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Red and purple berries ripening in vast fields. The sun shining in a blue sky as workers in broad-brimmed hats pluck the best berries from the strawberry tufts and blackberry vines. The bucolic scene in Ventura County along the Southern California coast belies the exacting science and sharp business decisions involved in the farming underway here, where many grow for Driscoll’s Berries and water availability can make or break a season. Driscoll’s and its farmers don’t leave much to chance, having weathered drought conditions through much of this decade. And now they’re working on the next big challenge – implementing the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and working to recharge the aquifer through a water recycling program. Among a variety of studies and data collection efforts to inform better farming techniques, Driscoll’s research station located among the fields looks for the best methods for irrigating and careful use of water, with an eye on adapting to climate impacts. For instance, given the increased evaporation of surface water in a warming climate, some area farmers now use micro sprinklers – tiny, precise sprinklers that deliver water to a part of the plant near its roots to establish transplants. Other farmers are moving berry growing to substrate farming or tabletop planters in controlled settings such as high tunnel greenhouses. James duBois, senior manager of Global Environmental Impact for Driscoll’s Berries, helps to ensure the company and its farmers work on long-term water sustainability efforts, including groundwater management. (Kirsten James) On a recent visit to Driscoll’s research station, I listened as James duBois, senior manager of Global Environmental Impact for Driscoll’s, explained how substrate farming has environmental and water-saving benefits. Substrate farming reduces water needs by 30 percent and often allows for lower pesticide and fertilizer use, he said. I was visiting because Driscoll’s is a member of Ceres’ Connect the Drops campaign, a group of 35 companies that advocate for smart water management policies in California. Water has long been top-of-mind for Driscoll’s and Ventura County growers. In fact, area farmers established a groundwater management plan for the Oxnard Plain in the early 1990s, long before SGMA was passed in 2014. Still, during the recent drought that left many farmers in Ventura and around the state with reduced water supplies, they realized the Oxnard basin was still in severe overdraft and more needed to be done. Many in the community, including Driscoll’s and its largest grower in the area, Reiter Affiliated Companies, welcomed SGMA. “Water management within the Oxnard basin is very complex. This is one of the reasons we supported SGMA,” duBois said, adding that because local users have the most knowledge of a water basin, Driscoll’s and its growers particularly “supported the local control and consensus-building spirit of SGMA.” With SGMA guidelines, the farmers and communities in the region started on the path to formalize and fortify their groundwater management plan. The Oxnard Plain and Pleasant Valley Agricultural Overliers Group, of which duBois is an advisory member, has developed a draft proposal that calls for allocations based on growers’ historical needs over the past three years, as well as replenishment of the groundwater basin and the development of lower-impact, recycled water supplies. They hope the proposal will be approved by the governing body for SGMA implementation, the Groundwater Sustainability Agency, in the near future. “We want the allocation to be real and relevant,” duBois said. In accordance with SGMA – and the spirit of sharing in the community – they also hope their groundwater management plan will address the environmental and water scarcity issues that could threaten the way of life in this region. And the proposed plan allows water districts to enter water transfer and pumping agreements with each other. DuBois estimates there are currently eight to 10 such transfer transactions in the works in Ventura County at any one time, and this could increase under the new proposal. Beyond Managing Water The growers realize, however, that allocating and trading finite amounts of water from an overdrafted groundwater basin isn’t going to solve their water shortage problems. So the Oxnard groundwater management plan integrates groundwater allocation with a plan to develop “new” water resources through recycling water. Oxnard’s water recycling plan was christened the Oxnard Groundwater Recovery Enhancement and Treatment program (GREAT). The system includes tertiary-level wastewater treatment through an advanced water-purification facility and then groundwater injection to help replenish the aquifers. The GREAT plan calls for making recycled water available for both groundwater replenishment and irrigating agricultural fields. Although the program has had hiccups, farmers are on board and already using this water. The efforts around management in the Oxnard groundwater basin appear to be shaping up as a very detailed and advanced example of how California’s groundwater sustainability agencies are developing long-term sustainability plans. Agriculture is a mainstay of the economy here and careful management of water resources through SGMA implementation is key to keeping it this way, while ensuring the needs of the community and environment are maintained. Other groundwater sustainability agencies could pull ideas and strategies from the Oxnard Basin’s playbook – not only the content in the plan but also the lessons learned on how to reach this stage successfully. Banner and thumbnail image sourced from Water Deeply: Strawberries grow on a farm in Oxnard, California. Farmers here are working on a plan to sustainability manage groundwater in the Oxnard Plain. (Stephen Osman/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) Read the original blog on Water Deeply

