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Produced for: Rio+20, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio de Janeiro, June 2012

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Our university continues to promote more and more interdisciplinary research in which the environ-

ment, social and economicdimensions of sustainable

development are givenan equal footing.

At UAM we must teachbased on solutions to concrete problems

THE UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA METROPOLITANA - MEXICO

The long march from Stockholm 20-21 Former UNFCCC chief Michael Zammit Cutajar on what has been achieved since 1972 and what remains to be done

Kenya’s solar factory 24-25 How one man’s dream led to a thriving community business in the heart of Africa

Time for a new perspective 30-31 KPMG’s sustainability and climate change advisor Yvo de Boer says it’s time business developed a new risk model

The price for carbon – No silver bullet 78-79 Camco North America’s Charles Purshouse says government and business ambition is the real key to a green economy

Mexico’s sweet cement 96-97 How concrete and ice cream are working together for sustainable water solutions

What price clean water? 110-111 Deloitte’s Will Sarni and David Pearson explain why a market price for water is long overdue

Green coffee 112-113 Starbucks and Conservation International go back to basics in Mexico in the hunt for the perfect expresso

B U S I N E S S

COntents

Mexico Citywww.uam.mx

Our university continues to promote more and more interdisciplinary research in which the environ-

ment, social and economicdimensions of sustainable

development are givenan equal footing.

At UAM we must teachbased on solutions to concrete problems

THE UNIVERSIDAD AUTONOMA METROPOLITANA - MEXICO

Water, the reason we existLeaders in the development of integrated water solutions. A worldwide reference in itsmanagement. We provide knowledge and experience to guarantee access to water and improve its quality. Innovating, with products and proposals, to meet the needs of people and companies. Promoting research to confront the challenges of society and the environment. We work, with effi ciency and responsibility, in the service of millions of citizens: from New York to Santiago de Chile, from Bristol to Rio de Janeiro, in Barcelona and Cartagena de Indias, from Lima to Alicante, in Oran and Granada… Close to you. As far as water takes us.

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SUSTAINABILITY SCENARIOS & GREEN ECONOMY Comment: 32-33 Felicia Jackson on why cities are taking the lead in sustainable development

Global and local: 35ICLEI chief argues that harnessing power and influence of regional governments and cities should be key goal for Rio+20

China Focus: 36-37 How a IUCN & Nokia partnership is connecting rural farmers, with economic and health benefits

Sustainable skills: 39-41 What does it take to be a green leader? Gillian Martin Mehers from LEAD outlines the five key attributes you need to take your business forward

Delivering eco-letters: 46-47 Deutsche Post DHL explain how they have cut 10% from their carbon footprint since 2008

Mining focus: 48-49 How a vital but environmentally troublesome industry is make efforts to change its spots

Travelling light: 50-51How the tourism industry is doing its bit to cut emissions and respect biodiversity

Rio’s pathfinders: 56-57 Two poor communities in the host city are working together to regenerate their environment through sheer hard work

Philippines’ water power: 58-59 Why the construction of a mini-hydro power plant has saved Ifugao’s legendary rice terraces for tomorrow’s children

REDD+ in Cambodia: 62-63 Forests play a vital role as carbon sinks, protecting biodiversity and guarding against desertification – as the villagers of Dung Beng have been discovering

Development without corruption: 64-65 Billions of dollars are being mobilised to enable sustainable development projects – but is all that money going to the right places? Transparency International explain how their ‘Integrity Pact’ can help

INNOVATIONS, CLEAN TECH & ENTREPRENEURS Comment: How to access private sector finance 68-69 Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International explains what’s holding back investment in the green economy

ICT solutions to a hi-tech problem: 70-71 Intel explain how embedding Information and communications technology (ICT) at the heart of every business’s long-term strategy can offer huge efficiency returns

In the driving seat: 72-73 Why the ‘Share the Road’ initiative makes getting around safer, easier and cleaner

Sustainability at the bottom of the world 80-81 Belgium’s Antarctic team explain how their new base allows them to study a unique ecosystem with minimal impact

Lighting up Calcutta: 82-83 LED lighting can cut CO2 emissions by as much as 70%. A partnership between HSBC and The Climate Group has seen LED lighting installed in 13 cities worldwide – here’s their story from Calcutta

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CONTENTSForeword: CBD Executive Secretary Braulio F. de Souza Dias 15

Foreword: UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres 17

Foreword: UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja 19

Comment: ICC chief Jean-Guy Carrier on the 28 role of business with the Rio Conventions

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Comment - Energy for all: 84-85 Stockholm Environment Institute says Rio+20 provides time and space for leaders to take bold and long-term decisions on energy provision

ECosystEm sErviCEs, nutriEnt CyCling & ClEan watEr provision Carbon offsetting - a new approach: 88-89 Investment experts ‘The Livelihoods Fund’ have been experimenting with a new approach to carbon compensation for and by rural communities

the magic cherry tree: 90-91 How the conservation and sustainable use of Prunus Africana – the African Cherry tree - is improving the lives of small-scale farmers in Africa

reducing water and energy waste in africa: 94-95 The Alliance to Save Energy explains how they have implemented their efficiency programme in South Africa and the Lake Victoria Region

Ditching diesel: 98-99 The town of Itacoatiara in the Brazilian Amazonas region is pioneering the use of climate-friendly FSC woodchips for the production of electricity

a new currency for ecosystem services: 100-101 How Brazil’s Oasis initiative is enabling farmers to conserve acres of precious forests

a concrete solution to a long term problem: 102-103 Cement producer Lafarge explains how it is injecting new life into farms in north-east Nigeria

How forests relieve thirst: 106-108 Shan Shui’s Meng Si reports from south-west China, and reveals how the ancient woodlands have protected villagers from drought and famine for hundreds of years

sustainablE lanD & watEr managEmEnt yogic farming in india: 118-119 Increasing crop sizes and potential returns is not always about financial investment. Dr Tamasin Ramsay explains how the practice of ‘Yogic farming’ works in India

paying your green fees: 120-121 Golf courses can play a crucial role in ensuring that they exist harmoniously with, and even enhance, the countryside they inhabit – as one club in Sweden is keen to point out

Harnessing hydropower: 122-123 The power of water generates 16% of the planet’s electricity. Once built – hydropower is carbon zero and renewable – but it needs to be developed in an environmentally friendly fashion

regenerating the Himalaya: 124-125 Nepal’s hillsides have been ravaged by deforestation and intensive farming practices for decades – now one REDD+ project is aiming to turn the tide

latEst rEsEarCH

Comment: seize the day at rio! 130-131 New research from the Stockholm Environment Institute suggests there is huge untapped potential in biomass as a source of energy – but developing this will requite careful planning and political will

Financing green growth: 132-133 Dr Karlheinz Knickel from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management outlines the new set of competences and instruments needed to release capital

How farming forecasts can reduce risk: 138-139 Partnership between Inter American Institute for Global Research and Paraguayan farmers aims to raise crop yields and improve community resilience to climatic events

realising the green Climate Fund: 140-141 City University of Hong Kong and Civic Exchange discuss what the UN’s Green Climate Fund could learn from the world of international trade and commerce

what does sustainable agriculture mean? 142-143 How can we create sustainable agriculture, capable of feeding the soon to be 10 billion people on earth, and at the same time preserve the ecosystems of the species that coexist with us on this planet? A team from Lund University in Sweden attempts to answer this tricky question

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advertorial

rioplus business magazine1212

Rio+20 could not have arrived at a more opportune time in humanity’s history. A succession of economic setbacks and scientific breakthroughs in the last few years have reminded us all of how precarious our existence on this planet is, and how central the earth’s natural services are to the way we live.

We know what needs to be done to combat ecosystem loss, desertification and climate change. Who or what enacts that change and when it occurs is the key dilemma.

Governments must provide the frameworks and incentives so that green growth can be sustainable. But businesses of all sizes must seize the baton and take advantage of the wealth of benefits that derive from building resilient supply chains and protecting the natural resources upon which we all depend.

As former UNFCCC chief and now KPMG global advisor Yvo de Boer observes in this magazine: ‘the central challenge of our age, minimizing resource use and environmental decline can be a huge source success for business’. The transition to a more efficient, low carbon economy is both a profound challenge and a massive opportunity for entrepreneurs and policy makers around the world.

The stories of businesses prepared to meet these challenges are detailed within this magazine and on our website, which you can find at www.rioplus.org.

These include the Brazilian city which is providing a space for green business to flourish, the multinational who is cutting back on water use, a golf course with a renewed dedication to protecting biodiversity, and a photo-essay from a Kenyan village who built their own solar power station.

This project will continue long after Rio+20 has closed. Do send us your inspirational stories or green business tips via our Twitter and Facebook sites – we’d love to hear from you.

Ed King, Editor, May 2012

B U S I N E S S

foreword

Ed King,

RioPlus Magazine Editor

“History is littered with the carcasses of companies that failed to prepare for

changing conditions”

Twitter @Rio_Plus facebook.com/RioPlus

Join the debate and send us your hopes for the 2012 conference.

NEW HOLLAND AGRICULTURE

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Business is one of the key stakeholders in the global mission to preserve biodiversity. As for all of us, businesses depend upon biodiversity and ecosystem services to survive. The products and services provided by the natural environment are the basis for stable, predictable and profitable activities. Unfortunately, current business practices are, for the most part, one of the main contributors to the serious loss of biodiversity.

This needs to change. However conserving biodiversity is not merely a question of saving the environment. It is also an important business opportunity. Consumers are becoming much more aware of biodiversity issues, and as a consequence they are increasingly looking for sustainable products and services.

Business, therefore, faces an increasing level of scrutiny for its impact on biodiversity. With this added scrutiny, comes an increased risk of tougher regulations and a more unforgiving marketplace. Businesses are also increasingly held responsible for the supply chains through which their products and services are produced. That encompass the actions of farmers, fishers and a host of other producers whose activities can have an enormous impact on biodiversity. Thus businesses must not only look at their own processes, but at all aspects of the lifecycles of their products and services.

As a result of this, it can be seen that managing biodiversity is, for businesses, a way of managing risk. Research shows that biodiversity loss can lead to higher costs for inputs to business processes, or unpredictable changes in the way in which a business operates. Ignoring biodiversity can therefore result in loss of profit and market share, and cause severe disruption to existing business models.

Businesses, being a prime driver of biodiversity loss and a major economic force in most economies, will play a key role in determining whether countries meet their 2020 targets. If businesses resist change and continue their destructive practices, they will act as a severe impediment to the political adoption of meaningful targets.

Conversely, if businesses are “on board” they can act as a positive force and partner with regards to biodiversity conservation and can help to move the political agenda forwards in a meaningful and constructive fashion.

I want to call upon business everywhere to work together to preserve live on earth, and in so doing, work to build successful and sustainable business models for the 21st century and beyond.

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity

foreword

Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention

on Biological Diversity

“Managing biodiversity is, for

businesses, a way of managing risk”

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The outcomes of the last UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa last year, mean that the world is on a path towards low-carbon economies and progress towards greater sustainability is increasingly being made.

But these trends, which will benefit billions of people around the world, need to happen faster in order to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

Governments have set the broad course - but businesses are the motors that drive change. Business needs to play a key role in accelerating the trend and turning it into a new norm.

Over the past two years, the international community has put in place new institutions to address climate change, which call for private sector engagement. This includes an institution to strengthen the global cooperation on climate-sound technologies, as well as a new fund for climate finance, which has a private sector facility.

That means that businesses can immediately increase their involvement in climate change solutions. They need not wait for absolute policy clarity.

In South Africa, governments also decided to design a new international climate change agreement by 2015, to enter into force in 2020.

A mandate as ambitious as this must be tangibly supported with action - in every corner and constituency around the world.

Already support in the form of increasing climate change action is becoming visible. Around the world, enlightened individuals, communities, companies and governments at all levels are increasing action on both adaptation and mitigation. But we need more - and rising to the challenge of “more” will need to entail new approaches such as public-private partnerships.

There are many examples of how private and public sectors are already working together to act, by for example providing clean water and clean energy to communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Before and after the Rio summit, I would like to invite you to both take a close look at such initiatives on the RioPlus magazine and website.

Together, we can effect change - urgently needed change. Change for good.

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC

foreword

Christiana Figueres,

Executive Secretary, UNFCCC

“Governments have set the broad course - but

businesses are the motors that drive change”

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Equitable Origin’s mission is to preserve and protect the environment, biodiversity and people where oil and gas are produced through the creation of a stakeholder-based, market-driven certification system that distinguishes and rewards oil and gas operators for outstanding social, environmental and safety performance.

EO Certification is based off six principles that address governance, social and environmental issues associated with oil and gas production.

Project Life Cycle Management

Corporate Governance,

Accountability & Ethics

Human Rights,Social Impact &

Community Development

Climate Change, Biodiversity

& Environment

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Fair Labor & Working

Conditions

rioplus

19www.rioplus.org

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development also known as Rio +20 is a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to come together to address the long term sustainability of our planet and to set us on the path towards truly green and inclusive growth. At UNCCD, we are committed to working with business to bring this about.

Business is one of the most important stakeholders in efforts to combat desertification, land degradation and drought (DLDD). Each minute, 23 hectares of productive land and soil is lost to DLDD. Global trends such as population dynamic, increasing demands for energy, food and water are expected to dramatically increase pressure on the land.

Pressure on land based resources could result in shortages, which hamper business and economic development, lead to social and geopolitical tensions and cause devastating environmental damage.

Land and water are the most valuable finite resources that we have. They are inextricably intertwined and increasingly scarce and unless addressed holistically, the effects of DLDD will be felt by global companies looking for resources, supply networks and markets.

I believe no solution to the global crisis of DLDD will be found without pro-active business engagement. Business imagination, invention, skills and talent are urgently needed and also very welcome.

Forward looking companies recognize that productive lands and fertile soils are the cornerstone of a green economy (for sustainable development) and that Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is one of the most cost-effective and efficient business

practices you can adopt. Sustainable Land Management should form an integral part of strategies tackling climate change and biodiversity loss. It is also fully in business’ interests to take SLM on board as part of your core business strategy.

Where there are risks there are also opportunities. Business can move towards zero net land degradation by preventing degradation and restoring degraded land. Compared to present levels, the demand for food is forecast to grow by 50% and that of energy and water by 40%, by 2030.

Those demands will not be met unless sustainable land management is combined with business acumen. The 2 billion hectares of degraded land, with potential for restoration and regeneration worldwide, represent opportunities for investment with untapped potential for high and long lasting return, especially in the drylands. Along their value chains, business can halt or reverse desertification, engage with suppliers to reduce degradation, and create products that improve sustainability and enable restoration of damaged land.

We look forward to hearing your ideas and working with you.

Luc Gnacadja, UNCCD Executive Secretary

foreword

Luc Gnacadja,

UNCCD Executive Secretary

“Forward looking companies recognize that fertile soils

are the cornerstone of a green economy”Equitable Origin’s mission is to preserve and

protect the environment, biodiversity and people where oil and gas are produced through the creation of a stakeholder-based, market-driven certification system that distinguishes and rewards oil and gas operators for outstanding social, environmental and safety performance.

EO Certification is based off six principles that address governance, social and environmental issues associated with oil and gas production.

Project Life Cycle Management

Corporate Governance,

Accountability & Ethics

Human Rights,Social Impact &

Community Development

Climate Change, Biodiversity

& Environment

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Fair Labor & Working

Conditions


The long march from Stockholm

World leaders have now been discussing the state of the environment for nearly 40 years – and it would be easy to think nothing has been achieved. Former UNFCCC chief Michael Zammit Cutajar outlines why there are reasons for hope at Rio+20 – and what he believes world leaders should focus on in the high-level talks.

Environmental problems result, it is said, from the rich dumping on the poor and the present dumping on the future. That is one way of illustrating the issues that the global community should address at the Rio summit in June. It is something of a caricature but telling nevertheless. It reminds us that sustainability requires not just a technical fix but also a political commitment to fighting poverty and a moral recognition of the interests of future generations.

The 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment that opened in Stockholm on 5 June that year – subsequently designated World Environment Day – launched the “global green flag” on a long march that has led through Rio and Johannesburg, and now to Rio again. Much has been achieved along the way - through regulation, economic incentives and education - to entrench cleaner production technologies and more intelligent modes of consumption. With growing prosperity and widening awareness, the common sense of saving energy and other resources has made great

strides in many societies, as has the demand for efficient infrastructure and public services.

The road from Stockholm has not been easy, however. While the green flag flies high in political rhetoric, it is often marginalized in economic decision-making. Political and economic defensiveness and “short-termism” pose formidable obstacles to the mainstreaming of sustainability. When the chips are down, the political knee-jerk reaction is to focus on hard-core economic issues: jobs, access to basic needs.

These tensions between present and future, between rhetoric and reality, are nowhere more evident than in the negotiations on limiting human-induced climate change to a manageable level – the headline issue at and since the last Rio summit in 1992. The negative consequences of dumping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – historically by developed countries, increasingly by emerging economies - are far ahead of current political calculations. The damage is not full-

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India Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addresses the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment. Photo ©: Yutaka Nagata.

frontal but surreptitious, not a catastrophic bang but a stealthy creep. Attitudes towards it are influenced by a counter-campaign of pseudo-scientific doubt.

Addressing the climate challenge is further complicated by the sheer difficulty of converging towards agreement on the global good in a negotiating dynamic that is not driven by tangible reciprocal concessions, such as occur in the fields of disarmament or trade. The lasting success of this negotiation depends on intangibles: ethics, equity, responsibility and political will.

Momentum for change Rio is a rendezvous for leaders of governments along the road from Stockholm. What are the signs of hope that they could offer from this staging point?

First, that governments are focused on promoting the development of the real economy that responds broadly to people’s diverse needs, rather than the generation of froth by abstract markets.

Second, that governments are integrating sustainability in their economic strategies and decisions. It would be positively symbolic if heads of government decided to be accompanied to Rio by their heavyweight ministers

responsible for economy and finance, not just by their environment ministers.

Third, that governments recognize not only the up-front costs of investments in a cleaner economy but also the collateral benefits – for example, the benefits that efficient use of cleaner fuels bring to respiratory health.

Fourth, that governments understand the need to provide frameworks and incentives for investment in sustainability to be profitable. In a market economy, a sense of the profits to be gained from innovation for the long-term must be one of the main drivers towards sustainability. Examples of responsible initiative by smart business exist and should be highlighted. Corporations can often take a longer view than governments - but governments must point the way.

Finally, that governments are committed to fighting poverty at home and abroad. When the “human environment” was put on the global agenda at Stockholm 40 years ago, only one foreign head of government participated in that event: the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. She proclaimed then that poverty was the worst form of pollution. That profound sound-bite still echoes. It should be played back at the opening of Stockholm+40 in Rio.

Michael Zammit Cutajar was executive secretary of the UnFCCC from 1991 to 2002 and subsequently Malta’s Ambassador on Climate Change to 2011. In his early Un years, he served on the secretariat of the Un Conference on the Human environment (stockholm 1972).

PhytoCellTec™ Malus DomesticaAn eco-breakthrough in natural cosmetic ingredients

PhytoCellTec™ – a novel plant cell culture technology – has been invented to cultivate stem cells from a rare Swiss apple that is known for its extraordinarystorage life. These apple stem cells, which are rich in epigenetic factors andmetabolites, have shown to increase the longevity of human skin cells. And theclinically proven anti-aging results combined with its eco-friendly productionmethod are setting new standards in sourcing cosmetic active ingredients.

• Protects the longevity of skin stem cells• Eco-friendly production, preservation of natural sources• Patent pending

PhytoCellTec™ plant stem cells are revolutionizing the use of rare plant speciesin cosmetics in terms of both efficacy and sustainability.

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Twitter @Rio_Plus facebook.com/RioPlus

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) took place in Rio de Janeiro between 3-14 June 1992. 172 governments participated, with 108 sending their heads of state or government. Key results included Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the Statement of Forest Principles, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.

Participants at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit signed an ‘Earth Pledge’ (pictured) where they promised to “help make the Earth a secure and hospitable home for present

and future generations.” This process continues at the 2012 Rio+20 conference.

Join the debate and send us your hopes for the 2012 conference.

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Kenya Solar Energy Project February 2012

Portraits by Marina Kloess Marina has worked as a professional photographer for the past seven years, specialising in people, lifestyle and documentaries. All pictures were shot on a Canon 5DmarkII using a 24-70mm 1:2.8 and a 50mm 1:1.2 lens. www.marinakloess.com

In 2011, London-based solar expert Mark Kragh had an idea. His workshop was full of small broken PV panels. they were useless on their own – but if he could connect them they would have a new life. even better – if he could teach villagers without access to electricity how to use these unwanted panels they could build their own mini power station!

In February 2012 Mark flew to Kenya, and travelled to the village of Soy – around 200 miles northeast of Nairobi. For two weeks he taught the villagers basic electronics – and by the end they were making their own mini solar-kits that could be used to power mobile phones.

Mobile phone ownership has soared in Africa, from 16 million in 1999 to around 376 million today. Phones are used for mobile banking, weather forecasts, farming tips and to get vital medical advice if there are no doctors nearby. Many people have to travel more than 7 kilometres a day to use a diesel phone charger.

Mark is Director of Knowyourplanet.com, you can contact him on [email protected]

Kragh left a group of students who now have the technical skills and the materials to continue building small solar installations. A sustainable business has grown from two weeks of teaching and one man’s vision.

Apex-Brasil

Sustainable development in BrazilOver the past years, Brazil has set an example to the world, establishing a model of economic growth that combines social inclusion and environmental protection. Half of the Brazilian energy matrix is based on renewable sources, a figure which climbs to 80% if the consumption of electrical energy is analyzed on an isolated basis.

Brazil is the world leader in the production of biofuels and has already been recognized by the United nations (Un) as the world´s most active country when it comes to working to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

this recognition is one of the main outcomes of the national Policy on Climate Change, jointly formulated by the government, entrepreneurs and the civil society. this policy has established voluntary commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 36.1% and 38.9% until 2020, without jeopardizing a successful model of economic growth with social inclusion.

Brazil has a tradition of valuing its natural resources and efficiently taking advantage of their potential. Unsurprisingly, some of the greatest Brazilian technological innovations are associated with indigenous natural resources. For example drilling for oil in deep and super deep waters; intensive technology applied to food production; and the use of sugar cane to produce ethanol, an automotive fuel.

Brazil permanently seeks to consolidate a sustainable development paradigm combined with the reduction of social inequalities. this is the path to develop successful enterprises that create innovative technologies, ensure quality jobs and are capable of competing in the world markets.

the Brazilian trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) acts on two fronts in pursuit of sustainable development. On the national level, it encourages local enterprises and business associations to seek social and environmental business sustainability through the development of new technologies and innovative designs.

On the international front, Apex-Brasil works to attract foreign direct investments (FDI) to strategic production chains, notably those of renewable energies and environmental solutions (smart grids and technologies for the adequate management of solid waste, including e-waste from obsolete technologies); biosciences; oil & gas and semiconductors and displays, besides the aerospace industry. FDI ensures the arrival of new technologies to Brazil, enabling the country to advance in the field of sustainable development and to consolidate as a platform for low carbon technology industries.Rio+20, the United nations Conference on sustainable Development, presents a unique opportunity to assess the achieved outcomes and to engage governments, enterprises and the civil society to renew the political commitments related to the promotion of sustainable development and the eradication of poverty in the world, as well as the pursuit of new technologies that lead to the consolidation of the concept of green economy applied in industrial production.

As Apex-Brasil is an agency of the Brazilian government, it works in partnership with business associations to carry out direct investment attraction and trade promotion initiatives, fostering and encouraging sustainable practices within Brazilian industries. the Agency increasingly works to influence production chains to conform to international requirements. Additionally, it supports the implementation of guidelines related to low carbon economy, causing an impact on technological changes and the sustainable use of natural resources, thus helping domestic companies keep their business competitive.

Rio +20 consists on an unparalleled opportunity for Brazil and Apex-Brasil to show the world their recent achievements as well as the changes undergone by local companies and institutions in order to adapt to a green economy environment. the untapped business opportunities comprised within such context will surely draw much attention as well.

the aforementioned features build up on the image of an innovative, competitive and sustainable country. ■Biofuel from Castor bean oil Photo ©: sam Beebe / ecotrust,

www.flickr.com

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BRASIL, A COUNTRY OF GREAT OPPORTUNITIES.

Robust economy. Large consumer market. Wide industrial and technological base. Rich natural resources. Diversified energy matrix and world

leader in clean energy production.

This is Brasil, the host country of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. Safe destination for investments, which grows based on economic,

social and environmental sustainability.

Apex-Brasil is the Brazilian government agency that supports foreign investors throughout their investment decision-making process in Brasil.

To invest in Brasil, visit www.apexbrasil.com.br


Trade and investment can drive green growthClearly there is great urgency to make faster progress to achieve sustainable development. Today, still over one billion people lack basic access to food, electricity or safe drinking water. Moreover, climate change and global population growth are predicted to exacerbate these challenges.

The world business community has already demonstrated considerable success in integrating sustainability into business practices, for example, via codes such as the ICC Business Charter for Sustainable Development, which has provided thousands of large and small companies around the globe the basis for sound environmental management.

Companies of all sizes are also leading by example, with innovative business actions providing solutions to challenges such as energy access, water security, resource efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

However, more can be done and there are significant opportunities for the business community to lead, for example, the OECD has identified $2.1 to $6.3 trillion of potential commercial opportunities related to environmental sustainability in natural resource sectors alone.

ICC’s Green Economy Roadmap is a tool for business, government and civil society to achieve a green economy. It offers a specific focus on the power of innovation to bring solutions to the economic, social, and environmental dimension of sustainable development.

The roadmap emphasizes that in order to meet the sustainability challenge, we must fully harness open trade and investment as critical tools that have already raised millions of people out of poverty. Trade and investment can act as global drivers of green growth, provided governments create the right enabling conditions, prevent protectionism and work cooperatively.

Rio+20 offer an excellent opportunity for governments to work with business and civil society to provide confidence and clarity to scale up-investment and innovation towards a green economy.

ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) is the voice of world business championing the global economy as a force for economic growth, job creation and prosperity. Because national economies are now so closely interwoven, government decisions have far stronger international repercussions than in the past. ICC - the world’s only truly global business organization responds by being more assertive in expressing business views.

For more information about the ICC’s Green economy Roadmap visit: www.iccwbo.org

By Jean-Guy Carrier, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce

Sustainability Scenarios & Green EconomySustainable development and the transition to a low carbon economy are often framed as the major challenges facing humanity. But they also represent a huge opportunity – a chance for a third industrial revolution. This section highlights the fantastic work business across the world is doing in contributing to a cleaner, equitable, sustainable and more resilient global economy.

Find out more at: www.rioplus.org

Discover how Deutsche Post DHL has cut 10% from its carbon footprint since 2008 p.46-47

sustainability scenarios & green economysustainability scenarios & green economy

A new perspective on the changing business environment

Over the past two decades, we have recognized that the way we do business has serious impacts on the world around us. It is now apparent that the state of the world affects the way we do business. The central challenge of our age – maintaining human progress while minimizing resource use and environmental decline – can simultaneously be one of the biggest sources of future success for business.

Given the unprecedented natural resource scarcity, skyrocketing food prices, escalating energy security issues and an expected population growth of up to 10 billion in 2100, the private sector is ever more challenged to overhaul its strategy and make its business models future proof. For example, if companies had to pay for the full environmental costs of their production, they would lose 41 cents for every US$1 in earnings on average. External environmental costs of 11 key industry sectors (including upstream supply chain) rose by 50 percent between 2002 and 2010. They include things like pollution, external

costs that society will likely have to pay for in some way or at some time in the future, but that are not included in transaction prices.

Government policies, investor values and consumer preferences are also altering rapidly, thus impacting businesses’ bottom line and demanding a long-term vision, supported by immediate action. Is this forced by stakeholder demand, or primarily driven by sound entrepreneurship? It is up to each and every company to decide for itself.

By Yvo de Boer. Yvo de Boer is special global adviser, KPMG Climate Change and Sustainability, and former Executive Secretary to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Photo credit: © Bigstock Bangkok, Thailand November 05. Heavy flooding from monsoon rain in Ayutthaya and north Thailand.

