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I wasn’t satisfied just to earn a good living. I was looking to make a statement.— Donald Trump
YOU’VE LANDED
There is an entire sector of business – energy, water, transportation, materials, technology and more – that is expanding in new directions. Financing, operations, management, development, and delivery systems are changing. This new economy offers huge opportunities for women to play pivotal roles.
The Women’s Global Council on Sustainability is the first west-coast based advocacy and information group with an international reach for business and professional women in the sustainability sector. We identify resources, connect people, share information, educate and leverage our consumer and policy power through a global network.
Women did not lead the industrial revolution.
Are we ready to lead the sustainability evolution?
Watch for our programs, webinars and meeting announcements
sign up for our email notices
Renewable Energy? CA Here We Come!
On Tuesday, California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation requiring California utilities to obtain 33 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Currently, that bar rests at 20 percent.
“This bill will bring many important benefits to California, including stimulating investment in green technologies in the state, creating tens of thousands of new jobs, improving local air quality, promoting energy independence, and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions,” Brown stated as he signed bill SB 2X into law.
Will SB2X provide the stimulus and energy leadership that CA is looking for? We believe so as countries look to CA for innovation that will drive future growth. Fifty percent of the U.S.’s venture capital dollars are spent in California. The challenge is in shifting labor focus to meet the needs of this new sector – through universities and trade schools.
Walmart & Women
By now you’ve heard about the class-action lawsuit filed approximately 10 years ago against Wal-Mart by former female employees; over one million women have joined the lawsuit; quite a statement on the rights of women workers.
One of the main legal issues is if all the women can be lumped into one class action lawsuit. Given the average plaintiff’s monetary damage was about $1,100 – not a sum that would attract most legal counsel, if the ‘class’ action is not allowed.
From a separate sustainability perspective, Wal-Mart has grown into an industry leader, earning numerous awards and setting new standards in retail. Does one area of practice mitigate the other? We think not.
UN Women: Principles for Women’s Empowerment Anniversary
Today the SUNY Global Center in NY is sponsoring a special webinar event marking the first anniversary of the launch of the Women’s Empowerment Principles – a set of seven steps companies can take to empower women in teh workplace, marketplace and community. Co-hosted by UN Women and the UN Global Compact Office, international representatives from business, government, civil society and teh UN will meet to take stock of how the Principles have been put into practice and identify areas for improvement.
The event begins at 8:50am EST with opening remarks by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and features a day long program.
More Information: Chief Executives Worldwide Support Women’s Empowerment Principles
CA Legislative Hearing: Extended Producer Responsibility
Tuesday March 8th, 1:30 – 4pm Pacific Time, California will hold its first legislative hearing on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
We believe this hearing will be educational to anyone interested in the subject and thank Assembly Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Wesley Chesbro and Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Chairman Bob Wieckowski for holding this hearing.
The agenda with a web link is posted here http://www.calpsc.org/assets/policies/2011/2011-03-08_hearing.pdf .
The agenda outlines speakers from:
- British Columbia stewardship organizations
- Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation
- California local governments
- Carpet and paint producers, stewards and recyclers
- CalRecycle
- California Retailers Association
- Grocery Manufacturing Association
- Public comment
We encourage everyone to listen and post your thoughts.
Posted in Main Page
Tagged AB32, Bob Wieckowski, California, EPR, Extended Producer Responsibility, Wesley Chesbro
More Companies Push Sustainability, Yet No U.S. Market
MIT’s Sloan School of Management found that corporations intend to devote more money and/or management attention to sustainability in 2011 [study] as a majority of companies surveyed believe that sustainability will become a source of future strength.
Companies that see the immediate need to aggressively pursue sustainability initiatives, the “embracers”, tend to be in more energy-intensive sectors that make products, such as automobiles. Yet, even the cautious service-oriented companies, called “dabblers,” agree that sustainable business practices will be needed to stay competitive in the future.
Waste reduction and energy efficiencies are the universal ‘low hanging fruit’ that companies point to, especially with cap-and-trade legislation currently dead in the US Congress. The anticipated investments in clean-tech companies to reduce CO2 emissions is no longer needed and those investments have been pulled in the US.
Among the findings: 
- Improved brand reputation is perceived as the biggest benefit of addressing sustainability: nearly 50 percent of respondents cited it.
- Automotive is seen as the industry for which sustainability is most critical now: 80 percent of executives said sustainability-related strategies are necessary to be competitive in the auto sector.
- By contrast, only 29 percent of respondents thought sustainability strategies are currently necessary for the media and entertainment industry. But another 51 percent said they will be necessary in the future.
- The commitment of the cautious adopters to sustainability is increasing at a far faster rate than that of the embracers. The number of cautious adopters planning to increase investment and management attention jumped from 51 percent last year to 63 percent this year—a 24 percent increase. At the same time, the percentage of embracers planning similar increases, though high, remained flat at a little under 90 percent.
For More Information:
Posted in Main Page
Tagged Business and Sustainability, Climate Change, MIT, Sustainability
