In a survey of asset managers, almost three quarters said they don’t take into account global warming when analyzing a company, CERES, whose investors have $8.5 trillion under management, said today in a report. Almost half said climate change isn’t relevant to their investment decisions.
Pension funds, governments and private institutional investors are beginning to ask asset managers to include climate risk in their due diligence, according to the report. U.S. regulators are trying to make it easier for shareholders to seek information on environmental risks, and are giving “serious consideration” to requiring that companies disclose more about how global warming may hurt profits, CERES said.
“The subprime meltdown was about ignoring risk,” Mindy Lubber, president of Boston-based CERES, said in an interview. “We’re at the early stages of integrating climate risk and other sustainability risk into financial management.”
Growing competition for scarce water resources is a growing business risk, a major economic threat, and a challenge for the sustainability of communities and the ecosystems upon which they rely. It is an issue that has serious implications for the stability of countries in which businesses operate, and for industries whose value chains are exposed to water scarcity.
Charting our water future: Economic frameworks to inform decision-making shows that while meeting competing demands for water will be a considerable challenge, it is entirely possible to close the growing gap between water supply and demand. This report provides greater clarity on the scale of the water challenge and how it can be met in an affordable and sustainable manner.
The report offers case studies from four countries with drastically different water issues, which will collectively account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 30 percent of global GDP and 42 percent of projected water demand in 2030: China, India, South Africa and Brazil. The report’s methodology identifies supply- and demand-side measures that could constitute a more cost effective approach to closing the water gap and achieve savings in each country.
Demonstrating a commitment to lead by example, President Obama signed an Executive Order today that sets sustainability goals for Federal agencies and focuses on making improvements in their environmental, energy and economic performance. The Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set a 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target within 90 days; increase energy efficiency; reduce fleet petroleum consumption; conserve water; reduce waste; support sustainable communities; and leverage Federal purchasing power to promote environmentally-responsible products and technologies.
“As the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, the Federal government can and should lead by example when it comes to creating innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, reduce waste, and use environmentally-responsible products and technologies,” said President Obama. “This Executive Order builds on the momentum of the Recovery Act to help create a clean energy economy and demonstrates the Federal government’s commitment, over and above what is already being done, to reducing emissions and saving money.”
UCLA School of Law and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law today released a new report showing policymakers how to boost climate-friendly real estate development in California. This type of development is typified by walkable communities near transit, jobs, and services and is key to reducing California’s greenhouse gas emissions.The paper’s recommendations are the result of a March workshop at UCLA School of Law, where California Attorney General Jerry Brown and the state’s leading real estate developers and architects discussed ways to overcome the barriers to sustainable development in California.
“Real estate development has generated incredible wealth in California, but it has also — in far too many cases — contributed to grinding traffic jams, pollution and a disturbing separation between where we work and where we live,” commented Attorney General Brown. “This set of recommendations, if followed, would make neighborhoods and cities more livable and slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions.”
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that Shelley Poticha has been appointed Senior Advisor for Sustainable Housing and Communities.
“Shelley will help lead HUD’s effort to change the way we think about our communities,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Her wealth of experience will help move us forward in creating sustainable, greener and smarter communities.”
HUD is working with Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) on legislation that seeks to create the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities at HUD. Poticha will direct the office if the bill becomes law.
Poticha currently serves as the President and CEO of Reconnecting America, where she has become a national leader for the reform of land use and transportation planning and policy with the goal of creating more sustainable and equitable development. Her efforts have stimulated a national conversation about the role of transit in shaping communities and the importance of building diverse and inclusive neighborhoods.