In April, Greenpeace released video footage[1] showing that a palm oil supplier for major food companies, the Hayel Saeed Anam Group was destroying large swaths of rainforest in Indonesia, despite concerted efforts by industry stakeholders to stop forest destruction in palm oil supply chains. The repercussions for Hayel Saeed Anam Group are still unfolding, but recent history suggests that the outcome may well involve financial consequences. Two years ago, the Palm oil giant IOI Group’s share price dropped 18 percent after its certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was suspended when it was found to not be meeting the certificate’s standards. Several major brands including Unilever, Kellogg and Nestlé cut supplies sourced from the IOI Group, leading to a drop in its income. Commodity-driven deforestation is but one of the profound sustainability challenges that large food and beverage companies are facing today in their agricultural supply chains. Climate change, erratic weather and shrinking freshwater supplies are compromising agricultural productivity and increasing procurement costs. Illegal and unethical practices such as forced labor, and the razing of rainforests for cattle production, are intensifying as global population rises and places more pressure on food systems. And as consumers step up demands for food that is ethically and sustainably produced, campaign groups like Greenpeace are turning up the heat on questionable or illegal supply chain practices that exploit workers or communities, pollute water supplies, or destroy protected forests. These sustainability challenges pose financially material business risks for food and beverage companies, from price volatility, inconsistent quality and supply of ingredients, to damage to brand equity from advocacy campaigns, to legal sanctions and seizure of goods. While food companies have traditionally used procurement strategies to manage these risks (e.g., shifting to new sourcing regions or acquiring new suppliers) these strategies are becoming less effective on a resource-constrained planet. The challenge is clear for global food and beverage companies: as the population rises, the agriculture sector they rely on will need to produce more food with fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while simultaneously shifting toward farm practices that conserve or restore diminishing water and soil resources. Sustainable sourcing strategies and supply chain transparency will become—and are already– essential practices for the food and beverage industry to ensure that their suppliers are making these critical changes. As significant owners of and lenders to companies, investors can be major forces in driving these sustainable sourcing practices. It’s in their best interest to do so, as business risks that affect company bottom lines can show up as decreased revenue or stranded assets in investor portfolios. But understanding and assessing how companies are managing these factors can be a challenge when each commodity – and each company – is faced with a different constellation of risks and impacts. To help investors understand these risks and their potential impact on their portfolios, Ceres developed an online resource Engage the Chain: An Investor Guide to Agricultural Supply Chain Risk (https://engagethechain.org). Engage the Chain provides investors with information about the social and environmental impacts driving material business risks for eight key commodities: beef, corn, dairy, fiber-based packaging, palm oil, soybeans, sugarcane and wheat. These commodities are among the most prominent drivers of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions and water depletion and pollution. Each of the eight commodities briefs includes global production data, a visual of the value chain for each commodity and a list of key companies involved in each stage, and an assessment of how the seven key drivers are impacting the commodity. It further identifies the major U.S.-headquartered food and beverage companies that source these commodities and clarifies actions investors and companies should take to reduce agricultural supply chain exposure. Since the launch of the website in July 2017, we’ve added new resources, and will continue to do so to keep investors abreast of new research, new tools and opportunities for engagement. Engage the Chain is intended to serve as a platform for highlighting best-in-class practices and providing talking points for investors to communicate effectively to companies in the sector. New content added this year includes: • Deforestation case studies series[2] that looks at the business risks companies may encounter when they source commodities from areas with deforestation. It spotlights three companies (IOI Corporation, JBS, and United Cacao) and summarizes the business risks and negative financial consequences they faced. • Overview on sources of GHG emissions in agricultural supply chains • Opportunities for reducing GHG emissions and sequestering carbon through agricultural practices • Zooming in: An assessment of the traceability commitments of companies with zero deforestation policies[3] Coming Soon to Engage the Chain This summer additional resources will be added, including: • Tools for analyzing Scope 3 GHG emissions (supply chain emissions) • Briefing papers on GHG mitigation opportunities in beef and soy production. • A short issue brief on grievance mechanisms and a company case study to investors with a baseline of knowledge on how investors can mitigate business risks associated with human rights abuses. Investors are encouraged to visit Engage the Chain, use the information to analyze the vulnerability of individual companies, assess their plans to mitigate supply chain risks, and then start a dialogue with their portfolio companies. As Allan Pearce, a shareholder advocate with Trillium Asset Management, puts it, “Commodity-based agricultural production is emerging as a key driver of climate change, deforestation, water pollution and biodiversity loss, while also subjecting hundreds of millions of people employed in agriculture around the world to harsh working conditions and poverty. Many companies don’t understand the full extent of these impacts in their agricultural supply chains, which is alarming because they can pose real financial risk.” For more information on Engage the Chain, contact Julie Nash, [email protected] Engage the Chain was developed with peer review support from investors, companies and NGOs (https://engagethechain.org/about-investorguide). It was funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, as part of a conservation and financial markets collaboration among the foundation, Ceres, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Wildlife Fund. Article by Brooke Barton, Senior Director of Water and Food at Ceres. Brooke directs Ceres’ strategy for mobilizing leading investors and companies to address the sustainability risks facing our freshwater, food and agriculture systems. In this capacity, she oversees Ceres’ research and private sector engagement activities on the financial risks associated with growing freshwater challenges and deforestation.Brooke is the co-author of The Ceres Aqua Gauge: A Framework for 21st Century Water Risk Management [4] and three studies focused on agricultural water risks facing the food sector: the 2017 Feeding Ourselves Thirsty: Tracking Food Company Progress Towards a Water-Smart Future [5], as well as the first benchmarking analysis [6] that was released in 2015, and Water and Climate Risks Facing U.S. Corn Production [7]. Previously, Brooke directly advised Ceres Company Network members in the food and beverage sector on strategies for enhancing the overall sustainability of their operations and supply chains. Prior to Ceres, Brooke was a researcher for the Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative, where she wrote case studies and articles on the integration of business strategy and sustainability. She holds a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Duke University. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese. Article Notes: [1] https://news.mongabay.com/2018/04/palm-oil-supplier-to-food-giants-clears-forest-peatland-in-indonesia-greenpeace-says [2] https://engagethechain.org/case-studies-business-risks [3] https://www.ceres.org/sites/default/files/Fact Sheets or misc files/Supply change ceres.pdf [4] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/ceres-aqua-gauge-framework-21st-century-water-risk [5] https://feedingourselvesthirsty.ceres.org [6] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/2015-analysis-feeding-ourselves-thirsty-how-food-sector-managing-global-water [7] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/water-climate-risks-facing-us-corn-production Read the original post on GreenMoney

By Francesca DeBiase, McDonald’s Chief Supply Chain and Sustainability Officer, and Mindy Lubber, Ceres CEO and President  One year ago, leaders from all over the U.S. — representing businesses, investors, colleges, universities, towns, cities, and states throughout America — joined together to declare “We Are Still In” the global Paris Agreement, promising to world leaders that America will fulfill its global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and curb the damaging effects of climate change. Now, with nearly 2,800 signatories and growing, representing 160 million Americans and more than $6.2 trillion of the U.S. economy, this diverse cross section of the economy is helping to ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in climate change. One year later, it’s safe to say that ‘We Are Still In.’   As one of the co-founders of We Are Still In, Ceres is thrilled by the uptake of the unprecedented support from these leaders from all 50 states to work together on the greatest challenge of our time. In line with that, as a sustainability nonprofit organization, Ceres  works with companies across all sectors to embolden commitments to renewable energy and energy efficiency and strengthen goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — making the case that these actions make economic and financial sense. In March, McDonald’s became the first restaurant company in the world to address global climate change by setting a Science Based Target, committing to partner with franchisees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from offices and restaurants by 36 percent by 2030 from a 2015 base year. Additionally, through collaboration and partnership with suppliers and producers, the company is committed to a 31 percent reduction in emissions intensity (per metric ton of food and packaging) in its supply chain by 2030 from 2015 levels. This target will enable McDonald’s to grow as a business without growing emissions. McDonald’s recognizes that achieving this target presents a shared challenge for the industry and others, and is excited about the potential for new technologies and coalitions to drive progress forward. That’s why McDonald’s joined more than a dozen others on the We Are Still In Leaders Circle. McDonald’s is committed to doing its part to drive a new wave of ambitious climate action and clean energy policies. To be more effective, McDonald’s will work with other signatories across the economy to inspire even more action. In the coming week, Ceres and McDonald’s will both participate in the Boston Mayor Marty Walsh’s Climate Summit, which will bring together thought leaders and problem solvers to dig into how cities and states and national and international governments can work together to address climate change. Additionally, Ceres and McDonald’s are co-hosting a Climate Roundtable to bring a similar group to talk more deeply about how we can all help achieve our climate goals in the US and beyond. These conversations and others McDonald’s is convening across the country from San Francisco to Chicago to Washington, D.C., will highlight the important role businesses must play in tackling climate challenges, and the importance of working across sectors to meet these ambitious commitments and deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. It’s not just about talk for us, it’s about inspiring new commitments and collaborations to drive greater impact. One year later, we are still in - this together.  Read the original blog on Mcdonalds

When I left my role as Regional Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency at the close of the Clinton Administration, I had the enviable opportunity of choosing a professional path that could turbo charge progress in our collective efforts to address the risks and opportunities created by climate change. Following years as a legal advocate and as a regulator of industry, I confirmed that winning the battle could only be done if we brought industry leaders and the investment community into a partnership of change, rather than a consistent and never ending battle with each other. Defining climate for what it is – a risk to our families, our future and to our economy, made it clear that economic leaders – be it from the energy sector, the transportation sector, the insurance sector, the agriculture sector, the apparel sector and dozens of others –must play a role in addressing this existential threat. Policy makers could not make it happen without broad based support. I joined Ceres, in an effort to assure that policy makers – state, federal and international – had the support of economic leaders. Building a sustainable economy was a compelling enough reason, but assuring a future for our next generation, was yet more compelling. When I think about the historic signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, I think back to the autumn of the year before. My husband and I had just dropped our daughter Jessie off at Boston College for her sophomore year, and our son Abe was starting business school across the river in Cambridge.  We were empty nesters again, which meant a familiar feeling of longing mixed with pride and hope for the lives our kids were creating for themselves. The future, it seemed, was full of possibility. That hope for the future was infused into my work life like never before. Ceres was breaking new ground on sustainability and it seemed that both the moral and economic case for tackling climate change were more aligned than ever. We were mobilizing investors and businesses around climate change and the support was growing with each weather event we experienced.  We were making headway amplifying the voices of major American businesses and investors around state and federal policy, and that message was starting to make its way into the most important global conversations. So when Secretary General Ban Ki Moon invited investors and businesses to step into a new role as guests and contributors at the 2014 Climate Change Summit at the UN headquarters in New York, Ceres and our partners were ready to jump into action. Our network of investors had long understood the business case for climate action and were familiar with both the subject matter and the setting for the summit as regular attendees at our semi-annual Investor Summit on Climate Risk — which we co-host at the UN in partnership with the UN Foundation. Our company partners were exercising their voices on energy policy, and they were primed to join the global chorus urging our leaders to take ambitious action on climate change. The Secretary General’s invitation sent a signal to these private sector leaders that their time had come to have a seat at the table alongside policy leaders and help iron out the global climate accord we so desperately needed. September of 2014 was an exciting time for all of us at Ceres. As our team worked tirelessly to bring investor voices into the fold at the UN for the Climate Summit and eventually to COP21 in Paris, we also watched our friends and family march in the streets just blocks from the UN at the People’s Climate March in New York City. The momentum on the ground and in the streets was being matched by the momentum in the boardrooms, and that spirit of inclusive and comprehensive climate action set the tone for a momentous year to come. Elevating the voice of economic leaders became more important than ever. We worked with Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo to issue a joint statement urging global leaders to act and act now on climate change. “While we may compete in the marketplace,” the statement read, “we are aligned on the importance of policy frameworks to address the climate challenge.” Following the banks, we saw more momentum with the launch of Low-Carbon USA, – a platform supported by nearly 70 companies, many of them Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Unilever, and Coca-Cola, to publish a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal one month before COP21, encouraging the U.S. government to seek a “strong and fair global climate deal in Paris that provides long-term direction and periodic strengthening to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees celsius.” And to keep the momentum growing, we published a statement in support of a global climate agreement in a full page ad in Politico from the CEOs of some of the world’s largest apparel companies. VF Corporation, Adidas, Burton, Eileen Fisher, Levi’s, Gap, and H&M underlined how vital climate action was to safeguarding the health of their employees and customers, as well as the health of their business. They pledged to reduce emissions, advocate for climate and energy policies, and engage in trade associations in a way that promotes long-term, sustainable economic growth. “We are ready to meet the climate challenges that face our businesses,” the statement concluded. “Please join us in meeting the climate challenges that face our world.” And while our role at Ceres is to underscore the business case for tackling climate change, the human element has always been at the center of things — for me, for my colleagues, and for the investor and business leaders with whom we work. We care about our portfolios, but we also care about our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, our neighbors. When I was featured by Vogue as one of 13 women on the front lines of the fight against global warming, just weeks before Paris, my daughter and I were delighted. I certainly never thought my career in law, finance, and public service would lead to something so glamorous! The photo shoot was fun and the interview was friendly, but when it came time to express just what this meant to me I couldn’t help but return to the gravity of it all. “I’ve got a 25-year-old son named Abe and I’ve got a 20-year-old daughter named Jessie,” I said. “I would throw myself in front of a bus if it was coming at them. We all need to throw ourselves in front of this bus called climate change.” And it was in that spirit that my Ceres colleagues and I packed our bags and set out for Paris, each with that sense of urgency and responsibility as our north star. I’ll never forget the momentous sense of occasion even in the airport as folks from every corner of the world, from every walk of life, gathered to work together toward a common goal. The City of Light did a marvelous job welcoming, embracing us all with a certain je ne sais quoi and an inspiring history of diplomacy and enlightenment. When the global community finally coalesced for opening ceremonies, there was a kind of electricity in the air that could make your hair stand on end. After the official welcome from the Secretary General, we were off to the races. My team and I came to Paris with some of the world’s leading business and investor voices in tow. Our partners at Mars — important members of the Ceres Company networks– led a coalition of 12 companies making the business case for climate action. They spoke on panels, met with public officials, and gave interviews to media on what climate action meant to their business, and on why a global climate deal was so integral to our collective prosperity. They were constant fixtures in the “war room” that our partners at We Mean Business were running — a sort of power center from which we deployed business and investor voices to advocate, engage and explain their positions to other stakeholders. Investors like New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who manages the third largest public pension fund in the U.S., accompanied the Ceres delegation as well. He, along with investors from all over the world made it clear to world leaders that climate action is not only in their best interest as human beings — it’s their fiduciary duty.Throughout the course of the two weeks, we worked tirelessly to get the right message out, to build new relationships, and to do whatever we could to show our world leaders that the private sector would embrace and support a global climate deal. At no point was there any guarantee, and I remember texting my husband with the news that the agreement might not go through. But little by little, through relentless diplomacy, global solidarity, and a lot of sheer belief, we made it across the finish line. When Secretary General Moon hit that gavel and the Paris Agreement was signed, it was pure jubilation, a crystallization of our global commitment to one another and to our very presence on this planet. And while that was surely a moment we’ll never forget, it was but a touchstone in the long road leading from where we started to where we need to be. It’s perhaps more useful to zoom out even further and consider 2014-2018 as our timeline, with the upcoming COP24 in Poland on the horizon. The Paris Agreement was the first step, but we need every country to commit to strengthening their Nationally Determined Contributions in 2018, we need continued participation from every country — including my own, and we need non-state actors to double down on their commitments and do their part to lead the way. It’s the only way we can maintain the integrity of the Paris Agreement and keep our world from warming beyond 2 degrees. The good news is that the private sector is more mobilized and motivated than ever. After their introduction into the global climate negotiations in Paris, they’ve been a mainstay in subsequent dialogs and that’s not going to change any time soon. Even as the current U.S. President announced he’d withdraw from the Agreement, thousands of investors and business rallied to say “We Are Still In.” Those same private sector leaders were there in Morocco in 2016, they were there in Germany in 2017, and you better believe they’ll be there in Poland next year. And they’re not just content being there, they’ll be pushing for more ambitious action than ever before. Time keeps moving forward, my kids are now embarking on careers of their own, and while our challenges are numerous and sometimes feel daunting, I’m heartened by that same hope and spirit of collaboration that brought us to that moment of euphoria in Paris. Those are the moments that we look back on pleasantly and that motivate us to be better, bolder, and more courageous in our work each and every day. Profiles of Paris is a platform that shares the remarkable stories of the people who created the Paris Agreement, and what it means for the future. Learn more about the platform or explore other profiles here.

