Note: Full versions of the following materials are available for a limited time only.  In 2015-16, abstracts of Knowledge Center materials will be publicly available and complete versions of many ACCO reports, case studies, etc. will be made available to ACCO members only.

The Time is Now – Doubling Down on Climate Leadership: Part 1 (Breathe)

People who work on climate change policy and action planning across sectors are terrified – and they should be. The election of a President and Congressional leadership that have announced their intent to turn the past 8 years of Federal agency and international climate action upside down should be scary. But it also should be a rallying call. The time is now – we simply cannot wait even a minute longer. The world is moving forward on climate change with or without the United States. Global companies will have to deal with international and foreign policy efforts aimed at curbing emissions and preparing impacted and vulnerable communities. Local and provincial governments are acting already given the localized impacts and implications. To be clear, giving up is NOT an option. So, let’s take a deep breath and reorganize our thoughts.

Integrating Renewable Energy into the Energy Portfolio at Lockheed Martin

Since September 2014, Samantha Baker has been serving as an ACCO Future CCOs fellow at Lockheed Martin Corporation (Lockheed Martin) examining the business case for renewable energy procurement at both the corporate and individual site level. Her work has focused on the development of a corporate level renewable energy procurement approach that aligns with Lockheed Martin’s overarching energy procurement program. This has included analysis of opportunities to reduce short and long-term costs, minimize exposure to fuel or electricity price risks, and align with Federal customer renewable energy requirements. The report is intended to share the process that was undertaken, as well as some of the outcomes of that work, with content based upon Samantha's research, experience and observations, as well as published historical accounts.

6 Easy Steps to Turbo Boost Climate Action in Local Government

While nations deliberate on national and international policy related to climate change, local governments worldwide are faced with the daunting challenge of addressing the localized implications of climate change on their communities and operations. Ultimately, climate change poses an unparalleled volume and diversity of challenges for any organization, much less local governments who frequently do not (or may not think they) have sufficient resources to successfully address these considerations.

Let’s think about this as a maturity model. First you come to accept that you have a problem. Once you’ve done so, a public administrator or elected leader will task someone to be responsible for addressing the issue. In this case, an environmental professional, sustainability director or resilience officer may have been hired or designated from existing staff. This is a great start, but even in the best of circumstances, a few people here and there trying to address the scope of implications facing that community is truly insufficient. I would compare this to mice trying to move a battleship.

The Paris Climate Change Agreement – Business Must Adapt or Die

December 12, 2015 – the date that 196 nations reached a global agreement in Paris on climate change – may well be remembered as the critical turning point in mankind’s battle to slow down and minimize the impacts of global warming. Under the Paris Agreement, each signatory nation pledged to reduce greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions beginning in 2020, under a self-imposed goal known as an "individual nationally determined contribution" ("INDC"). Each signatory nation must publish an emissions inventory, as well as information necessary to track the nation’s progress in achieving the INDC.

The Paris Agreement has detractors from across the political spectrum. For example, island nations threatened by rising sea levels say that the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 2° Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) is insufficient to protect them from submerging. Climate change activists contend that under the deal’s timetables the transition away from fossil fuels is too slow, leaving open the possibility of irreversible catastrophic damage to the climate. Professor James Hansen, the former NASA scientist sometimes called the father of climate change, bluntly stated: "It’s a fraud really, a fake... there’s no action, just promises."

Key Considerations For Renewable Energy Contracting

Purchasing utility-scale renewable energy can be a very complicated business. While deciding on the right project type and site are certainly critical pieces of the puzzle, negotiating with developers, navigating the contracting process, and coordinating all parties involved are just as important, and projects often sink or swim based on how these are handled. ACCO spoke with Rick Coulon (Interim Associate Vice Chancellor, Administrative & Business Services at University of California, Irvine) who shared some great information on the intricacies of contracting for PPAs at a large academic organization, including process, negotiation, timeframes, guarantees and assurances, and potential stumbling blocks.

Navigating the Challenges of Renewable Energy Purchasing and PPAs

For organizations serious about reducing their carbon footprint, engaging in meaningful renewable energy work has increasingly become a must. The price of renewable energy has dropped dramatically in recent years, particularly for larger organizations that can leverage sizeable demand to negotiate lower prices. This change, increasingly volatile market prices for fossil fuels and conventional electricity, and efforts to meet organizational GHG goals have been key drivers prompting companies, governments, and academic institutions to pursue renewable energy projects and power purchase agreements (PPAs). However, beginning work on a renewable energy project or a PPA can be a daunting prospect. ACCO caught up with Kevin Rabinovitch (Global Sustainability Director – Mars Incorporated) and Chris O’Brien (former Director, Office of Sustainability – American University, now Director, Higher Education Programs – Altenex LLC) to find out what lessons they learned as they built successful renewable energy programs at their organizations.

Advancing Climate Protection Strategies at The Coca-Cola Company

From 2013-2014, Ran Tao served as the first fellow in the Association of Climate Change Officers' (ACCO) Future CCOs Fellowship Program. He was assigned to complete a year-long fellowship with the climate protection team at The Coca-Cola Company working for Bryan Jacob, the Company’s Climate Protection Director and chief architect of the Company’s climate protection program dating back to 1993. The primary focus of this fellowship was working with the Company to explore options for meeting and tracking its newest, most ambitious carbon emissions reduction goal to date set in 2013: reduce the carbon footprint of the 'drink in your hand' 25 percent by 2020 (compared to a 2010 baseline). His research studied a variety of options the Company and its bottling partners – nearly 250 independent operators across more than 200 countries and territories – could implement to position Coca-Cola to meet its goal in the most economical and practical way. Through his work, he was able to learn a great deal about the business and, at the same time, provide meaningful insights and strategies to the team for this and other programs. The following is a summary case study of the principal project and recommendations for the Company. Content is based on Ran's research, experience and observations, as well as published historical accounts.

Transforming Higher Education Institutions to Serve as Laboratories for Informing Decision Making on Climate Risk

Climate change presents a cascading and increasingly dramatic set of impacts that will require an all-hands-on-deck approach to re-conceiving how communities are designed, businesses operate and individuals consume natural resources. In the workplace, organizations will be challenged to anticipate and proactively address the implications of a changing environment upon their operations.

As climate change impacts accelerate, our current systems of governance, management, education and training will be overwhelmed with challenges unless we rapidly deploy a workforce in large scale to redesign all of the systems and structures that are foundational to developed nations.

Sea Level Rise Adaptation in the Public Sector: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities

As climate change progresses, the relentless march of sea level rise (SLR) presents an array of challenges and opportunities to coastal cities and towns in the United States and worldwide. Along the northeast coast of the U.S. in particular, sea level is projected to rise at rates three to four times faster than the global average due to local variations in ocean circulation, salinity, and temperature. If the U.S. continues with business as usual, between $238‐507 billion worth of existing coastal property nationwide is likely to be below sea level by 2100.ii This figure does not include flooding of roads and other critical infrastructure or related costs to the millions of people who will be displaced or impacted. Continued information sharing and collaborative efforts among American cities is vital in the effort to safely and efficiently navigate the challenge and capitalize on the opportunities presented by SLR.

Some cities and public entities in the U.S. have begun serious work on coastal adaptation planning, and are ahead of the curve in terms of preparing for the impacts of SLR on infrastructure and property. Adaptation planning in municipalities is important for protecting property and public health as well as the businesses that sustain community economies. A recent report from CDP found that actions by city governments to address climate impacts such as SLR also serve to make businesses more resilient to climate risk.iii Municipalities that direct attention to adaptation planning are better able to sustain existing economic drivers and may also attract business from other areas that do not strive to become more resilient.

Rising Above the Seas: SECing Materiality Through the Corporate Lens

Business continuity is a familiar concept to corporations that has traditionally encompassed planning and preparation for disruptive incidents and disasters (e.g. fires, earthquakes, floods, etc.) to ensure businesses are protected and/or will recover to an operational state within a reasonable period of time. It’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore climate risks due to the increased frequency of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, droughts, and the focus on this paper, sea level rise. It is sensible, therefore, to include climate risks in such planning and preparations.

The obvious examples of recent climate risks are the costly Hurricanes of the Gulf Coast – specifically, Katrina of 2005 – the historic Thailand floods of 2011 and Typhoon Haiyan of 2013, and Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast United States in 2012, all of which were intensified due to sea level rise. While these events were far from ideal occurrences, they may have served as instrumental enablers in many cases for building the business case for companies to redesign resiliency strategies and/or build such strategies from the ground up as new business operations are constructed.

Tomorrow’s Luminaires: San Diego’s Vision for Turning Streetlights from Cost Centers to Efficient Smart Infrastructure

Outdoor lighting is a necessary investment for any municipality, academic institution, or large private company with a substantial physical footprint. The light that pedestrian and parking luminaires provide is essential for nighttime operations and safety, and accounts for significant cost in terms of physical infrastructure and energy use as well as maintenance and service. Worldwide, lighting is responsible for 19 percent of all electricity use, and for the average city, streetlights account for around one quarter of total electricity use and are often the largest single line item on the energy bill.

The City of San Diego is a national leader on climate change, as evidenced in its ambitious Climate Action Plan. The government is undertaking a wide range of efficiency and renewable energy work in order to meet state GHG reduction targets of 15 percent below business as usual (BAU) by 2020 and 49 percent below BAU by 2035, even as the City’s population continues to grow. San Diego has developed its Smart City Infrastructure project to work toward climate change mitigation while also reaping the economic benefits of energy and operational efficiency, system control, and other possibilities for future wireless functionalities and services.

