Climate and Carbon
Climate Change Fundamentals For Facility Management Professionals
Implementing smart technology now as a plan for resilience is one step in the right direction. It is imperative that facility management and corporate real estate professionals work together with private and public entities on long-term solutions, sharing best sustainable practices and industry standards, with an eye toward smart city development.
Providing benchmarking and networking resources, the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) is committed to educating the built environment community on why climate change is occurring and how we can prepare for future risks.
5 Webinars: Carbon Workshop Series
WSBC, in collaboration with The Nelson Institute and Evolution Marketing crafted a series on how and why to design a carbon strategy that includes tools and resources for your business to manage carbon. The 5 webinar series is available at https://nelson.wisc.edu/events/public-lectures/carbon.php and include these 5 webinars:
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1. Defining Carbon Jargon
2. Carbon Reduction and Management Tools
3. Strategies to Address Carbon in Your Business
4. Innovation and Climate Leadership by Business
5. Q&A with the Professionals
The Environmental Defense Fund’s Innovation Exchange is designed to help companies starting down the path towards becoming green businesses. They provide a suite of practical yet impactful tools and a dynamic online community of peers, that can help you improve both your company and the planet. Through partnerships with large and small businesses, they have learned about what it takes to create change within a company. Many of the tools and best practices grew out of their work.
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In the area of Climate Change, they explain why developing a climate strategy for your business is good for the bottom line, good for stakeholders and a good hedge against future policy implications. See the site for tools, publications, case studies and links to other resources for establishing a climate strategy. Initial steps for any company are captured in what they call the 4 “Cs”: Conserve, Convert, Choose Offsets and Call for Action.
Greenhouse Gas vs Carbon Footprint
WSBC provides a guide containing definitions, graphics, and resources to illustrate the difference between greenhouse gasses and one's carbon footprint.
How Businesses Are Addressing Climate Change
This PDF is an in-depth report/tool developed to help businesses deal with climate change, specifically, steps businesses can take today to have a positive impact. There are many trailblazing companies mentioned throughout the report from all business spectrums that gave their testimony on how they are working to become more sustainable.
Measure, Manage, Report: How Companies Can Prepare for a Low Carbon Economy
In January 2010 the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued guidance on disclosure of climate change risks and opportunities at publicly traded companies. Stating that “certain existing disclosure rules…may require a company to disclose the impact that business or legal developments related to climate change may have on its business,” the guidance directs companies to evaluate and disclose the physical impacts of climate change on their operations. The guidance issued by the Commission did not provide a framework for such evaluation and disclosure. In order to help companies develop meaningful initiatives, the Environmental Defense Fund has published A Roadmap to Corporate GHG Programs. See especially page 2, Steps to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions.