General Motors Corporate Responsibility Newsletter - December 2016

General Motors Corporate Responsibility Newsletter - December 2016

The Missing Link: Rewarding Tenant Engagement In Sustainability Benchmarking

A common theme amongst various sustainability benchmarking frameworks, such as the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB), and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), is the weight placed on working with tenants. More specifically, landlords are now expected to capture and report on tenant energy use if they wish to achieve top scores.

Will Green Growth Spell the End of Capitalism?

Scientists tell us that earth is overshooting its planetary boundaries at a rate far quicker than the average person would believe. This situation becomes rapidly compounded by the significant challenges of population growth, urbanization, unemployment and rising socioeconomic inequality. To complicate things further, the most rapid change is occurring in those parts of the world with the least resources and capacity to manage these effects.

Futuregrowth: Allocating Capital to Renewable Energy Investments

While the debate over the use of nuclear power continues, the renewable energy sector is quietly forging ahead and independent power producers are adding much-needed capacity to the grid. Since the Department of Energy (DoE) embarked on its alternative energy drive in 2012, capital investments in renewables have totalled almost R200 billion.

South Africa has some of the best natural resources available for solar and wind power. This, together with a reputationally strong and well-run independent power procurement programme, has created opportunities for institutional investors like Futuregrowth − who is now a leading funder of the programme.

Industrial Robots Are Learning to Save Energy

The automotive industry uses more robots than any other sector. The computer-controlled machines are taking on more and increasingly complex tasks. They work reliably, efficiently, and with high precision. Engineers are now even teaching them how to learn. But how energy-efficient are these mechanical helpers in reality?

MGM National Harbor First Integrated Resort in Washington D.C. Region to Achieve Prestigious LEED® Gold Green Building Certification

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) today announced that the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design™ (LEED) Gold certification to MGM National Harbor, the company’s newest resort. Located minutes from Washington, D.C., in Prince George's County, Maryland, the resort will is scheduled to open Dec. 8.

WWF Report Cites SCA as Fore-Runner Within Sustainable Sourcing

A new report from WWF International highlights SCA as a good example within sustainable sourcing and sustainability information. According to the report, unlike SCA, the vast majority of leading consumer goods companies and retailers have not taken “meaningful” actions to source sustainably produced commodities.

National Grid’s Case Study in Energy Innovation: The New Buffalo (NY)

For many years, Buffalo, N.Y. was the symbol of Rust Belt economic decline in the northeast. A once-thriving industrial powerhouse, the city and region suffered through a decades-long slide that seemed to have no bottom.

Microgrids Should Be a Key Element in Power Grid Modernization

Modernization of the U.S. power grid will not only require replacement of old components with new ones, it will also need to account for larger amounts of renewable energy and distributed generation. This movement is causing utilities to consider microgrids as a part of the solution.

Amid Political Uncertainty, the World is Looking to U.S. Businesses to Act on Climate Change

As business people, we have an opportunity every day to decide how we create value. Do we focus, as Milton Friedman suggested, on creating products and services in a way that maximizes our bottom line with no direct accountability for social responsibility? Or do we find ways to create shared value that can enhance our shared natural and social capital?

Coming off last month’s 22nd UN Conference of the Parties (COP22) climate meeting in Marrakesh and the recent results of the U.S. election, the question on everybody’s minds is: what will become of the current climate change agenda and what role will non-government actors play?

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