Rio+20 Update: @DowChemical, @GM, @KCCorp, @Xerox, @marriotthotels amongst other major firms commit to assigning a value to nature

We're following Rio+20 closely, so it's great to see this news filtering in, of major corporations such as Dow Chemicals, General Motors, Kimberly Clark, Marriott and Xerox (along with 20 others) all signing up to look at how to better "account" for nature in corporate practices.

We earnestly believe that it's not until we account for the environmental impact of firms, that sustainability will truly succeed.

Some estimates suggest the value provided by the environment is something like US$33 trillion, on average per year. Which is more than half of Global GDP.

And that's why we have an increasing clamor of voices demanding a better articulation and calculation of success than GDP, because right now it's just not sustainable. And this is something policy makers are unlikely to be able to implement -- it's more likely that firms will have to proactively learn to account for the environmental and social costs of doing business and modify their value chains accordingly.

Looking forward to the rest of Rio+20.

Photo Source: Inhabitat

From Denmark to India: Top 100 Companies Leading the World in Clean Capitalism

According to Corporate Knights, media, research and financial products company focused on quantifying and animating clean capitalism drivers for decision makers, “In business, sustainability is when what is good for a company is also good for the planet, and vice-versa”, says Toby Heaps, editor-in-chief.

In other words, we can say that sustainability is a company’s power to align efforts towards balancing money, people and the environment.

In this sense, Corporate Knights just announced 2012- List of the 100 World’s Most Sustainable Companies. “For us at Corporate Knights, sustainability is closely tied to what we call ‘clean capitalism,’ which we define as an economic system in which prices fully incorporate social, economic and ecological costs and benefits, and actors are clearly aware of the consequences of their marketplace actions,” says Doug Morrow, vice president of research at Corporate Knights.

The research group evaluated 400 companies using 11 environmental, social and governance performance measures, including energy productivity, waste productivity, CEO-to-average-worker pay ratio and employee turnover. Premise: to assume that companies were sharing reliable information, be objective and if there is no data available then penalize the criteria.

Plastic from plants?

Two days ago five global brands (The Coca-Cola Company, Ford Motor Company, H.J. Heinz Company, NIKE, Inc. and Procter & Gamble) announced the formation of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC).

Their aim? To accelerate the development and use of 100% plant-based PET materials and fiber in their products.

Everything started almost 3 years ago, when CocaCola unveiled "PlantBottle", a new plastic bottle made partially from plants.
Traditional PET bottles are made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource. The PlantBottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30% plant-based materials, reducing carbon emissions by up to 25%.

A good result considering that more than 50% of Coca-Cola beverage volume is delivered in plastic bottles! In 2010 alone, the use of this packaging eliminated more than 60.000 barrels of oil.

You will never distinguish a PlantBottle PET bottle because it feels like traditional PET plastic, they have the same weight and function identically.

The Green Radar applauds this commitment and hope that the 100% renewably sourced bottle goal will be reached in 2020 . PTC is worth keeping an eye on. We can see wide spread adoption for it.

On Marks and Spencer, Corporate Sustainability, and Plan B

We came across an interesting project by Marks & Spencer, referred to as Plan A.

In their own words, they describe it as

We launched Plan A in January 2007, setting out 100 commitments to achieve in 5 years. We've now extended Plan A to 180 commitments to achieve by 2015, with the ultimate goal of becoming the world's most sustainable major retailer.
Through Plan A we are working with our customers and our suppliers to combat climate change, reduce waste, use sustainable raw materials, trade ethically, and help our customers to lead healthier lifestyles. Explore our Plan A commitments for 2010 - 2015. 

We're doing this because it's what you want us to do. It's also the right thing to do. 

We're calling it Plan A because we believe it's now the only way to do business. 

There is no Plan B.

We feel that such initiatives are important. Sustainability is only going to truly become meaningful with firms when they build it into their brands -- what people expect of them, what they're known for delivering. It needs to go beyond Corporate Social Responsibility and become a key part of the Corporation itself. We look forward to more firms reengineering themselves to achieve this.

Microsoft Commits To Carbon Neutrality

Microsoft has recommitted itself to working in greener pastures by promising carbon neutrality by July 1st, the start of fiscal 2013. The software giant announced this week "that it wants to make its data centers, software development labs, air travel, and office buildings carbon neutral."

Microsoft, who has been made substantial efforts in the past to account for it's impact on the environment,will introduce an accountability model that will hold regional divisions responsible for their carbon output and even reward those that reduce environmental impact.

Previously we have seen carbon neutrality efforts in the airline industry with some carriers in Europe, we hope this trend continues on to other industries as well.