Ceres Roadmap for The 21st Century Corporation

CERES ups the ante with a new report detailing the roles and responsibilities of corporate stake holders in the low carbon economy. Given the backers of CERES including major institutional investors such as CalPERS, I would expect this document to have some impact.

A couple of words from the very first line caught my eye - 'win' and 'resource-constrained'. These words are meaningful to investors and management. They indicate what the risk (of being left behind, hit by consequences) and opportunity (what is source of new value) are about.

Reuters has an article (Time for next stage of sustainable business) talking about the ceres report.

The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability

Companies must make immediate and meaningful social and environmental improvements if they are to win in the resource-constrained 21st century.

That’s the message of a new Ceres report outlining the urgency, vision and competitive advantages for companies that fully embrace sustainability in their business as energy prices rise, water supplies are increasingly contested and the world’s population grows.

"Sustainability performance is fundamental for business success in the 21st century,” said Mindy S. Lubber, president of the investor coalition Ceres, which published the report, The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability. “If businesses deepen their efforts to solve social and environmental threats, it will position them to innovate and compete in the fast-changing, resource-constrained global economy. It is no longer enough for companies to have special projects or initiatives. Comprehensive sustainability strategies are expected.”
...
Anne Stausboll, chief executive officer of the California Public Employees Retirement System, voiced strong support for the report's key findings.

"We expect our portfolio companies to do what is necessary to position themselves for a sustainable economy," said Stausboll, whose office oversees more than $200 billion in assets. "Environmental and social issues are core to business performance in the 21st century. We are looking for companies that are managing these risks and developing opportunities.

Deutsche Bank 2010 Investing in Climate Change Report

Deutsche Bank 2010 Investing in Climate Change Report released at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the U.N that I talked about in my previous post. I am copying first section of the summary which itself is very detailed. I am ploughing through this as I write. I think this report with all its detailed investment analysis and the nature of the audience means that people think there are serious money at stake here. The document is very readable. Highly recommended.

Climate Change Investment Thesis and Opportunity

1. Demographics, socio-economic change and long-term energy demand drive increased global consumption of scarce resources
2. These drivers result in rapidly increasing emissions and corresponding changes to the earth's climate
3. DBCCA has established "Four Pillars of Climate Change" investment to provide an analytical framework for understanding the investor response to climate change
4. The scale of mitigating/stabilizing our climate will require unprecedented economic growth, which will result in low-carbon prosperity and job creation
5. Climate change must be understood in the context of an integrated framework of both halting and adapting to its effects
6. The climate change investment universe is broad, covering many technology sectors and themes
7. These sectors and themes are applicable to a variety of asset classes
8. Investors will pursue many different strategies across these asset classes, each with different risk attributes and environmental impact
9. A strategic risk premium for climate change, such as carbon beta, can be applied to traditional portfolios to analyze risk an optimize return

Inside COP15 video

From WWF

Tonight's live show from Copenhagen with guests Klaus Bondam, Mayor of the Copenhagen Environmental Administration, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Environmental Scientist and Dawa Stephen Sherpa, Mountaineer.

Cop15 progress

Have been busy last few days. catching up.

There is a detailed report on the progress here from the Earth Negotiations Bulletin:


Fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP 15 and COP/MOP 5)

IN THE CORRIDORS
Much of the talk in the corridors on Thursday afternoon and evening was focused on the suspension of both the COP and COP/MOP, pending consultations on whether to establish contact groups to consider proposed new protocols under the Convention and proposed amendments to the Kyoto Protocol. As on Wednesday when the COP was suspended, Tuvalu led a group of African, Latin American and AOSIS parties in urging a formal contact group to consider the proposed Protocol amendments, and resisted proposals to move the procedural question to an informal setting with a review of progress in plenary on Saturday.

Many noted that these disputes were closely related to the question concerning the legal form of the outcome: “We have still not resolved the critical question of the legal outcome of these negotiations,” noted one old hand in the process. “Developing countries want to preserve and strengthen Kyoto, while most Annex I countries are seeking a comprehensive legal framework that also engages the US and developing countries in mitigation efforts.” Differences were also detected among developing countries as to whether the outcome from the AWG-LCA should be legally-binding.

The wisdom of suspending work under COP and COP/MOP and its implications were also being discussed around the Bella Center. Some viewed the request to also suspend the COP/MOP as a good strategic move, while others feared it could delay work on other issues. “It hasn’t slowed the informals under the AWG-LCA,” said one NGO who was supportive of AOSIS’ stand. “I’m just not sure how they’ll break the deadlock,” she added.

Meanwhile, delegates were also reacting to the leak of a proposed outcome document – the “Copenhagen Accord” – by French newspaper Le Monde. The text, which was said to have been developed by China, India, Brazil, and South Africa, had apparently been distributed among G-77/China parties earlier in the week before the leak on Thursday. While the initial response to the text was cautious, some developed country delegates seemed positively surprised by what they characterized as a relatively “realistic” text. For their part, some of those connected with the text were playing down its significance at this stage, with delegates noting that it has “limited status” and is “just a working draft.”

People were also commenting on the increasing number of people at the Bella Center on Thursday, as more ministers arrived and delegations continued to grow. Lines to get into the building were noticeably longer than in previous days, and there was talk of limits on observer numbers next week. “The place is already packed and there’ll be thousands more next week,” noted one insider. Rumors were also circulating about large-scale protests planned for Saturday.