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The report Financing Global Climate Change Mitigation is one of the first outputs of the Global Energy Efficiency 21 (GEE21) project, launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). The ECE’s aim is to promote self-financing energy efficiency improvements that raise economic productivity, diminish fuel poverty and reduce environmental air pollution such as greenhouse gas emissions.

The paper reviews technical, economic and regulatory conditions in each region and provides a summary of the main activities undertaken by national governments and international institutions, with a particular regard to the work of the UN Regional Commissions. The study specifically aims at providing an appraisal of the energy efficiency situation worldwide and living guidance on further action. It is also intended to draw attention to the role of energy efficiency as a powerful tool not only to fight climate change, but also to promote sustainable development and reduce poverty.

Read the full report online.

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The independent non-profit institute AccountAbility, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has launched the Climate Competitiveness Index 2010 (CCI). The report analyzes how countries utilize low carbon technology, products and services. The 2010 Index contains information on climate accountability and climate performance in 95 countries, which are responsible for 97 percent of global economic activity and 96 percent of global carbon emissions.

Read the report on the web.

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Hewlett-Packard Co. has moved up from its number five ranking in 2009 to top the 2010 CRO magazine’s annual list of America’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens. Intel Corp. and General Mills Inc. followed up in second and third place, respectively.

Corporate Responsibility magazine’s ranking is based on over 360 points of data in seven responsibility categories that are publicly available: the environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial performance and corporate governance.

Click here to view the complete ranking.

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The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) has just published the “Statistical Yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean 2009.” This annual publication is one of the leading sources of statistical information on the region and contains social, economic and environmental data.

The report is divided into four sections, which focus on:

-Demographic and social aspects, with a particular emphasis on gender.

-Economic statistics, such as prices, international trade, balance of payments and national accounts.

-The environment and natural resources.

-Methodological aspects related to the origin of the data, their definition and coverage.

According to data from the yearbook, the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean has grown by 4 percent over the last 60 years, while the region’s population has risen by an average of just over 2 percent a year.

The complete document can be downloaded in PDF format. The statistical graphs are in Excel.

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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) have launched the study “Improving Energy Security and Reducing Carbon Intensity in Asia and the Pacific.” The report discusses the real and present challenges in improving energy security and reducing carbon intensity in the region. The Asia and Pacific need expanding supplies of energy to improve the lives of the poor through continued rapid economic growth, while simultaneously ensuring that this development is environmentally sustainable at a local and global level.

Given the current patterns of consumption, developing countries in the region are projected to account for just under 40 percent of global demand for primary energy by 2030.

The full-text is available online.

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The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has just launched the report, “The Global State of Sustainable Insurance: Understanding and Integrating Environmental, Social and Governance Factors in Insurance”. The study summarizes the key findings of the UNEP Finance Initiative global survey conducted this year which captured the views of respondents from 60 territories worldwide with over 3,800 years of cumulative insurance experience. The report reveals that senior executives from the insurance sector are convinced that in order to sustain their industry’s long-term economic health, they must systematically integrate key environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into insurance underwriting and product development.

The full-text is available here.

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CH2M Hill Ltd. leads the list of the Engineering News-Record’s (ENR’s) Top 200 Environmental Firms for the third year in a row. ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms ranking provides an annual look at a market that now exceeds $30 billion in annual revenue.

The rankings are based on revenue firms’ reports for work performed in market sectors that include hazardous and nuclear waste cleanup, water supply and wastewater treatment design and construction, air pollution control and environmental management and permitting.

For complete data and more information on the ENR Top 200 Environmental Firms list, click here.

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Harvard Business Publishing has just released a special report, “Green Cost-Cutting: 5 Ways to Get Lean Now,” from Andrew Winston’s forthcoming book, Green Recovery (Harvard Business Press; August 17, 2009).  Andrew Winston, co-author of the bestseller Green to Gold, will be publishing a road map for managers on how to use the green lens to cut costs and move ahead in the recession.  In Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top, Winston argues that environmental challenges and public awareness and interest in green issues have not dissipated in the wake of the financial crisis. Business leaders must face both problems (environmental challenges and the financial crisis) simultaneously. Fortunately, many of the same strategies that address environmental issues can help companies survive today’s harsh economic conditions-and prosper when the good times return.

To view the full report

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CRO (Corporate Responsibility Officer) Magazine’s 100 Best Corporate Citizens List is designed to recognize firms that excel at serving a variety of stakeholders with excellence and integrity. It ranks firms based on how well they perform in seven different categories: the environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, finance and governance.

More information on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List can be found at CRO’s official website.

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Best Practice in Green IT: Implementing Green IT in the enterprise and its cost benefits is a new report published by Business Insights that examines the impact that business and IT is having on the environment, and why this is becoming a board-level issue. It also provides a guide to how organisations can cut their energy consumption, and therefore carbon footprint and annual energy costs, throughout the organisation and over the lifecycle of IT equipment, from the desktop and office consumables to the data center and the recycling of electronic equipment. Understand how legislative responsibilities of organisations regarding the environment and e-waste, provides a comprehensive guide to the growing trend of ‘Green IT’ with this new report.

Source: Business Insights