As major food and beverage producers investing in agriculture, our companies are ever mindful of our dependence on water. We believe that responsibly sharing water and protecting watersheds are key to our businesses. We strive to use water wisely, conserve water where we can and help farmers in our supply chains be efficient with water and minimize fertilizer and pesticide runoff that could degrade watersheds. As water supplies become scarce in certain regions as a result of a changing climate and increased demand from a growing population, the role companies play to help ensure sustainable water supplies is growing. In watershed areas around the world where our main ingredients are grown, we’re working to restore wetlands and tree growth so the health of those watersheds can be maintained or restored and the supply of safe, usable water enhanced. Those regions include the vast San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast watersheds. Together those areas grow much of the nation’s supply of fruits, vegetables and nuts. Groundwater, of course, is vital to California communities and agricultural regions, so we are working with farmers and nonprofit organizations on projects to recharge groundwater and ensure future supply for all users. But there’s another critical aspect to water security besides supply: it’s having clean drinking water. In some places, water may be flowing but it is not safe to drink. In California, as many as 1 million people do not have access to safe drinking water from their faucets. The water is contaminated and has not been adequately treated before it reaches homes, according to a State Water Resources Board study. Most of these individuals live in areas served by small water districts. Some small water utilities cannot afford the costs of water treatment operations. California is the fifth-largest economy of the world; we can solve this problem so nobody has to depend on unsafe water. That is why our companies support an effort put forward by several California state legislators, Gov. Jerry Brown and supported by many in the agriculture, environmental and business communities that would help struggling water districts afford water treatment costs. The Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund being considered in legislation (Senate Bill 623), as well as in the governor’s budget as an alternative legislative path, would attach a nominal fee of less than the cost of a pack of chewing gum each month to household water bills and slightly more to business facilities like ours to help assure safe and affordable drinking water is available to everyone in California. The legislation also would have businesses within the agricultural sector pay into the fund through special fees. For pennies a day per household, pocket change for businesses and nominal fees for agricultural interests, the contributions would add up to approximately $140 million a year, a sum estimated to be what’s needed to help the roughly 300 small water districts currently unable to treat water to meet their obligations. Growers in our supply chains, employees and customers may very well reside in the communities facing clean water shortages. These communities are important to us. So, one of our water goals is to help ensure availability of clean, safe drinking water. We know that our companies too can make an impact by taking action within our supply chains and operations. We also believe governments should lead by establishing proportionate and clear guidance and water policies within which our companies can operate and innovate to reach solutions. This policy proposal on safe drinking water is a clear example of doing so. We’ve set water stewardship as a high business priority and we’re ready to act to help improve water access for every Californian. We urge legislators to advance the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund act that would help make clean water a reality for all who reside in this great state. We’re in this together. Soren Bjorn is president of Driscoll’s of the Americas, Cheri Chastain is sustainability manager of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Bruce Karas is vice president of sustainability and environment with Coca-Cola North America and Jerry Lynch is chief sustainability officer for General Mills. The four authors are advisory committee members to the Ceres Connect the Drops campaign.  Read the original blog on Sacramento Business Journal

By Alli Gold Roberts and Lauren Koch The health of our community, environment and economy are directly linked. Clean energy is essential to all three, with benefits that ensure a thriving business community and a robust health care system here in Ohio. That is why Ohio businesses and health care institutions are increasingly embracing clean energy and calling on lawmakers to do the same. Read the full article on Crain's Cleveland Business

The 2017 proxy season offered some indelible headlines on climate-related shareholder action: majority votes at ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and PPL Corporation; the first-ever votes in favor of climate shareholder proposals by major investors BlackRock and Vanguard; and the much-anticipated release of initial 2-degree scenario analyses from North American oil and gas and electric power companies. This year’s narrative is more subtle, but potentially more powerful. In fact, the biggest story of the 2018 proxy season is just how few shareholder proposals are going to a vote. Of the twenty 2-degree scenario analysis proposals that were filed, 12 have been withdrawn as companies, including DTE Energy, Dominion Energy, and Southwestern Energy have committed to conduct the analysis. This underscores that investors are operating from a position of strength. After last year’s majority votes, companies now know that they will face a public rebuke from shareholders if they don’t embrace 2-degree scenario analysis and articulate a strategy to manage the coming low-carbon transition. In fact, this season we have already seen majority votes on 2-degree scenario analysis at Kinder Morgan and Anadarko, and a doubling of support on a 2-degree proposal at Noble Energy. It is no longer necessary for investors to rely principally on shareholder proposals to move companies forward. Their deepened engagement efforts have brought companies to recognize the imperative to plan for change.  