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Resilience and flexibility Rather than attempting to survive risks resulting from global megaforces, business leaders can do much more. Indeed, with foresight and planning, and by undertaking pioneering actions to prepare for an uncertain future, they can thrive by turning risks into new opportunities. Companies need to develop resilience and flexibility for an unpredictable future and build capacity to anticipate and adapt.

First and foremost, businesses need to fully assess and understand future sustainability risks, for example by integrating them into an Enterprise Risk Management tool, define their responses to deal with them, and analyze opportunities for efficiency, substitution or adaptation.

Integrated strategic planning and strategy development are needed as well, which requires business management to make sustainability central to their corporate strategy and incorporate it at all levels. Put simply, businesses must manage risks and capitalise on opportunities, by turning strategic plans and strategies into ambitious targets and actions. One can think of energy and resource efficiency improvements, sustainable supply chain management, and investment into innovation on sustainable products and services, as well as gaining access to new markets for greener products, services and technologies. It is also imperative to explore tax incentives tailored to alternative energy, energy efficiency and other areas related to sustainability.

Sustainability frameworks Another much discussed but less implemented tool to success in this area is measuring performance and reporting on sustainability, as well as the related

benefits. The growing trend of integrated reporting is an example where companies are building frameworks for sustainability reporting processes, stronger information systems and appropriate governance and control mechanisms on a par with those currently used in financial reporting.

Organizations can’t do this alone. Collaboration with partners on sustainability issues is vital to enhance leverage and improve cost-benefit ratio of action. Business leaders should seek opportunities for genuine dialogue with governments and demonstrate new and innovative approaches to public-private partnerships. Improved dialogue could focus on economic instruments and market barriers that could be reduced to make sustainable business operation easier. Good management used to be about preparing for the expected, now it is just as much about preparing for the unexpected.

Competitive advantage can be carved out of emerging risk. It is clearly no longer the question if we must transcend to a more sustainable economy. The question is the pace in which we are able, and especially willing, to achieve it.

To thrive, or even just to survive, businesses needs to understand the root causes of what affects their operations, not just the symptoms. The bold, the visionary and the innovative recognize that what is good for people and the planet will also be good for the long term bottom line and shareholder value. This is how we can make our common economy future proof.

sustainability scenarios & green economy



The recent global economic crisis should have provided an opportunity to focus on the transition to a low carbon, resource efficient, sustainable economy. Instead, it was used as an excuse to avoid action on the climate and sustainability challenges we face. There is growing concern that action at an international level may prove too slow to effect the change we need, and it’s time to consider alternative approaches.

Cities have a crucial part to play in implementing a global framework for sustainability. In their role as hubs of commerce as well as home to billions, cities consume upward of 75% of the world’s energy. They’re also growing in size and importance - by 2008 over half the world’s population (over 3.3bn people) lived in cities, a number expected to reach nearly 5 billion by 2030.

Many of today’s economic, social, environmental and demographic problems are concentrated in cities. These are often interrelated and have a significant impact on sustainability. In order to develop an acceptable

framework for growth that works both for the developed and the newly industrialising world, we need to accept that the system is dynamic, and that solving these problems will require a paradigm shift in the way people live, work and travel.

Guy Battle, head of Deloitte’s sustainability practice believes that cities are the key battleground. He says, “The battle of sustainability will be won or lost within city limits.”

As cities have developed, there has been a rush to implement short term infrastructure solutions, slow to

Cities: key battleground for global sustainability? By Felicia Jackson

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respond to the challenges of emissions reduction, resource efficiency, energy security and waste reduction.

Sustainability demands that cities address economic challenges alongside the delivery of mobility, water, energy, pollution, sanitation and health services.

Financing change That increasingly means exploring closed cycles and resource systems but the issue remains how the transition to such systems can be financed. There are options from infrastructure bonds, redirection of pension investment, or even of local investment. Birmingham City Council’s energy costs are around £2.2 billion for example. If only 25% of this could be spent on locally generated energy, or saved through the implementation of energy efficiency, that’s half a billion to inject back into the local economy.

Given that billions already live in urban environments, and the growth of the megacity continues apace, we need to look at our cities as systems of innovation. We need solutions that bind people together in understanding the need for action, and towards common goals.

Cities, by virtue of their responsibilities in managing transportation and waste management networks, in setting standards for energy efficiency, in managing local pollution and in responsibility for planning, can play a significant leadership role in the transformation to a sustainable economy. Local governments own and operate a considerable portfolio of buildings, fleets, and other infrastructure and through their progressive actions to reduce emissions have a great potential to lead by example.

Siemens has modelled that with today’s technologies, cities could achieve a 40% reduction in emissions.

According to Martin Powell, Head of Urban Development at Siemens, we need both political backing and public support in order to reach emissions targets and create sustainable urban environments. He says, “Cities are the co-ordinators between the different policy levers of environment, climate, energy and transport. They understand the impact of energy policy decisions on water and waste. If a city states it wants to buy hydrogen for its bus fleet, then the business case is made for a plant that generates hydrogen. We have the tools to effect change, now it’s about connecting the dots.”

Action at Rio+20 At a European level, the belief that cities are the most effective engine for action has been made explicit through the work of the Committee of the Regions. Its President, Mercedes Bresso, says, “The future of Europe hinges on our towns and cities. In the face of climate change and overconsumption of natural resources, our towns and cities are in the front line for driving sustainable development.

“They must do this through policies on housing, renewable energy production, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, better waste management, and cleaner public transport,” says Bresso.

The Committee has proposed that delegates to Rio+20 make sustainable urbanisation a key focus, using the model of the Covenant of Mayors, a voluntary agreement to meet and exceed the EU 20% CO2 reduction target, as a model to implement the principles of sustainability across the cities and regions.

Perhaps, by working together at a local and regional level, cities could lead us towards a more sustainable future.

Felicia Jackson is a writer and editor specialising in the transition to a sustainable economy. Author of Conquering Carbon, and editor-at-large of Cleantech Magazine, she is former founding editor of New Energy Finance, and a freelance contributor to a range of specialist publications focused on the impact of the low carbon revolution on policy, economics, investment and industry.

Twitter: @decarbonizer

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The future we want is global and localRio+20 provides an opportunity to address sustainable development issues in a unique global setting. Cities and local governments are key players in a world that is marked by urbanization. We need to make sure we harness their power and engage them in policy making and governance, to reap the benefits of local action for global development.

In global policy we often look towards international organizations and national governments to take the lead. However, with climate negotiations stalling, new leadership patterns to further global policy are emerging. Civil society and increasingly the business sector are evolving to drivers of change. It is, however, cities that have made a real mark in the preparations for Rio+20.

We are facing a global challenge which needs to be tackled on a global scale. The solutions, however, need to take into account regional and local circumstances and engage local communities in the implementation to be most effective and efficient.

The first decade of the 21st century is marked by the fact that the world´s urban population has exceeded the rural population for the first time in the history of human civilization. By 2050 more than two thirds of the world’s population will live in cities. As the trend towards urbanization continues, increasing attention is being paid to the local level.

Due to the geographical concentration of people, infrastructure, investment, capital, knowledge and technology cities are able to do more with less. Densely populated urban areas provide unique opportunities, they are economies of scale and can be highly efficient. Urban centers are attractive because of the opportunities they offer and they are growing every day. Over the next 40 years four billion people will need urban housing as another three billion people join urban ranks. The two thirds of

humanity that will live in cities by 2050 will need to be cared for. They need jobs, food, housing, transport, sanitation and social services. A huge challenge for public policy and decision makers at all levels.

Harnessing the strength of local governments Local governments are implementing decisions impacting on sustainable development locally every day, and they will continue to implement solutions even without a much needed global framework that involves and appropriately supports them. If energy prices spike in a city, if a city is shaken by social uprising on housing conditions, or if a flood hits a town, the mayor may not be able to wait until Rio+20 has sorted out how to engage local governments in the decision making process. The local reality can be very different to the global reality.

To fully harness the power of local action, cities do require a more inclusive and enabling policy framework. Local governments are the level of government closest to the people and local issues, and they are the implementing agents of local action. They have the authority to affect infrastructure, building and local development decisions in order to meet global goals. Only if they are appropriately involved in the decision making process can their actions be most effective. A bottom up process that truly allows for the needs of cities and local governments to be reflected in the global policy-making and governance framework, will provide a solid basis to deliver effective local actions that contribute to solving a global challenge.

The global community should not miss the opportunity of building upon the power, potential and ambitions of local action. When local governments are being recognized as governmental stakeholders, engaged in global governance, and also empowered and supported as key actors, cities and urban areas can accelerate their performance. They will become highly effective catalysts in the battle for sustainable development and the future we want.

ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability is an association of over 1,200 local government Members who are committed to sustainable development. Our Members come from 70 countries and represent more than 569,885,000 people.

By Konrad Otto-Zimmermann,Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and Anke Stoffregen, Manager Communications & Dialogues, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability


IUCN China and Nokia have been supporting the creation of farmers’ cooperatives to connect Chinese farmers living in remote areas to regional and national agricultural markets.

In Huayuan, a village 150 km northeast of Beijing with less than 700 residents, villagers are pooling their resources together to establish farmers’ cooperatives. They have created a small miracle that not only doubles their income, but also brings the community closer together. This is the result of a Nokia and IUCN China partnership to help improve farmers’ livelihoods options and strengthen local capacity for grassroot-level self-governance.

Farmers’ cooperatives enable farmers to pool their resources together for buying and selling agricultural

products with greater bargaining power. It also gives them better access to bank loans, and rights for striking business contracts. It places them on a more leveled playing field with business companies. Yet perhaps more importantly, it enables communities to improve their livelihoods collectively, and helps build stronger capacity of self governance.

In 2010, Mrs. Yu Guifen and 17 other households formed an aquaculture co-op in Huayuan Village. Mobilizing local resources and innovation, they initiated the use of running stream water and salt for disinfection

Unleashing the power of farmers’ co-ops in China

By Lap LI, Communications and Constituency Officer, IUCN China

[email protected]

Promotion of agro-forest plantation with Schisandra, a natural herb used mostly for treating stomach ailments. Photo © IUCN China.


IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges.

It has offices in more than 45 countries and runs hundreds of projects around the world. IUCN has member organizations in more than 160 countries and a network of 10,000 voluntary scientists and experts spanning the globe.

www.iucn.org/where/

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(rather than antibiotics), and built green-house shelters to keep the fish warm in harsh Northern China winters.

The “Guifen Aquaculture Co-op” is widely supported by the community as most people involved hold a share in the business. Poorer households could join the cooperative by granting the Co-op exclusive rights to use their land as a substitute of cash payment. The Co-op dividend in 2009 was as high as 8,000 RMB (1,100 USD). For many Co-op members, this business doubles their annual income.

Communications expertise Nokia, a market leader in mobile devices aims also to be a leading company in environmental performance. With a user base of more than one billion people, Nokia has a unique opportunity to make an impact that goes beyond its own activities. The company, with a significant workforce based in the Beijing area, is putting water and watershed conservation as a priority conservation target.

Using its expertise in communications, Nokia is assisting in the integration of a range of knowledge generation, capacity building, planning and communication actions for local people in the Miyun watershed. It supports local news and information collection to help increase community awareness of watershed management. Such advocacy is essential but missing in one of China’s most critical watersheds, and is also relevant to another 5,000 similar watersheds in China.

“Through this collaboration we want to support sustainable water management in the area and also help generate opportunities and possibilities to the rural population for better and more sustainable livelihoods,” says Outi Mikkonen from Sustainability Operations team at Nokia.

The company has a substantial workforce based in the Beijing area and it has joined in local efforts that benefit both biodiversity and people.

Promotion of agro-forest plantation with Schisandra, a natural herb used mostly for treating stomach ailments. Photo © IUCN China.

“Cooperatives enable communities to improve their livelihoods collectively, and helps build stronger capacity of self governance.”

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Rey Juan Carlos University, Alcalá University, Murcia University, Cartagena Polytechnic University and Extremadura University join their capacities in a challenging initiative.

Rey Juan Carlos University is currently leading the research consortium “Campus of International Excellence Smart Energy.” This project was born with the wish of five Spanish public universities - Rey Juan Carlos, Alcalá, Murcia, Politécnica de Cartagena and Extremadura - to become one of the relevant actors in the European research panorama, and a reference in the areas of bio-energy and smart infrastructures.

To achieve this goal, the project plans to capitalize on the large expertise offered by two Spanish multinational companies - REPSOL , FERROVIAL - two public research centers - Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT) , Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Energía (IMDEA Energía) - and IDAE, Spanish agency devoted to the improvement of energy efficiency. The aggregation of these

institutions represents more than 9,000 researchers, 700 patents and R+D investment in excess of 250 million Euros in 2010.

The “Campus of International Excellence Smart Energy” will focus its activity on the creation of knowledge around energy sustainability, specializing in bio-energy and the design of smart infrastructures for increased energy efficiency.

The focus on bio-energy will approach the exploration of biological strategies for obtaining energy products allowing maintaining economic development with no or even negative carbon footprint. In this context, very diverse alternatives will be analyzed, ranging from the use of microorganisms to produce raw materials for fuels to the use of supported enzymes to generate energy products, or crop production with no impact on food markets.

In the area of smart infrastructures, rational use of energy is proposed, both in transportation and in construction. Improved designs, optimizing the use of resources, and the efficiency of facilities are considered.

The Campus of International Excellence Smart Energy will create an International Research School which will make the coordination of R+D Programs possible. It will design and develop post-graduate courses in bio-energy and smart infrastructures with the full involvement of both companies.

One of the pillars of this School will be the collection of internationally renowned researchers complementing the capabilities already present within the aggregation, thus facilitating the implementation of theses and innovative projects of entrepreneurial interest. An additional goal is foster a creative environment in which researchers and graduate students develop their ideas and results, thanks to technology enhancement projects and the creation of innovative technology based companies. ■

Five Spanish Universities Committed to Sustainability: the Smart Energy Campus of International Excellence project

Rey Juan Carlos University

Photo credit: © kaibara87. www.flickr.com/photos/kaibara/2072160194

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What does it take to be a sustainability leader?

To bring about the change required to set us on the path to sustainable development, we need a group of front runners to blaze a trail and inspire those around them. Here LEAD, the sustainability leadership NGO, reveals the character traits shared by successful leaders.

People are the key to change and in order to truly achieve sustainable development, we must invest in leadership. For the past 20 years, LEAD has helped emerging leaders from around the world to develop the skills to steer humanity onto a sustainable path. We have learned that leadership is a complex topic and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There are, however, several key behaviours that are demonstrated by successful sustainability leaders.

Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is about seeing opportunities where others see challenges. Adeolu Odusote, a LEAD Fellow from Nigeria, saw an opportunity to reduce his country’s dependence on crude oil and develop a more sustainable source of energy.

He realised that the cassava, a staple Nigerian crop that is easily converted into ethanol, could be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. Adeolu’s plan to create biofuel plantations initially faced opposition due to fears that the nation’s food and water security would be put at risk.

He was able to show, however, that sustainable management of the plantations would protect the local ecosystem and water supply and ensure that food

production was not compromised. Work started on the $122 million pilot ethanol facility – the first of its kind in Nigeria – in 2008 and as a result of Adeolu’s entrepreneurial thinking, the country now has an innovative and scalable business model for alternative energy generation.

Advocacy To bring about transformational change, an effective leader must have strong advocacy skills. Scientist and LEAD Fellow Olga Speranskaya believes that the most effective way to pressure governments into taking action on toxic chemicals in the environment is to empower civil society.

Over the past decade she has worked with NGOs in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA), bringing them together to form a single, more effective, advocacy network campaigning for the elimination of the persistent organic pollutants (POPs) left over from the Soviet regime.

Working together the NGOs have sought to address the legacy of chemical pollution on both local and national levels, focusing on identifying chemical stockpiles and reducing their impact on human health and the environment. The EECCA NGO campaign towards

Goldman Prize-winner Olga Speranskaya. Photo: © John Antonelli.

By Gillian Martin Mehers.Gillian Martin Mehers is

Director for Learning, LEAD International.

About LEADEstablished by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1992, LEAD is the world’s largest international non-profit organisation focused on inspiring leadership and change for a sustainable world. We identify and recruit outstanding leaders from government, business, NGOs and academia and through a world class training programme, equip them with the skills to become agents of change. There are currently more than 2400 LEAD Fellows working individually and collectively to ensure that the sustainability agenda permeates and influences critical decision-making across all sectors.

LEAD’s dynamic learning programmes will be available online from the middle of June. Find out more about our new learning and networking platform at www.lead.org



a toxic-free future was extremely successful, persuading 10 out of the 12 governments in the region to ratify the Stockholm Convention and agree to eliminate or restrict the production and use of POPs. The civil society network fostered by Olga has now grown to include NGO groups, governmental bodies and academic institutions in 11 former Soviet states and in 2009, Olga was awarded the Goldman Prize in recognition of her outstanding achievements.

Learning Leadership and learning are intertwined; a successful leader will always learn from a situation and apply this learning to create change.

Rachel Madan, a LEAD Fellow working as a corporate sustainability consultant in the UK and US, had identified a number of enthusiastic people pushing for change within the cultural sector but felt that they lacked the skills and knowledge to advance the sustainability agenda.

The LEAD Fellowship programme helped Rachel to identify the need for a new generation of sustainability leaders and in 2008 she founded Greener Museums in order to address this gap.

Inspired by LEAD’s learning techniques, Rachel developed a leadership programme to empower green champions within museums, encouraging them to share ideas and work collectively to solve real challenges.

Over the past four years, the Greener Museums programmes have helped participating museums save more than $500,000 in costs, reduce carbon usage by 1000 tonnes, and attract more than $200,000 in new sustainability funding.

Vision and communication The ability to create a clear vision and communicate it in a way that inspires and engages others is critical for any leader.

Goldman Prize winner and LEAD Indonesia Fellow Yuyun Ismawati saw that poor communities needed a safe waste-management initiative that provided economic benefits and empowered them to protect the environment.

Rachel Madan

Goldman Prize-winner Yuyan Ismawati giving sanitation lessons. Photo: © Will Parrinello


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Yuyun worked at a grassroots level in Indonesia to share this vision, training women in low-income urban areas to use waste separation and composting techniques so that waste could be collectively and sustainably managed. Yuyun’s ‘decentralised solution initiative’ has now been adopted as a national programme and has halved waste production in 100 urban clusters, while also providing additional income to women through the sale of compost and recycled materials.

A critical element in the success of Yuyun’s project was her ability to articulate her vision in a simple way that empowered the local population to take action, thereby leading to sustainable change. Her approach has also been successful on a larger scale and Yuyun is now working with national agencies to craft Indonesia’s first-ever bill on waste management strategy.

Innovative thinking Leaders need to take an innovative approach to problem-solving. Like many Brazilians, LEAD Fellow Leonardo Martins Dias has long been aware of the social exclusion faced by residents in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.

He also knew of a number of companies that were eager to invest in social projects but unable to implement these programmes without the support of grassroots leaders in the favelas.

Drawing on his experience as a strategic advisor to European businesses and the support of the LEAD Network, Leonardo designed an innovative solution to this problem: a government-funded training programme to develop a new generation of community leaders committed to the principles of sustainability. This programme will

empower local people by equipping them with vital business and project management skills, and the experience to work with investors to co-create and implement projects that meet the needs of the community.

The Rio Government has responded enthusiastically to Leonardo’s creative proposal and plans for a pilot programme in four favelas, to be run in partnership with LEAD Brazil, are under discussion.

As these powerful examples demonstrate, leadership is about inspiring and enabling change. Whether at a grassroots or governmental level, the successful leader must be able to set out a vision for a sustainable future and motivate others to work towards this shared goal. The ability to devise innovative solutions to long-term problems and establish cross-sector partnerships is also central to achieving success where others may fail.

A good leader will inspire, and be inspired by, other leaders. Indeed, many LEAD Fellows feel that the support of the LEAD Network – a dynamic community of like-minded individuals – helped them to realise their vision for change. The notion that leaders create other leaders is one of LEAD’s core beliefs; if we are to secure lasting and sustainable development, we need leaders with the skills, vision and commitment to drive change, and we need them in greater numbers than ever before.

Integration into corporate strategy, policies and guidelines: Environmental protection and the goals of the GoGreen program are anchored in the Group’s Strategy 2015, as well as in the Corporate Investment Policy and the Supplier Code of Conduct.

Leonardo Martins Dias and Governor of the State of Rio Sergio Cabral

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Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt

Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) is Germany’s national metrology institute providing scientific and technical services. PTB measures with the highest accuracy and reliability – a vital tool in the development of the green economy.

Every day, we rely on trustworthy information in order to make good decisions for sustainable development: Politicians when designing national and global policies, companies in order to improve their products and production processes, and in turn, all of us rely on them when making our individual choices as consumers.

We obtain this sort of information by measuring – i.e., the amount of energy produced by a wind turbine, the greenhouse gas emissions of a specific engine, the degree of contamination of drinking water, the types of pesticides we allow in the production of our food.

These measurements need not only be exact – they need to be internationally comparable to ensure that a ton of C02 is exactly the same amount in Canada as it is in South Africa, an energy-

efficient washing machine works the same way everywhere in the world, a screw produced in China fits into an engine in Brazil. And in order to make sure that these measurements are trustworthy and accepted, they need to be carried out and certified by internationally recognized institutions – integrated in a delicate system of checks and balances.

This substantial need has created a complex international system of different institutions - the Quality Infrastructure (QI) - comprised of the following elements:

• Metrology: the science of exact and reliable measuring • Standardization: defines properties of goods and processes,

nationally or internationally• Testing: analyzes and proves the properties of products• Certification: verifies the conformity of products with defined

standards • Accreditation: the recognition of the technical competence of

testing laboratories and certification bodies

Measuring the success of sustainable development

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In Germany, PTB as the National Metrology Institute is at the heart of the German national quality infrastructure. In the world, PTB International Technical Cooperation has been a partner for developing countries for more than 50 years on behalf of the German Government and international donors. Today, PTB is active in more than 81 countries worldwide, supporting QI institutions by strengthening their technical capacities, enhancing the institutional development and thus paving the way for their international recognition - according to the maxim “first we take measurements, than we take measures.”

“You can improve only what you can measure” - Why Quality Infrastructure is important for sustainable development The following examples show how the work of QI institutions contributes to the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development:

• Countries need accredited laboratories, which have access to metrological services and standardized testing methods, in order to produce reliable measurements of their green house gas emissions, changes in the weather and climate, contamination of their rivers, lakes and air.

• Measuring and Certification are needed in order to verify where and under which conditions products were produced – e.g. to identify crops grown on former rainforest areas.

• Only when the quality and reliability of renewable energy sources can be ensured, governments, companies and private consumers will make the decision to invest in them.

• Last but not least, the protection of consumers worldwide – covering everything from medical drugs, food and water to cars and technical devices – cannot be assured without a functioning QI. ■

Examples for PTB development projects In Africa, PTB strengthens the capacity of local testing laboratories in drinking water analysis, and organises regional proficiency tests to evaluate the competence of the testing labs.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, PTB supports QI organizations in the fields of renewable energy and energy

efficiency. The project strengthens their technical capacity and regional cooperation for quality assurance for solar thermal heaters, for reliable labelling of energy efficient household appliances and to reduce technical losses in electricity grids.

www.ptb.de

Traditionally, PTB International Cooperation’s work supports developing countries to participate successfully in international trade: To export, producers in developing countries must meet demands of target markets in terms of quality, safety, reliability, environmental compatibility and hygiene and they must be able to provide credible proof of this. A prerequisite is the existence of a quality infrastructure that meets international standards, monitors the production chains and furnishes the proof required. The lack of acceptable proof can exclude this country from exporting many of its products.


ThyssenKrupp

Making tomorrow possible

Electrical steel from ThyssenKrupp reduces losses in transformers to <1%

ThyssenKrupp is market leader for slewing bearing – a key component for wind-mills

Our plant solutions increase the carbon efficiency of cement plants up to 40%

Our engineering expertise allows us to serve the growing global demand for commodities, resources and energy with better and better products. ThyssenKrupp’s strengths in the areas of “Material,” “Mechanical” and “Plant” are the key to sustainable progress in the field of tension between growth and environmental protection. This enables ThyssenKrupp’s customers to stand out from the global competition and manufacture innovative products efficiently. In a world increasingly sensitive to environmental and climate issues, this represents a significant competitive advantage. Constantly rising raw materials prices are also making efficient resource use more and more essential. ■SOME OF OUR INNOVATIONS:

AbOUT US

At ThyssenKrupp 180,000 employees in around 80 countries work with passion and expertise to develop solutions for sustainable progress. Their skills and commitment are the basis of our success. In fiscal year 2010/2011 ThyssenKrupp generated sales of €49 billion. For us, innovations and technical progress are key factors in managing global growth and using finite resources in a sustainable way. With our engineering expertise in the areas of “Material,” “Mechanical” and “Plant,” we enable our customers to gain an edge in the global market and manufacture innovative products in a cost- and resource- efficient way. The basis for this is responsible corporate governance geared towards long-term value growth. In an ever-changing business environment we are continuously evolving our company to enable us to meet the global challenges of the future with innovative solutions.

ThyssenKrupp AGwww.thyssenkrupp.com

advertorial

Developing the future.

Worldclass energy effi ciency for sustainable buildings

The Eldorado Tower in São Paulo is Brazil‘s fi rst LEED platinum building. Worldwide ThyssenKrupp has already contributed to the LEED-certifi cation of more than 300 buildings, as well as to other certifi cations as DGNB, BREEAM and Green Star. Compared to a standard elevator our innovative elevator solutions reduce ener-gy consumption up to 60%.


rioplus magazine46

Deutsche Post DHL: Towards sustainable logistics

Since 2008, Deutsche Post DHL has cut 10% from its carbon footprint and has weaved sustainable practices into its everyday operations.

With a company history stretching back to 1490, Deutsche Post DHL has successfully overcome many economic and political challenges over the past five hundred years. At the start of the new millennium, the Group acknowledged that the planet, its inhabitants and businesses face an altogether different challenge: climate change.

As the world’s leading mail and logistics company, we depend on fuel and energy to transport our customers’ letters and parcels, and to deliver a wide range of logistics services in over 220 countries and territories. In 2007, the year in which we generated over 30 million tonnes of CO2, we developed plans to tackle our contribution to the causes of climate change. The GoGreen program, launched in 2008, sets the targets for our journey towards sustainable logistics.

The GoGreen targets Deutsche Post DHL was the first global logistics company to set itself a quantifiable climate change target. This target sits at the heart of our GoGreen program. Our goal is to improve our CO2 efficiency, including that of our transportation subcontractors, by 30% by the year 2020, compared to 2007 levels. This means that by 2020 we aim to generate 30% less CO2 for every letter and parcel

sent, every container shipped and every square meter of warehouse space used.

A 2012 interim target to increase CO2 efficiency for Deutsche Post DHL’s own operations by 10%, compared to 2007 levels, has already been reached.

Achievements so far GoGreen is changing the way we do business. Here are some examples of what we have already done:

Road and air fleet: We have spent hundreds of millions of Euros since 2008 to upgrade our fleet of road vehicles and aircraft. We operate over 4,000 environmentally-friendly vehicles worldwide including an all “green” fleet of 80 electric vans and 50 hybrid trucks in Manhattan, New York. Our fleet of owned and dedicated aircraft includes the Boeing 767 and 777 Freighters.

Products: Recognizing that logistics and transportation are often a large part of a customer’s environmental footprint, we were the first global logistics company to offer a carbon-neutral shipping service. We also offer customers the option of sea or rail freight.


47www.rioplus.org

Subcontractors: Third party providers of road and air transportation services are a special focus as subcontractors currently account for 80% of our total CO2 emissions. We are working closely with airlines and our road transport subcontractors to improve efficiency.

Employees: We have many programs in place to raise environmental awareness, increase knowledge of the GoGreen program and levers, and to encourage our employees to put that knowledge into action on the job and at home. One example is the “Save Fuel” campaign, started in Germany in 2008, through which van and truck drivers adopt fuel-efficient driving practices: Around 4.8 million litres of diesel had been saved by the end of 2010.

