendations made in this study will inspire action from those involved in forest management and conservation,” said FAO Forestry Officer Kenichi Shono.

The role of forests in maintaining biodiversity is explicitly recognized by the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2017–2030 and in 2019, FAO adopted the Strategy on Mainstreaming Biodiversity across Agricultural Sectors.

Lots of hope, lots of studies: time for action.

All-electric cargo plane flies for DHL

The first fully electric commuter/cargo plane ‘Alice’ by Eviation Aircraft successfully completed its maiden flight at Moses Lake, Washington, USA. Credit: DHL

Alice in Cloudland? DHL successfully launched the first all-electric cargo plane, Alice, late last month.

The maiden flight was completed at Moses Lake, WA’s Grant County International Airport (MWH), It flew for eight minutes and reached an altitude of 3,500 feet. The Seattle-based manufacturer, Eviation, is the builder.

“Completing its maiden flight confirms our belief that the era of sustainable aviation is here. With our order of 12 Alice e-cargo planes, we are investing towards our overall goal of net-zero emissions logistics,” said John Pearson, CEO DHL Express, who was quoted in the article.

https://www.dpdhl.com/en/media-relations/media-center/tv-footage/first-ever-fully-electric-plane-alice.html

A single pilot can fly the plane and it will carry 1,200 kilograms (2,600 lbs.). It will require 30 minutes or less to charge per flight hour and have a maximum range of up to 815 kilometers (440 nautical miles).

DHL says Alice will operate in all environments currently serviced by piston and turbine aircraft. Alice’s advanced electric motors have fewer moving parts to increase reliability and reduce maintenance costs. Its operating software constantly monitors flight performance to ensure optimal efficiency.

The aircraft is ideal for feeder routes and requires less investment in station infrastructure, DHL says. The Alice can be charged while loading and unloading operations occur, ensuring quick turnaround times that maintain DHL Express’ tight schedules. Eviation says Alice  can be configured for cargo or passenger use.

Pearson noted that Alice’s range and capacity “makes it a unique sustainable solution for our global aviation network.” It supports DHL’s goal to make a “substantial contribution” in reducing its carbon footprint and ultimately, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

FAO on food loss and waste

Fresh mangoes, like many other fruits, spoil rapidly because of their high moisture content and delicate nature. © FAO/Miguel Schincariol.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations asserts that minimizing food loss “is easier than you think” by adopting simple solutions that can help “break the vicious cycle of food loss and climate change.”

The FAO article, released in connection with the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste 2022, notes that each year, approximately 14 percent of the food we produce is lost between when it is harvested and before it reaches the shops. A further 17 percent of our food ends up being wasted by retailers and consumers.”

FAO continues: “Food loss and waste is also a major contributor to the climate crisis, accounting for up to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. In some countries, the food supply chain is already on course to overtake farming and land use as the largest contributor to GHGs emissions, adding to an unstable climate and extreme weather events such as droughts and flooding.”

Alarming numbers, to be sure, but simple solutions? It seems that nothing is ever simple anymore.  

The UN organization has implemented several projects designed to reduce food loss and make agriculture systems more efficient. The Asia region is showing some promising results. Consider the mango.

Like other fruits, fresh mangoes spoil rapidly because of their high moisture content and delicate nature. If not harvested at the correct stage of maturity, and if not handled properly throughout the distribution chain, mangoes suffer both in terms of quality and quantity, resulting in losses and reduced income for all involved in their production and post-harvest handling. Furthermore, improper handling and infestations shorten their shelf-life, which in turn limits their sales, resulting in economic losses.

In southern Asia, for example, FAO experts found that local farmers often have scarce knowledge of how to handle fruit and vegetables after the harvest and also lack the resources to address quality issues in the supply chain. This can result in more than half of vegetable harvests being lost due to diseases, pest infestations, improper harvesting techniques, careless handling, poor packaging, and transport conditions.

That does not sound very simple, but apparently, training is a key factor. “When FAO trained the farmers to apply good post-harvest management practices and use reusable plastic crates instead of single-use mesh sacks to transport their produce, the switch produced dramatic improvements.”

Using plastic crates for bulk packaging reduced losses to a minimum during transportation. Also, “shelf lives in shops and markets improved significantly for the mangoes that underwent a hot-water treatment that controls post-harvest diseases. New harvesting tools and techniques, such as improved picking poles or trimming the fruit stem with scissors and gloves rather than pulling them off by hand, reduced mechanical injury to the fruit, while the trimming of the stems reduced latex staining of the fruit when packed in the crates, making them more attractive in shops and markets.” 

Improvements in the post-harvest handling practices, together with the hot water treatment, resulted in better quality mangoes having a longer shelf life in retail, with a 70 – 80 percent reduction in the number of mangoes wasted due to decay over a period of five days.

FAO is promoting its findings and practices around the world. About 5 000 smallholders across Asia have been trained in fresh fruit and vegetable production and marketing.

 The FAO conclusion? “With the rise of food prices, the growing impact of climate change, and the persistence of global hunger, there is no excuse for food loss and waste at any level.”

