SDG 13: Climate Action
Accelerating the Circular Economy in the Port of Rotterdam
At Finch & Beak, we are always curious about the sustainable developments taking place in the cities that we work in, and Rotterdam is one of them. In 2016, a shocking 20% of the national CO2 emissions of the Netherlands was accounted for by the port of Rotterdam. Time to take action: between the period 2016-2020, the port of Rotterdam managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 27% to 22.4 million tons. A noteworthy reduction that can be explained by the switch to more renewable energy sources and the exploitation of waste-to-value opportunities. The port of Rotterdam is making an impact through discovering the benefits of the circular economy.
Reverse Logistics: Sustainability's Next Frontier?
With the rise of sustainability, reverse logistics is one of the next frontiers for retailers and manufacturers around the globe. In a 100% circular economy, the return flow is equal to the volume of the original transaction. According to Optoro, a UPS-backed service provider focused on eliminating waste from returns, the retail industry is far from achieving such circularity. In its Retailer Sustainability Research on 128 prominent U.S. and global retailers, the company found that less than 1/4 of the retailers analyzed were implementing programs and adopting initiatives to advance the circular economy and only 30% of retailers implemented product take-back or recycling programs for consumers.
Corporate Climate Action: The Time to Act is Now
In a time where thousands of young (and slightly less young) people are following the lead of 17-year old Nobel nominee Greta Thunberg by marching the streets in cities all over the world, climate change might be higher on the societal agenda than ever before. Corporate climate action is definitely not a new thing – but today, even companies in traditionally less carbon-intensive sectors must also raise the bar committing to concrete targets to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to the goals in the Paris Agreement. In this article, we propose a straight-forward 5-step approach to start building a pragmatic climate approach.
WEF 2019: Climate Change Means Business
With the Globalization 4.0 themed WEF 2019 in Davos underway, the challenge of climate change has once again gained importance with sustainability leaders sharing their insights and concerns. And the clock is ticking faster than before; in October 2018 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report on the Impacts of Global Warming at 1.5°C, stating that the world only has 12 years to act if major negative impacts from climate change are to be avoided. To achieve this objective, more direction and speed is needed.
Launch of the World Ports Sustainability Program
The newly created World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) will be launched on March 22 and 23, 2018 in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium. Ports are critical points in the global supply chain and play a crucial role in working to improve the sustainable performance of the supply chain on a local as well as on the global scale. The WPSP will bring together the international ports community in order to contribute to a sustainable future.
Paying for Climate Change: Expensive Externalities
New York City is suing five major oil companies for their contribution to climate change. This new lawsuit highlights that the time for companies to pay for previously unaccounted externalities may come faster than expected. So it is increasingly important for companies to perform impact valuations in order to gain insights on their negative and positive externalities, and learn how to mitigate risks and leverage opportunities.
Can Investors Spur Shell Towards a Clean Future?
As we’ve all been reading for the last years, sustainability is a hot topic for many institutional investors. Over 1,600 asset managers have underwritten the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), representing $62 trillion assets under management. But how does it work in practice? Do sustainable investors truly walk their talk and act on mitigating a topic such as climate change as a risk to their capital invested? Can they use their power to change the course of the companies they put their clients’ money in?
EAT Stockholm Food Forum 2017
On 12 and 13 June 2017, EAT will once again gather 500 of the brightest minds from the fields of science, politics, business and civil society in Stockholm, Sweden. Together, they will discuss progress on implementing solutions in an interconnected way to solve climate, sustainability and health challenges by transforming the food system.
How Copenhagen Realizes its Ambitious Climate Goals
As part of their round-the-world sailing trip in search of sustainable solutions, the Sailors for Sustainability visited Copenhagen last summer. The Danish capital has set the ambitious target of becoming CO2-neutral by 2025. This innovative policy objective makes Copenhagen the world’s leading capital city on climate change. Transformations in the construction, transportation and energy sectors will be required, which will not only have positive effects on the environment, but also create business opportunities.