Making GoGreen work Here are some of the reasons why the GoGreen program has been successful:

Strong link to the business: As our CO2 emissions result from fuel and energy use, improving efficiency directly benefits the bottom line. The fact that customers are increasingly looking to logistics providers to help them improve their environmental footprint guarantees management’s attention.

GoGreen criteria recognized as important: GoGreen and CO2 efficiency criteria are regularly reviewed, along with other business criteria, by managers and employees.

Top management commitment: The GoGreen Sponsors Board, the committee that oversees the global GoGreen program, is made up of senior executives and is chaired by the Group’s CEO.

Employees’ contributions recognized: Employees are, quite literally, the driving force behind our efforts to bring about change. We have invested in increasing our employees’ environmental knowledge, asking for their ideas, and we rely on their efforts to help make our company more sustainable.

Data transparency: The Group’s Carbon Accounting and Controlling program is fully integrated into our Finance organization. CO2 data are collected via the Group’s financial reporting systems, and afforded the same level of importance as financial data.

Integration into corporate strategy, policies and guidelines: Environmental protection and the goals of the GoGreen program are anchored in the Group’s Strategy 2015, as well as in the Corporate Investment Policy and the Supplier Code of Conduct.

“Sustainability, especially the reduction of carbon emissions, is a central aspect of our business and an integral part of our corporate strategy.”

Frank Appel, CEO, Deutsche Post DHL

Deutsche Post DHL was the first logistics firm to set itself a quantifiable climate change target

Deutsche Post DHL’s CO2 emissions in tonnes as of 2007 The group’s total worldwide fleet size

The group’s total worldwide fleet size

Number of electric vehicles operating in Manhattan, New York, part of an “all green fleet”

For more information please visit www.dp-dhl.com/gogreen

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47www.rioplus.org


The extraction and processing of minerals and metals plays an essential and constantly evolving role in today’s society that will continue far into the future. It is also an industry that is responsible for environmental damage and high carbon emissions. There are however that times – and the sector – are changing.

Minerals and metals are a critical part of developing a modern society – providing essential products, wealth, jobs and opportunity. However, in some countries these resources have been misused and squandered, fuelling conflict and political unrest. These disputes range from land use, property rights, environmental damage, transparency of revenues, to a growing debate about the distribution of the spoils.

Equally, demands for a ‘low-carbon economy’ are growing. For humankind to walk more lightly on the earth we need evolution that is marked by innovation, creativity and sensitivity. These needed approaches

are not possible, however, without mined minerals and metals.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) was formed in 2001 to catalyze change and enhance the contribution of mining, minerals and metals to sustainable development. Our 21 member companies employ close to one million of the 2.5 million people working in the mining and metals sector worldwide. These companies produce many of the world’s commodities – 38% of the gold, 30% iron ore, 37% platinum and 34% nickeli . These operations place our members on the front line in dealing with


Mining that does not cost the earth


49www.rioplus.org

the many complex environmental and social issues apparent today.

In following a path that is ‘responsible and effective,’ we must apply a collaborative approach built on a full understanding of all benefits, costs, risks and responsibilities that accrue to all parties affected.

For example, from a country-level macroeconomic perspective, the generation of foreign direct investment, foreign exchange, and government revenues are all important. At the local level, it is the direct benefits of jobs, infrastructure and community services that become critical to consider. If we are to ensure this balance is achieved, all parties – government, company, community – carry certain responsibilities that must be clearly assigned and resourced.

The long-term nature of mining provides an opportunity to be a partner with communities over multiple generations. If the activities are designed and implemented in a way that reflects the overlap in values of the parties and there is a tremendous opportunity for a positive contribution over the long run.

Within the mining and metals industry there is a key role for collaboration as well. Mines often occur in clusters and collaboration between companies to address service and infrastructure needs of projects and communities alike is critical if the possible efficiencies are to be achieved. Small players in the industry are nimble, agile and fast movers. Large companies have the resources and the technical skills. There is an opportunity to benefit from each other’s skills and strengths. Seen in this way, the mining and metals industry is a complex, interdependent web of players.

Open and transparent decision-making will enhance trust and respect. A full and open treatment of strengths and limitations is essential as well as listening and hearing others concerns as well as our own.

You may ask: what is the value of mining to your country – can it be a bridge to a better future? Our answer is yes, but only if we learn to be more responsible and effective. Strengthening our contribution to sustainable development is the task before ICMM, its members and the industry as a whole.

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) was established in 2001 to improve sustainable development performance in the mining and metals industry. Today, it brings together 21 mining and metals companies as well as 31 national and regional mining associations and global commodity associations.

i World Mineral Production 2004-2008, British Geological Survey 2010.

49www.rioplus.org


Time for tourists to tread lightly on pristine planet

Tourism contributes massively to economies across the world – particularly in the developing world. But increased visitor numbers also bring problems – in the shape of increased emissions from flights, litter and other forms of waste. It’s a dilemma the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) are keen to resolve.

The meaning of the term sustainability varies greatly depending on who you speak to. To many business leaders globally, it means balancing ‘people, planet and profits’, and in doing so, placing the focus on the long term viability of the company.

Within the Travel & Tourism industry, examples of this approach are evident across the world. Travel & Tourism industry leaders are harmonising their long-term business strategies with policies aimed at tackling human development issues, environmental concerns, climate change issues and community development. The WTTC, as the forum for global Travel & Tourism

industry leaders, places ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ as one of its key strategic priorities.

Through this priority, WTTC underscores the need to maximise the potential of future sustainable growth for Travel & Tourism and benefits for consumers, businesses, local people and the environment. WTTC continues to showcase this concept through its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards aimed at recognising remarkable sustainable practices.

The Travel & Tourism industry has intrinsic links to the natural environment, communities and livelihoods.



51www.rioplus.org

This means that the industry is vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate and resources. The industry, especially air travel, has become a central participant in the on-going debate on climate change and the wider impacts of sustainability. Often this debate overshadows the importance of tourism to the functioning of our globalised world.

The Travel & Tourism industry is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries. In 2011, the industry directly accounted for about 3% of global gross domestic product (GDP), contributing US$2

trillion and 98 million jobs worldwide. If indirect and induced impacts are included in the equation, its total contribution was 9% of GDP supporting 255 million jobs, or one in every 12 jobs on the planet. Even more positively, the annual growth forecast is set to be 4% over the next ten years to 2022.

Given these growth forecasts, and growing middle classes in emerging markets, it is clear that the challenge rests on government and industry to harness Travel & Tourism’s economic benefits while ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. However the current levels of activity cannot simply be scaled up. The industry must strike a balance between its long-term

viability, the growing demand for travel and the world’s finite resources.

The fragmented and global nature of the industry, some 80% of which is made up of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-enterprises, means that the main difficulty for Travel & Tourism lies in generating a cohesive response to the challenges of living and working in a low-carbon economy. To tackle this, communication and collaboration within the industry is paramount. This means, for example, communicating best practices by

sharing information, progress and experience across and between sectors to increase awareness among customers and stakeholders.

WTTC seeks to ensure that the international and intergovernmental institutions tasked with finding a global solution to climate change fully understand the importance of Travel & Tourism as well as the significant steps that have been already taken by the industry towards carbon emissions mitigation and adaptation. As part of WTTC’s continued commitment, we will proudly be adding the voice of the Travel & Tourism industry to the business community at the Rio+20 Summit.

The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is the forum for business leaders in the Travel & Tourism industry. WTTC advocates partnership between the public and private sectors, delivering results that match the needs of economies, local and regional authorities and local communities with those of business.

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DENSO Corporation

DEnSo’S VISIonWe place top priority on meticulously implementing initiatives to protect the environment. Corporations must conceptualize how a sustainable society would operate and make concerted efforts toward environmental preservation based on a long-term vision. To this end, DEnSo aims to be a corporate group that contributes to the “creation of an advanced automotive society” through the realization of cars that are kind to people and the Earth.

As such, we must work to achieve world-class environmental efficiency and high resource productivity as we reduce the environmental impact of our operations. This applies not only to products and production but also to all aspects of our business activities. We are also promoting environmental management – an approach that creates economic value through environmental conservation activities.

In 2005, we formulated and announced DENSO EcoVision 2015 as a roadmap toward the realization of a “sustainable automotive society.” The objectives of EcoVision 2015 are based on reduction targets laid out by the Kyoto Protocol and

associated groups. They also conform to the IPCC’s goal of “beginning to reduce greenhouse gases by 2015 and halving them by 2050 compared with 2000 levels.”

Basic stance Since product use represents the stage with the highest CO2 emissions in the automobile lifecycle, to help prevent global warming in terms of automotive parts it is important to increase fuel efficiency through lightweight designs and high combustion efficiency.

In DENSO-related product areas, we are promoting advanced “improvements of fuel efficiency and less power consumption” through control that links systems installed in vehicles, such as engine management systems, car air conditioners and safety equipment.

Under DENSO EcoVision 2015, we have established the goals of promoting the prevention of global warming, resources recycling (reducing the use of resources) and control and reduction of environmentally hazardous substances(pollution prevention) in a targeted and ongoing manner throughout all business activities.

World-class environmental efficiency

advertorial

We have also established a series of 2010 Long-term Environmental Goals and the fourth phase of Environmental Action Plan 2010 for this purpose. Group companies share these objectives, and we are accelerating initiatives throughout the Group through an ongoing program of verification and review based on the PDCA cycle while steadily implementing our traditional basic environmental plan.

In fiscal 2009, we formulated our Three-Year Environmental Guidelines to ensure environmental initiatives by transforming into a lean corporate structure that is resilient to changes in an ever-changing global economy. We will: (1) pursue environmental efficiency in resources and energy; (2) develop technologies and products that anticipate environmental needs; (3) practice accurate risk management in response to changes; and (4) effectively promote environmental activities that resonate with society. These four objectives have been reflected in Environment Action Plan 2010 as priority initiatives. ■

DEnSo EcoVision 2015 Environmental Policies

• Eco Management: Strive to strengthen environmental management through DENSO Group collaboration from a global perspective.

• Eco Products & Eco Factory: Pursue development, design and production activities that emphasize the environment from a holistic perspective at every stage of the product lifecycle from manufacture to market use and disposal.

• Eco Friendly: Actively disseminate information and coordinate with outside entities in a way that transcends industry borders while working to communicate with all stakeholders

The Denso Dunlop Sard SC430 (39) in action during the Super GT International Series Round 4 race. June 21, 2010 in Sepang Malaysia.


More than 45 nations, states and provinces are developing REDD+ programmes to lower their carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. These have already achieved a 2% reduction in total global emissions. But this progress is under threat as rising commodity prices drive further expansion of agricultural and livestock production into forests and woodlands. If REDD+ is to realize its potential, these programmes must engage agricultural communities as partners in the transition to smart and sustainable land use.

Solidaridad participates in five commodity round tablesRound Table Responsible Soy www.responsiblesoy.org Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil www.rspo.org Bonsucro, better sugarcane initiative www.bonsucro.orgBetter Cotton Initiative www.bettercotton.org Global Roundtable Sustainable Beef www.sustainablelivestock.org

Solidaridad uses certification as a tool for developmentSolidaridad initiated certification and uses it as a tool for developmentFair trade (Solidaridad was founder in 1988)Organic (Solidaridad is partner)Utz Certified (Solidaridad was co-founder in 2002)Rainforest Alliance (Solidaridad is partner)

Solidaridad has more than 25 years experience as a transition manager for sustainable and socially responsible production, with dedicated staff on the ground in more than 30 countries. Its €70 million, four-year global producer support initiative focuses on smart and sustainable land use in five of the biggest land-consuming commodities in tropical regions: palm oil, soybeans, sugarcane, cotton and livestock. Launched in 2011 with several of the largest global food and textile companies and co-financed by the Dutch government, the programme builds on the work of five international agricultural commodity

round tables in stimulating the adoption of sound environmental and social practices.

More with lessSolidaridad is working to combine these agricultural sustainability initiatives with the REDD+ mechanism to exploit the potential synergies for preventing and reducing carbon emissions in two key areas: marginal and frontier agriculture.

In marginal areas, raising yields through low-emission practices will prevent erosion and relieve the pressure for

agricultural expansion and loss of carbon through land reclamation, while increasing farm incomes. Several tens of thousands of small-scale farmers will benefit from hands-on training modules offered by Solidaridad’s partners and staff. On the agricultural frontier, where farmers are tempted to invest in unsustainable expansion programmes at the cost of scarce biodiversity and local indigenous communities, pricing biodiversity with public REDD+ finance offers an important mechanism for compensating them for this opportunity loss. In addition, carbon credits from low-emission agriculture can be

Solidaridad Connects Low Emission Farming and REDD+

Land use is responsible for one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing these emissions is the most promising near-term pathway to mitigate climate change. Solidaridad aims to combine the REDD+ programme with agricultural sustainability initiatives like global round tables for commodities to optimize agricultural practices and maximize carbon emission reductions.

About SolidaridadSolidaridad invests in alliances between producers, companies, consumers, civil society organizations and governments to build sustainable value chains for products. Our goals are production with respect for people and planet, and reliable trade relations with improved conditions for growers. These can be achieved when companies are committed to meeting their social responsibilities and consumers know the story behind the product, allowing them to choose fair and green products. Through good governance, corporate social responsibility and an active civil society, we can develop a sustainable economy that can feed the world.

More than twenty years ago, Solidaridad laid the foundations for the fair trade movement by launching the Max Havelaar label for sustainable coffee in the Dutch market. Today, Solidaridad’s innovations have been scaled up into mainstream practices like Utz Certified coffee and cocoa, fair-trade fruit and sustainable textiles.

[email protected] +31 30 275 9450

bundled and sold on carbon markets. Together, this can create sufficient financial leverage to avert short-term deforestation threats in risk prone areas.

In the programme, small-scale and frontier farmers, civil society actors, communities, traders and municipalities are encouraged to form coalitions and embed economic mechanisms

for protecting forests and carbon-rich soils into local policies and legislation. By giving the precious ‘no go’ areas economic value and rewarding farmers for protecting soils and biodiversity, expansion can be steered to the nearby ‘go’ areas – often degraded or marginal lands that can be made fertile in a relatively short period.

Access to low carbon marketsOf course, to secure a successful future, low-emission farmers need access to good markets for their produce. Through representation on commodity round tables and precision marketing in large consumer regions, Solidaridad links farmers with dedicated brands and retailers to build markets for products sourced from sustainable landscapes.

sol_rio_3.indd 1 15-03-12 13:50

advertorial

More than 45 nations, states and provinces are developing REDD+ programmes to lower their carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. These have already achieved a 2% reduction in total global emissions. But this progress is under threat as rising commodity prices drive further expansion of agricultural and livestock production into forests and woodlands. If REDD+ is to realize its potential, these programmes must engage agricultural communities as partners in the transition to smart and sustainable land use.

Solidaridad participates in five commodity round tablesRound Table Responsible Soy www.responsiblesoy.org Roundtable Sustainable Palm Oil www.rspo.org Bonsucro, better sugarcane initiative www.bonsucro.orgBetter Cotton Initiative www.bettercotton.org Global Roundtable Sustainable Beef www.sustainablelivestock.org

Solidaridad uses certification as a tool for developmentSolidaridad initiated certification and uses it as a tool for developmentFair trade (Solidaridad was founder in 1988)Organic (Solidaridad is partner)Utz Certified (Solidaridad was co-founder in 2002)Rainforest Alliance (Solidaridad is partner)

Solidaridad has more than 25 years experience as a transition manager for sustainable and socially responsible production, with dedicated staff on the ground in more than 30 countries. Its €70 million, four-year global producer support initiative focuses on smart and sustainable land use in five of the biggest land-consuming commodities in tropical regions: palm oil, soybeans, sugarcane, cotton and livestock. Launched in 2011 with several of the largest global food and textile companies and co-financed by the Dutch government, the programme builds on the work of five international agricultural commodity

round tables in stimulating the adoption of sound environmental and social practices.

More with lessSolidaridad is working to combine these agricultural sustainability initiatives with the REDD+ mechanism to exploit the potential synergies for preventing and reducing carbon emissions in two key areas: marginal and frontier agriculture.

In marginal areas, raising yields through low-emission practices will prevent erosion and relieve the pressure for

agricultural expansion and loss of carbon through land reclamation, while increasing farm incomes. Several tens of thousands of small-scale farmers will benefit from hands-on training modules offered by Solidaridad’s partners and staff. On the agricultural frontier, where farmers are tempted to invest in unsustainable expansion programmes at the cost of scarce biodiversity and local indigenous communities, pricing biodiversity with public REDD+ finance offers an important mechanism for compensating them for this opportunity loss. In addition, carbon credits from low-emission agriculture can be

Solidaridad Connects Low Emission Farming and REDD+

Land use is responsible for one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing these emissions is the most promising near-term pathway to mitigate climate change. Solidaridad aims to combine the REDD+ programme with agricultural sustainability initiatives like global round tables for commodities to optimize agricultural practices and maximize carbon emission reductions.

About SolidaridadSolidaridad invests in alliances between producers, companies, consumers, civil society organizations and governments to build sustainable value chains for products. Our goals are production with respect for people and planet, and reliable trade relations with improved conditions for growers. These can be achieved when companies are committed to meeting their social responsibilities and consumers know the story behind the product, allowing them to choose fair and green products. Through good governance, corporate social responsibility and an active civil society, we can develop a sustainable economy that can feed the world.

More than twenty years ago, Solidaridad laid the foundations for the fair trade movement by launching the Max Havelaar label for sustainable coffee in the Dutch market. Today, Solidaridad’s innovations have been scaled up into mainstream practices like Utz Certified coffee and cocoa, fair-trade fruit and sustainable textiles.

[email protected] +31 30 275 9450

bundled and sold on carbon markets. Together, this can create sufficient financial leverage to avert short-term deforestation threats in risk prone areas.

In the programme, small-scale and frontier farmers, civil society actors, communities, traders and municipalities are encouraged to form coalitions and embed economic mechanisms

for protecting forests and carbon-rich soils into local policies and legislation. By giving the precious ‘no go’ areas economic value and rewarding farmers for protecting soils and biodiversity, expansion can be steered to the nearby ‘go’ areas – often degraded or marginal lands that can be made fertile in a relatively short period.

Access to low carbon marketsOf course, to secure a successful future, low-emission farmers need access to good markets for their produce. Through representation on commodity round tables and precision marketing in large consumer regions, Solidaridad links farmers with dedicated brands and retailers to build markets for products sourced from sustainable landscapes.

sol_rio_3.indd 1 15-03-12 13:50


Rio pathfinders leading way in sustainable developmentThe city of Rio de Janeiro is not simply the host of the Rio+20 Earth Summit. It’s also breaking new ground in developing innovative sustainable solutions for poorer communities in areas that were once off limits.

Two low-income communities, pacified in 2009, located in the heart of Rio de Janeiro on the mountain right above the high-end Leme neighbourhood, are now experiencing groundbreaking sustainable development solutions. Babilonia and Chapéu Mangueira are co-creating the Rio Sustainable City project together with the Brazilian chapter of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), in collaboration with City Hall and the State Government. The project is being managed in partnership with Axia Sustainability.

The project gathers a diversified group of companies in CEBDS’s first hands-on project aimed at implementing innovative solutions to improve the community’s quality of life and which can be replicated throughout other

urban areas around the world. It’s major singularity remains on how initiatives are developed, along with what is developed. That is why it started with a community wide comprehensive research for CEBDS to be able to begin to understand what its social, cultural and economic profile was, as well as what they wished for most in their future.

7 steps to sustainability The research results, several interviews with local leaders and with municipal, state and federal officials and specialists have led to the co-creation of seven initiatives: Sustainable Home Refurbishing, Green Urban Infrastructure, Organic Urban Agriculture, Tourism Development, Sustainability in the Home and School,


The Rio Sustainable City project is a partnership between the Brazilian chapter of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), City Hall, the State Government and Axia Sustainability.

www.cebds.org.br

57www.rioplus.org

Community Solid Waste Management and Local Entrepeneurship Development.

Some of these initiatives have transversal developments and synergies which are being fully exploited and they all contemplate the triple bottom line imperative. This has enabled the project to promote the perpetuation of the initiatives in these communities because they have their ownership and are able to understand how they will contribute to their social-economic sustainable development.

Since the project’s inception, the daily routine in both communities has been slowly changing. Residents involved in the Sustainable Home Refurbishing initiative, for instance, already know that Saturday is construction task force hands-on day. The construction capacitation course students, totalling 120 individuals, out of which 30% are women, throw themselves at the task of supporting each other in the work of remodelling their homes.

Being trained in a new trade (presently on very high demand in the market), plus the necessary technical assistance provided by the project, access to credit, building materials close to cost and collaborative work, help residents be able to overcome serious limitations to improve their quality of life.

Building a better future José Tavares is 48 yrs old, lives with his wife and daughter and works as a doorman in a nearby building. When he decided to enroll in the masonry course he envisioned an opportunity for a happy ending to a frustrating experience when, a while back, he hired a mason to remodel his home. Sadly the man hit the road with the job unfinished – half-built walls with no windows. “He left the work half-done. But now we can

do something, I want to help my colleagues because I know they will help me back,” José said.

Like José, Marlene also had the refurbishing of her home, where she lives with her sister and two nieces, interrupted after the death of her brother-in-law in 1998. At 61 years of age, retired, she decided to learn a new trade to turn her life around. “I want to help take care of our home again. I am going back to work, as a mason, have created a group, posted it on the internet, and we have already received a job request,” she said.

João Batista, a retired professional driver, enrolled to learn the plumber trade. He is also seizing the opportunity to be part of the Organic Urban Agriculture initiative, to grow organic vegetables on his roof slab. The structural soundness of the slab to support the extra weight has been evaluated by the technical assistance team, and it’s weatherproofing will be executed by João himself and other colleagues. Not only

is he learning a new profession in this project, but also putting the empty space on his roof slab to good work with the organic garden group.

Together with José and João Batista, Adriane, at the age of 42, is always present at the Saturday task-force groups. She works as a house maid, takes the masonry course in the afternoon, and goes to night school to finish high-school. With no money to pay for the work, she can now resume her dream of a nice and comfortable home. “The technical assistance team has given me great hints, like changing the bathroom door placement to allow for more ventilation. Every day I learn something new in the course. I want to grow in life!” says Adriane happily.

Marlene decided to learn a new trade to turn her life around.


rioplus magazine58

Building food and energy security in the Philippines

Ifugao’s legendary rice terraces were in danger from land degradation and deforestation until the development of a mini-hydro power plant.

In the municipality of Kiangan, some eight hours by car from the Philippine capital of Manila, the villages or barangays of Ambabag, Pindungan and Mungayang sit quietly on the steep slopes of the Cordillera in the Ifugao province. These slopes are home to both the villages and the legendary rice terraces, ancient sprawling man-made structures from 2000 years ago that are registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the Philippine’s poorest regions, Ifugao is dependent on agriculture, particularly the cultivation of rice. Ifugao farmers continue to use traditional farming practices, not only for cultivating rice in the terraced paddies but also for growing fruit trees and other vegetables. A source of life, culture and art, the rice terraces have shaped and sustained the lives of local residents for generations and continue to do so today. Deforestation, modernisation and climate change, however, threaten to destroy these terraces and as a

result, in 2001 UNESCO placed the rice terraces on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

With the idea to provide a pilot model for local sustainable energy-based development and heritage conservation, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership proposed to the Philippine government the development of a 200 kW run-of-river hydropower project on the Ambangal river, which runs through a valley between Ambabag and Pindungan. After several years of pre-feasibility, feasibility and environmental studies, including extensive public consultations, the mini-hydropower plant was successfully inaugurated on January 25, 2010.

Designed and developed by the Partnership under the leadership of the Tokyo Electric Power Company and in collaboration with the Philippine Department of Energy and the Ifugao Provincial Government,


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this project increases the supply of clean, renewable electricity to the region and, through its power sales, brings much needed funds for the restoration and conservation of the rice terraces.

Mr. Teodoro B. Baguilat Jr., the Ifugao Provincial Governor at the time of the project’s implementation felt “grateful that such project was brought to Ifugao, creating within the province its own source of green energy.” For him, “the success of the project lies in the strong local community stakeholder involvement at each phase of development.”

The US$1 million project was entirely funded by the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership members. Central to this project was the establishment of the Rice Terrace Conservation Fund that helps finance local terrace conservation activities. Based on the feasibility studies’ financial analyses, the project’s power sales to the local electricity distribution cooperative, IFELCO, will secure around US$70,000 annually for the conservation fund. Since its inauguration, 10 rice terrace conservation projects have been implemented.

The Ifugao-Ambangal hydropower facility benefits the residents in several ways. In the short term, 180 local

jobs were created raising the level of income in the community, with 6 permanent jobs for the operations of the plant. The plant generates at its maximum 1,443 MWh of reliable and clean electricity, meeting 18% of the province’s needs, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 633,000 kg of CO2 per year.

After a two-year monitoring period, the Partnership, satisfied with the power plant’s operation and maintenance in the foreseeable future, oversaw the transfer of the full ownership of the project assets to the Provincial Government of Ifugao in December 2011.

The protection of a heritage site and new energy development come together in this project in a productive blending of the past and the present, conferring value to a people’s heritage and preserving it for the future. This project demonstrates that natural resources can be developed in a sustainable manner to provide reliable income and protect the environment and cultural legacy.

The Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (formerly e8) is a non-profit organization, composed of the world’s leading electricity companies, whose mission is to play an active role in global electricity issues and to promote sustainable energy development through demonstration projects and workshops.

www.globalelectricity.org

Ambangal powerhouse composed of a power generating equipment room, an operators room and accommodation in a traditional house.

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FAPESP

The city of Rio de Janeiro will host the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, from 20 to 22 June 2012. With the objective of securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development, the major themes of the Conference will be: The Green economy in the context of sustainable development, poverty eradication; and the institutional framework for sustainable development.

At the heart of the Rio+20 Summit, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Convention for Biodiversity (CBD), will be hosting an important exhibit, The Rio

Conventions Pavilion, to show their work in supporting a sustainable future.

FAPESP, the São Paulo Research Foundation, one of the leading research funding agencies in Brazil, will be one of the sponsors of this important activity. As a major funder for research closely associated to the themes of the Conference, we want to highlight three relevant Science Programs supported by FAPESP that are and will be producing key scientific knowledge to support sustainable development. They are the BIOTA www.fapesp.br/en/biota, BIOEN www.fapesp.br/en/bioen, and Global Climate Change www.fapesp.br/en/frpgcc Programs. ■

Research for sustainability

Created in 1999, the BIOTA-FAPESP Program has as its main objective to catalogue and characterize the biodiversity of the State of São Paulo, defining the mechanisms for its conservation, evaluating its economic potential, and estimating its sustainable use. Biota-FAPESP involves around 1,200 professionals (900 researchers and students from São Paulo, 150 collaborators from other states and 80 from abroad).

The BIOEN Program has three main goals: a) Increasing sugarcane yield through the use of novel practices, breeding and the biotechnological route; b) Evaluating and mitigating the environmental, social and economical impacts of bioenergy production; and c) Generating knowledge that guarantees Brazil´s leadership in the global bioenergy research and industry, operating with 5 divisions:a. Division of Biomass Research, with

focus on sugarcane and including plant improvement and sugarcane farming

b. Division of Ethanol Industrial Technologies

c. Division of Bio-refineries Technologies and Alcohol Chemistry

d. Division of Ethanol Applications for Motor Vehicles: Otto cycle engines and fuel cells, and

e. Division of Research on Impacts: Social and economic, environmental studies, land use, intellectual property.

The FAPESP Research Program on Global Climate Change was created in 2008. It supports research projects for up to 6 years, performed by large and multidisciplinary teams. One of its major goals is to put together, by 2013, a Brazilian Model of the Global Earth System, with a focus on key regional issues, and to model the different components of the climate system. The research areas around which the program is structured are:1. Functioning of the ecosystems:

biodiversity and carbon and nitrogen cycles;

2. Balance of atmospheric radiation, aerosols, trace gases and change in land use;

3. Climate change and agriculture and livestock farming;

4. Energy and cycle of greenhouse gases;5. Climate modelling on global scale;6. Impacts of climate change on health;7. Human actions, impacts and

responses: human dimensions of global environmental changes.

Rua Pio XI, 1500 – Alto da Lapa05468-901, São Paulo, SP, BrazilPhone: +55 11 3838-4000www.fapesp.br

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FAPESP, the São Paulo Research Foundation, is one of the main research funding agencies in Brazil. With a budget of US$ 500 million, it supports more than 11,000 scholarships and 8,000 research awards. FAPESP’s Young Investigators Awards envisage creating new research groups led by highly promising early-career scientists in any field of knowledge and from any country. Selected candidates receive competitive fellowships and sizable research funds. Candidates are encouraged to develop their projects with higher education and research institutes from the State of São Paulo. FAPESP’s São Paulo Chair of Excellence is targeted at highly accomplished scientists who seek to develop a long-term research project in São Paulo/Brazil. The successful candidate shall stay at a Research Institute/University in São Paulo at least 12 weeks per year (not necessarily continuous), during 3 to 5 years. He or she will be the PI of the approved proposal, with all the benefits of a regular Thematic Project from FAPESP (funds for travels, research, post-docs, PhD’s students, etc.; they do not have to be necessarily Brazilians). It is desirable that he or she be engaged in teaching and advises PhD’s students at the Brazilian support institution. Support may also be given to bring his or her students from the home country for short period visits. Highlighted research areas are: biodiversity, bioenergy, climate and environmental changes, materials science, optics and photonics, urban studies and violence. Proposals in other fields will be considered. All proposals shall be selected through peer-review process.

For further information: http://www.fapesp.br/en

Young InvestIgators and accomplIshed scIentIsts awards In São Paulo, Brazil


Communities have a role to play in climate mitigation, as the example of the Oddar Meanchey province in Cambodia proves, writes Amanda Bradley from development NGO Pact.

“When trees are lost it makes the earth warmer and there are more disasters like big storms, so that creates problems for everyone,” explains Din Heng, the elected Community Forestry leader for the remote Dung Beng village in Cambodia.

For years, he and other community members have witnessed firsthand unwelcome changes in the local climate such as increased flooding and drought, but recently they are beginning to understand the broader connections between forests and climate change, as well as the community’s important role in contributing to mitigation.

Grouping together The REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) mechanism recognizes and aims to compensate the role of developing countries in protecting their existing forests. It is on this basis that the Oddar Meanchey Community Forestry REDD project was initiated in 2008.

The Oddar Meanchey REDD+ pilot project brings together 13 community forestry management groups in partnership with the Cambodian Forestry Administration, civil society organizations and private actors in sustainable forest management.

Since the formal establishment of Oddar Meanchey province in 1999, multiple factors including population increase, resettlement, logging and economic land concessions have contributed to an escalating rate of deforestation and forest degradation within this remote territory.

The Oddar Meanchey REDD project addresses these multiple drivers of deforestation and forest degradation through a range of activities including reinforcing land tenure, land-use planning, forest protection, awareness raising, agricultural intensification and assisted natural regeneration of degraded land.


Cutting carbon, not trees By Amanda Bradley.

Amanda Bradley is CFP Director at Pact Cambodia.

Buddhist monks play a leading role in one of the largest CF areas in the project. Monks participate in all forest management activities including patrols, fire control measures, and biomass assessment. Photo © A Bradley.

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Multiple benefits Using an accredited methodology under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), the Oddar Meanchey project aims to mitigate climate change, improve local livelihoods and protect forests and biodiversity.

Over the 30-year span of the project, approximately 8.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide will be sequestered. This generates revenues through sales of carbon credits on the voluntary market – revenues which will be used to support forest protection and community development.

The project also provides critical biodiversity benefits since the project’s forests are home to a wide range of threatened and endangered flora and fauna species, including banteng, green peafowl, and leopard.

The Oddar Meanchey project is a model of community-based REDD+ whereby communities play a leading role and have secure rights to forest land and carbon benefits.

The project demonstrates strong multi-stakeholder partnership between government, civil society, and the private sector.

“The communities here don’t protect the forest only for their own benefit. Actually the communities that protect the forest are participating in protecting the climate both here and in the world,” according to the CF network leader, Sa Thlay.

With recognition of this important role for local communities, the best practice developed in Oddar Meanchey may have broader implications for how REDD+ unfolds across the globe.

The Oddar Meanchey project aims to ensure that women’s important role in forest use and management is recognized and rewarded. Photo © A Bradley.

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Ten of Cambodia’s forest-dwelling endangered species

» Sun Bear» Asiatic Black Bear» Sunda Pangolin (pictured)» Banteng» Clouded Leopards

» Indochinese Tiger» Germain’s Silver Langur» Asian Elephants» Black-Shanked Douc» Kouprey or Grey Ox

Source: WWF

Pact is a US-based non-profit development organization working to improve people’s lives in more than 30 developing countries. Pact combines approaches of better governance, capacity development, and engaging markets, in the areas of health, livelihoods, and natural resources management. In Cambodia, Pact is the implementing partner for the country’s first REDD project.



By Alice Harrison.

Alice Harrison is Communications and

Advocacy Coordinator for the Climate Governance Integrity Programme at Transparency

International.


Guarding your money and reputation against risk

Billions of dollars in climate finance are being mobilised to enable sustainable development projects around the world. The private sector will play a crucial role in ensuring that it is effective. Alice Harrison from anti-corruption NGO Transparency International explains why the future we want is one without bribes.

Low carbon development is not only an existential necessity; given the ambitious transformations in infrastructure and technology required it also offers a huge market with substantial returns. Public coffers are not enough to bear the costs of mitigating and adapting to climate change, so governments will also be looking to stimulate investment in the form of grants, feed-in-tariffs, tax breaks and soft loans. Despite this, many businesses are hesitant to invest. Why?

Corruption risks In part because of corruption, which blights clean business in many of the countries for which climate finance is destined. Corruption distorts competition, notwithstanding the reputational and legal risks entailed when bribery is exposed, data found to be inflated or falsified, or money siphoned off. Current enforcement trends mean that companies are also increasingly being held accountable for their supply chains, subsidiaries and equity holdings. Since 2008, 58 companies settling foreign bribery cases with US authorities have paid

$64.5 million per case, in total $3.74 billion in penalties, disgorgement, and interest.

Where do the biggest risks lie? The grand majority of climate finance will be channeled through the construction sector; one of the most corruption-prone industries. It can involve a myriad of contractors and sub-contractors, complicating the tracing of payments and promulgating standards of practice. Contracts are also usually large and the projects unique, making them difficult to benchmark for costs and time. Corruption in construction can lead to key infrastructure projects being overpriced and delayed, not to mention sub-standard and even dangerous. If money destined for climate mitigation technology or the infrastructure required to guard us against extreme storms, droughts and floods is lost to corruption, we’re all in serious trouble.

How do we mitigate those risks? Shying away from climate investment is not the answer.

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Rather, businesses need to take proactive measures to address governance challenges. Managing risks well will give companies a competitive advantage and a strong reputation; both crucial tenets of sustainable business. Proofing private investment against loss or reputational damage means adhering to high standards of transparency and accountability, and guarantees that business does business with integrity.

One tried-and-tested corruption deterrent is a Transparency International integrity pact: an agreement between a government agency and all bidders for a public contract. The pact stipulates rights and obligations to the effect that neither side will pay, offer, demand or accept bribes; collude with competitors to obtain a contract; or engage in corruption while executing it. Independent experts monitor the process to ensure compliance throughout.

Integrity in action Transparencia Mexicana oversaw the contracting of the El Cajón hydropower project. The winning bid was 8.5% less (approximately US$64 million) than the expected price based on previous bidding trends.

When TI Pakistan introduced an integrity pact to the country’s Greater Karachi Water Supply project it was

completed ahead of schedule at a total cost US$10 million less than estimated.

In both countries integrity pacts have been made mandatory for national level contracts above a certain threshold.

Benefits of cutting corruption The pacts pay off. They allow businesses to compete for contracts on a level playing field, knowing that competitors cannot bribe their way into a contract. The agreements also simplify administrative procedures and decrease litigation, and translate to better value for taxpayers’ money, a more hospitable investment climate and increased public support for government and companies alike.

Rio+20 delegations have called on business and industry to show leadership in advancing a green economy. Working with governments and civil society to safeguard climate and development investment against corruption will be a crucial component of fair and effective growth. Ensuring that the green economy is a clean economy is the only way to guarantee that it’s truly sustainable.

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Agroamerica

Agroamerica supports a green economy in the context of poverty alleviation, sustainable development and the preservation of natural resources, and contributes to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

We are challenging “business as usual”The scarcity of natural resources has encouraged our industry to design innovative ways of increasing production, always caring for the environment. Some of our projects that achieve this are:

• Precision agriculture and water efficiency. We have invested in the latest technology for precision agriculture for our plantations, thus reducing water usage and costs by 20 per cent while maintaining record yields.

• Carbon capture and clean energy. We are the first Guatemalan palm oil company to have a United Nations Clean Development Mechanism Project and Carbon Emission Reduction issuance in the region. We capture over 30,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide and use biogas generators to produce a total of 7.5MW/hr of clean energy for sale to the national electric grid. Our goal is to become carbon negative in our operations.

• Recycling. We have reduced costs per box by 7 per cent, and plastic bag usage by 66 per cent, implementing the use of environmentally friendly materials.

• Reforestation. Thousands of trees have been planted to improve air quality, groundwater, and to create a protective barrier against erosion and flooding. We have re-planted areas with native plant species and we have declared these forests as private reserves in the region. Also we are members of the Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala Association (ARNPG).

• Renewable Energy. With the 102 MW installed, our investment in this project of renewable energy in Central America will provide the total energy needed for approximately 400,000 persons and will replace 70% of energy previously produced from fossil fuels (mainly bunker).

We implement good environmental practices and hold certifications with global standards that improve the supply chain and care for the environment:Agroamerica is the first company in the world to receive global certification from Rainforest Alliance Certified (RAC), and Business Alliance for Secure Commerce (BASC), and are certified with Global Gap. Also we are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and at this moment we are on the processes to become the first company certified in the region by RSPO.

Agroamerica has implemented social programs in alliance with local governments, NGOs, universities and community leaders to help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of environmental sustainability, poverty and hunger eradication, universal education, and child and maternal health. One of these programs, called Better Families, focuses on improving the health and nutrition of women and children. Currently we have 750 mothers participating and more than 880 children monitored in 10 rural villages.

Agroamerica has become the first company nationwide to sign up as a Living Wage Employer to promote the wellbeing of the families and the personnel of its banana and palm oil plantations.

We encourage businesses to prioritize community development and sustainability in their business strategies to be competitive worldwide. Our corporate vision is to be an example for the rest of the countries in the world in the agricultural industry, by using more efficient and productive systems which create a positive impact on the environment, our employees, and the communities around us, for the development of Guatemala. ■www.agroamerica.com

Agroamerica’s contribution to sustainable development

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Innovations, Clean Tech & EntrepreneursToday is an exciting time to be an entrepreneur. Access to information technology has given millions the tools to develop new solutions, innovate nations out of poverty and transform the way we live. This section provides an overview of some of best and brightest technologies using creative ideas to cultivate bold new solutions for the road towards sustainable development.


Belgium’s Antarctic team explain how their base is at the cutting edge of energy efficiency and renewable technology p.80-81

innovations, clean tech & entrepreneurs

Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International and Nathan Goode, head of environment, energy and sustainability at Grant Thornton UK explain what’s holding back investment in the green economy.

The challenge of developing a low carbon global economy has been with us for decades. However, we have entered a new phase on the route to decarbonisation following the financial crisis in 2008, further complicating the agenda for Rio+20.

A complex relationship has developed between the economic and the environmental agendas, which confusingly, seem sometimes to be in alignment and sometimes, diametrically opposed to one another. The low carbon agenda is a world of stimulus, subsidy and policy intervention, which are necessary enablers on the road to commercialisation. This means that while the cleantech sector globally appears to be booming, there are potentially some big challenges ahead.

For a time many governments were content to provide substantial support which low carbon industries absorbed. However, even in the ‘good times,’ the state was only ever going to provide a small part of the finance needed to meet the targets set. Now intensive financial pressures are forcing the policy-makers to think much harder about the value that this kind of investment delivers and to make some difficult choices.

At the same time, securing private capital for long term investment in the low carbon sector is becoming more difficult. Part of the reason lies outside the sector in the global financial volatility that currently reigns, but part of it lies in the sector, in the gap between expectation and reality as the return on capital in the low carbon sector has so far failed to materialise. This is potentially translating into a shortage of capital from government and global financial markets, just at the time when the renewables sector needs to scale up.

Value for money One answer is for the state to become the banker, bridging the investment gap and looking for a return on its investment rather than simply giving taxpayers’

money away – a role currently played by bodies such as the European Investment Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank and planned for the UK’s new Green Investment Bank.

In macro terms, governments and private sector investors are right to require value for money from the low carbon sector – we all need renewables to be

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Long-term vision needed to boost renewables sector

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commercially viable to compete with carbon emitting forms of generation. The last thing we want is a series of technologies that are subsidy junkies. But we are seeing short term turbulence as governments make sometimes brutal adjustments to green stimuli and investors sit on their hands.

Part of the problem lies in the difficulty the market has in accurately valuing the intellectual and other non-financial capitals that are embedded in companies within new industry sectors, such as low carbon. Until companies and investors break out of the current

short term mind-set, high growth companies will find it difficult to attract and retain the commitment of investors throughout the company’s commercial development cycle and towards ultimate profitability.

Information plays a crucial role in enabling efficient capital allocation – and the information flow is particularly important for companies that depend on a high turnover of investors during the different phases of technological and commercial development. Innovative developments in the provision of company information are gaining momentum and high growth sectors could benefit from adopting Integrated Reporting, a method that reflects the full range of factors that link the business strategy to long term value with the aim of building the confidence of investors over the short, medium and long term.

Measurement and assurance The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) will be publishing a framework within the next two years and its early work demonstrates the extent to which measurement and assurance will be critical factors in gaining acceptance of Integrated Reporting globally. These aspects of the corporate reporting dynamic are where accountants and advisors can offer most expertise, by ensuring the different contributors

of value are properly measured and communicated to stakeholders. Moreover, the provision of a high level of assurance will be a crucial ingredient in increasing investors’ ability to make high quality investment decisions.

Another key ingredient is the cost to the user – both businesses and individuals. Again, the picture is complex. Neither the challenges nor the opportunities for consumers are being articulated effectively and honestly at the moment. Are renewables going to lead to long term high power prices or are they in

fact part of the solution? What are the true costs of some of the alternatives such as nuclear power and the hidden subsidies of the fossil fuels they are designed to replace? Can consumers be persuaded to invest for the future by reducing consumption or adopting new forms of generation?

Complex answers Perhaps the biggest risk is that debates about the future of energy become polarised and adversarial – nuclear versus renewables; cost of energy versus the green agenda; government intervention versus market forces, etc – when the answers are complex and evolving and the solutions collaborative and multi-faceted.

There is a part for everyone to play in smoothing the road ahead - a need for governments to introduce stability, simplicity and transparency into policy frameworks; industry to pursue a relentless focus on commercialisation; consumers to stop taking cheap energy for granted; NGOs to constructively engage with global capital; and finally for investors to step in to the water to help shape the solutions that will free up the flow of finance. We do not expect Rio+20 to solve all these issues but moving this debate forward requires them to be placed high on the agenda.

Grant Thornton is one of the world’s leading organisations of independent assurance, tax and advisory firms. It employs over 31,000 people, across 100 countries.

www.grant-thornton.co.uk

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Embedding Information and communications technology (ICT) at the heart of every business’s long-term strategy can offer huge returns. Leading blue-chip company Intel estimate the industry could facilitate global emission reductions of 15% by 2020.

Recent studies have estimated the ICT industry’s contribution to the world’s energy and carbon footprint to be 2% and rising. A major focus of government policy in recent years has been on reducing the growth of ICT’s direct footprint. Many of these same studies, however, have highlighted the significant role ICT can play in reducing the footprint of the rest of society - the other 98% - through the energy efficiency gains such technologies can help enable.

The Climate Group and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) in 2008 produced a report entitled, “Smart 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age” that

found that ICT strategies could reduce global carbon emissions by up to 15% in 2020 against a baseline of business as usual.

A 2008 Boston Consulting Group report found that smart technologies have the potential to reduce U.S. CO2 emissions by as much as 22% by 2020 through the concerted application of broadband and ICT in four areas: Smart Power Grids, Smart Roads, Smart Buildings and Travel Substitution. A 22% reduction would mean $240 billion in cost savings or a reduction of 36% in imported oil. Similar reports have been completed for China and India through the Digital Energy Solutions Campaign (DESC).

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ICT solutions saving business money and cutting emissions

Intel Corporation is the world’s largest semiconductor company and the leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Intel believes that climate change is not only an environmental issue, but an important societal challenge that warrants a serious policy response. Intel’s contribution to meeting this challenge includes mitigating our own impact, leading our industry and engaging at the policy level.

www.intel.com


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If integrated into the economy, ICT can potentially reduce carbon emissions in China by 13-18% of the intensity reduction targets by 2020. An example of this is in the industrial sector which consumes approximately 70% of China’s energy. Zhejiang SUPCON Technology Ltd, a pioneer in “smart motor” technologies, provides total ICT solutions and products across industrial sectors and public utilities.

The applications of its intelligent plant automation system (InPlant) has been installed in over 6,000 worldwide facilities of oil and gas, petrochemical, chemical, electric power generation, cement, pulp and paper, and metallurgy. The improved industrial process automation through the system has given significant economic and environmental benefits to users by averagely increasing 19.2% of product quality and improving 13.5% of productivity resulting in reduced energy consumption by 3-5 % and reduced waste. At the national level, emission reduction potential from ICT enabled smart motors is 286 MtCO2 in 2020.

In India, ICT solutions can lead to emission reductions of 8-10% of the estimated GHG emissions in 2030 for

specific sectors. Street lighting in India constitutes about 13% of the country’s total electrical energy consumption. Considering that there are a vast number of streets connected to a common line, it is a cumbersome task to maintain and control these systems.

In this respect, implementation of ICT enabled advanced technology solutions can provide for greater convenience in street lighting management and quality, apart from delivering energy savings due to enhanced energy efficiency of lighting equipment.

A smart street lighting energy conservation project implemented by Bangalore Development Authority reduced energy consumption of the town towards street lighting to the tune of 40-45%. Assuming street light energy consumption of 450 terawatt hours in 2030 in the business as usual scenario, ICT-enabled street lighting management systems can reduce energy consumption by as much as 135 terawatt hours, resulting in emission reductions to the tune of 116 MtCO2 in 2030.


The planet’s roads are becoming increasingly congested. This affects our health, the economy and the environment. At Rio+20 the Share the Road initiative is pushing an agenda aimed at make getting around safer, easier and cleaner if you’re on two legs, two wheels or in a car.

One of the most immediate challenges is the rise in global road traffic deaths and injuries. Together with the environmental concerns of rising emissions levels, this means that a safe and sustainable transport policy has become part of the Rio+20 agenda.

Worldwide, vehicle ownership is projected to double in the next decade, with the increase taking place entirely in developing countries. Yet the majority of people in these countries are unlikely ever to own a car. And it is exactly these people who are overwhelmingly affected by road traffic crashes and other consequences of road traffic, including poor air quality.

Designing safe transportation, urban planning and land use policies around the needs of local communities has to be a sustainable development priority and a pre-requisite for building the ‘green economy’ of the future.

When the UN issued its Resolution proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety from 2011-2020 it

acknowledged the linkage between road safety and sustainable development. It described road traffic injuries as a major public health problem which, if unaddressed, “may affect the sustainable development of countries and hinder progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.”

This is the situation: economic growth and the rise of the middle class in developing countries are increasing demand for cars. Meanwhile, population growth and urbanisation are putting more people – especially children – in harm’s way.

In Nairobi or Mumbai, too often children have to negotiate six or eight lane highways to get to school without safe crossings. The result, predictably, is rising numbers of casualties, and a drain on development with families plunged further into poverty.

Leading development experts have also recognised that the failure to address road safety goes beyond

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Safer roads and sustainable development

By Saul Billingsley.

Saul Billingsley is the Director of the Road Safety Fund.

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the immediate toll of death and injury to undermine key objectives of poverty alleviation, child survival and climate change.

UN Special Advisor on the MDGs, Professor Jeffrey Sachs recently described road safety as a crucial part of the overall effort to combat poverty and keep communities safe in developing countries.

Failing to include road safety in the agenda of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, and the consequent neglect of the issue in international development which followed, has arguably contributed to the increase in death and disability on the world’s roads. The same mistake must not be repeated at Rio+20.

Share the Road: walking the talk For a majority of the world’s people the main mode of travel remains their two feet. And bicycles outnumber cars 2:1. Yet motorised transport dominates the road space.

Now, in an initiative for the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is encouraging greater emphasis on non-motorized transport (NMT), and a safe and fair share of road space for pedestrians and cyclists.

This is a critical part of the Rio+20 sustainable transport agenda. NMT investment can make a vital contribution to reducing the toll of road traffic injuries and achieve wider environmental impacts. It means putting the health and quality of life of communities at the forefront of the planning agenda.

Through a Road Safety Fund grant from the FIA Foundation and resourcing from UNEP for ‘Share the Road,’ a policy and technical toolkit will help re-design urban road systems on three principles: accessibility, environment and safety.

As UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner says: “The concept of ‘Share the Road’ is to try and influence those who design, plan and finance roads to think more broadly.

“In a city context it reflects that many more people would be able to use their own means of transport to get to work – bicycles, by foot, or to better connect to public transport – if they actually had a safe means to get to a taxi stand or to be able to cycle to work.”

‘Share the Road’ aims to demonstrate that investing in NMT facilities can benefit policy objectives such as improving air quality, tackling climate change, reducing obesity and preventing road traffic injuries.

A pilot project in Nairobi has already implemented high quality pavements and cycle lanes on a major urban road, and provided safe connections for pedestrians and cyclists to public transport hubs. The next phase will see pilot programmes in other African countries.

Rio+20 is an opportunity to extend the dialogue around the Clean Revolution and encourage businesses and leading figures to work together to implement a swift and massive scaling-up of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.

The FIA Foundation is an independent UK registered charity which supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility, as well as funding motor sport safety research. www.fiafoundation.org


Volvo Group

Future development Developing tomorrow’s transport solutions today

Growing populations and further urbanization puts increasing demands on sustainable and efficient urban transport solutions. Such solutions must address traffic safety, reduce accidents and reduce congestion and emissions. Volvo Group is actively participating in the development of future transport solutions worldwide.

Future transport solutionsEfficient transport systems is crucial for economic and societal development. We actively participate in discussing and promoting future transport development and policy making in different forums worldwide.

The future transport infrastructure for both freight and public transports will have to be more efficient, for instance in terms of increased utilization; this is a priority for the Volvo Group.

Three examples of how the Volvo Group is contributing to future transport solutions are the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Green Corridors and the development of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).

Growing populations and increased urbanization increase demands on sustainable and efficient urban transport solutions.

About the VolVo GroupThe Volvo Group is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications and aerospace components.

The Volvo Group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. The Group has about 100,000 employees, production facilities in 20 countries and sells its products in more than 190 markets.

Global strengthSince the streamlining towards commercial vehicles was initiated more than ten years ago, the Volvo Group has grown into one of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy-duty trucks, buses and construction equipment and is today also a leading manufacturer of heavy-duty diesel engines, marine and industrial engines as well as engine components for the aerospace industry.

Strong positions• One of the world’s largest manufacturers of trucks.• No. 3 in construction equipment.• One of the world’s largest manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel

engines.• Strong positions also in the other business areas.• Good market presence globally.

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Leading in BRT – efficient bus concept for growing citiesBus Rapid Transit (BRT) is a highly efficient public transport concept designed to meet growing transport demands in cities around the world. The key elements of BRT are:• High-capacity buses• Exclusive bus and/or freight transport lanes• Off-board ticketing• Level boarding• Priority at intersections• Traffic control• Passenger information

Bus Rapid Transit is a solution offered by Volvo Buses and has been especially developed for Latin America. Volvo Buses was a partner in the first BRT system in the world, in Curitiba, Brazil at the end of the 1970s. Volvo Group has supplied more buses for BRT systems than any other supplier. Cities where we work on BRT systems include:• Curitiba in Brazil• Bogotá in Colombia• Mexico City in Mexico• Gothenburg in Sweden• York in BritainBus Rapid Transit is a solution offered by Volvo Buses especially developed for Latin America.

Intelligent Transport Systems contribute to efficiency Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) is a concept that will contribute to the more efficient use of infrastructure and transport solutions in the future.

Intelligent transport systems can reduce impact on the environment, and increase safety and security through realtime traffic information, remote monitoring, and communication between transport vehicles and the infrastructure.

The Volvo Group participates in Swedish ITS projects as well as in the EU ITS action plan. Read more about ITS on www.volvogroup.com

Green Corridors for efficient transportation The aim of Green Corridors is to increase efficiency and safety on highways through specially adapted transport stretches for heavy duty traffic, while reducing environmental impact. This is done by concentrating goods traffic on efficient highways, sea routes and railways that complement one another.

Did you know?Volvo Buses was a partner in the first BRT system in the world in Curitiba, Brazil at the end of the 1970s. ■


Cemig

Light for all in Brazil

Cemig is always and continuously searching for improvements in its corporate sustainability performance in a manner that is integrated with its strategy, both of which are established and stated in its mission and vision statements. The Company’s businesses are run based on the due analysis of all socioeconomic and environmental impacts, also considering the risks and opportunities brought about by climate changes.

This performance is reflected in Cemig’s inclusion in several sustainability ratings and indices, and its being the only company in the Latin American electric energy sector to have been listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World (DJSI World) since the creation of the index.

Boasting a predominantly renewable energy matrix, as renewable sources correspond to 99% of the entire electric energy generated by the company’s generation system, Cemig invests in the diversification and the quality of its services, expanding its businesses and focusing on a low-carbon economy.

Cemig also carries out several programs featuring a broad socioeconomic scope, such as “Light for All” which provides for

the connection of electric energy service at rural properties, thus leading to improved quality of life for the families benefitting from the program. In 2011, “Light for All” benefitted 41,836 rural properties.

Within the realm of energy efficiency, Cemig’s directive is to implement projects focused on low income communities, fostering a culture of efficiency in electric energy use. The “Conviver Solar” program has already installed 3,380 solar panels for shower-water heating, which has led to a reduction in electric energy consumption of up to 40%. In rural areas, Cemig replaces the irrigation systems used by smaller family farms with more efficient equipment through the “Conviver Rural Jaíba” program.

In 2011, 424 irrigation systems were replaced, providing for savings of up to 57% in electric energy and 45% in water, in addition to improving the income and the quality of life of those using the systems. The “Metropolitan and Interior Conviver” project carried out actions, in 2011 alone, involving 132,327 families from low income communities in an effort to raise awareness regarding efficient, safe and legal ways of using electric energy.

This action saw the replacement of obsolete appliances and equipment (incandescent light bulbs, refrigerators and electric shower heads) with new and more efficient ones. Special mention should be made of the “Fields of Light” program, which installs lighting systems at amateur soccer fields located in several different municipalities in the state, allowing for cultural and sporting events to take place in the evening. ■ www.cemig.com.br

Cemig is one of the largest and most important power utilities in Brazil. It manages a portfolio of assets in segments such as power generation, transmission and distribution, in addition to the distribution of natural gas and data transmission.

Cemig operates a 360MW hydroelectric power project in Irapé, one of the poorest regions in Minas Gerais state.

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Charles Purshouse, Vice President, Carbon Services, Camco North America explains why it is vital the price for carbon is managed effectively if it is to incentivize green growth.

The oversupply of allowances in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) and the recession has resulted in a significant reduction in the market price for carbon allowances and carbon credits. Project developers, and governments within Europe, who were hoping to see a steadily rising price of carbon incentivize the adoption of new technologies are looking at other policy approaches to encourage the development of clean energy and low-emissions projects.

