Supply chains are complex networks of resources, activities, technology, information, people, and organizations all involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. For many companies, improving supply chain management offers the largest opportunity for achieving increased sustainability performance – particularly in addressing issues of labor and human rights abuse. In the 1990s, the issue of human rights and supply chains became front-page news after child labor scandals in the apparel industry surfaced. As a result, customers, investors and regulators increasingly want to know that the products they purchase and underwrite are not causing undue harm to communities near and far. This three-part podcast series focuses on the ethics of supply chain management and the evolving impacts on human rights.
With the recent explosion in the market of computers, cellphones, tablets and more, human rights and corporate supply chains are once again in the limelight as the mining of minerals needed for our handheld devices have helped fuel conflict and bloodshed in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This episode looks at a recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule requiring all companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges to disclose the origin of four key minerals—tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold. Found in most consumer electronic devices, as well as the aerospace, automotive and heavy manufacturing sectors, these minerals contribute to ongoing political violence, illegal trafficking and devastating human rights violations in the DRC.
To gain some perspective on this new rule and how it protects human rights and impacts companies and their supply chains, we spoke with Bennett Freeman from Calvert Investments, one of the lead investors on the SEC’s conflict minerals roundtable, and Andrew O’Donovan, the president of mineral mining company Global Advanced Metals Technologies.
As the physical effects of climate change increase, so do the financial risks that impact companies, investors and the communities in which they operate. Last year was marked by record-setting economic losses equaling USD$148 billion due to extreme weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts and fires. And these events are expected to occur with more frequency as global greenhouse gas levels increase, meaning bigger economic losses in the future. 
As electric utility companies face new challenges -- outdated energy infrastructure, rising fossil fuel prices, incorporating renewable energy sources -- state utility regulators have a unique and important role to play in shaping the future of energy generation in the U.S.
When eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, built its first ever data center in South Jordan, Utah, it wanted to use clean energy to power much of the facility -- to both reduce its environmental impact and stabilize energy costs for company down the road. But by law, Utah didn't allow large energy consumers to buy and transmit power directly from renewable energy developers, leaving eBay with the choice of sourcing their energy needs from coal (which powers 94% of the state), or not doing business in the state.
The future of global energy production is shaping up to be one of the most important and complicated issues of our time. From limited traditional fuel sources like oil and coal to newer, cleaner energy like wind, solar and bio-mass, nothing is off the table when it comes to meeting the growing global demand for energy. And while the energy market is increasingly global, the debate over the sustainability of our energy use is rooted in regional geographies, statewide politics and local communities – those affected by discreet projects and those that will be most affected by climate impacts.
The future of global energy production is shaping up to be one of the most important and complicated issues of our time. From limited traditional fuel sources like oil and coal to newer, cleaner energy like wind, solar and bio-mass, nothing is off the table when it comes to meeting the growing global demand for energy. And while the energy market is increasingly global, the debate over the sustainability of our energy use is rooted in regional geographies, statewide politics and local communities – those affected by discreet projects and those that will be most affected by climate impacts.
The future of global energy production is shaping up to be one of the most important and complicated issues of our time. From limited traditional fuel sources like oil and coal to newer, cleaner energy like wind, solar and bio-mass, nothing is off the table when it comes to meeting the growing global demand for energy. And while the energy market is increasingly global, the debate over the sustainability of our energy use is rooted in regional geographies, statewide politics and local communities – those affected by discreet projects and those that will be most affected by climate impacts. To shed some light on just how complex and nuanced these energy issues are, we focus on the state of Montana – which shares the largest coal deposits in the U.S. (along with Wyoming), ranks fifth among states for potential wind energy production and is home to one of the largest domestic oil shale deposits.
Growing water scarcity in many parts of the United States is a hidden financial risk not only for companies who rely on massive amounts of water to operate their business, but also for investors who buy the water and electric utility bonds that finance much of the country's vast water and power infrastructure. Las Vegas, which gets 90% of its water from nearby Lake Mead, could lose their entire drinking supply overnight due to receding lake levels and increased drought – affecting the communities and industries that rely on that water for everything from drinking to generating enough power to light up the strip. Similar scenarios across the country are forcing companies, municipalities and investors to re-evaluate current and future risks to our water supply, including the high costs associated with finding new and better ways to get water to the places that need it.
Reducing carbon emissions to mitigate the effects of climate change and help usher in a clean energy economy has been a contentious issue for companies and governments alike. Despite the failure of Congress to regulate carbon emissions nation-wide, the state of California is earning credibility as an economic and governance innovator by forging ahead with its own carbon-cutting legislation.
Paying people to not cut down forests? Sounds like an odd business model, but it is one that is gaining ground as governments, companies and advocates try to address reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Right now, eighteen percent of global carbon dioxide emissions come from cutting, burning and degrading the world’s forests, especially in the tropics – making protection of our forests a crucial part of our strategies to mitigate climate change. Just last month, the Voluntary Carbon Standard approved its first methodology to quantify the benefits of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation – known as REDD in the carbon market world.
(August 5, 2010) In the aftermath of the financial collapse, big investors are returning to some market fundamentals -- abandoning flimsy derivatives for tried and true physical assets. One of the concrete investments investors are eyeing is infrastructure. Specifically, renewable energy infrastructure. The renewable energy market is poised to explode in the coming years, and is already booming in countries like China, Brazil and Germany. And investors are eager to tap into it. Although a price on carbon -- which would give renewables the punctuated equilibrium needed to free up investment dollars and scale up new energy sources in the U.S. -- is currently on the back burner, the renewable energy market hasn't stalled out. It's not even slowing down.
(June 29, 2010) Water is essential for life, but it's also essential for our economy. We all use water for drinking, bathing, watering crops and gardens, and so on. But a surprising amount of water use is bound up in the products we purchase and consume from corporations. Chemical manufacturing, energy production, mineral extraction and commercial farming all require massive amounts of water to run viable businesses, and they often take water locally to make products that get sold internationally. But countries and companies have few contingency plans for what happens if this virtual trade in water runs dry -- which could happen sooner rather than later according to a recent World Bank report that predicts the demand of water will outstrip supply by 40% in the next 20 years.
(May 25, 2010) Almost a year after the U.S. House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act and after months of planning and preparation, Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) released the American Power Act. This is a significant step forward, but as time keeps ticking oil is spewing into the Gulf of Mexico at an alarming rate and other countries like Germany, China and Brazil keep grabbing attention for their advances in renewable energy markets. The risks to our environment and economy are already in place. So just what is taking the United States so long to pass comprehensive climate and energy policy? And what are the possible ramifications - both environmental and economical - facing us if we fail to act?
(April 21, 2010) As the possibility of living in a carbon constrained world becomes more and more a reality, many companies are rethinking their business models and integrating sustainability factors to address the environmental and social risks they face. But companies are not the only ones that need to put sustainability at the top of their agenda. Investors are growing increasingly aware of the risks that climate change, water scarcity, workplace conditions and other sustainability issues present to companies’ bottom lines. Some of these investors, like the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) – the largest U.S. teacher’s retirement fund and second largest U.S. public pension fund – are not only telling companies to minimize these environmental and social risks in their business plans, but are actually taking proactive steps to ensure that their own investment practices embrace sustainability from the top down.
(March 18, 2010) Energy prices are rising, water supplies are dwindling and the population keeps growing. It's clear that the global context for business is changing -- and the race to sustainability is more important than ever before. To help companies tackle these sustainability concerns, Ceres has released the 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap to Sustainability. The Roadmap analyzes the drivers, risks and opportunities involved in making the shift to sustainability, and details strategies and results from companies who are taking on these challenges.