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Last week, Nike issued its annual CSR Report. And in characteristic Bill Bowerman fashion, it delivered big news without bravado. Splash #1 was the announcement that the company reduced its GHG emissions to 2007 levels while continuing to grow its operations. (A 15 percent drop in CO2 spew from Nike-owned and operated facilities despite a 41 percent growth in square footage in the facilities – to be exact.) Splash #2 was the decision to cease all carbon offset activities in favor of more concerted efforts in organic reduction. Why? Living up to the name of its new line, Nike offered some very well considered rationale: - - "Materiality: Embedded energy in materials and manufacturing are the largest part of our footprint so we are focusing resources on them.
- - "Investment Strategy: Rather than purchase renewable energy certificates to achieve climate neutrality, which have become increasingly controversial, we believe it is more meaningful to invest in energy efficiency and in distributed energy projects that reduce our reliance on grid energy and help stabilize energy costs for the long term.
- - "Clarity: Climate neutrality is not a scientifically agreed upon term or standard.
- - "Access to renewable energy: The lack of a market price for carbon has limited NIKE, Inc.'s ability to access and deploy clean energy across our operations. Our approach to addressing this is through advocacy with coalitions including BICEP. Specifically, we support a cap-and-trade system with 100-percent auction of allowance and a suite of other elements such as science-based targets, renewable portfolio standards and investment in clean energy jobs. Together, we believe that these changes will enable a transition to a low-carbon economy."
Despite new EPA strictures in the U.S., spotty carbon regulation in Europe, and lingering confidence in the eventuality of U.S. emissions cap legislation, corporate carbon disclosure and reduction stratagems continue to be largely self- directed, with companies like Nike trail-blazing. Today’s corporate leaders are demonstrating an enlightened evolution from “identify problem” to “offset problem” to “solve problem.” And while no doubt some critics will decry Nike’s decision to drop the offset policy, it frees capital and commitment to pursue longer-term solutions that will have a bigger, more enduring effect on emissions over time. Nike’s leadership is also highly collaborative, which not only amplifies the impact of internal efforts but also outward esteem. In general, we’re seeing a movement toward increasingly cooperative leadership in the corporate sustainability space as forward-looking firms acknowledge that the coming clean energy economy can lift all boats. Nike joined Timberland, Starbucks, Levi Strauss and Sun Microsystems to forge the Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) coalition, which advocates for tighter federal emissions standards and a command transition to a clean energy economy. And just last week, leaders in the telecom industry launched Green Touch with the “aim to reduce energy consumption in worldwide ICT networks by a factor of 1000” by studying supply chain impacts and transitioning to clean energy systems. Contemplating the power of these symphonic corporate efforts is a heartening reminder of the immense capacity for self-motivated good work that’s born and rewarded in free markets.
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