Month: April 2024

Do you feel a bit lost when people refer to certain environmental sustainability topics and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to learning more? Sustainability 101 is a blog series that you can turn to for information about different environmental terms that may come up at work, during discussions with friends, and even at your annual holiday gathering.

Companies play a pivotal role in addressing the climate challenges of today and tomorrow, with initiatives and innovations helping to build a more sustainable future. Technology companies can especially play a crucial role in helping to reduce global emissions. According to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in 2023, “Estimates reveal that the adoption of digital technology solutions in different sectors could help reduce global GHG emissions by 6–20 percent by 2030, depending on modeling scenarios and the sectors taken into account.” And besides the potential from innovation, there is also an expectation from investors, customers, and employees for companies to implement environmental initiatives and transparently report on their progress. Many regulators around the world are requiring companies to report on these initiatives as well. According to WEF, “Stakeholders nowadays are pressing organizations to go beyond expectations, imagine a better way to do business, address environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns concretely and transparently, and to set goals and report progress for business sustainability.”

Environmental reporting is an important part of this journey; it is how companies disclose their environmental impact and progress on sustainability efforts to stakeholders. According to the Governance and Accounting Institute (G&A), 98% of companies in the largest half of the Russell 1000 by market cap published a sustainability report in 2022. Setting clear public goals, measuring progress against them, and reporting on that progress is a best practice and, increasingly, a regulatory requirement. Not only does reporting help increase transparency and trust, but it also helps promote best practices and collaboration by demonstrating a more proactive approach to sustainability.

Changes in environmental reporting

Many companies have been voluntarily reporting on their environmental performance and progress against their goals for years. Companies have traditionally reported in two ways: by publishing their own public reports aligning with standard environmental reporting frameworks, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and by submitting information to formal indices, raters, and rankers, such as CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).

In recent years, we have seen a shift from voluntary reporting to mandatory reporting. The need for comparability, accountability, and defendable and auditable data and progress across companies contributes to this change.

For example, in the European Union, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) modernizes and strengthens existing rules concerning the social and environmental information that companies have to report. The CSRD aims to ensure that investors and other stakeholders have access to the information they need to assess the impact of companies on people and the environment, and for investors to assess the financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change and other sustainability issues. A broader set of companies will now be required to report on sustainability, and companies subject to the CSRD will have to report according to European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS).

Mandatory regulations are still evolving in many parts of the world. For example, in the United States, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently finalized a rule to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures by public companies and in public offerings. And multiple jurisdictions around the world are actively pursuing or considering adoption roadmaps and pathways toward mandatory application of International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards (SDS).

Due to the urgency of climate change and the risks it poses, many companies recognize the importance of sustainability initiatives and transparent reporting regardless of the mandatory regulatory status. According to the WEF Global Risks Report, two-thirds of respondents rank extreme weather as the top risk most likely to present a material crisis on a global scale in 2024.

The future of environmental reporting

As we innovate in the climate space, there is also room to innovate on the way we approach environmental reporting.

Scenario modeling can help enhance the quality of environmental reporting by helping us gain a deeper understanding of potential future environmental impacts, risks, and opportunities such as climate change projections, regulatory changes, and advancements in technology.

Transition plans help companies gain a better understanding of how they intend to change their operations, practices, or business models to address environmental challenges. Robust scenario modeling can help project future performance against a defined baseline, and strategies and actions can be developed in response. In addition, these scenarios help us understand and make updates based on the latest climate science.

The complexity of the questionnaires and methodologies that raters and rankers (such as CDP, mentioned earlier) use to assess companies is growing. Reporting into these increasingly detailed frameworks relies on having quality data and estimations, which depends on a collective effort with customers, suppliers, and other partners to help gather the best data.

How Cisco approaches environmental reporting

Cisco has a long history of voluntary reporting on sustainability, and we want to continue to share our progress in an authentic and transparent way. To remain transparent, we publish an annual Purpose Report and maintain an ESG Reporting Hub. The report describes our commitments, goals, progress, and impact for the ESG topics that are important to our stakeholders from our most recent fiscal year. The ESG Reporting Hub includes in-depth information and historical data on all reporting topics.

Cisco’s 2040 net-zero target and near- and long-term targets are approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) under its Net-Zero Standard, the world’s first framework for corporate net-zero target setting in line with climate science. This builds on our history of setting meaningful goals, measuring our progress and impact, and reporting on them transparently.

Cisco is trusted in the IT space, and we are committed to maintaining that trust in our environmental reporting. Since quality reporting depends on a collective effort across the value chain to gather reliable data and estimations, we strive to influence our customers, suppliers, and partners to embrace robust reporting as well. For example, our suppliers are expected to report GHG emissions and energy consumption to CDP (a not-for-profit organization that runs a global disclosure system) on an annual basis. We know we must all work together to drive meaningful change for our planet’s health and future generations. Likewise, a collective emphasis on clear and accurate reporting will help inform our efforts and measure the progress we are all making for the planet.

Learn more in our ESG Reporting Hub.

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As previously seen on the CSRHub blog.

CEN-ESG combines deep sustainability insights with a keen understanding of financial markets to help companies and investors meet the evolving demands of sustainability performance. In the course of its work, it has helped public and private entities maximise their sustainability potential, performance and ESG disclosure, using a sound and transparent methodology.