A carbon floor price mechanism – either enforced by setting a floor price for the auction of allowances or by some kind of central carbon bank removing allowances from the market when prices drop below a certain level – is in place in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the U.S. and is proposed for California’s and Quebec’s cap-and-trade programs due to start in 2013, and for Australia’s in 2015. As a project developer, Camco see floor prices,

Carbon Price Floors – a vital tool but no silver bullet


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particularly in the early years of a program, as helpful in underpinning forward price discovery and greater confidence to project investors that carbon revenues will be able to provide investment returns.

Investor certainty Many projects in the energy space have a two to three year development horizon (or longer) and rely on long term offtake agreements for the energy and other attributes they generate to demonstrate to investors and debt providers that their funds will be repaid. Price floors have the potential to allow investors to have greater certainty over the carbon revenue stream, helping the development of projects and technologies which are strongly reliant on a price on carbon to be viable. In the early stages of a market, this is particularly important.

There are some caveats: Whilst creating a degree of price certainty, price floors can also add additional risks; i.e., will they be changed at a later date? For example, discussions are underway within RGGI on whether to increase the auction price floor. If a price floor is not transparently fixed and subject to a clear review process its benefit to developers will be limited and could create additional confusion, adding further political risk into any investment appraisal.

Once created, the likelihood that politicians will want to adjust the level of a price floor should not be underestimated.

Further, price floors should not be seen as the silver bullet that will suddenly support prices and galvanize investment. As carbon credits from offset projects are not auctioned and are generated outside of a capped system a price floor would only have an indirect effect on the market. An oversupply of carbon credits could, for example, result in prices for credits dropping below the price floor.

No substitute for ambition Allowance price floors provide a measure of certainty for developers of low-carbon projects. With a number of cap-and-trade schemes currently pending implementation they should encourage the initial development and roll-out of new technologies and projects to meet the demand for reductions in the early phases of a program. With many investors cautious of the returns provided through carbon markets they can help to underwrite future carbon revenue streams. However, price floors can create additional risks. Ultimately, price floors should not be a substitute for the real driver for investment into low-emissions technology: the level of ambition of the emissions cap.

Camco is a global developer of clean energy projects and solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with operations in the US, the UK, China, Africa, Russia and SEA.

www.camcoglobal.com


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Sustainability at the bottom of the world


The Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research base shows that sustainability can be achieved anywhere. The station combines technology, ingenuity and lots of determination to allow scientists to study this unique ecosystem with minimal impact.

Harsh Antarctic winds and 24-hour sunlight fuel Belgium’s zero emission polar science research station, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. The state-of-the-art building, perched on a rocky outcrop above the polar ice cap, was designed and is operated by the International Polar Foundation on behalf of the Belgian Polar Secretariat, and created through the cooperation of public and private partners.

The station welcomes scientists from around the world who travel to Antarctica to study its unique environment and serves as a beacon of how we can leave lighter footprint on the Earth’s environment, and a strong reminder of the integral role played by the polar regions in our planet’s climate mechanisms.

Smart grid Buildings accounts for over 40% of global carbon emissions according to the IEA; Princess Elisabeth Antarctica responds to this challenge by using efficient building technologies to minimise energy needs. The station uses an innovative micro smart grid to regulate and prioritise electricity use, making it three times more efficient than any existing conventional energy network. The smart grid power demand management also influences human behaviour, such as how we use energy; scientists and staff quickly learn the importance of not wasting electricity.

But smart grids aren’t just for Antarctica, or for the cutting edge of scientific endeavour – while Princess Elisabeth station demonstrates new ways for harnessing readily accessible energy technology, these new ways are now being put to use in mainstream projects that redefine how we use energy in homes, offices and schools in every town and city across the world.

Building a base Princess Elisabeth Antarctica travelled from the drawing board to reality by enlisting the power and know-how of multiple partners who helped finance, develop and complete the project. By combining the mobility of a small reactive team of workers on the ice of Antarctica, and the strength of corporate and public partners who understood the importance of polar science and the goal of zero emissions, the International Polar Foundation acted as a catalyst to show how a strong spirit of entrepreneurship between business, governments and citizens can achieve a low carbon future, and successfully meet the climate challenge.

The innovative technology and equipment used at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica are the fruit of know-how from Belgium and beyond. Laborelec (GDF-Suez) and Schneider Electric collaborated to create and implement the micro smart grid. 3E, the Von Karman Institute, Philippe Samyn & Partners provided engineering input, ADW Software

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developed the surveying program and Lemants created the support metal structure. Smet-Boring handled the station’s ground anchoring. BESIX, Belgium’s largest construction firm, coordinated the on-site construction of the building and Cherbai took care of the interior design.

The science Princess Elisabeth Antarctica continues to uphold the values of cooperation, by becoming a nexus of international scientific cooperation, where researchers strive to further our understanding of the Polar Regions, of our climate and our planet – working to anticipate changes, and to communicate their findings to the wider public.

During the 2011-2012 season, geologists, glaciologists, microbiologists, seismologists and meteorologists from Belgium, Germany and Japan worked at Princess Elisabeth, the largest and most logistically demanding season at the station since operations began in 2008.

In cooperation with the corporate sector, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica will continue to develop its capacity for zero emission operations, by constantly improving its energy systems; it’s also set to apply the zero emission factor to transport and mobility, with future prototypes of electric field vehicles planned for scientists’ logistics in the field.

The successful use of renewable energy and energy efficiency at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica shows that it is possible to meet our climate obligations by choosing new ways of behaving when it comes to using energy in our homes, workplaces and cities, so that we can lay the groundwork for a truly sustainable economy.

By Birgit Fremault and Alain Hubert.

Birgit Fremault is Environment Advisor to the FEB (Federation of Enterprises in Belgium),

Alain Hubert is President of the International Polar Foundation.

www.antarcticstation.org

Princess Elisabeth Antarctica: First Zero Emission Research Station. Photo: © René Robert - International Polar Foundation.

PEA finished station. Photo: © René Robert - International Polar Foundation.


LED lighting can cut CO2 emissions by as much as 70%. This article explains how a partnership between HSBC and The Climate Group has seen LED lighting installed in 13 cities worldwide.

We are experiencing an unprecedented demand for energy and the Earth’s natural resources are under a growing strain. The world’s middle class will grow from less than 2 billion to 5 billion in the next 20 years. In the same period China alone will build another “United States” in terms of homes and commercial buildings. It is clear that the implementation of innovative, low-carbon technologies is urgently needed if global emissions are to reduce by the required 80 per cent of current levels by 2050.

The Climate Group, an independent, not-for-profit, organization, believes that real change will be most effective if directed by strong leadership. Mark Kenber, CEO, explains: “To drive forward clean technologies we need governments and businesses to display leadership that provides a positive and inspiring vision of tomorrow while answering the imperatives of today.”

LED (light-emitting diode) lamps are a clean technology that The Climate Group is promoting on a global scale. LED lamps are a low-carbon alternative to high pressure sodium (HPS), metal halide and fluorescent lamps that are typically

used. Lighting accounts for nearly six per cent of global CO2 greenhouse gas emissions or 1,900 million tons of CO2 per year. Startlingly, this is the equivalent of CO2 emissions from 70 per cent of the world’s passenger vehicles.

The solution is simple; when operated with smart controls LED lighting can cut CO2 emissions by between 50 and 70 per cent. A full switch to LEDs could also reduce energy consumption for lighting by 40 per cent worldwide, translating to 130 billion Euros in running costs and 670 million tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions per year.

LED in action With HSBC’s support, The Climate Group undertook a global partnership called LightSavers with 13 cities (including New York, Sydney and Kolkata) to pilot LED solutions in street and parking area lighting. The trials provided compelling evidence that LED products that are widely available have reached maturity commercially. Reductions in price have brought LED street-lighting installations into the five-to-seven year payback range, spurring most of the LightSavers cities to scale up their trials.

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The little white light that could save a planet By Melanie Bradley


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For Gobind Saha, 61, owner of a roadside stall at Rabindra Sarani, India, LED lights are a testimony to how technology can impact the life of a common man. He said: “These white lights have changed the way my little business use to be under the street lights every evening. Earlier anything and everything would look yellow in colour resulting into a decreased purchasing interest among buyers but now that a buyer can clearly differentiate between a green and blue, my sales figures have gone higher.”

The Climate Group conducted further work with solar-driven LEDs, this time partnering with Philips for its 1,000 Villages Program. This was so successful that at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP17) in December 2011 The Climate Group and Philips were held up as an example of best practice for combining public-private partnership that enhances people’s lives in poor, rural communities while spurring green growth, saving energy and combating climate change.

Following on from the success of 1,000 Villages Program Philips announced in February 2012 that it had joined The Climate Group’s Clean Revolution campaign as the first Lead Corporate Partner. Marc de Jong, CEO of Professional Lighting Solutions, Philips, said: “We have joined the Clean Revolution campaign as we believe it is an excellent avenue to further strengthen the case for LED lighting that can lead to dramatic savings in energy and spur low carbon growth.”

Mark Kenber, CEO, The Climate Group, said: “Over the next three years we will be working with Philips to highlight the opportunity for governments and corporations in investing in the low carbon economy with a focus on expanding the use of what is one of the most promising smart technologies, LEDs.”

Rio+20 is an opportunity to extend the dialogue around the Clean Revolution and encourage businesses and leading figures to work together to implement a swift and massive scaling-up of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.

“Reductions in price have brought LED street-lighting installations into the five-to-seven year payback range, spurring most of the LightSavers cities to scale up their trials.”

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The main drivers in the scenario study “Energy for All in Anthropocene” are to meet the world’s energy needs for economic development by 2050, while at the same time reach a 2°C target and stay within environment and resource constraints. Måns Nilsson, Deputy Director at Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and lead-author of the study says this requires an unprecedented energy transition over the coming decades, backed up by strong political support and large investments.

Today we talk about basic energy for the poor. In our study we look at the issue from a more far-reaching energy-use and a long-term perspective, when developing country economies start growing. As energy needs grow further, we need to reduce

energy in rich countries and redistribute energy use globally. Sustainable energy for all is one of the major development challenges globally. It will hopefully be discussed thoroughly at Rio+20.

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$1000 billion per year needed for sustainable development within a 2°C target

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What are the main challenges to this transition? A: One obstacle is the coal; it is cheap and heavily subsidized. Another obstacle is that investments in energy are long-term, the investments we make today hold for 40 years. The International Energy Agency (IEA) indicates that we are already locking us into a 4-degree world. This is the reason why it is so urgent.

How large are subsidies for fossil fuels, compared to investments in renewable energy? A: Annual investments in low-carbon energy technologies were approximately $165 billion over the period 2008-2010. In 2011, a record-high total of $206 billion were invested in clean energy. By contrast fossil fuel subsidies amount to $400 billion per year globally.

What are the investments needed and the costs for this transition? A: Investments are needed in many places: renewable power production, smart grids, new large transmission lines, retrofitting houses with efficient heating and cooling, electrified transport infrastructure, ensuring new buildings are energy efficient, planning urban infrastructures so that people do not depend on cars.

Our study has not quantified investment volumes, but the IEA has estimated that annual power sector investments are needed at the level of $500 billion USD from 2010 to 2050. Additionally $150 billion USD per year is needed to reach the 2°C target. In buildings efficiency, the additional investment is around $300 billion per year. In industry, additional investment is $60 billion per year.

What policies and regulations are needed to get business onboard and attract investment? A: To create investor confidence absolute regulations and standards which are long term and predictable are necessary, such as efficiency standards for cars and houses. Second, public policies are needed to help new technologies through the “valley of death,” by supporting niche markets, public procurements and providing risk capital. Third, we need market correction policies, to make the price of energy more in line with the real costs, including environmental and social costs.

What is required from the private sector? A: Their responsibility is to create demand for new products that work within the concept of sustainable lifestyles, just as they create demand for Ipads! The private sector must see business opportunities in shared value and have sustainability as a core part of their business strategy, not as marginal.

Is the so called “Green Race” sufficient as a driver in this transition? A: The new economy is an extremely important driver – all countries see competitive opportunities in the clean energy technology, driven by limited fossil fuel resource becoming more and more expensive.

But if you talk about the national level, it is not sufficient. In negotiations between countries, national self interest will not be covered by a green race strategy. Therefore, the countries that wish to advance the agenda need to find additional incentives, sticks as well as carrots – such as through trade agreements, investments funds and technological exchange arrangements.

Your study asserts that dramatic improvements in energy efficiency are needed to meet sustainable energy for all. How much are we talking about? A: To meet the targets of the scenario, overall energy intensities need to decline at a rate of 2,8-3 percent per year. Such numbers are very ambitious, and higher than most other global studies. But these efficiency measures actually represent major business opportunities, not only through new technologies, but also through improved organization, planning and smarter lifestyles. Today, energy services companies is a fast-growing business sector around the world.

Finally, what are your hopes for Rio+20? A: At national, European and global levels we need an overall view on where we are heading – a vision needs to be articulated and accepted by the public. Few political leaders take bold and long-term decisions on sustainable development today. I hope the Rio+20 summit can be the starting point for such a call and process.

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The study “Energy for All in Anthropocene” will be launched at Rio+20. It is a global assessment study developed by analysts at the Stockholm Environment Institute in collaboration with the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development, African Climate Policy Centre, the Energy and Resources Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and World Resources Institute.

www.sei-international.org

Codelco

Codelco, líder mundial de producción de cobre, impulsa el desarrollo de innovadores usos de este metal que tiene un efecto biocida (elimina virus, bacterias y hongos), revolucionando sectores como la salud y la acuicultura en Chile.

En 2008, la Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) de Estados Unidos reconoció al cobre como el único metal bactericida del mundo, al aprobar el registro de más de 270 aleaciones del metal capaces de impedir la vida de bacterias y otros microorganismos.

Codelco está impulsando proyectos para aprovechar esta característica del cobre en distintas áreas: jaulas para el cultivo de peces, que disminuyen sus enfermedades, evitan el ataque de depredadores y son 100% reciclables; textiles con fibras de cobre para eliminar bacterias, hongos y ácaros; herraduras que previenen lesiones a las extremidades de los caballos, porque amortiguan impactos, además de dificultar infecciones y hongos; barandas y pasamanos en el Metro de Santiago, para ayudar a reducir el contagio de enfermedades.

De estas iniciativas, la más relevante por su impacto en la salud es la llevada a cabo en hospitales para controlar las infecciones intrahospitalarias y mantener espacios sanitizados, gracias al efecto antimicrobiano del cobre.

Cobre en el mayor hospital infantil de Chile En 2012, junto con el Ministerio de Salud de Chile y el Hospital de Niños Roberto del Río, en Santiago, Codelco inauguró la primera Unidad de Pacientes Críticos con superficies de cobre bactericida.

En este centro pediátrico, que es el más antiguo del país, se instalaron objetos y superficies de cobre que están en contacto permanente con las personas, como barandas de la camas, porta sueros, llaves de agua, lavamanos y las superficies de los mesones de trabajo de las enfermeras, entre otros. Estos objetos tienen la marca Antimicrobial Copper Cu+, acuñada por la International Copper Assotiation (ICA).

Disminuye al menos 40% de las enfermedades intrahospitalarias El cobre bactericida es una poderosa y eficaz protección contra las infecciones intrahospitalarias, lo que ha sido comprobado por estudios científicos de distintas universidades (www.antimicrobialcopper.org).

De acuerdo a estas investigaciones, el uso de cobre en superficies y objetos que están en contacto con las personas en las unidades de pacientes críticos reduce la carga bacteriana en un 83%, en

promedio. Posteriormente, se realizaron estudios que demostraron que dicha reducción en la carga bacteriana permitía además una baja de, al menos, un 40% en las infecciones intrahospitalarias, lo que implica beneficios para la recuperación de los pacientes, disminuyendo el uso de antibióticos y el tiempo de hospitalización.

Esta es una excelente y revolucionaria noticia para la salud de las personas, que podría significar un cambio transcendental en los estándares de los hospitales y centros de salud de todo el mundo.

Cobre disminuye huella de carbono de acuicultura En abril de 2012, se dieron a conocer los resultados de un estudio de microbiología realizado en Chile que demostró que las jaulas de aleación de cobre-zinc, usadas para criar peces en el mar, eliminan hasta el 99,9% de virus y bacterias.

Las mallas son una innovación producida por la empresa EcoSea, filial de Codelco. Actualmente existen 68 jaulas no sumergidas con mallas de aleación de cobre que están operativas en Chile, donde ya se cultivan 4 millones de peces, lo que equivale a cerca de 20 mil toneladas de pescado.

Estas jaulas evitan el fouling, disminuyen la tasa de mortalidad de peces, tienen mejor oxigenación y aprovechamiento de los alimentos; además de evitar pérdidas por ataques de lobos marinos y otros depredadores, que comúnmente rompen las mallas tradicionales.

A través del uso de mallas de cobre, mejora la sustentabilidad y bioseguridad de la salmonicultura chilena, porque la vida útil de estas redes permite su recambio recién después de unos cinco o más años, además de ser 100% reciclables.

Respecto de los sistemas de cultivo tradicionales, las mallas de aleación de cobre tienen una menor huella de carbono por kilo de salmón cosechado. Disminuyen el consumo de combustible y minimizan la generación de residuos sólidos y líquidos que generan metano producto de la limpieza de las mallas tradicionales, por lo que son ambientalmente más limpias.

El cobre bactericida está revolucionando ámbitos como la salud pública y la acuicultura en Chile, demostrando ser un metal sustentable, que ayuda a la salud y bienestar de las personas. ■

Cobre y salud, la apuesta sustentable de Codelco

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Diego Hernández, CEO, Codelco.

Ecosystem Services, Nutrient Cycling & Clean Water ProvisionOur planet supports life in a number of complex and connected ways. But its ability to maintain these efforts at a time of booming population is proving an increasing challenge. This section examines how business can benefit from protecting biodiversity, developing agricultural practices that work with nature and use increasingly scant water resources in an efficient and effective manner.


Interested in Carbon Offsetting? Investment experts The Livelihoods Fund explain how to get started p.88-89

ecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provisionecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provision

A new approach to carbon compensation

Carbon offsetting is a complex process, and needs effective measuring and verification processes. Investment experts ‘The Livelihoods Fund’ have first hand experience of how to set up and run projects – this is their story.

Since, 2008, in the Casamance and Sine Saloum regions of Senegal, Livelihoods Fund has been experimenting a new approach to carbon compensation for and by rural communities. Substantially more than 100 million mangrove plants have been planted to restore mangroves swamps, boost fish supply and generate carbon credits. The project involves planting mangroves of the Rhizophora species in suitable areas.

It is a decentralized project with sites spread across 400-plus villages in the two regions. Livelihoods Fund is working with a local association called Oceanium,

which has been active in the area since 1990, in its efforts to preserve the intertidal environment through mangrove restoration. The sites that were chosen for restoration were degraded mangroves habitats, which were converted by local people for pig farming or rice cultivation. Mangrove restoration, among other things, is providing fishery resources (fish, shellfish, crustacean), fuel wood for local communities and, through improved hydrology, can increase rice yields.

The project has restored 1,780 hectares in 2009 and 4,900 hectares in 2010 and 2011 providing a carbon

The Livelihoods project has restored 1,780 hectares in 2009 and 4,900 hectares in 2010 and 2011 providing a carbon capture potential of 750,000 tons of CO2 over 20 years time


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capture potential of 750,000 tons of CO2 over 20 years time. At the same time, it will help over 400 villages to maximise the benefits of their local ecosystem, through improved resources in fish and shellfish and in buffering against the “salinisation” of farming grounds.

The project has now been submitted for final validation to the United Framework Convention on Climate Change-Clean Development Mechanism (UNFCCC-CDM) board. The Senegal Designated National Authority has approved the project which has enabled the Fund to address the issue of ownership of the trees (public, communal or traditional) and the carbon assets. In addition, Livelihoods Fund has developed a carbon accounting and reporting methodology to account and

report net carbon sequestration of large scale Mangroves restoration projects, with field testing on this project. The Methodology was approved by the CDM and entitled as “Afforestation and reforestation of degraded mangroves habitats” AR-AM0014.

The success of the Senegalese mangrove restoration project will potentially benefit other projects in other countries by demonstrating the possibility of up-scaling “small scale” mangrove projects to “high scale” ones, conversion of a localized annual project into a multiyear and multi site project and inclusion of below-ground biomass in a carbon pool to allow accounting of net carbon sequestration through mangrove restoration.

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Livelihoods fund is a unique carbon investment fund that provides its investors access to carbon credits encapsulating a commitment to nature-based biodiversity and community development projects. Its fundamental goal is to create social value for rural communities and contribute to their food security through the restoration of their ecosystems. Livelihoods Fund now unites 5 investors: Danone, Credit Agricole, Schneider Electric, French Post and CDC Climat and invests in carbon mitigation projects that in return, generate carbon credits for fund investors to offset their own C02 emissions or sell the credits. Livelihoods is open to partner with other co-founders, for example Voyageurs du Monde in Senegal. Projects under the fund are based in developing countries and are vetted by an Advisory Board, of which IUCN is a member.

ecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provision

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Protecting a life-saving tree in the heart of Africa

How the conservation and sustainable use of Prunus Africana is improving the lives of small-scale farmers in Africa.

The African Cherry tree Prunus Africana has medicinal properties that have earned it a valued place in small-scale farming communities. Scientists at Bioversity International with partners are studying the conservation and sustainable use of this species in an effort to help rural communities improve livelihoods.

The African Cherry tree is an evergreen tree species that grows in the mountains of sub-Saharan Africa, especially Kenya, Madagascar and Cameroon. Chemicals extracted from the bark of the tree are used in pharmaceutical products to treat enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia), a common condition that affects up to half of men over the age of 50. This market demand provided an important source of income for small-holder farming communities, especially in Cameroon. In 2007 alone, its annual export trade was worth 1.3 million euro, with around 4000 tonnes of bark exported annually to Europe.

All of the traded bark has been harvested from wild trees. However, overharvesting of bark from wild trees led to a ban on international trade of the tree’s bark in 2007. Without the trade, many local communities

struggle to earn any income, many of them living in harsh subsistence farming conditions. But in spite of the ban, some smallholder farmers have continued to plant seedlings and maintain the forests and the biodiversity contained within it, hoping the ban will be lifted and that community plans such as improved health and education facilities can be realized.

Mr. Peter, a Cameroon farmer who has been planting Prunus Africana trees for 18 years, said: “I do it because I love it. But of course, I hope harvesting can begin again soon so I can earn a decent income for my family.”

For the restrictions to be lifted, EU regulators needed evidence that sustainable harvesting techniques will be successfully adopted to avoid overharvesting in the future. Bioversity International and partners are helping to share information on how this tree can be harvested sustainably. Local farmers associations and extension workers know how to harvest the bark so that trees are not killed or significantly damaged. In addition, farmers in Cameroon have planted many African Cherry trees to eventually supplement or replace the dependence on wild harvest.

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Chemicals extracted from the bark of the tree are used in pharmaceutical products to treat enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia.)

Photo: © Barbara Vinceti - Bioversity International.

Bioversity International uses agricultural biodiversity to improve people’s lives. We carry out global research to seek solutions for three key challenges: Sustainable Agriculture, Nutrition, Conservation.

The African Cherry tree is an evergreen tree species that grows in the mountains of sub-Saharan Africa, especially Kenya, Madagascar and Cameroon. Photo: © Barbara Vinceti - Bioversity International.

Partners for this project included the Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape, Vienna, Austria, and national partners from nine collaborating countries.

With the objective of conserving the species for future benefits and improving livelihoods now, three CGIAR centres (CIFOR, ICRAF and Bioversity International) have conducted studies and developed guidelines for sustainable management and conservation of the species. The information produced by these centres has contributed to having the trade ban partially lifted, which allows exports to flow to Europe again, improving the livelihoods of small-scale farmers who depend on this tree as a source of income.

In addition, Bioversity international and partners have analysed genetic diversity throughout the species’ range to identify areas of highest conservation concern. The analyses showed that the highest genetic

diversity both in genetic markers and bark chemistry was found in Kenya, Madagascar and Cameroon, showing that these areas need to be targeted as a high priority for conservation.

Scientists looked at how the distribution of suitable habitat for the species is likely to change with changing climate and found that the area that is predicted to be suitable for Prunus Africana by 2050, based on projected climate conditions, will be less than half of the area that is currently suitable for the species. The populations in Cameroon appear to be especially vulnerable, adding urgency to the need for conservation of their genetic resources.

ecosystem services & nutrient cycling, clean water provision

Concha Y Toro

Concha y Toro: committed to a more sustainable futureRespect for the environment has been the prism through which Concha y Toro has understood its business since its inception in 1883. We strongly believe that it is possible to create high quality wines in harmony with the environment and with a balance between humans and nature. Therefore the vineyard understands sustainability as a company value that has enabled us to work with respect for the environment in close relationship with our employees, consumers, and stakeholders. We at Concha y Toro see ourselves as a global and innovative company with a serious and responsible commitment to Sustainable Development. We are a company whose origin is in our natural resources, and as a result, we too are tied to and connected with it. Our own vineyards are exposed to this phenomenon called climate change, and therefore we believe that caring for nature and producing in accordance with the principles of sustainability is

key to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations. Only then can we try to ensure an even more auspicious future for future generations vineyard and wine.

We understand sustainability to be an ongoing learning process. Although we began to address the issue in 1990, with the first policies in drip irrigation, integrated vineyard management, and the construction of a liquid waste treatment plant—it was not until the creation of the Sustainable Development Area in 2008 that the winery could make major steps forward in this matter.

Initiatives such as measuring the carbon footprint since 2007, progressively reducing the weight of our bottles by up to 14%, and developing projects for better energy efficiency and responsible water and waste management, among others, has enabled Concha y Toro to make tangible its ongoing commitment to producing wine in harmony with the environment and the society around us.

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All of these actions have enabled Concha y Toro to make progress in developing a series of policies that are compatible with this great future objective. The sustainable approach has become a fundamental part of our strategic planning, and therefore, taking part in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20)—one of the most important meetings on the issue in our times—

presents a historic opportunity to try, along with the rest of the global community, to define the path toward a greener future, one that is safer, with more jobs, cleaner energy, and a better level of life for everyone. This is our contribution, our way of trying to give something back for every bottle that the land has given us. ■


Watergy represents the strong link between water and energy. The Alliance to Save Energy explains how they have implemented their efficiency programme across the planet.

Energy and water shortages have the potential to create crises affecting large segments of the world’s population. Both energy consumption and water loss in most water and wastewater systems worldwide could be reduced by at least 25% through cost-effective efficiency actions.

Using a combined water and energy efficiency approach since 1997, the Alliance to Save Energy’s “Watergy” program has achieved significant water, energy, and monetary savings in more than 100 municipalities in 15

developing countries, and is now being adopted in the United States.

The Alliance coined the term “Watergy” to describe the strong link between water and energy in water supply and wastewater treatment systems. Its goal is to provide cost effective water and wastewater services while reducing energy consumption, water wastage and protecting the environment. Watergy project activities include energy audits, automation of distribution

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Reducing water and energy waste

Where has Watergy been implemented?

• Bahamas • Brazil • Costa Rica • Guyana • India • Jamaica • Kenya • Mexico • Panama • Philippines • South Africa • Sri Lanka • Suriname • Tanzania • Uganda • United States

By Laura Van Wie McGrory & Arlene Fetizanan.


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systems, leak detection and loss reduction, pressure management, installation of metering and monitoring systems, and distribution system modeling for water and energy efficiency.

The water business Water utilities may be privately owned or operated, but even state owned water utilities often function like private companies: They are under pressure to cut operating costs while still meeting the demands of their (often growing) customer base.

Through technical and managerial changes in water supply systems, the Watergy approach helps utilities reduce water and energy waste, as well as carbon emissions – and at the same time achieve immediate improvements in water service and gain more revenue for system upgrades and new customer connections.

Why Watergy matters Because many industrial processes require both large amounts of both energy and water, great potential exists for industrial plants to achieve water and energy savings through efficiency projects similar to those implemented by the Watergy program.