The successes of 2017 have signaled to investors the need to push the envelope further, moving past solely calling for 2-degree scenario analysis and disclosure, and instead demanding real evidence that the companies they own are realigning themselves for resilience in a decarbonizing world. Investors in Chevron, for example, have called for a transition plan asking the U.S. major to adapt its business model to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels. The shareholders are calling on Chevron to consider innovative, forward-thinking options such as mergers, acquisitions, and portfolio expansions tied to promising renewable energy investments. Regardless of the voting outcome, the proposal represents a key next step for investors to press companies to take as they plan for profitability in the low-carbon economy of the future. Further, as corporate climate risk disclosure goes mainstream, companies in the electric power sector are moving toward concrete – and in some cases, aggressive – action. AEP, Duke Energy, and Southern Company all have set long-term greenhouse gas reduction goals that, while falling short of what investors are calling for, begin to align those companies’ strategies with the low-carbon transition. In the oil and gas sector, some Europe-based companies, including Shell, Statoil, Repsol and Total, are actively taking steps to realign their long-term strategies with the goals of the Paris Agreement, although they too fall short of committing to the sort of transformational change that will be needed to ensure future growth. There are signs that even the industry’s own executives are pushing for a more aggressive decarbonization approach. In many respects, this is the year in which oil and gas and electric power companies have begun to sort themselves–between enterprises that are truly serious about adapting to and surviving a rapid clean energy transition–and those that are merely paying the issue lip service. Laggard companies will have to respond to mounting investor concerns soon.  Whereas once companies seemed emboldened to ignore shareholder concerns about climate change, engagements over the past year have taught them to reconsider that approach. In December 2017, investors from around the globe launched Climate Action 100+, which aims to engage with 100 of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters to improve governance on climate change, reduce emissions, and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures. Support for the initiative continues to grow, with more than 280 investors with nearly $30 trillion in assets under management signed on.  When the largest and most influential institutional investors are voting against management’s approach to climate risk, and tens of trillions of dollars in invested assets are demanding to know how companies will adapt their business strategies to prosper in a low-carbon world, the time has come for all companies to face a new reality. Andrew Logan is director of oil and gas at Ceres. Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. 

Tyson Foods, the largest meat company in the U.S., is starting to step up to the plate on sustainability and respond to pressure from investors and consumers to tackle water risks in its supply chain. Recently, the company made a commitment to improve the water, soil and fertilizer practices in its far-flung feed grain supply chain — impacting more than two million acres of corn production by 2020, or about half of its corn supply chain. The measures have strong potential to both improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tyson’s move sends a strong signal to the rest of the meat sector that driving down the massive environmental impacts of growing animal feed is a smart business strategy. Despite this positive news, Tyson has not yet made its implementation plan public — and the devil is always in the details. Moreover, Tyson has a steep hill to climb. The company got just 11 out of 100 points in Ceres’ 2017 Feeding Ourselves Thirsty ranking of how food sector companies are tackling water challenges across their value chain. The Environmental Protection Agency, meanwhile, ranked Tyson as the second-highest polluter in its 2016 Toxic Release Inventory. Among many critical steps for Tyson to consider when setting and implementing sustainable sourcing commitments, farmer engagement is key. Setting a goal that does not have grower support will not succeed. Any company with sustainable sourcing goals must find creative ways to support and incentivize farmers to improve practices, share data and reduce their impact on watersheds. Here are four key ways for companies to do that: Collect and share grower data Data is critical to understanding agricultural water impacts and how to reduce them. However, supplier survey fatigue is real. Growers receive dozens of requests from buyers to fill out lengthy surveys that vary dramatically, requiring additional time and resources. Some 57 percent of companies benchmarked by Ceres are asking for water-related data from growers, and in most cases growers are asked to provide data without knowing how it will be used, who owns it, or whether or not they will have the ability to gain insight from that data in the future. Ensuring that data collection is not a one-way street and that there is trust and value for the grower in sharing data are key. Campbell Soup’s approach to data collection puts the emphasis on transparency. Instead of a one-way siphoning up of data, Campbell anonymizes and aggregates the information and shares it back with growers so they can track their own improvement relative to other farmers and learn where there’s room for change. The data help Campbell make the business case to growers for adopting more sustainable soil healthand water management practices. Provide education or assistance for growers The food sector is doing more to engage growers, with 71 percent of companies we benchmarked providing some form of educational support to growers on sustainable agricultural practices, double the number from 2015. Many companies are hiring agronomists or leveraging in-house agronomists to conduct trainings for farmers. Others are collaborating with customers that source directly from growers. Others are forming partnerships with agricultural retailers that are well-positioned to advise farmers on their practices. For instance, Land O’Lakes SUSTAIN — a business unit of farmer-owned cooperative Land O’Lakes — has sustainable agriculture experts working with thousands of farmers across millions of acres of farmland in partnership with companies, including Campbell and