CSRHub is now integrating this data into its consensus ESG ratings system. CEN-ESG’s ratings are different from most of CSRHub’s current sources because they are based on a detailed assessment of the broader ESG ecosystem. We found a relatively high correlation between CEN-ESG’s Total Score (which includes E, S, and G information) and CSRHub’s Overall Rating.

See 38% Correlation Between CEN-ESG Total Score and CSRHub Scores Chart

However, as we drill down, the correlation between CEN-ESG’s data and CSRHub’s information diverges. For instance, the correlation for just the Environmental category is about half of the overall correlation.

See 19% Correlation Between CEN-ESG and CSRHub Environment Scores Chart

This reflects the fact that CEN-ESG is using its own methodology (different from the aggregate of the 900+ other sources that CSRHub ingests). It also suggests as hinted above that CEN-ESG assessments capture granular insights about an entity’s performance that are not generally known by sustainability ratings groups as a whole.

CEN-ESG developed CENintel to help companies and investors improve sustainability reporting and the management of ESG-related risks and opportunities. We believe that CSRHub’s clients would be interested in this unique approach and that CEN-ESG’s clients would benefit from blending the current inside-out view of corporate sustainability performance with CSRHub’s outside-in evaluation.

About CSRHub

CSRHub offers the most comprehensive global set of Consensus ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings, information, and tools. CSRHub’s business intelligence system measures the ESG business impact that drives corporate and investor sustainability decisions. Founded in 2007, CSRHub covers 55,000 public and private companies, and provides ESG performance scores on over 35,000 companies from 135 industries in 210 countries. Our Big Data platform uses algorithms to aggregate, normalize and weight ESG metrics from 933 sources to produce a strong consensus signal on corporate sustainability performance.

CROSSETT, Ark., April 4, 2024 /3BL/ – Georgia-Pacific’s Crossett paper mill in Crossett, Arkansas, received recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reducing its energy intensity by 15.8%, exceeding the ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry goal by 5.8% within just three years. The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is a national call-to-action to improve American manufacturer’s energy efficiency. The EPA recognizes manufacturing sites that reduce their energy intensity by a minimum of 10% within five years.

Operating a single boiler and taking a back-up boiler out of standby operation to reduce overall natural gas consumptionMore carefully managing the boiler burn rate when the mill’s paper machines are down for an extended timeMonitoring natural gas costs versus electricity costs and purchasing electricity from the local utility when it is more cost effective than generating electricity onsite

“This is a great achievement by our Crossett team, and I am very proud of the work they have done these past three years,” said Deb Coduto, the Crossett mill’s vice president and mill manager. “This award aligns with Georgia-Pacific and the Crossett mill’s environmental stewardship goals, and we continue challenging ourselves to find more ways to reduce our energy intensity.”

Georgia-Pacific’s parent company Koch Industries Inc. has earned the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award five times, maintaining its status in ENERGY STAR’s Sustained Excellence category. And the Crossett mill joins other Georgia-Pacific facilities such as Leaf River Cellulose mill in New Augusta, Mississippi, and its containerboard mill in Brewton, Alabama, in receiving recognition from ENERGY STAR for its sustainability initiatives.

The Crossett mill is among five Georgia-Pacific facilities in Arkansas. Georgia-Pacific employs 1,760 people throughout the state, and the company has made $867 million in capital investments and acquisitions since 2013.

Learn more about Georgia-Pacific’s approach to environmental stewardship. To learn more about energy efficiency and ENERGY STAR®, visit energystar.gov.

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For the third year, Tapestry joined in the 2024 Career Discovery Week, an initiative led by Partnership For New York City that brought together over 100 of New York City’s leading corporations and professional firms across sectors, to provide thousands of high school students with exciting hands-on career exploration and immersive experiences outside of the classroom.

In March, students from New York City’s High School of Arts and Technology visited our Hudson Yards offices for a full agenda of educational experiences. Their day kicked off with department presentations that shared perspectives of the day-to-day of various cross-functional teams at Tapestry and its brands, including presentations from Consumer Insights & Strategy, Retail Finance, FP&A, ESG & Sustainability, and Distribution Operations. Department representatives gave a glimpse into their own professional journey and provided insights into their experiences, to help increase the student’s awareness of potential future career paths. Next up on the agenda was a tour of the Coach atelier, where the students got to learn about Coach’s rich history in craftsmanship and materials, and see how some of our products come to life behind the scenes. 

The students were excited to put some of their learnings to use for their “Product Design Challenge,” where they were tasked with ideating on a new product for any Tapestry brand. Drawing inspiration from International Women’s Day and one of our Tapestry Foundation focus areas, the design challenge focused on two key themes: 1) a product with a sustainability tie-in, and 2) a focus on women’s empowerment, through the design concept, marketing, or other strategic components of their new product. Over 25 Tapestry volunteers supported the students with their projects as they worked in teams to design and story-tell their new innovative product. From their functional “Checkmate” Coach bag, to their “Coachtopia x SW” sustainable handbag, the audience was amazed by their endless creativity exhibited throughout the afternoon.

The five student groups presented their concepts to our panel of judges including Iris Coker, Director, Content Strategy at Kate Spade; Kim Matsoukas, Director, Sustainability at Coach; and Juliana Naso, Senior Director, Merchandising Strategy at Stuart Weitzman.