It does sound simple, but simple is often complicated.

The story and photos can be found here:  https://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1605721/

Dealing with air pollution controls

Pollution by Tony Webster via Flickr CC

A new eHandbook from Environment+Energy Leader, sponsored by Anguil Environmental Systems, outlines current trends in air pollution controls and what should be considered when choosing emission control technologies.

That is of course if energy companies insist on emitting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) rather than converting their plants to renewable energy sourcing. But oh well, the climate crisis must continue, and fewer pollutants might have to do.

The handbook notes that in trying to understand how best to mitigate VOCs and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), industrial companies can find “compliance downright baffling.”

“Significant shifts in the industrial landscape and in the economy at large, along with constant regulatory changes, contribute to the confusion.

 “There are many factors impacting the clean air technology industry, including regulation, public policy, and considerations such as environmental justice,” says Clare Schulzki, executive director of the Institute of Clean Air Companies (ICAC), quoted in the ebook. The landscape is changing. EPA, for example, continues to update and release new air emissions rules including regulations requiring additional controls on certain equipment and processes that emit Ethylene Oxide (EtO) to reduce risk to surrounding communities and protect public health from this known carcinogen.

EPA is also developing new methane emission rules that will tighten standards for new and existing equipment primarily in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.

The eBook identifies five pollution control trends:

Trend #1. The carbon footprint of air pollution controls starts to matter. ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) considerations are driving companies away from gas-fired emission combustion systems to fume abatement technologies that utilize electrically heated sources. For example, one technology, oxidation, converts pollutants into water vapor, carbon dioxide, and thermal energy. When designed properly these systems can have fewer greenhouse gas emissions than a gas-fired burner.

Trend #2. Concentrator systems gain in popularity. Emission concentrators are specialized systems that process large quantities of polluted air with low pollutant concentrations. This allows companies to use smaller oxidizers in self-sustaining modes. Apparently, this approach is more efficient and cost-effective.

Trend #3. Industries such as battery manufacturing, semiconductors, and renewable natural gas are soaring. For many companies in these industries, this means more factories, increased output and/or new processes.

Trend #4. Supply chain disruptions affect every industry. “If you’re contending with the inability to receive the materials you need in order to manufacture your products, you’re not alone. Nearly every industry is facing similar challenges – including your pollution control technology provider.” This means there might be longer than expected wait times for those smaller oxidizers and other neat technologies. So, plan way ahead.

Trend #5. US industry adheres to US standards even in emerging markets. Manufacturing is increasing in emerging markets. “Large companies are building more plants in Southeast Asia, for example. And many large corporations are committed to adhering to US standards regardless of local regulations.”

The handbook also lists “considerations” for companies to address when choosing emission control technologies, such as the compounds that comprise a company’s emissions, meeting regulatory requirements, sorting capital costs vs. operating costs, and sources of funding.

So again, the basic message is to plan way ahead and keep abreast of new pollution control technologies.

And don’t forget the long-term value inherent in renewable energy technologies. Just saying.

Eco-Friendly sourcing and risks

Forest Farming by Sustainability via Flickr CC

An article in Information Today talks about “reigning in” the risks of sustainable sourcing. Written by contributing reporter Samuel Greengard, the report says that building more eco-friendly and sustainable supply chains “is rapidly becoming a top priority for businesses. A clear strategy and the right technology that delivers visibility can reduce risks and improve results.”

That’s great but what has taken so long for businesses to realize this? The climate crisis is well upon us — it should have been a top priority many years ago. One of the great lessons, and confluences, of the pandemic and the climate crisis, is that supply chains of all types must change their thinking dramatically about how they do business.

Back to the article. Greengard writes:

“Product shortages and supply chain disruptions have emerged as a frustrating reality for organizations across a wide swath of industries. Due to a convergence of factors — including the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and a shortage of raw materials — procuring essential materials and components is increasingly difficult.

“Yet, things suddenly get a whole lot more complicated as soon as sustainable sourcing enters the picture. As businesses strive to meet aggressive climate goals and display results on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reports, the headaches and risks multiply. An inability to obtain materials, products and services can threaten basic operations.”

Supply chains and procurement are risky enterprises and adding green principles and sustainable sourcing to the mix adds even more risk. It’s the cost of doing business, so “reigning in risk” seems like the wrong approach. Actually, it can’t be done in a significant way because risk in the modern era is a pandora’s box.

“The end goal is to establish strategies, policies and processes that fully support sustainable sourcing.”

A nice and obvious thought but extremely difficult to implement as the climate crisis becomes more, well, critical. Better to do the right things, risks or no.

,,,

Note: Things are changing job-wise for yours truly so watch this space for developments with this blog and other endeavors.

Status of Green Business?

Climate change by quote catalog via Flickr CC. Credit www.quotecatalog.com 

In a few words, green business is improving, but not nearly fast or widespread enough.

The State of Green Business 2022, by Joel Makower and the editors and analysts at GreenBiz Group, is out and the prognosis remains highly uncertain.