Walmart, to help advance their company-level sustainability goals. Provide financial incentives Just 26 percent of companies benchmarked by Ceres provide some form of financial incentives to growers to improve conservation practices. That’s twice as many as in 2015, but still low. While many companies think of financial incentives as providing premiums, there are a number of innovative ways to provide incentives to farmers, ranging from giving low- or no-interest loans to growers to invest in water-saving irrigation technologies, to de-risking adoption of new farming practices by offering growers financial guarantees or longer-term contracts if they adopt new practices. Examples in this vein include Unilever’s Knorr fund, through which the company invests 50 percent out of a pool of €1 million into projects that enable growers to try out new ideas and speed up the implementation of sustainable agriculture practices. Mars, for its Uncle Ben’s brand, pays a premium to rice farmers that adhere to its sustainable sourcing guidelines. Target financial and educational support to the highest-risk areas Prioritizing support is just as important as providing it. Some water resources and growing regions are more critical than others for a company and a community. And while water scarcity may be a major issue in one watershed, water quality may be the biggest challenge in another. Leading companies are doing analyses to determine which water sources are the most critical and the most endangered to tailor their aid. For instance, Kellogg’s has developed custom on-the-ground programs for growers in key at-risk regions, including in Louisiana, Thailand and Bangladesh. These programs support 17,000 agricultural suppliers, millers and farmers in 22 different countries to improve water use and watershed quality. It’s commendable that Tyson is joining with leading food and beverage companies in setting sustainable sourcing goals that address water quality challenges. But to deliver on those goals, Tyson — and all other food companies — need to make grower engagement front and center. Farmers will be the lynchpin to their success. Read the original blog on Sustainable Brands

The Trump administration prizes itself on a businesslike approach to running the federal government. However, when it comes to reporting on the environmental footprint of the government's buildings and overall operations, the administration is not taking its own advice. President Trump just issued a new executive order that rescinds a 2015 executive order that requires federal agencies to take specific steps to tackle climate change, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2025, while regularly issuing environmental sustainability reports. The reporting requirement had been ignored by the Trump administration long before announcing this week’s new executive order. Climatewire, reported last month, that dozens of federal agencies have not released environmental sustainability reports during the Trump administration. Similar to corporate sustainability reporting, these agency reports were intended to provide a framework to track the progress of the U.S. government against its goals to increase renewable energy and reduce its carbon footprint, and drive emissions reductions among companies with which it does business. Rescinding this executive order is yet another example of how the Trump administration is out of touch with U.S. investors and corporations. As the nation’s largest employer and consumer of energy — with a footprint that includes 360,000 buildings, 650,000 fleet vehicles, and $445 billion spent annually on goods and services — the federal government has a responsibility to lead on the most urgent challenge of our time. Many large private sector employers in the U.S. and around the globe are already doing this work, not only because protecting the environment and their workers is the right thing to do, but because it makes economic sense and is what customers, employees, and shareholders have come to expect and demand. Increasingly, companies are issuing corporate sustainability reports as a way to effectively evaluate risks and opportunities, improve resiliency in their operations and supply chains, and signal to investors that they are serious about long-term performance and profitability. Indeed, companies that are committed to transparency through sustainability reporting are more likely take action to mitigate social and environmental impacts. In our most recent assessment of 600 U.S. companies, Ceres found that among those companies using the internationally recognized Global Reporting Initiative standards, 67 percent have time-bound commitments to reduce greenhouse emissions, nearly twice the average, and 73 percent have clear social and environmental policies and codes for their suppliers, outperforming the average of 54 percent. Ceres research shows that companies need to measure in order to manage — and the federal government is no different. Sustainability reports provide transparency and accountability so that stakeholders and the public can measure movement toward sustainability goals and hold companies and agencies accountable for turning their commitments into action. More than that, these reports help to stimulate ingenuity and strategic thinking, which can improve performance, increase competitiveness, and create shareholder value. Sustainability challenges are immense and often daunting. Influential investors and companies of all sizes and in every sector are taking steps forward to accelerate a sustainable, and more equitable and prosperous economy. The federal government, as a steward of taxpayer dollars and the largest energy consumer in the world, should follow the lead of these businesses and do its part. Mindy Lubber is Ceres CEO and President. Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy.

Climate disruption poses one of the greatest health risks of our time. As an institution committed to the health and wellness of our community, we believe that by tackling climate change, we have an opportunity to improve health outcomes, save money, and invest in a clean energy future. Public health and clean energy go hand in hand, so it is fitting that Massachusetts is a longtime leader in both healthcare and clean energy investment. The commonwealth is known around the globe as a premiere healthcare destination, and our state leaders were early actors in passing bold policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full article on MassLive.com