Data centre operators are under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and report their environmental impact but the industry faces huge challenges, writes Nick Gibson. Data centre operators face new regulation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the voluntary Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact (CNSCP) that have made environmental impact a top priority for operators, supply chains and data centre designers. While operators battle to reduce costs, improve performance and meet increasing demand key industry environmental focus now involves energy efficiency, clean energy, water conservation, circular economy and...

Nearly two thirds of senior decision makers in UK feel their organisation is under-prepared to meet  ESG goals and regulatory reporting mandates. 73 per cent don’t have confidence in the data currently being reported to stakeholders despite 59 per cent of UK businesses having appointed an ESG-specific role to oversee reporting, according to a new global survey released by Workiva Inc. The survey examined 1,300 organisations’ current processes, collaboration and confidence in their ESG reporting. Respondents involved in their company’s ESG reporting and strategy were polled from across finance, ESG,...

COP15 leaders have called for urgent agreement on the Global Biodiversity Framework in order to save and protect the natural world. The UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 being staged in Montreal, Canada is calling for full and urgent implementation of its Global Biodiversity Framework that aims to conserve, sustainably use and rebuild the web of life. “The Global Biodiversity Framework will need to be delivered in full, urgently and across all of society,” said Inger Andersen, under-secretary-general of the UN and executive director of the UN Environment Programme, at the opening...

Supply chain activity generates around 60 per cent of all global carbon emissions and can represent 98 per cent of an organization’s CO2 emissions when taking into account overall climate impacts, writes Nick Gibson. With supply chain emissions being on average over 11 times higher than operational emissions, tackling the climate crisis requires a transition to both carbon-neutral production and carbon-neutral value chains. But obtaining a complete and accurate product carbon footprint can be challenging due to complexity of global supply chains and the lack of transparency in data. Research by The Sustainability...

isla, the events industry sustainability body, has launched an action-focused guide to support meetings and event venues in the transition to Net Zero. The isla guide encourages venues to review their sustainability progress and enables them to develop short to mid-term sustainability goals and set a realistic but ambitious aspiration to reach Net Zero by 2050 at the latest. The guide ‘Sustainability in Practice: A Pathway for Venues’, created in partnership with VisitBritain Business Events and supported by three leading industry associations: the Association of Event Venues (AEV), the Meetings Industry Association...

Green credentials are a valuable prize in the PR battle to promote eco-friendliness, writes Nick Gibson. But the race for ‘green’ credibility has seen companies make false and unproven claims that undermine efforts to reach net zero with consumers, businesses, investors and regulators now lacking trust in environmental claims. What is the scale of the greenwashing problem, why do organisations make unfounded claims and how can you navigate the maze of regulation to avoid eco-PR disasters? In a survey conducted by Clearly PR almost one in five said their organisations...

Gian Autenrieth, Co-Lead at D-REC argues that funding to help secure net zero and climate adaptation in emerging countries has too long been a slow, sclerotic process typified by a reliance on multilateral funding.   The opening day of COP27 has been marked by emerging economies repeating their calls for financial assistance to enhance adaptation to climate change, or reparation for historic climate damage by mature economies, as existing financing commitments fail to yield results. In a little over a week’s time, we should know whether this summit in Sharm-El-Sheik...

UKFT and IBM Consulting have been nominated for the MCA 2022 Sustainability Award for their project on Sustainable Supply Chain Optimisation. The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) has worked with Tech Data and the Future Fashion Factory to design, prototype and pilot a new technology platform based on IBM technologies, to further transparency within the UK fashion supply chain. MCA rewards consulting efforts as well as projects that can have a positive and sustainable impact on various industries in the UK or overseas. This reflects the aim of the SSCO project, which...

The journey to net zero is accelerating as increasing alignment of regulation and finance drives rising levels of ‘green’ investment, but in the often-opaque world of eco-finance it can be hard for investors to identify ‘real’ sustainable assets. Now, in driving and measuring a company’s commercial resilience, a verifiable net zero transition strategy is considered a valuable asset as it plays a key role in investment decisions. Around $3.5 trillion a year of capital investment will be needed on average between now and 2050 to build a net-zero global economy,...

Claire Benson, founder and director at SDG Changemakers explains why transforming our food system needs more collaboration and careful consideration of those involved For the first time in the history of climate talks, a presidency has dedicated an entire day to “Adaptation and Agriculture”. And it is more important now than ever. We are facing a global food crisis, where extreme weather is damaging crops, and food inflation is rocketing. In response, during the themed day, the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) was launched. It aims to boost...