As Makower says, “We find ourselves in uncharted and unfamiliar territory. Again. The worlds we collectively inhabit — corporate sustainability, sustainable finance, the circular economy, climate tech — are all reaching inflection points, growing and changing faster than many could have imagined. Along the way, they’re roiling industries, companies, jobs, and career paths — mostly for the better but also in a be-careful-what-you-wish-for kind of way.”

It sounds a bit like gobbledygook, but there it is. Simply put, there are too many balls in the air. As Makower notes, the Covid pandemic era now coincides with the rise of most aspects of sustainable business: companies’ commitments to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions; the increase of green bonds and sustainability-linked loans; the inexorable growth of renewable energy, alongside its declining price; the mainstreaming of electric vehicles; the rise of concern about biodiversity loss and its economic impact, and more.

Perhaps the past two years of pandemic life have focused organizational attention on how to deal with multiple crises and issues in business health and the environment. “Despite our self-imposed isolation, the klieg lights focused on companies’ environmental and social commitments and performance have grown increasingly brighter and hotter, in lockstep with the rise of concern about the scale, scope and pace of change. With the signs of a changing climate becoming ever more apparent — and costly — the business world is finally recognizing that sustainability is not merely a nice-to-do activity,” Makower says.

But the bottom line is that while the pace of change has increased, it’s far from what’s needed to address the challenges ahead.

Here are some points to consider from the report:

– This is an exciting and perilous time for companies, their stakeholders, and the world in general. The impacts of a changing climate are clear as storms, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves and other weather phenomena become more frequent and extreme.

– It’s not just the climate crisis. The increasing loss of biodiversity, and all of the economic activity it enables, is a major growing concern.

– In addition, the increasing economic inequality in the world seems an insoluble problem. Unconscionable numbers of people still lack adequate food, shelter, water, electricity and sanitation, while those with financial means are, as a rule, doing better and better.

– The rise of “net-zero” commitments by companies and countries was one of the major themes of 2021, along with the pushback from activists, regulators and investors that many of these claims weren’t backed by credible action or plans. “It’s not necessarily that companies aren’t serious about reaching these goals, say critics. It’s that they’re not serious about the speed at which they need to reach them.”

– The finance component of sustainable business is proving to be powerful.The world’s largest financial institutions are committing trillions of dollars to fund the transition to a net-zero world, though many of them also continue to back fossil fuel companies and projects. Still, the trajectory away from coal, oil and natural gas is clear — though, once again, the pace of change may be way too slow.

“All of this together — the perils and the promise — suggest that business — and, indeed, humankind — is undergoing an epochal transition. Those who view tomorrow’s world as a continuation of today’s are increasingly having those assumptions challenged. As we face these existential threats, there is an opportunity to renew and regenerate the structures upon which we rely for our health, wealth and security. Nearly everything, it seems, must be reinvented if we are to prosper into the future, indefinitely and for all.”

Can business get it done? It has too.

The planet is dimming…

in many ways, none of them good from a population and climate perspective.

Earthshine eg. image 1 by Ben Laken via Flickr CC

Let’s skip a discourse on the current quality of general human intelligence because that seems too easy and depressing, even though human stupidity and inaction in the face of overwhelming evidence has created the climate crisis.

Now there is evidence the Earth is dimming due to climate change. According to a report in EarthSky, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) last month said that Earth’s warming oceans are causing fewer bright clouds to reflect sunlight back into space. So we are not shining so brightly in the universe, and more heat is reaching the Earth’s surface. This additional heat will, presumably, lead to even warmer oceans, according to the article. “This result is contrary to what many scientists had hoped. They’d hoped a warmer Earth might lead to more bright clouds and higher albedo (greater reflectivity), and more heat reflected away.” That outcome would have helped to moderate warming and balance the climate system, but the AGU result shows the opposite is true. The new Earth-albedo study was published in the peer-reviewed AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Earthshine is what happens when sunlight bounces from Earth onto the night landscape of the moon. It’s that dim glow you sometimes see on the darkened portion of a crescent moon. The Big Bear Solar Observatory in Southern California gathered the earthshine data from 1998 to 2017. The scientists said the Earth is now reflecting about half a watt less light per square meter than it was 20 years ago. Most of the drop has occurred in the last three years of earthshine data.

….

Meanwhile on the “let’s do something” climate crisis front, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized its first new climate rule last month, slashing the use of powerful greenhouse gases widely used in home refrigerators and air conditioners and often found to be leaking from U.S. supermarket freezers.

The final rule establishes a comprehensive program to cap and phase down the production and consumption of climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the United States, the EPA said on 23 September. “HFCs are potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, as well as foams and many other applications. A global phasedown of HFCs is expected to avoid up to 0.5 °C of global warming by 2100. This final rule will phase down the U.S. production and consumption of HFCs by 85% over the next 15 years, as mandated by the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act that was enacted in December 2020.”

For more information on this rule, visit:  https://www.epa.gov/climate-hfcs-reduction/final-rule-phasedown-hydrofluorocarbons-establishing-allowance-allocation

We’re racing against the clock as the lights go out.