Understanding the relationship between water and energy is critical for the advancement of more efficient practices in industry, as is finding innovative ways to overcome many of the same challenges faced by water and wastewater utilities. The Watergy program has developed proven water and energy efficiency methods that are easily adaptable to the industrial sector.

Investment Opportunities Private sector involvement in the Watergy program has included support for demonstration projects and training activities, as well as provision of energy and water saving products and services. For example, equipment manufacturers helped support Watergy seminars and workshops for more than 4,000 utility personnel from 15 states, and were able to take advantage of business development and networking opportunities.

Vendor credit and performance contracts using ESCOs have also been critical to the success of many Watergy programs. In Emfuleni, South Africa, the Alliance applied the performance contracting concept to a water supply system to carry out a pressure management project that yielded annual savings of 8 million kL of water and over 14 million kWh of electricity, with a payback period of less than three months.

With guidance from the Alliance, in the Lake Victoria region of Africa, three water utilities designed climate change adaptation and mitigation plans based on a climate vulnerability assessment prepared by the Alliance’s Watergy team. With these plans, the utilities have improved their ability to attract money from private investors who are seeking to fund climate change projects and possibly capture carbon offsets.

Saving both water and energy is critical for sustainable development. The Watergy approach provides key opportunities for water and wastewater utilities—as well as a wide range of industrial facilities—to achieve both goals simultaneously.

Watergy in Numbers: Spotlight on Emfuleni, South AfricaUS$ 3.8 million in annual cost savings. 12,000 tons of GHG emissions avoided annually. More than 30% in water loss reductions due to use of innovative pressure management technology. Less than 3 months payback period.

“Understanding the relationship between water and energy is critical for the advancement of more efficient practices in industry.”


How concrete and ice cream are working together for sustainable water solutions.

In line with the UN Global Compact and the Environmental Principles derived from The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, CEMEX faces the many challenges that responsible water stewardship represents. In December 2010 CEMEX partnered with IUCN to work jointly on a “Water Framework Project,” in order to define a water management strategy to help guide the company into a sustainable water future.

The initial phase of this partnership was to evaluate the current status of water management within the company. This initial scoping exercise revealed that CEMEX had yet to respond to resource pressures with new management approaches and stakeholder engagement. For example, in Bogotá, Colombia, a site called Planta Morato produced around 200,000 m3 of ready-mix per year and used approximately 35,000 m3 of water yearly. In addition to this, 80% of this water was used to produce the final product of concrete, with each ton of ready-mix requiring around 180 liters of clean water. The remaining 20% of water was used

mainly for cleaning machinery and dust suppression. The site operated a closed system which enabled cleaning water and surface run-off to be collected and treated before re-circulation into the processes.

In June 2009, CEMEX Colombia held a brainstorming session with the local industrial neighbors to find joint solutions to different issues, among them the fact that 90% of the water from Planta Morato was sourced from the municipal supplier, costing US$2.5 m3, and put unnecessary pressure on the supply system; therefore alternative sources needed to be considered. Adjacent to the Planta Morato sat Meals de Colombia, an ice cream company whose factory produced approximately 7,000 m3 of wastewater per month. Due to strict hygiene constraints, Meals de Colombia was unable to re-circulate this water within their procedures. Following on-site treatment all wastewater was discharged into a sewage system and then into a nearby river. As a result of the brainstorming with the local community, an idea was born.

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What flavour concrete would you like?

By Melissa Castillo Spinoso

“From Idea to Reality” Timeline

August 2011: CEMEX & Meals buy new enhanced equipment to measure incoming water’s quality and thus allowing CEMEX to increase the share of water coming from Meals.

December 2011: CEMEX successfully achieves the integration of the first 1000 m3 of Meals’ of Colombia waste water into its production process.

February 2011: An industrial cooperation agreement is signed between CEMEX Colombia and Meals of Colombia. Water recycling begins in small amounts.

First Semester 2010: A work plan was put in place to:- Evaluate the quality parameters of the water discharged by Meals de Colombia.- Test that the use of the treated waste-water will not affect the quality of the concrete mix.

June 2009: The idea of a joint project was born after holding a meeting with the local industrial neighbours.

October 2010: First corrective actions and best practices identification were carried out regarding Meals’ of Colombia water quality treatment.

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After discussing the water supply issue with Meals de Colombia, CEMEX was able to source some of the water it needed from the ice cream factory. Following further water treatment, from December 2011, Planta Morato was able to use the wastewater for concrete production and cleaning machinery. Initially using 10m3/day for producing ready-mix, CEMEX is now able to use up to 30% of its daily requirement for water from Meals de Colombia. This water costs one fifth of the one offered by the municipality and reduces the stress on municipal supplies by being captured by the plant’s recycling system and incorporated in the process of ready-mix manufacture, hence also partially avoiding industrial water discharges to the river.

With the first scoping phase of the CEMEX-IUCN Water Framework project concluded, the partnership will now focus on developing a Corporate Water Management Strategy that allows CEMEX to build on responsible stewardship practices. The partnership will continue to encourage collaboration with stakeholders to find innovative solutions to water-related issues as well as to foster a solid framework for water metering and monitoring.

1. CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. We produce, distribute, and sell cement, ready-mix concrete, aggregates, and related building materials in more than 50 countries, and we maintain trade relationships in approximately 102 nations. www.cemex.com

2. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. It has offices in more than 45 countries and runs hundreds of projects around the world. IUCN has member organizations in more than 160 countries and a network of 10,000 voluntary scientists and experts spanning the globe. www.iucn.org

For more information about the CEMEX-IUCN Water Framework Project, please contact:

IUCN: James Dalton, Coordinator, Global Initiatives, Water Programme Environment & Development Group: [email protected]

CEMEX Global: Melissa Castillo Spinoso, Biodiversity Analyst: [email protected]


Carbon offsetting in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest

In the Brazilian Amazonas region, myclimate is supporting the switch from diesel to climate-friendly FSC woodchips for the production of electricity.

This small-scale project is the first project worldwide that produces emission certificates on the basis of sustainably harvested biomass from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified forestry. Precious Woods, which was the first company in the Amazonas to receive FSC certification for its environmentally friendly and socially responsible forest management, installed the woodchip power plant with 9 MW of electrical output.

The project replaces several diesel generators and supplies the sawmill of the company as well as the 80,000 inhabitants of the town Itacoatiara in Amazonas with climate-friendly power. The plant produces annually up to

56,000 MWh of electricity, for which otherwise around 5 million litres of diesel would be consumed. The waste heat generated during this process is used for the wood drying plants.

For the production of the electricity, around 100,000 tons of wood are required annually. These are delivered in the form of wood waste and sawdust from the sawmill. All this wood waste comes from sustainable forestry in accordance with FSC guidelines. Prior to start-up of the plant, a part of this wood waste was rotting in unmanaged piles on the property. Through the sustainable use of the waste, a reduction of the greenhouse gas methane was

To sell material from an FSC certified forest with the FSC logo, a forest manager must achieve FSC chain of custody certification. The FSC label shows that it comes from a well-managed forest and enables a business to pass on the benefits of certification to their customers.


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Science-based and market-oriented, myclimate offers a comprehensive package of services for offsetting in accordance with the principles of “avoid – reduce – offset” and “do the best and offset the rest.” To implement climate protection measures as effectively and efficiently as possible, myclimate has established an international network of project partners and representatives who act on behalf of myclimate in their countries. www.myclimate.org

also possible. The total reduction from the energy switch and avoiding the methane emissions amounts to about 45,000 tons of CO2 equivalents annually.

Economic and social benefits In the implementation of its carbon offset projects, myclimate does not only focus on the ecological aspect of greenhouse gas emission reductions, but also on the economic and social benefits for the local population. This is the prerequisite to register the projects under the Gold Standard, a label for projects that not only reduce emissions but also contribute to sustainable development.

Like other myclimate offset projects, this Brazilian project is registered as a Gold Standard as well as a CDM project. These high quality projects are offered to forward looking companies as well as individuals around the world which voluntary offset their emissions. A growing number of businesses and organizations participate in these activities of the Swiss non-profit foundation myclimate.

Being an indigenous and cleaner source of electricity, the project in Brazil also enriches the environmental and social aspects of the local community and contributes to

the regional economic development. Owing to the power plant, the local population benefits from lower energy prices and a more stable energy supply due to reduced lines losses and increased system capacity. Other benefits are the creation of local jobs as well as a better income distribution in the region. The local municipality benefits from lower expenditures as it no longer needs to import diesel or electricity from other regions as the biomass is locally produced. These funds can therefore be spent in other critical areas such as health and education.

Rio spread the seeds around the world for environmental and social businesses. myclimate was one of those that began to sprout in the year Rio +10. While having developed from a small initiative into a professional and successful foundation for climate protection, we are still at the very beginning.

The potential for climate protection is much bigger then the one realized today. With the worldwide growing need for clean energy, the potential for such projects is even growing. What is needed is the commitment from companies, organizations and individuals, to put this potential into reality and take the responsibility for one’s own emissions!


The Fundação Grupo Boticário has implemented the Oasis Project in Brazil, an initiative of payment for environmental services, which is applicable in any Brazilian region.

Projects involving payments for environmental services (PES) have spread all around the world and in Brazil over the last decade.

“The advantage of this economic instrument in relation to other nature conservation tools is that it allows putting providers of an environmental services – such as small farmers – ahead the conservation process,” says Malu Nunes, the executive director at the Fundação Grupo Boticário de Proteção à Natureza (Fundação Grupo Boticário for Nature Protection).

The Fundação Grupo Boticário has been working with PES since 2003 and has developed a mechanism called the Oasis Project, implemented in three municipalities in Brazil and soon to expand to other locations.

The Oasis Project grants financial awards to more than 220 small and medium-sized properties whose owners preserve their natural areas water springs for public consumption, contributing to the maintenance of both biodiversity and the quality of water.

One of the participants in the Oasis Project is 76-year-old Alberto Eduardo Cardoso de Mello, a retired chief of police.

He is dedicated to preserve an area of 272.3 hectares of Atlantic Forest within the São Paulo city limits, the largest metropolis in the country.

The area was inherited from his father, and is an ecological paradise which shelters 42 springs. But it was once close to disappearing. Mr. Mello considered selling

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PES places farmers ahead the conservation process

Alberto Eduardo Cardoso de Mello, participant landowner at the Oasis Project in São Paulo. Photo: © Acervo Fundação Grupo Boticário


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the Nossa Senhora da Piedade Ranch because he could not afford it, but it was saved when, in October 2008, he was granted financial awards through the Oasis Project, by the Fundação Grupo Boticário. “The support from the Oasis Project was the salvation of a dream,” he sums up.

Environmental services The protected springs in the properties of Mr. Mello and all the projects other participants, which guarantee pure water for human consumption, the organisms which transform organic matter into nutrients for farming, and the animals which produce hormones and venoms for the manufacturing of medicines.

All of the above are examples of environmental services provided by natural environments that are preserved for humankind.

“Environmental services are responsible for the necessary infrastructure for the establishment of human societies,” explains Ms. Nunes.

However, their supply in sufficient amounts and quality has been endangered by growing pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems, due to urban spread, to an unsustainable consumption pattern, to population growth, and to climate changes, among other factors.

The maintenance of a great share of environmental services depends on the conservation of tropical forest remnants and other native vegetation formations.

The increase in public protected areas is an essential strategy within this context, but it is not enough in itself. The ideal situation is that forested protected areas, for instance, are not disconnected amongst themselves, but rather other natural areas – including those located in private properties – act as links between them.

However, the question that is put forward is how to conserve natural areas in private rural areas and at the same time provide better living conditions for the populations? An alternative is by way of PES, which allows financial rewards for those who protect an environmental service.

New Brazilian PES model Ms. Nunes believes that a PES project tends to be more effective in the long-term in that the participants are more conscious of the importance of the protection of the environmental service and contribute to the improvement of this service.

She comments that the Fundação Grupo Boticário has created a model of PES calculation within this line of work which has as a differential the possibility of being easily adaptable to the socioeconomic and environmental features of different locations in Brazil.

“The methodology will be available for free to institutions that wish to implement the Oasis Project in their states or municipalities and which sign an agreement with the Fundação Grupo Boticário,” says Ms. Nunes.

Satio Kayukawa, participant landowner at the Oasis Project in Apucarana. Photo: © Prefeitura de Apucarana

The proportion of the world’s biodiversity that can be found in Brazil

Percentage of Brazil’s area with environmental protection status

Percentage of the world’s freshwater extracted for domestic, commercial and agricultural use

The equivalent figure for Brazil’s domestic resources

Stat Sources: Brazil Gov., World Bank

20%

12%

28%

14.9%

ecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provisionecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provision

The building blocks of sustainable energy By Baptiste Raymond

Bioenergy and agriculture are sometimes viewed as competing. Here we learn how, when managed properly, farmers, industry and local African economies can all come out on top.

Lafarge is the world leader in cement and concrete production. We imagine, design, manufacture and sell essential building materials that make human habitat increasingly comfortable, safe and enduring.

We transform natural resources into materials which benefit the lives of each and every one of us. In the future, there will be no lasting leadership possible without both respect for the environment and social responsibility.

We are integrating sustainable development into our business and our vision is rooted in the belief that our approach to sustainability can be mutually enriched with the experience of other stakeholders.

We recognize the necessity to scale-up our efforts to build the green economy. Businesses can lead the way by developing solutions that meet local needs and match local resources, according to the principles of the circular economy. As an industrial company, we must balance our environmental footprint in the long-run at every stage in a product’s lifecycle, with our ability to fully integrate into the local social fabric and contribute to its welfare through innovative products, capacity building, financial investments or quality standards.

At the global level, one of our initiatives is participating as a founding member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI).

The percentage of the global cement industry engaged in the sector’s CO2 emissions accounting scheme

The number of farmers involved in the Lafarge bioenergy scheme during the next five years

80%

6,000

Tongaat quarry, Durban, © Lafarge South Africa.

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Cutting the industry’s carbon With the CSI, Lafarge promotes a sectoral approach to accelerate reduction in CO2 emissions while discussions are underway to reach a global climate agreement. The CSI has developed a protocol to account for CO2 emissions from cement production, this protocol is now being used by more than 80% of the world’s cement industry, as well as a comprehensive carbon emissions database, open to the public. Those tools can be extended to other market players, and adapted to other industries.

The CSI is willing to contribute its technical expertise and global reach to international policy dialogue around climate change. At the local level, among other initiatives, the Lafarge Ashaka operations in the North East of Nigeria have set up a “triple bottom-line” project in partnership with the local community to produce and use biomass energy.

Building a sustainable biomass project The challenge was to find a solution to address Lafarge’s energy needs, while at the same time reinforcing local food security. The Jatropha plant has been known as a solution for green energy. Up until now, major projects were based on large-scale intensive monoculture systems that were not sustainable in the long-term.

Learning from these experiences Lafarge adopted a different method. In accordance with local customs, Lafarge supports the cultivation of Jatropha by providing farmers with agronomic skills and by buying the crops. Jatropha is then processed and used as biomass in our kilns. In doing so, Lafarge contributes to real local development, achieves significant fuel savings and reinforces food security and environmental protection.

Supporting the region This project reflects a win-win combination as local communities and our plants’ interests are aligned. It ensures additional stable revenues to local farmers as agricultural systems are enhanced, soil fertility is improved, while decreasing our carbon emissions and lowering our energy bill.

Lafarge’s Ashaka operation is a true sustainable development project as economic, social and environmental aspects are fulfilled. Our aim was to develop a project in harmony with the local context. The project’s success is mainly due to a careful analysis of the baseline, including the choice of endemic species adapted to local conditions, and the avoidance of competition with subsistence farming. In the next five years, over 6000 farmers in 190 villages – up to a third of the local workforce – will be involved in this local economic development scheme, drawing on the benefits of the circular economy.

Further details on Lafarge’s contributions to sustainability can be found on our website www.lafarge.com.

This project reflects…ensures additional stable revenues to local farmers…while decreasing our carbon emissions and lowering our energy bill.

“As an industrial company, we must balance our environmental footprint in the long-run at every stage in a product’s lifecycle.”

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As drought becomes an increasingly common phenomena across the planet, the experience of one small community in south-west China demonstrates that not all solutions are complex or expensive.

Climate change is ever more visible in our lives, and rising numbers of people have personal stories to tell about the harm its impacts can inflict. But do communities that have so far been left unscathed realise they may have been protected by nature?

If you mention climate change to the people of south-west China, most of them will talk about last year’s great drought. From September 2009 to March 2010, Yunnan province saw just half its normal rainfall for the time of year – the lowest level since 1951. But Wen Cheng has more vivid memories of a drought in the early 1990s, when he was 10 years old. He remembers taps working for only a few hours in the middle of the night, and even then producing only a trickle. If he wanted to wash, he had to go with his parents to the public bathhouse.

Wen’s hometown, the small city of Gejiu, was largely unaffected by last year’s drought, unlike surrounding areas. Water here was not rationed. Wen, now a post-doctoral fellow at Peking University’s Centre for Nature and Society, says his research has found that forest water sources are to thank for relieving the city’s thirst.

“Gejiu has the best forests for 50 or 100 kilometres,” he said. “The forests on the two mountains next to the city have never stopped providing water.” Gejiu’s economy has developed through mining rather than forestry, Wen explained, and so the trees have been left alone. The forests are now in a better condition than they were in the 1990s, and so are better equipped to cope with disaster such as drought.

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How forests relieve thirstBy Meng Si

www.shanshui.org



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Shan Shui Conservation Center is a Chinese NGO engaged in nature conservation work in Southwest China and the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau specialising in Ecosystem based adaptation (EbA) an effective and economical approach to adapting to climate change.

After last year’s crisis, NGOs started investigating water supplies in the area. Beijing’s Shan Shui Conservation Center launched a project called “Remember the Source,” which focused on areas that had suffered least during the drought. Wen was an adviser to the project. “These places were less badly affected because of the types of industry locally, or because the locals had protected forest water sources. In the east and north-east of Yunnan, where the drought was the most severe, there is no decent forest – and so no water to use.”

Shan Shui’s project was actually very simple. Five nature reserves were selected and pipes built to supply surrounding communities with water from forest sources. “Simply put, they had been mostly relying on courses of bamboo or wood troughs for water supply, and we’ve put in more reliable infrastructure,” Wen said. For example, at Huanglianshan Reserve, Shan Shui and the reserve’s managers worked with locals from the villages of Longi, Yangzhai and Yanluo. A pumping station was built and connected to new taps in the villages via water pipes varying between 2.5 kilometres and 4 kilometres in length. In this way, the forests in the reserve provide water for the villagers.

What makes forest water sources special? The soil in Yunnan is mostly loose and sandy. Trees fix that soil and allow it to retain water. Moist air travels all the way from the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, and is trapped by the mountainous forests of Yunnan – which soak up the moisture like sponges, earning them the nickname “mountaintop reservoirs.” Without these trees the moisture escapes, and both soil and water are lost.

Wen said that the locals refer to these forests as “dragon forests,” as a mark of their respect. Not only have these areas protected the city of Gejiu from drought, you could also say they have nurtured the local Pu’er tea and rice growing cultures.

“Trees fix that soil and allow it to retain water. Without these trees the moisture escapes, and both soil and water are lost.”

ecosystem services, nutrient cycling & clean water provisionIn the Ailao Mountains, the terraced fields of the Hani

minority have created unique scenery. Dykes surround layer upon layer of paddy fields, which shimmer in the sun. In June this year, China National Geographic wrote that “the heart of the Hani terraces, Yuanyang, has tens of thousands of mu [one mu is around 667 square metres] of paddy fields, yet not one single reservoir – the terraces are watered naturally. The expanses of terraced fields form a huge wetland and, combined with a dense network of waterways, this provides the moisture for ample precipitation, which is captured by the forests further up the mountains and fed back down to the fields through springs, streams and waterfalls.”

There is a complete agricultural ecosystem connecting the forests, villages, terrace fields and rivers. The traditional working methods and the faith of local people in their techniques work to protect this ecology.

The “dragon forests” once stretched across the map of south-east Asia, from the edge of the Himalayas in Yunnan, through the Chinese south to Taiwan and on to southern Japan, where they are named after the sun god. These water-rich forests nourished the rice-growing culture of this segment of the world.

The “Remember the Source” project wasn’t just about providing water in a few selected locations. It also aimed to draw attention to these forest water sources and the value of mature ecosystems. Only during a crisis, said Wen, can you see that not all forests are equal: they may all be green, but only the water sources in forests that have existed for hundreds or thousands of years can stand the test of natural disaster. Mature forests have gone through centuries of natural selection by extreme climate events. How many “droughts of a century” must they have survived?

“You could even say those rare occurrences aid forest conservation,” said Wen. “They kill off the weak artificial forests, and allow the stronger primary forest to renew and expand.”

Mature ecosystems have an important role to play in climate change adaptation. But in China today, “over-mature” forests, far from being protected, are often felled. The vast bulk of China’s forests lie outside of reserves, and large swaths of “over-mature” forest have been cut down and replaced with young trees.

Outsiders may praise the beauty of the terraced hillsides, but locals here endure back-breaking work for

tiny incomes. In the past, they had only alcohol to wash away their worries, but now young people have an alternative: they can leave. Many do so and find work elsewhere, never returning to farming. Their parents continue to work the fields, but won’t do so forever.

End of an era When nobody needs to provide water for their terraced fields, there will be no motive to respect and protect the forests. Shan Shui’s Xue Ting wrote in a follow-up report to their project that the entire Red River valley is “returning farmland to forests,” but the farmland being lost is the terraced fields that are the product of generations of wisdom. Those fields are being turned into single-species commercial plantations of banana and rubber trees, which have little ecological value. This area was hit badly by last year’s drought and the harvest was almost completely lost. More than half of the banana trees died, said Xue.

Primary forest is being replaced by imported commercial crops, and those crops cannot help communities to adapt to climate change in the same way. Wen, who grew up here, is not optimistic about the future of the terrace farming culture. But he does think that the terrace field ecosystem is an excellent example of how forest water sources and people can co-exist. Protecting those forests massively boosts the ability of a community to cope with climate change, and the water sources in mature forests are the most resilient of all.

The forests around Gejiu only covered a small area in 1926. Since then, they have grown to cover two mountains. Wen believes this is about how long it takes to create a forest water source – around 80 years. But, he says, you need a “mother forest,” consisting of at least some primary forest. Wen believes the “Remember the Source” project will really prove valuable if it can trigger the creation of a forest water source for every community. For the Hani people of Ailaoshan, this will depend on how incomers treat the forests. For other Chinese cities, it will depend on when urban residents start to understand their own sources of water.

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“The vast bulk of China’s forests lie outside of reserves, and large swaths of “over-mature” forest have been cut down and replaced with young trees.”

“Primary forest is being replaced by imported commercial crops, and those crops cannot help communities to adapt to climate change in the same way.”

Sustainable Land & Water ManagementEach year 12 million hectares of productive land – the area equal to half the size of the UK or three times the size of Switzerland – is lost due to desertification and drought. Millions of gallons of water are also lost due to poor technology or over-intensive use in industry. This represents a huge hurdle for business across the planet – but there are signs it is responding.


One sustainable skinny latte please! How Starbucks are using Climate Smart Agriculture in Mexico p.112-113

© Conservation International/photo by Miguel Ángel de la Cueva.

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In the decades to come water could become as highly valued as oil. All the more reason for forward-thinking companies to work out just how much water they use along their entire value chain…as Deloitte’s Will Sarni and David Pearson explain.

Water scarcity currently poses serious threats to business in many regions of the world, and these risks are increasing. These challenges are closely interlinked with the threats that water scarcity presents to a range of stakeholders, including the private sector, local communities, countries, and regions.

The United Nations (UN) World Water Assessment Programme has advanced the proposition that clean water contributes fundamentally to improvements in human health, poverty alleviation, and economic development. In 2010, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution “recognizing the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.”

Companies’ continued ability to make and supply goods depends on the availability of freshwater, and often their water requirements compete with those of other

local water users. Competition for water can create tension between businesses and the communities where they operate. Moreover, in a world of burgeoning information availability and transparency, investors, regulators, local communities, and other stakeholders are holding companies accountable for how their activities and decisions affect the quantity and quality of water supplies.

Ignorance or indifference? Developments such as these have led many companies to pay close attention to how their own operations affect water supplies. Far fewer companies, though, are paying attention to the water intensity of their value chains. In the survey conducted for the Carbon Disclosure Project’s CDP Water Disclosure Report 2011, 55 percent of respondents identified water risks in their direct operations, whereas 27 percent identified water risks in their supply chains. Only 26 percent of respondents require key suppliers to report water use,

Adopting a value chain orientation to water stewardship

William Sarni is Director, Deloitte Consulting LLP in the United States, and Practice Leader for Enterprise Water Strategy. David Pearson is Global Leader, Sustainability and Climate Change Services for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. www.deloitte.com



risks, and management plans. These findings suggest a problematic blind spot, since a company’s supply chain often accounts for the largest fraction of its water use and water risks.

Indifference to water scarcity, whether real or perceived, can create immediate and significant risks for business. Instances abound of companies having their operations interrupted or suspended because they were unable to secure adequate supplies of clean water. In some jurisdictions, local authorities and stakeholders have revoked companies’ licenses to operate because of excessive water use or pollution. These actions may be taken formally through regulatory or judicial mechanisms or informally as protests and campaigns. Less visible, but no less troublesome, are the occasions on which companies have lost brand value and credibility with customers.

Hidden water use As a first step toward water stewardship, companies should quantify the water required to make and use their products over their value chain. Full value chain water footprints look at suppliers and other non-managed operations, as well as the water needs

associated with everyday use of goods and services by households and business buyers. They enable decision makers to determine precisely which steps in production, distribution, and consumption have the most intense water uses. The resulting data can be analyzed in search of water-related cost savings, as well as opportunities for creating offerings that benefit the water supply and for building brand value.

Companies should also proactively engage governments, local stakeholders, and nongovernmental organizations in dialogue about water in order to understand and address the interests of all those who depend on specific watersheds. Forums such as the Water Futures Partnership and mechanisms like the Water Action Hub of the UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate are being set up to facilitate collaborative efforts to manage scarce water resources, in ways designed to fulfill the needs of those concerned. Stakeholder engagement is a crucial element, and arguably the most important, of resolving increased competition for water while promoting economic growth and providing clean water and sanitation to the world’s population.

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Securing agricultural inputs necessary to maintain and enhance food and commodity production, address climate change, and feed 9 billion people by 2050, is the next greatest challenge for sustainable development.

Combined with carbon sequestration programs and forest preservation, the approach of integrating climate resilient investments within farming is part of a growing suite of policies and practices known as Climate Smart Agriculture.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has defined Climate Smart Agriculture as “agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation)

while enhancing the achievement of national food security and development goals.”

At Conservation International (CI), we believe the most effective solutions to these and other complex environmental issues are found through collaboration. One company that has developed a response to this challenge is CI’s longstanding partner, the Starbucks Coffee Company.

Think smart – drink coffee


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People depend on nature for many things. A stable climate. Clean air. Fresh water. Abundant food. Cultural resources. And the incalculable additional benefits the world’s biodiversity provides. Conservation International (CI) works to ensure a healthy and productive planet for us all.

www.conservation.org

Starbucks has an extensive history working to address environmental, social and economic issues in the regions where they source coffee not only because is it the right thing to do for our planet, but also because they see the business benefit in doing so. In 2007 Starbucks and CI renewed our collaboration to consider how investments in environmental and social guidelines known as Coffee and Farmer Equity (C.A.F.E.) Practices ensure a productive source of coffee for years to come and assist communities that support coffee growth.

Protecting and restoring By witnessing the encroaching affects of climate change in coffee growing regions around the world, building on the success of the C.A.F.E. Practices program, CI and Starbucks took the next step by making investments in climate adaptation programs that help farming communities improve production and increase income while withstanding climate impacts. This includes protecting existing forests and helping to restore degraded landscapes to promote mutually beneficial forest conservation and the sequestration of carbon.

In Chiapas, Mexico, Starbucks and CI are helping to improve coffee production, conserve and restore natural habitat and facilitate community economic development. As far back as 1998, smallholder coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, were already practicing the eco-friendly method of growing coffee in the shade of healthy forests and their farms formed a natural protective buffer around some of the region’s most valuable habitats. In particular, they bordered El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve, a 300,000-acre Eden that is home to wildcats, tapir, monkeys and untold other species, all coexisting within the rich flora of cloud and rain forests.

Valuing ecosystems Starbucks was quick to see the importance and value of protecting El Triunfo and similar areas worldwide that bordered prized coffee-growing farms. Together we launched a 3-year program encouraging coffee growers in Chiapas to continue these and other sustainable farming practices. In return, farmers have received technical assistance from CI’s field staff and Starbucks became a dependable buyer of the farmers’ beans.

Building on this rich history of engagement in the region, and similar experiences working together in Aceh and Sumatra, Indonesia, CI is investing in a similar program in the Atlantic Forest state of Minas Gerais, near Manhuaçu (one of the existing Starbucks sourcing areas and where half of all Brazilian coffee is grown) where together we plan to analyze current production under various climate scenarios, identify climate resilient farming practices and support communities across the area.

Starbucks is joining CI at Rio+20 to share these experiences and to inform the strategies of other stakeholders to meet the challenges we face today and 40 years from now. By coming together amidst these conversations we hope that the 9 billion people of tomorrow’s world are provided with all of the opportunities possible for continued success and sustainability.

By Joanne Sonenshine, Director Food, Agriculture and Freshwater

at Conservation International.

Chiapas, Mexico © Conservation International.

Photo: Miguel Ángel de la Cueva.

Coffea berries. © Conservation International.


In the Brazilian city of Curitiba, development rhymes with environmental preservation. Over the years, the city has built its development based on a three-point stand of use of the soil/public transportation/street grid system, all of them fought together, integrated with actions in the environmental area.

Today, each citizen has 64.5 m² of green area distributed across 36 public parks and woods and in privately owned areas, in addition to the 300,000 trees in the city’s street tree cover. Spaces for preservation, coexistence and leisure, parks preserve part of the memory and history of the city. People who arrive in Curitiba are surprised to find a metropolis that endeavors to develop while protecting one of its most important assets, the fragments of native vegetation.

Another alternative for conservation is the tax incentive given to owners of green areas for the purpose of transforming those into Private Reserves of the Natural Municipal Heritage. The property remains private, but the benefit becomes public.

Figures show that the current set of green areas in Curitiba sequester from the atmosphere nothing less than 168 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare. City dwellers can breathe in relief.

In urban transportation, Curitiba is a pioneer in mobility and environmental gains, thanks to the incentive to the use of collective transportation. The exclusive dedicated lanes for buses have directed the city’s growth in the desired direction. And the integrated system enables citizens to cross the city paying a single fare.

The evolution of transportation now includes the world’s largest bus and part of the fleet powered by biofuels, less polluting. Hybrid buses, powered by electric energy and bio diesel, are more silent and reducing up to 80% the emissions of pollutants. It is not by chance that urban transportation in Curitiba is a national and international reference.

The issue of garbage, a major urban problem worldwide, is another that has been well equated in Curitiba. It was the first city in Brazil to put in place selective collection and, today, 85% of the population separate their garbage in the home. And 100% of the homes in the city are serviced by separate collections of recyclable and non-recyclable garbage.

Recovery of our rivers is also a priority. Revitalization actions include the relocation of families living irregularly on riverbanks to safe housing with dignity. On those sites, the city gains new linear parks and the return of native vegetation. Environmental education and inspection become part of the environment of the waters.

Curitiba: Rushing to join the green carnival

City of Curitiba,Brazil

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Before being in fashion, the word sustainability was already a word of order in Curitiba. The set of initiatives proposed by the city and incorporated by its population have already earned the city, in 2010, the Sustainable City Award of the Globe Forum, in addition to the first place in the list of green cities in Latin America, by The Economist.

Respect for the environment is one of the trademarks of Curitiba. This is also something that can be perceived in the small attitudes of each inhabitant. Aware, citizens accept and defend environmental actions proposed by the public authorities. They feel proud to preserve. As a result, they have a clean, green and good city to live in. ■


Capes

Capes: Qualified Education at all LevelsThe Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Post-Graduate Education (Capes) was established in 1951 as a foundation associated to the Ministry of Education to play the central role of expanding and consolidating graduate degree education in Brazil.

In 2007, it also started to center its efforts towards bringing the education of elementary and secondary school teachers to a higher level. As a result, it has broadened even further its scope to include the education of qualified personnel both in Brazil and abroad.

Capes activities may be grouped according to the following lines of action, each one implemented by means of a structured set of actions:

• Evaluation of graduate programs;• Access to and dissemination of scientific production;• Financial investment for the education of high level human

resources in the country and abroad;• Promotion of scientific cooperation with international partners;• Inductive action and investment in the initial and continuing

formation of elementary and secondary school teachers within both regular and distance education frameworks.

Capes has played a paramount role in helping the Brazilian system of graduate programs reach its high level of success, both as regards the consolidation of the present contingent of human resources and the implementation of the changes demanded by the advance of knowledge and society as a whole.

Capes and Sustainable DevelopmentCapes carries out actions that promote advance in knowledge areas involved in the transition to an Economy based on sustainable development and eradication of poverty, the central themes in the Rio+20 Conference.

By means of special programs, Capes induces formation of human resources in areas which are considered strategic for sustainability. Programs such as Nanobiotecnologia [Nanobiotechnology], Ciências do Mar [Marine Sciences] and Pró-Engenharia [Pro-Engineering] operate in the implementation of cooperation networks in Brazil in order to carry out collaborative research projects. IndicatorsThe results reached by public investments on Capes may be noted by following the indicators that represent growth in those fields of knowledge in which the themes of the Rio+20 Conference have priority: architecture, biodiversity, engineering, geography and urban planning.

University professor accessing CAPES Periodical Portal. Photo ©: André Rodrigo Rech.

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Along the last 12 years, 100 new graduate courses linked to these five fields of knowledge have been created, bringing the number to a total of 228 courses in 2010. Urban Planning, for instance, which accounted for only 9 courses in 1998, shows a growth of 311% to a total of 37 courses in 2010.

The number of students who graduated as Masters and PhDs follow the same trend of growth seen for courses and research projects. The number of Geography graduates in 1998 was 167. This number leapt to 800 graduates in 2010. The number of graduates in the five fields of knowledge over the last twelve years went from 1,155 to nearly 3,500, a growth of more than 200%.

The Challenge of the Metropolitan CitiesCapes organized and hosted the seminar “Graduate Education and the Challenge posed by Metropolitan Cities” in June 2010. The event became a privileged space for discussion of those themes focused by researchers within the Brazilian Graduate Program System and which are related to the issues of safety; urban engineering (sanitation and environmental problems); urban mobility and transportation; metropolitan governance; and spatial planning (housing and urban planning).

The debates were moderated by those Capes coordinators who had been involved, at the time, with the research work in the areas focused in the event. The second edition of the seminar is due to take place in 2012. ■ Photo ©: egypto (egypto.deviantart.com)

Graduate student supported by CAPES scholarship at work in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo ©: Gustavo Leite.



Increasing crop sizes and potential returns is not always about financial investment. Dr Tamasin Ramsay explains how the practice of ‘Yogic farming’ works in India.

The thought-child of the Rural Wing of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University (BKWSU) in India, Sustainable Yogic Agriculture is a unique form of farming that combines thought-based meditative practices with methods of organic agriculture and is bringing clear economic and social benefits to smallholder agrarian communities in India.

For more than 75 years, the BKWSU has been teaching methods of personal empowerment based on techniques of Raja Yoga meditation. These methods include understanding the self as a soul, managing the energy of the mind, becoming cognizant of the relationship between thoughts and behaviour, maintaining a thought-union with the Divine and experiencing transcendental states that fill the mind and character with strength. The BKWSU continually seeks ways in which to apply the benefits of spiritual practice in a way that responds meaningfully to people’s lives and daily circumstances.

It is now widely acknowledged that to sustain agricultural production, healthy environments, and viable farming communities there must be a whole-systems approach to agriculture incorporating traditional knowledge and organic agriculture that links ecology, culture, economics and society. Sustainable Yogic Agriculture utilises a systems-wide approach, recognising all elements of farming: humans, animals and bird, flying and crawling insects, micro-organisms, seed, vegetation and surrounding ecosystems, and the natural elements of sun, soil, air, water and space.

These methods are engaging more than 400 farmers in India with a cooperative of scientists from India’s leading agricultural universities, G.B. (Gindh Ballabh) Pant University of Agriculture and Technology and S.D. (Sadarkrushinagar Dantiwada) Agricultural University. Early data indicate statistically significant effects on crop quality and crop yield. Further, meditative practices designed for each phase of the agrarian cycle, from seed to harvest, are increasing farmers’ self-esteem and so reducing the frequency of farmer suicides and social violence in families and villages. Qualitative and quantitative data gathered so far, using laboratory based experiments and participant observation, have provided valuable baseline information that endorse the importance of continued research.

Research Methods and Data The experimental land is divided into three parcels: OFM-1 (organic farming techniques), OFM-2 (organic farming techniques + meditation), and CIM (standard chemical farming using fertilizers and pesticides).

Quantitative Preliminary findings indicate that OFM-2 (organic + meditation) has the greatest soil microbial population, the seeds germinate up to a week earlier. Subsequent crops reveal higher amounts of iron, energy, protein and vitamins compared to OFM-1(organic) and CIM (chemical).

Yogic agriculture reaping rewards in India


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Local farmers determined that the yogic process saves a total of Rs. 14769.00 ($USD 330) per acre as compared to chemical farming, offering low-cost high-benefit methods for local communities.

See below for sample data of a tomato crop indicating levels of Vitamin C and Energy.

Yogic Methods Seeds are placed in the BKWSU meditation centre where practised meditators focus thoughts of peace, non-violence, love, strength and resilience on the seeds for up to a month before sowing. Regular meditations are conducted remotely and in the fields with specific thought practices designed to support each phase of the crop growth cycle, from empowering seeds and seed germination, through sowing, irrigation and growth, to harvest and soil replenishment.

Benefits for Business Our goal is to create a more resilient society and a greener economy, while supporting sustainable agrarian practices and strengthening vulnerable communities. In light of this, we offer opportunities for businesses to:

• Support further independent research into Sustainable Yogic Agriculture.

• Disseminate the principles and methods of Sustainable Yogic Agriculture to new audiences.

• Support the production of organic seed and organic agricultural practices.

• Dialogue with us to consider ways this study may be adapted and replicated, to bring benefit to more communities around the world.

In the last few years, businesses that support green, sustainable, and ethical endeavours have garnered significant public interest and support, yet many local and indigenous innovations still such as this remain un-mapped. We invite businesses to work with us to ensure that this important study finds a place in global conversations. Tours within the participating farming communities and research universities in India can be arranged.

The Author: Dr Tamasin Ramsay is an environmentalist and anthropologist, and researches the interrelationship between consciousness, human activity and the physical world. Tamasin is NGO Representative of the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University to the United Nations and resides in New York. The BKWSU is an international non-governmental organization (NGO) of the UN, in General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council. It is also affiliated to the UN Department of Public Information and has Observer Status with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. For more information about this study please contact: [email protected].

Tomato Crop (Namdhari 2535)Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

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Despite not being traditionally associated with environmental protection, golf courses can play a crucial role in ensuring that they exist harmoniously with, and even enhance, the countryside they inhabit. This example from Sweden’s wetlands demonstrates just how this can be achieved.

The Ljunghusens Golf Club lies within a heathland dominated coastal nature reserve. The links characteristics of the landscape have changed over centuries through different usage. Remains of these are found in the form of old fisher huts, tong walls, peat pits and heather meadows.

Constant improvements to the management of the landscape are being carried out. Irrigation water comes from boreholes and surface water. Efficiency is continually improved. No alien grass species are used on the course and since the 1980’s fertilizer use has been reduced by around 80%.

Preserving the wetlands Ljunghusens Golf Club’s main reason to undertake a biodiversity conservation program is to maximize the ecological value of the natural site. Therefore, the golf will continue in the near future to undertake actions such as removing unwanted trees and shrubs and updating surveys for birds, mammals and frogs.

The Ljunghusens Golf Club in Sweden is located on an international wetland area in South West of Sweden. The public opinion does not consider the golf course as an environmentally friendly place.

There are concerns that fertilizers are too heavily used as well as pesticides, little or no access for the general public and little or no wildlife and flora. However, the truth is the environment and biodiversity are a central concern of many golf courses and golf associations all over the world.

For more than ten years, the Ljunghusens Golf Club has performed several tasks aiming to protect the environment on site and especially the rich local biodiversity.

Like some other heavily involved golf courses, this initiative received the Golf Environment Organization Certification in 2009, which is an international certification specifically designed for golf courses.

This initiative is furthermore integrated in the European Golf Association 10 steps-guideline aimed at protecting, enhancing and restoring biodiversity on golf courses all over Europe.

This guideline was discussed with the European Commission. The dissemination of the guideline is done through the national associations.

Paying their green fees

Action at Ljunghusens Ljunghusens Golf has performed a number of tasks to protect biodiversity and enhance the natural environment including:

• Ecological studies on plants, birds, mammals amphibians and red-listed species

• Work on habitats (increase the size of habitat patches, connect internal habitat patches, connect patches with external habitats, create new habitat corridors, improve and diversify habitat edges)

• Consultation with local nature conservation organizations

• Activities for environmental education• Conservation and enhancing landscape and cultural

heritage• Activities to conserve reduce and minimize water

consumption• Careful use of fertilizers

This case study by the European Golf Association is part of the ”Best practices in B@B” publication produced by the EU Business and Biodiversity Platform. The EU B@B Platform is a unique facility where businesses can come together to share their experiences and best practices, learn from their peers, and voice their needs and concerns to the European Commission. IUCN Regional Office for Europe, in partnership with PwC, ECNC (European Centre for Nature Conservation) and ELO (European Landowners’ Organization), implements the B@B Platform. The project is funded by the European Commission.

See www.ec.europa.eu/environment/biodiversity/business for more information

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Hydropower is a source of low-carbon, renewable energy that creates jobs, economic growth and prosperity. It can be a multipurpose tool for socio-economic development and help progress the Green Economy and the UN MDG goals.Hydropower is a source of low-carbon, renewable energy that creates jobs, economic growth and prosperity. It can be a multipurpose tool for socio-economic development and help progress the Green Economy and the UN MDG goals.

Hydropower is the most advanced form of renewable energy, supplying around 16% of the world’s electricity. With energy demand estimated to increase by up to 60% by 2030, and a huge amount of untapped hydropower potential remaining globally, hydropower is set to play a significant role in ensuring energy security. In addition, it plays an increasing role in the management of water resources.

As countries progressively adopt renewable energy policies and targets hydropower development is expected to increase considerably up to 2050. Global statistics indicate that the period up to 2010 saw record commissioning of hydropower, at over 30GW per year, and new capacity deployment forecasts meet or exceed this rate for the coming decade.

In mitigating climate change impacts, hydropower plays a role as a low-carbon energy source itself. Hydropower is also an enabler of other renewable technologies since its reliability and flexibility, offering base-load provision and peaking capacity to meet times of high demand and energy storage, serves to balance the variability of other sources such as wind and solar. This allows the renewables family to play a greater role in the energy mix.

With regard to adapting to climate change, additional water management infrastructure will be required to reduce the impacts of floods and drought. The inclusion of hydropower in such water storage projects will assist in meeting their cost and bring additional sustainable benefits through renewable energy services.

As with any development, hydropower has impacts that must be mitigated as much as possible. The full benefits of hydropower can only be achieved when developed in a sustainable way, meeting the need to avoid, mitigate or adequately compensate for adverse impacts on local communities and the environment.

How green is your hydroelectricity? The Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol launched in 2011, provides a comprehensive way to both guide and assess hydropower sustainability. The Protocol is the product of a multi-stakeholder development process, involving representatives from social and environmental NGOs (Oxfam, The Nature Conservancy, Transparency International, WWF); governments (China, Germany [as observer], Iceland, Norway, Zambia); commercial and development banks (including banks signatory to the Equator Principles, and the World Bank [as observer]); and the hydropower sector, represented by the International Hydropower Association. The development process included field trials in 16 countries, throughout the world, and stakeholder engagement with several thousand individuals.

Why sustainable Hydropower is a key driver of development


The International Hydropower Association (IHA) was formed under the auspices of UNESCO in 1995 and addresses the role of hydropower in meeting the world’s growing water and energy needs as a clean, renewable and sustainable technology. With members active in more than 80 countries, IHA is a non-governmental, mutual association of organisations and individuals.

www.hydropower.org

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Evidence-based assessment of specific topics covers the three pillars of sustainability (some 20 topics include, for example, downstream flow regimes, indigenous peoples, biodiversity, economic viability, resettlement, water quality, and sedimentation. Cross cutting themes include climate change and gender issues. The Protocol result is presented as a hydropower sustainability profile. In this way, multiple stakeholders can become better informed and develop strategies to address any weaknesses identified through the assessment process.

The Shardara multi-purpose project assessment The pilot assessment on the existing Shardara multipurpose hydropower facility, on the Syrdarya River in South Kazakhstan, provides a useful case study. This was part of an

initiative called the Transboundary Water Management in Central Asia.

Shardara lies amid substantial transboundary tension following the former Soviet Union’s break-up (The Syrdarya River flows through the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan) - a situation made further complex by diverse demands on the facility including agricultural irrigation, fisheries, and flood prevention, as well as hydropower.

The pilot sustainability assessment was commissioned to inform political discussions on water and energy, including transboundary issues, in Central Asia. It resulted in 25 recommendations promoting sustainable operation and opportunities for further investigation and discussion. While the Protocol is a project specific tool, its application under this initiative both contributed to understanding of sustainability challenges at the project itself, and served to highlight some of the water resource challenges regionally, providing a common language to engage with these complexities.

As global interest in implementing this tool gathers pace, assessments have also taken place in Australia and Germany, and soon will in Malaysia, Iceland and Brazil. The Protocol is now being implemented by many leading energy companies and organisations including: EDF, E.ON, GDF Suez Energy Brazil, Itaipu Binacional, Hydro Equipment Association, Hydro Tasmania, Landsvirkjun, Manitoba Hydro, Odebrecht, Sarawak Energy, and Statkraft, which have all become IHA Sustainability Partners. The Protocol provides a useful, informative tool, for civil society, governments, business, and other stakeholders, in global efforts to achieve continued, and enhanced, sustainable development.

The Shardara Dam sits on the Syrdarya River, which flows from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan, through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, before reaching the Aral Sea.



Payment experience in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) from a pilot in Community Forests of Nepal.

Nepal is one of the first countries in the world to include community forest management in the national forestry policy. This confers authority to local communities to manage forest resources as forest user groups of an autonomous institution.

With support from Norad, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in partnership with Federation of Community Forestry Users’ Nepal (FECOFUN) and Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bio-resources (ANSAB), is piloting a REDD+ project in community forests in three watersheds of Nepal covering over 10,000 Hectare since 2009.

This action research based REDD+ pilot project aims to set up a (national) demonstrational governance and payment system for emission reduction through sustainable forest management from which local communities and indigenous people benefit.

It facilitates strengthening the civil societies’ capacity to ensure their significant contribution in national REDD policy process. Contribution by local communities and civil societies into policy process, first requires local information system relating to communities abilities to measure carbon, their understanding - the role of climate change mitigation and adaptation and role of forest in sequestering atmospheric carbon as well as communicating to multi-stakeholders.

Thus the project developed carbon monitoring guidelines and trained local communities in the application of forest measurement skills. It tested REDD+ payment in community forestry for the annual incremental carbon by setting up a pilot Forest Carbon Trust Fund (FCTF) which is operated by multi-stakeholders advisory board.

The FCTF duly integrates equity related concerns (see factbox) while making payment to local communities whereby rights of poor, women and indigenous peoples are safeguarded in REDD+. This project has illustrated, that when social safeguards are ensured, REDD can dovetail carbon and livelihood benefits.

Multi-stakeholder monitoring committee in each watershed ensures proper utilization of REDD payment under the following activities relating to:

• Reduce deforestation, forest degradation and promote forest conservation by promoting through alternative energy technologies as well as sustainable management of forest that enhance carbon stock

• Improve livelihood and awareness raising activities• Monitoring forest carbon, auditing trust fund and verify

forest carbon data

However, expensive Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) mechanism in cases of carbon trading in future, sustainability of the FCTF after the project period (mid 2013) and non-permanence activities such as forest fire are key challenges in the pilot sites.

To combat forest fire, communities have established forest fire lines. Local communities in three watersheds claim of no forest fire this year. The attached maps showing community forests of Chitwan, Dolakha and Gorkha respectively validate the voices by communities.

Incremental forest carbon stock and no recorded forest fires in the piloted sites are clear indication that incentivized REDD mechanism accelerates climate change mitigation and adaptation at local level by securing their livelihood options.

REDD+ becomes reality in Nepal


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What is REDD+?Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) is an effort to create a financial value for the carbon stored in forests, offering incentives for developing countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in low-carbon paths to sustainable development. “REDD+” goes beyond deforestation and forest degradation, and includes the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu Nepal, is a regional intergovernmental knowledge development and learning centre serving the eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. ICIMOD’s vision is that the mountain population of the greater Himalayas enjoys improved well-being in a sustainable global environment; its Mission is to enable and facilitate equitable and sustainable well-being of the people of the HKH by supporting sustainable mountain development through active regional cooperation.

www.icimod.org

REDD Payment = f [forest carbon stock and increment (40%) + households number of indigenous people (10%) + number of Dalit households (15%) + population of women (15%) + number of poor households (20%)]

Factbox


Mibelle Biochemistry (Switzerland)

PhytoCellTec™ plant stem cells revolutionize the use of rare plant species in cosmeticsThe properties of most cosmetic products are defined by active ingredients. Plants have always been a precious source of biologically active substances for cosmetic formulations. Being a fast moving market, researchers in the cosmetics industry desperately seek innovative yet sustainable ingredients. However, new material is limited as many plants have endangered species status or cannot be harvested. Meanwhile, plant cultivations require considerable natural resources and are time consuming to arrange. Consequently, they do not comply with today’s sustainability requirements.

An eco-breakthrough in natural cosmetic ingredientsMibelle Biochemistry has made a breakthrough in this area by developing PhytoCellTec™. For the first time, plant stem cells have been cultivated from rare and endangered plants for use in

cosmetics. This biotechnology is an innovative and sustainable source of novel high performing cosmetic actives.

Unlike with human cells, every plant cell has the potential to de-differentiate from a normal cell to a stem cell and to multiply as such. PhytoCellTec™ is based on this unique toti-potency of plant cells which is initiated by the wound-healing mechanism of a plant. After a selected part of a plant is wounded to induce the formation of callus cells, this wound healing tissue consists of de-differentiated cells, i.e. plant stem cells. These cells can then be cultivated in defined nutrient medium using specially designed bioreactors to achieve large scale production.

The many benefitsThis innovative technology delivers sustainability by preserving endangered plants, being 100% natural and requiring no cultivation.

A fresh look that doesn’t cost the earth

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As regards quality, it contains most active molecules (ensuring high efficacy), the plant material is available regardless of the season or market demand and the preparation is fully reproducible. PhytoCellTec™ plant stem cells – creating a youthful appearance In 2008, Mibelle Biochemistry launched PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica. This is the first cosmetic active ingredient based on plant stem cells and is derived from a rare Swiss apple breed known for its longevity. Only the cultivation of stem cells made the use of this almost extinct apple possible for cosmetics. Clinically proven anti-aging results of the apple stem cells as well its eco-friendly production resulted in immediate interest from the global cosmetic industry. Often described as “the miracle anti-aging apple” PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica active can now be found in hundreds of global cosmetic products. It increases the skin’s vitality and successfully fights both environmental and chronological skin aging. Featuring the same technology Mibelle Biochemistry has developed further products from other special plant species. This includes PhytoCellTec™ Alp Rose which is based on stem cells from Swiss alpine roses that protect the skin against barrier disruption and therefore maintain skin moisture.

All PhytoCellTec™ products slow skin aging by protecting the most valuable skin cells - the stem cells - ensuring the skin’s youthfulness. Mibelle Biochemistry has a patent pending for the application of

plant stem cells to protect skin stem cells. All actives based on this technology are 100% natural and ensure the sustainable use of endangered plants.

Mibelle Biochemistry (Switzerland) designs and develops innovative, sustainable and high performing actives based on naturally derived compounds. Mibelle Biochemistry’s “Inspired by nature – Realized by science” motto guides its efforts at combining nature and science through a plant stem cell cultivation technique.

Background information about the OrganizationMibelle Biochemistry (Switzerland) designs and develops innovative, sustainable and high performing actives based on naturally derived compounds. Mibelle Biochemistry’s “Inspired by nature – Realized by science” motto guides its efforts at combining nature and science through a sustainable plant stem cell cultivation technique.

Key messagePhytoCellTec™ - An eco-breakthrough in natural cosmetic ingredients

PhytoCellTec™ is the first approach at cultivating plant stem cells from rare and endangered plants that can then be used in cosmetics. This biotechnology provides a highly innovative and sustainable source of novel high performing cosmetic actives. ■

Institute Pour La Ville en Mouvement

Everywhere in the world, cities are expanding. In countries which remain largely rural, populations are increasingly moving to the towns. In countries where urbanization has already gone a long way, urban life is shifting to a new everyday scale covering huge areas. In parallel, economic, social and cultural development is embedded in ever-increasing specialization, which requires more extensive and more diversified residential and employment catchment areas.

Against this background, urban transport is becoming more and more extensive and represents a challenge that is, in certain respects, new. It is no longer a question of just being able to move around for one reason or another, but of having access to genuine urban mobility, i.e. the material and cultural capacity to reach the different parts of the city at any time. With access to work, to housing, to education, to health, to leisure, to consumption, etc., therefore requiring more and more mobility, it may be said that we are witnessing the emergence of a right to mobility, a right that is “generic” insofar as the efficacy of most other rights ultimately depends on it.

The importance of urban movement in the day-to-day lives of individuals and in business activities also means that greater attention needs to be paid to the quality of the times and places of urban transport. Moreover, their expansion raises problems of

different kinds, of multimodality and intermodality, of development, of information, of accessibility, of size, of safety and of environment.

Resolving these problems requires new approaches, a breaking down of the barriers between the different specialists and disciplines working on the city and transportation, transverse approaches that bring together previously separate stakeholders, education for public officials and the public alike. All these aspects constitute IVM’s “raison d’être,” the reason for the diversity of its Scientific and hand Strategy Committee, for its choice of projects, for the conception of its operating methods. ■www.city-on-the-move.com

Cities on the move

Launched by PSA Peugeot Citroën in June 2000, the Institut pour la ville en mouvement [City on the Move] seeks to contribute to the emergence of innovative solutions for urban mobilities. It brings together representatives of the corporate and academic worlds, researchers and practitioners from the social, cultural and voluntary sectors, along with municipalities, to work on joint action-research projects.

It seeks to test concrete solutions, to promote international comparisons, to identify the most original urban and architectural approaches. In China, Latin America, and Europe, the offices of City on the Move mobilize experts and expertise from multiple disciplines, disseminate knowledge and raise public awareness of the challenge that mobilities represent for the societies of today.

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Latest ResearchBuilding a green economy and spreading the benefits of sustainable development means new ideas, new policies and new thinking. The latest research section draws attention to some of the innovative, cutting edge research from across the globe taking on these challenges. Universities and national centres are buzzing with data, theories and their implications. Now is the time to put these into action.

Experts from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management explain how private sector investment can be realised


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New research from the Stockholm Environment Institute suggests there is huge untapped potential in biomass as a source of energy – but developing this will require careful planning and political will.

Climate change poses enormous challenges: to keep temperature increases under 2°C, we must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions – and to do so, we will need to transform the world’s energy systems and wean our economies off fossil fuels.

This will be hard, and it will be costly, but it also creates extraordinary opportunities.

