Carbon Shadow Pricing

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Carbon Shadow Pricing

Today we're talking about Carbon Shadow Pricing, a technique some companies are using to formulate their energy improvement and efficiency budgets, drive down costs and get ahead of the curve with anticipated regulations.  Sensible managers realize that their power use and emissions are the source of twin liabilities to the company bottom line. They reason that regulation of carbon emissions isn't far away and whatever form it takes it will eat into the bottom line. Additionally, energy use is a proxy for waste. Finding creative ways to avoid energy translates into profit and innovation.

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4 things to help you separate Sustainability Pros from Amateurs

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4 things to help you separate Sustainability Pros from Amateurs

Everyone you will ever meet has a story about a good mechanic and a bad mechanic. Not so for sustainability professionals.  The screening process is clumsy. How long should they have been in business? Is it even credible to claim that you've been in sustainability for more than a few years? Keep your mind on these four points and you should be able to hedge your bets.

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The Barclays downgrade of the entire electric utility sector is good news for everyone.

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The Barclays downgrade of the entire electric utility sector is good news for everyone.

This May Barclays downgraded their evaluation of an entire sector that deals with the utility grid and they did so because the grid is massive, fragile, expensive to operate and quickly being cannibalized by younger, more cost effective technologies(ie. on-site power generation especially solar PV).  This is great news.  Here's why:

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Notes from a consultation - the Clothier

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Notes from a consultation - the Clothier

Just under a year ago I was introduced to a client here in New Jersey.   When we all sat down the client was incredibly decent and warm but firm in his commitment that the company didn't have the need for me. At the urging of our mutual acquaintance we kept talking.  Over lunch we discussed everything about the company's business model: their shippers, sourcing of materials, international relations, you name it.  We started talking about how the little things can add up and I took the opportunity to mention that the best minds in the world tell us that we're in for a couple degrees rise in temperature.  The Clothier started to see that by the time the impacts are obvious that they'd be everywhere.

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Divestment - the PR boost that costs you nothing

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There's a huge push on right now to move money out of fossil fuel investments.  Cities, universities and pension funds of all stripes are moving money away from carbon-based investments and reaping great press while doing it.  Why is this happening and how can your marketing department make hay with it?

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Should your organization be talking about sustainability?

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Do you have inside council devoted to your legal concerns?  An inside six-sigma master blackbelt for your continuous improvement?  Do you have whole departments for tax and accounting staff or social media?  Not likely.  Few companies need these services to be full-time and in-house but they do need the services.  Sustainability works the same way and tends to follow this pattern:

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