It’s a chance to innovate, to explore options we might’ve missed in times of cheap, plentiful coal and oil and no climate worries. And one of the things we’re discovering is the huge untapped potential of a resource we’ve used for millennia: biomass. In many countries, coal-fired plants have been retrofitted to burn wood; in Sweden, biomass surpassed oil in 2009 as the No. 1 energy source. Developing nations such as India have focused on using biomass more cleanly and efficiently, making briquettes, for example, from agricultural and forestry wastes.

Most notably, we’ve seen a surge in production of liquid biofuels from sugarcane, maize and other sources. To the extent that these projects encourage

deforestation, compete with food production, or deplete scarce water supplies, they’re unsustainable. But there are also great successes, especially with sugarcane, that could be widely emulated. The best projects don’t just make ethanol, but also use the fibrous residues to generate energy. Some are going one step farther, and making biogas, specialized chemicals and bio-based materials that can replace non-renewable materials, such as bio-plastics.

Renewable but limitedThis is the context in which we launched a research project to explore the potential for biomass to play a much larger role in our future economy. Our study was part of a package on low-carbon technologies in a resource-constrained world, produced by the Stockholm Environment Institute in partnership with the business initiative 3C (Combat Climate Change).

The challenge with biomass is that, though renewable, it’s not unlimited: it is constrained by land and water availability, by soils’ ability to support plant growth, and by the need to return some biomass to the land to retain nutrients and soil moisture. There are competing

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Seizing the chance to build a bio-based economy By Dr Eric Kemp-Benedict


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uses – especially food production – and concerns over water supplies and carbon emissions mean we can’t just keep expanding agricultural land, or boost yields through unsustainable irrigation and other practices.

So we built scenarios to evaluate our choices: business as usual, a strong emphasis on climate mitigation, a strong emphasis on food production, or both – what we called a “Sustainability Transition,” in which we’d aim not just to use biomass for food and energy, but also for industrial feedstocks and more.

We found that no scenario is perfect, but there could be great benefits from taking a broader view of biomass in our economy. It could spur innovation, drive investment, and perhaps accelerate efforts to boost agricultural yields, and to do so sustainably and in a way that is accessible to the world’s poor.

Public-private potentialOur scenario looked only out to 2035, and we don’t expect a bio-based economy to take hold by then. But on a small scale, it’s already happening. In early April, for example, Chemical & Engineering News reported on four companies that are using biomass-derived chemicals to produce industrial materials – from ingredients for polyesters made from succinic acid (“spirit of amber”), to acrylic acid for paints, detergents, etc., made from sugar.

Building a bio-based economy will require political will, significant public- and private-sector investments in agricultural and industrial research, and a market that embraces biomass-based products. Companies can help close the gap by finding a niche within the value chain. And if the public sector encourages the use of bio-materials through research and development investment and purchasing, businesses can take this on as a challenge, and thrive on it.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international nonprofit research organization that has been engaged in environment and development issues at the local, national, regional and global policy levels for more than 20 years. Its goal is to bring about change for sustainable development by bridging science and policy. SEI has seven centres worldwide, in Stockholm; Oxford and York, U.K.; the United States; Bangkok, Thailand; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; and Tallinn, Estonia. The author of this article is a senior scientist in SEI’s U.S. Centre. www.sei-us.org

The financial sector plays a major role in driving the transformation towards low-carbon and climate-resilient economies. It needs to have a new set of competences and instruments to address this challenge.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimated in 2009 that in order to avoid dangerous climate change, a total global investment of US $1 trillion is needed annually. The Green Climate Fund is expected to supply USD100 billion per year from 2020 to finance mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries. Considering the limitations of public financial sources it is clear from these figures that the broader financial industry must play a major role in facilitating the transformation needed.

The Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance is supporting financing institutions e.g. commercial banks, micro-finance institutions and others to embed the green economy agenda in their operations. The Centre’s emphasis is on addressing the particular needs and challenges of financing institutions in Asia, Latin America and Africa, in building capacities to best utilise climate finance.

In order to move forward faster it is necessary to bridge the divide between public institutions (and policy) and private sector investment. Financial institutions need to be able to serve the rapidly growing market for energy efficiency and clean energy production.

The Centre’s focus is on the role of banking and the private sector in climate and sustainable energy projects, the characteristics of public finance mechanisms, institutional development, good governance, transparency and accountability of climate finance, and tools for monitoring, reporting and verification of emission reductions. In order to field-test new approaches, pilot programmes are carried out. A major initiative in this area is the National Climate Finance Institutions Support Programme (NCFISP). It aims to build the capacities needed for accessing, managing and disbursing climate funds in meaningful and efficient ways. Other project examples include the Seed Capital Assistance Facility (SCAF),

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How can we attract more investment into the green economy?

By Karlheinz Knickel, Carola Menzel and Laura Susanne Shuford

www.frankfurt-school.de


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the Climate Innovation Facility (CFIF), or the Indonesia Solar Lending (ISL) Programme.

Lessons learned in projects implemented thus far include:

• Up-front capital investment tends to be unattractive to the private sector because of uncertainties about future policy developments, the strengths and weaknesses of different technologies, and, related to both, relatively high risk levels – perceived or real.

• In order to bridge the divide between public institutions (and policy) and private sector investment, information and increased transparency are as central as continuity in policy frameworks and the building of trust. The integrity of financial management can be effectively enhanced if suitable processes and procedures are in place.

• A good understanding of the different financing needs and of appropriate financial modalities to address these needs is a prerequisite for an effective interplay between financing institutions and private investors.

• Providing credit lines to local commercial financial institutions and guarantees to share the commercial credit risks of lending to climate and sustainable energy finance projects can be very effective instruments. Contingent grants allow the sharing of project development costs, and loan softening programs help to mobilize domestic sources of capital.

• The financial viability of many technologies is still limited due to direct and indirect subsidisation of fossil fuels and uses. Carbon finance facilities that monetize the advanced sale of emissions can – if at all - provide some compensation.

• To activate public finance and catalyse private sector capital flow towards investments in climate adaptation and mitigation projects, capacity building is needed on a much larger scale. Capacity building is to support financing institutions in the project development and implementation chain for an effective use of the public funds that are being made available. The ultimate aim is to encourage private sector investment and realize the innovative capacities of technology and project developers for a common good.

Frankfurt School of Finance & Management is a leading private business school based in Frankfurt am Main. Frankfurt School’s International Advisory Services are providing consulting and training services in the financial sector around the globe. The Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance is a strategic cooperation between UNEP and Frankfurt School. The Centre is committed to catalysing private sector capital flow towards investments in sustainable energy and climate change mitigation and adaptation. It combines research of the highest calibre with an orientation towards practical application. Clients are international donor organisations like the EU, EBRD, EIB, GIZ, KfW, IFC and the Worldbank.

What do we mean by capacity building? People and institutions need to be in a position to carry out their tasks and fulfil their roles in competent and responsible ways. Capacity building means strengthening the skills, competencies and abilities of people and institutions. Enhancing people’s abilities will allow them to achieve results. Capacity building often means developing new skills and abilities within organizations, it can also mean modernizing institutions overall.

Buenos Aires

Putting sustainable development at the heart of policymakingThe Government of the Province of Buenos Aires has developed a sub-national government-level strategy in public policies about sustainable development, based on an inter-jurisdictional, inter-institutional and interdisciplinary approach.

The Provincial Agency for Sustainable Development (OPDS), enforcing authority in environmental issues at the provincial level, develops different actions based on that strategy with a multidimensional and horizontal approach regarding all other ministerial jurisdictions in the territory.

Thus, economic, social and environmental dimensions underlie the design of every measure and initiative implemented, allowing the necessary synergy between the programs carried out by the OPDS and other jurisdictions of the provincial public sector. Among others, the Ministry of Infrastructure (Program of Renewable Energies), Ministry of Production, Science and Technology (Environmental Education), Ministry of Agricultural Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development.

Besides, the OPDS belongs to the Provincial Committee of Emergencies, coordinating actions among the provincial ministries regarding Climate Change, and participates at national level in the Federal Council for the Environment (COFEMA, as per acronym in Spanish).

Outside this local framework, the province constantly takes part as an active participant in regional government networks and international institutions and events, such as the various UN Conferences of the Parties (COP), and

the Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development (nrg4SD), leading the process at national level with initiatives as the Carbon Footprints estimations of provincial exportations and the integration to a Platform of National Technological Liaisons on Environmental Issues.

In this context, from the point of view of a sub-national government, the Province of Buenos Aires contributes to the strengthening of a national strategy on sustainable development and to create awareness to all the potentiality in the coordinated actions of local and regional governments, based on the active interchange of experiences and capacities between the different institutions and decision makers.

The Province of Buenos Aires works to achieve the following outcomes:• Strengthening participation and cooperation among sub-

national governments, and with national governments, as empowering mechanism to design actions and make decisions.

• Contributing (as a sub-national government) to integrate local sustainable development mechanisms into national and international strategies, based on the interchange of experiences. ■

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Nowhere in the world is the challenge to devise creative solutions to reconcile the growth in human activity with the sustainable management of dwindling resources more telling of our success or failure than the Amazon region. As a leading company in the environmental services sector, rooted in the Brazilian Amazon, we are committed to working toward a sustainable future for our region and the world.

Every day, our employees are working to ensure that we do not only meet this challenge but that we exceed it. Our vision is to help our cities and towns, firms and local councils, to become beacons of environmental sustainability. We are keen on working with local and global strategic partners who share this vision and who believe that the private sector has an important role to play in building a better environment.

Our core businesses are waste treatment and recovery, water management, energy efficiency, sustainable logistics, and environmental education. Our activities are intrinsically linked to the strategic sectors of the region’s economy, including services, mining, oil and gas and infrastructure.

Our local expertise in the Brazilian Amazon makes us second to none in creating tangible environmental solutions in this part of the world. Over the next years, public and private investments in the region will exceed US$100 billion. The state of Pará alone will see over US$60 billion in investments until 2016.

Meanwhile, by 2014, Brazil aims to eradicate rubbish dumps across the country and ensure that waste is disposed sustainably and efficiently, including the widespread use of reverse logistics and the implementation of state-of-the-art green technologies. Our goal is to contribute meaningfully to these trends

and to facilitate the consolidation of a national green economy.

We believe that business initiatives that promote sustainability must work hand in hand with a commitment toward social responsibility and environmental education. Clean’s Institute of Sustainability promotes green living and welcomes hundreds of students every year to learn about sustainable living, including recycling, water conservation and green crafting.

We firmly believe that the challenge of sustainable development can only be adequately met when national and international efforts work alongside homegrown entrepreneurship and local expertise. We aim to take a leading role in this direction in the Amazon region.

We proudly support the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and we are immensely proud to sponsor the Rio+Business initiative.

We hope that the conference will mark a turning point in efforts to promote sustainable development and engender a new agenda for business in the green economy. We are particularly hopeful that the conference will be a significant opportunity for constructive dialogue on green businesses in the Brazilian Amazon. ■

Clean - Environmental Management: www.cleanga.com.br

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As a strategic advisory firm dedicated to nurturing business links between Latin America, emerging markets and the western world, Vertica proudly supports the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. We aim to be in the front rank of developing a strong and growing industry with energy efficient technologies and sustainable business solutions. We do this by facilitating the transfer of environmentally sound know-how between industrialised nations and emerging markets drawing on advances in science and technology to protect human health and the environment.

In that regard, Vertica endeavours to support companies committed to enhancing their environmental performance through the adoption of business best practices and the replacement of old and inefficient technology with the best the world has to offer.

It is widely acknowledged that within two decades, human demand for water will exceed foreseen supply by about 4%, while global food production will need to increase by 70% to feed a growing population. Meanwhile, 1.6 billion people – a quarter of humanity – live without electricity. By 2030, the world’s population is expected to require 50% more food, 45% more energy and 30% more water. Each day 50 to 100 species of animals and plants are driven extinct by human influence.

Sustainable development challenges are enormous and require contributions from all stakeholders, governments and business. Sustainable development in a world facing climate change can

only be realised if coordinated action is taken to safeguard biodiversity and manage all land sustainably. Capacity building for the implementation of climate change adaptation measures is also essential, particularly in the most vulnerable developing countries.

We believe that business has a pivotal role in contributing to these efforts. Vertica is striving to develop business links and solutions combining environmental and economic operational excellence to deliver goods and services with low environmental impacts.

Therefore, we hope that the Rio+20 UN Conference once again sends a strong signal and a common message to all stakeholders around the world on the need for synergistic implementation of UN conventions and securing renewed political commitment to a green economy that fosters sustainable development with new institutional arrangements.

We look forward to meeting and cooperating with likeminded individuals and organisations that share our commitment to a green and sustainable business agenda.

We wish all parties involved a successful gathering, and congratulate the conference organisers for putting together an outstanding programme.

Verticawww.globalvertica.com

“Climate information only has value when there is the possibility of a response and a clearly defined benefit from applying the information.”

Public-private partnership between IAI and Paraguayan farmers aims to raise crop yields and improve community resilience to climatic events.

2011-12 was a difficult season for Paraguayan farmers.

A La Niña event with its colder than normal sea surface temperature along the equator in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, brought drier weather to most of the country. Initial estimates of the resulting crop losses by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock indicate that about half the soybean crop has been lost, reducing this year production to about 4.6 million metric tons from last year’s 8.4 million metric tons.

It is well known that climate variability caused by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) risk to farmers of southeastern South America. However its mechanisms and effects were not well understood and not communicated with enough lead time to allow policy makers and farmers to implement adaptation strategies to reduce production risks. Now this is changing thanks to a project funded by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) IAI that is developing a climate information and decision support system aimed

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Farming forecasts reducing risk of El Niño

By Clyde W. Fraisse, University of Florida, USA

Norman Breuer, University of Miami, USA

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The IAI is an intergovernmental organization supported by 19 countries in the Americas dedicated to pursuing the principles of scientific excellence, international cooperation, and the full and open exchange of scientific information to increase the understanding of global change phenomena and their socio-economic implications. www.iai.int

at reducing the climate risks farmers face with each season’s planting.

Scientists in this project surveyed several Paraguayan farmer cooperatives on members’ knowledge of, and attitudes to seasonal climate variability, and on their expectations from climate forecasts. The results show that farmers have widely differing knowledge about the effects of ENSO. Accordingly, their willingness to apply climate forecasts to adapting their management practices also varies widely. A computer-generated crop growth model was used to evaluate adaptive management options under different ENSO scenarios, for example planting different soybean varieties and varying the planting dates. The team also developed strategies for communicating risks, including a web-based decision support tool.

Automated weather stations The research team found that farmers are very interested in understanding the effects of climate variability on their crop yields. They were equally enthusiastic about the possibility of co-developing a decision support system available on the Internet to help them make better decisions about farm management. This enthusiasm led the Federation of Cooperatives in Paraguay (Fecoprod) to invest in deploying a network of automated weather stations across the country and co-develop the web-based climate information and decision support system (http://fecoprod.agroclimate.org). A total of 33 cooperatives and about 18,000 farmers are members of Fecoprod, proving the broad reach of the project.

To communicate with farmers, the team worked with cooperatives, technical support staff and a network of agronomists. They not only conducted research but organized workshops to train researchers, students and agronomists on the use of crop simulation models. Many producers already use weather and climate information from several sources including the Internet. The majority of the farmers believed that seasonal climate forecasts would be useful to them. They mentioned several management practices that might be altered in light of reliable seasonal forecasts. These include fertilization rates, variety selection, and type of land preparation, among others.

Seasonal climate variability is a major cause of production risks faced by farmers. In recent years, the science of forecasting seasonal climate has improved

significantly. Basic research has improved understanding of major systems that influence climate variability, including the El Niño phenomenon, which is a main driver of climate variability in the southern cone of South America. This improved ability in predicting anomalies in the seasonal weather, has resulted in a large number of studies that examine the potential of climate forecasting to reduce the risks agricultural businesses are facing.

The utility of seasonal climate forecasting for farm management depends on such factors as the flexibility and willingness of farmers to adapt their farming operations to the forecast, the timing and accuracy of the forecast, and the effectiveness of the communication process. Climate information only has value when there is the possibility of a response and a clearly defined benefit from applying the information.

Close cooperation It is important to recognize that the use of climate information in farming means making economic and agronomic decisions that take a probabilistic forecasts into account. Rather than looking for a clear-cut, yes or no “use“ of climate forecast, we should aim at encouraging farmers to experiment with adaptations incorporating the use of climate information in an incremental nature that mimics their approach for the incorporation of new technologies.

The research in eastern Paraguay demonstrated that the challenge of providing farmers with trusted, useful, science-based information, upon which they can make informed decisions, can be best met by developing and implementing climate-based decision support systems in close cooperation with local cooperatives.

By using a combination of participatory techniques, qualitative methods, and interactive exercises to elicit end-users’ perspectives and feedback we obtained a better understanding of the complexities of farmer’s decision-making processes and the role that climate information plays in them.

This understanding has provided the team with the necessary tools to more effectively communicate risks to agricultural producers in the region and has resulted in a strong partnership of researchers and the farmers’ cooperatives to develop solutions that can effectively reduce crop production risks associated with climate variability.

Unleashing business to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions

By J Robert Gibson and Christine Loh.Christine Loh is CEO of Civic Exchange.J Robert Gibson is Adjunct Professor is City University of Hong Kong.

City University of Hong Kong and Civic Exchange discuss what the UN’s Green Climate Fund could learn from the world of international trade and commerce.

From the beaches on the south of Hong Kong Island one sees a continuous stream of giant container ships taking goods manufactured in China and SE Asia for sale in North America and Europe. This trade is organized by thousands of companies responding to market forces.

Developed countries such as the USA and Germany pay billions of dollars to developing countries with minimal Government involvement or concerns that their sovereignty is threatened.

How can this business dynamism be applied to reducing greenhouse gas emissions? Answering this question hints at how to put the UN’s new Green Climate Fund (GCF) to best use.

This is important both because every dollar must count in the fight against climate change, and because seeing the money spent well will make it politically easier to raise funds from developed counties.

So how does business do it? An example is a large US retailer instructing its Hong Kong buyer to procure a

million coats for the winter season. The agent ‘pre-qualifies’ interested factories by agreeing all the details of the coats. This includes ordering and inspecting samples and agreeing terms on delivery, environmental standards and treatment of factory workers.

It then arranges a ‘reverse auction’ or ‘tendering’ process where pre-qualified factories compete to offer the lowest price. The winning factory must produce the goods to the quality of the samples while meeting all the contract’s conditions. Once it does, it gets paid. If it fails, it bears the loss.

A key to success is repetition. Every winter more coats and more contracts are required. Lessons learned from previous seasons are incorporated in the new contract, and the more competitive suppliers drive down prices.

California is showing how this process can be applied to reducing carbon emissions using a ‘reverse auction’ process to allocate support for investment in solar power. The following diagram shows the cycle.

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Who are CiviC exChange?

Civic Exchange is a Hong Kong-based independent public policy think-tank addressing climate change, energy, air quality, biodiversity, urban planning and governance. An accredited observer organization, it submitted a paper on this topic to the UNFCCC, which can be viewed on its website: www.civic-exchange.org/wp.

What can the GCF learn from trade? The GCF should apply this process to carbon emissions mitigation by:

• Working with developed countries to incorporate a budget which makes best use of its potential funding in their ‘Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action’ plans (NAMAs). For example there might be budget windows for action on forestry, renewable energy or rural electrification.

• Assisting developing countries to prequalify projects for the different budget windows. The pre-qualification could include protecting biodiversity and indigenous peoples’ rights, as well as determining the quality of the work required.

• Running a ‘reverse auction’ or ‘tender’ leading to contracts to fund projects based on their results. Successful contractors must deliver results in order to be paid.

• Reviewing the results of each funding round so that lessons learned are built into the next.

This will unleash the power of the private sector to work on carbon emissions mitigation:

• Companies will bid competitively to win contracts, and must fulfil them in accordance with the laws of the country in which they operate.

• Initial funding rounds may be less cost effective, but will get the action started.

• The repeated funding rounds will continuously improve the auction and contract letting process based on lessons learned. This will also drive down the cost of action as entities competing for contracts learn how to deliver more effectively.

Just as coats must be delivered in time for the winter season, mitigation results must be achieved on time. In the same way that giant container ships create economies of scale, comprehensive action must be taken to avoid further destabilizing the climate.

Even with strong action some climate change will happen, so adaptation will also be required. The ‘reverse auction mechanism’ described can do both tasks. We need to get it working as soon as possible.

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What is the green Climate Fund?

The Green Climate Fund is a proposed central funding mechanism developed through the UN’s climate change negotiations. It is hoped that the fund will distribute $100bn if funding to low-carbon projects by 2020. Developed countries have committed to mobilise US$100bn a year by 2020 to fund mitigation and climate change adaption in developing countries. The UNFCCC meeting in Durban last December decided that the Green Climate Fund would handle the majority of this money gave instructions for this fund to be set up during 2012.

Establish Auction

Processes

ConduCt auCtion

Bidder Qualification

Auction Execution Assess and Revise

Product definition

- Technology

- Timing

- Delivery

- Term

- Pricing structure

- Contract language

auction design

- Timing

- Size

- Number

- Frequency

- Independent

administrator

Creditworthines Type: multiple

round, descending

clock?

Approve results Review outcomes

Security

requirement

Min and max prices? Execute contracts Assess process

Contractual

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Single price? Post security Identify lessons

Indicative bids Share limits? Monitor

development and

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Independent

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How can we create sustainable agriculture, capable of feeding the soon to be 10 billion people on earth, and at the same time preserve the ecosystems of the species that coexist with us on this planet? A team from Lund University in Sweden attempts to answer this tricky question.

We use the landscapes surrounding us to produce food and fibre, but our efforts to increase this production in the short run often comes at a cost to the plants, animals and biological processes that provide us with sustainable ecosystem services such as nutrient retention, carbon storage, fresh water, waste decomposition and recreational experiences.

How we manage the balance between our demands and what the Earth can provide constitutes an important set of questions for scientists, practitioners and policy makers. One of these questions relates to the sustainable agricultural sector and is of particular concern to farmers in a changing world.

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Sustainable agriculture – an issue for society and business

By Marianne Hall, Georg Andersson, Henrik Smith

and Markku Rummukainen.

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One tool for helping to make the agricultural sector sustainable is to use labels on food products to guide consumers who wish to make more environment-friendly choices in their everyday life.

Niklas Torle is the owner of the Vegadal Farm in southern Sweden. He delivers vegetables labelled with the Swedish Seal of Quality. This guarantees that the food has been produced on farms that follow strict criteria for safe food, animal welfare, responsibility for the environment and a vivid landscape.

“The control is rigorous,” Torle explains, “and obviously we are required to use certain approved chemicals only, and to keep hazard assessments on all compounds. Furthermore, we must be able to account for every delivered stack of products, in terms of when it was harvested and on which exact patch it was grown. And we also have climate considerations. For instance, we use only green electricity from renewable energy sources.”

The regulations add extra work for the farmer, and also additional expenses, thus driving up the production costs. To pursue not only ecologically sustainable agriculture but also economically sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and ecosystem services need to be managed as assets to the society. There is no easy answer on how to achieve this.

Addressing this issue, Lund University performs cross-faculty research integrating socio-economic and ecological perspectives on sustainable agriculture, and strives to bridge the gap between science and society by working closely with stake-holders from government bodies, NGOs, farmers and land owners.

An iconic symbol for the unsustainability in conventional farming methods is the disappearance of pollinators, especially bees and bumble-bees.

The population declines are caused by several factors, including sensitivity to direct and indirect effects of chemicals used in conventional farming. Organic farming, on the other hand, has been shown to have a positive effect on pollinators. In a study performed on strawberries as model plants in southern Sweden, scientists at Lund University found that the pollination success was three times higher on organic farms compared to conventional ones.

This can be scaled up by noting that pollination by insects contributes to about one third of Europe’s crop yield, and these insect pollinated crops contain as much as 90 % of the vitamins and nutrients essential for the human well-being. The importance of keeping the population of pollinators stable and viable can hardly be overestimated.

Torle concludes: “We need the tools, and we need the international agreements that make it possible for us to focus on and invest in growing our crops in a sustainable way. We need the governments to agree on rules and regulations for chemicals and methods so that we can compete on equal terms with other producers on the international food market. This is the most important issue that we need from the governments to agree on, if we are to build up sustainable agriculture for the modern society.”

Marianne Hall, Georg Andersson, Henrik Smith are Markku Rummukainen represent the Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

€153 billion

The global economic value of pollinating insects such as bees. This represents 9% of the world’s agricultural output.


Hands on!To boost growth, governments should adopt a proactive green industrial policy.

It’s not easy being ‘green’ these days. Ahead of Rio+20 cutbacks to government support for low-carbon, clean-energy agenda items are a reality in many countries around the world. In Europe, a dire economic outlook and continued sovereign debt problems have put renewable energy subsidies in the cross hairs. Some have argued that government should withdraw its support altogether, following Ayn Rand’s mantra that “the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off!” Without government intervention the private sector would be free to produce the best, most cost-effective solutions.

Decreasing regulatory burdens can indeed boost investment in small and medium-sized businesses and clean tech start-ups. The technological innovation these companies produce is critical if the world is to effectively address global climate change. Innovative ideas can also help tackle the structural problems underpinning sluggish growth and high unemployment rates that have manifested themselves in OECD countries since the financial crisis.

And yet, private sector ingenuity and innovation by themselves are not what has led Denmark to produce a quarter of its electricity from wind and Germany to become the world leader in installed solar photovoltaic capacity while reducing its CO2 emissions by over 20 percent. It is also not what is fuelling China’s massive renewables boom. In each of these cases proactive government intervention has made all the difference.

What governments in each of these countries recognized is that technological innovation does not equal market penetration. The nature of today’s energy market often prevents new entrants from challenging vested interests, in turn slowing down the adoption of innovative ideas and, thus, the transition to a prosperous, low-carbon economy. If left to their own devices, these new entrants are unable to overcome the systemic bias against clean, low-carbon technologies.

In the energy field, only government can create conditions that enable these technologies to gain a lasting foothold in the market and grow the economy by building a 21st century industrial base. The catalogue of intervention measures includes tried and tested green industrial policies such as feed-in tariffs, carbon pricing, renewable/clean energy obligations, targeted tax breaks, early-stage R&D investment and energy efficiency standards.

Critics contend that extensive government support has provided low-carbon technologies with an unfair advantage while driving up prices for all end consumers. Government, they argue, should not be in the business of picking winners and losers. This narrative should be challenged on at least two accounts. First, it ignores the significant cost reductions that have occurred as the result of high learning rates, allowing for a gradual phase-out of subsidies.

For example, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the world’s leading wind farms are already cost-competitive with traditional ways of generating electricity such as conventional coal or nuclear power. With global installed capacity growing year on year, onshore wind is expected to reach grid parity by 2016. Solar PV is not far behind. Combined with a suite of energy efficiency and energy saving measures, such developments will help lower energy bills.

Second, the energy system can hardly be described as laissez-faire, with government picking winners and losers for more than two centuries. No energy source, be it coal, oil, gas or nuclear, ever matured without significant government intervention. As Nancy Pfund and Ben Healy point out in a recent study of historical U.S. energy subsidies, the financial help granted to fossil fuels and nuclear power in their formative years was, as an inflation-adjusted percentage of GDP, many times greater than the support given to renewables today.

The benefits traditional energy sources have provided to societies – affordable electricity, heating, transportation – have arguably more than repaid the initial investment. In the same way, the added benefits of low-carbon technologies and associated industries – greater supply security, a more diversified and stronger economy, efficiency savings, less CO2 and air pollution – will more than compensate for government intervention and investment.

The job of a free-market government is to ensure that the economic game is played fairly.

In energy policy this means continued intervention on behalf of new entrants. The job of any government is to create an environment in which business and industry can thrive, providing employment in R&D, manufacturing, installation, operation and maintenance and adding real value to the economy. A proactive green industrial policy that is stable and consistent can ensure that gains made in the clean-tech, low-carbon sector are not lost but built upon. For governments gathering in Rio this June the message is clear: Hands on!

Dr Harald Heubaum is Lecturer in Global Energy and Climate Policy at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, SOAS, University of London. His research interests include unconventional and low-carbon energy technologies, the regulation of energy markets and energy pricing.

By Harald Heubaum

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