Effective Supplier Engagement — How Sprint is Greening its Supply Chain

In recent years the corporate sustainability community has shown increasing interest in supply chain management for the purposes of reducing environmental footprint and climate impacts of business operations. Scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions related to purchased goods and services in the supply chain, are often quite significant for large companies. Measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions is particularly important for a large business like Sprint, with roughly 38,000 individual suppliers across its operations. Among other environmental initiatives, Sprint has set company-wide goals of reducing absolute GHG emissions and electricity use to 20% below 2007 levels by the year 2017. Accordingly, Sprint is engaging its supply chain by setting sustainability criteria for suppliers, soliciting data and feedback from them, and helping them to set and achieve their own sustainability goals. Part of this effort has involved the publication of a unique Supplier Guide in September 2013, which provides guidance for suppliers on conducting materiality assessments as well as GHG measurement and reporting — two important criteria by which Sprint evaluates its suppliers. Spearheaded by Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Amy Hargroves, the Guide shares tools and lessons learned from Sprint’s own CSR journey in order to enable and inspire the business leaders in its supply chain. The project is helping Sprint to measure and reduce its own Scope 3 emissions and at the same time, expand the impact of Sprint’s environmental programming beyond the company walls.

District of Change — The Department of General Services Transforms DC into a Climate Powerhouse

Mayor Vincent C. Gray created the DC Department of General Services (DGS) in October of 2011. The result of the consolidation of several former agencies, including those managing municipally-owned office buildings and DC Public Schools, DGS is tasked with increasing efficiency and effectiveness within the District’s 400+ building (totaling nearly 30M sqft) portfolio of real estate. Sam Brooks joined DGS in February 2012 as Associate Director, and head of its Energy & Sustainability Division, around the time Mayor Gray developed his Vision for a Sustainable DC. The plan included several ambitious climate-related goals for the District: a 50% reduction in GHG emissions, a 50% reduction in citywide energy consumption, and an increase of renewable energy use to 50%.

During the next two years, Brooks helped the District work toward these goals through a variety of high impact projects to increase energy efficiency and renewable power supply, including smart metering and efficiency data analysis, negotiation of utility-scale wind and solar power purchases agreements (PPAs), and purchase of RECs to cover 100% of city power use. The Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) spoke with Brooks about the Department’s current and future work on energy and climate change mitigation, and gained valuable insight for energy management and climate officers working in both the public and private sectors.

Business Drivers Impacting Establishment and Implementation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Goals
(complimentary abstract report; comprehensive report can be purchased in ACCO online store)

	Abstract Report		Complete Report

As organizations address climate change risks and opportunities many have turned to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management as a tool for understanding and addressing aspects of the issue as they pertain to their operations. Many organizations have publicly committed to reducing their GHG emissions by leveraging strategies incorporating energy efficiency, renewable energy, employee engagement and behavior change, and process improvement; such goals are now widely used in a variety of corporations, universities, and government entities.

Although GHG emissions reduction goals are being undertaken by many organizations, it is not immediately clear what drives the efforts in the absence of a regulatory or executive mandate. In order to learn more about drivers and challenges affecting these activities, ACCO issued a survey to a group of climate professionals across sectors in Spring 2013 to identify the factors that were driving organizations to pursue GHG emissions reduction goals.

The report provides findings and trends related to drivers affecting organizations based on the nature of their reduction goals, role of the GHG managers within the organization, sector of the organization and challenges they are facing.

Challenges and Opportunities in Supply Chain Environmental Sustainability Disclosure
(available in abstract and complete formats)

	Abstract Report		Complete Report

Environmental sustainability has become an increasingly important topic for organizations of all types in recent years. There has been a push not only to evaluate the sustainability performance within an organization’s own operations, but also to evaluate the impacts of the organization’s supply chain. This push has resulted in a proliferation of sustainability supply chain surveys and organizations have  had to dedicate an increasing amount of time to respond to them.

Over the past two years, ACCO has hosted exploratory conversations designed to examine the prospects of harmonizing supply chain questionnaires. Based on those discussions, ACCO established an advisory group consisting of leading NGOs and multinational corporations to oversee a research project conducted by graduate students in the Nicholas School for Environment at Duke University. In 2012-2013, the Duke project team interviewed dozens of supply chain leaders on the topic and analyzed supply chain questionnaires from leading companies, trade groups and NGOs.

The resulting report provides an in depth analysis of existing activities taking place and makes recommendations for harmonizing supply chain questionnaires.  This report will serve as the foundation for a large multi-stakeholder effort that ACCO will convene to move forward with this effort.

Climate Adaptation: A Survey of Concerns Facing Organizations

As organizations and entities across sectors implement climate adaptation plans and policies, leaders are increasingly in need of high‐quality information to make better decisions. To find this information, it is common practice for managers to look to their peers for lessons learned and best practices. This approach works well for seasoned constituencies who share time‐tested experiences, which are often standardized and accredited. However, though rapidly rising in popularity, managing the impacts of climate change is still in its infancy. Field tested lessons have yet to crystallize and best practices have a long way to go before they are standardized.

To help resolve this issue, we took a hard look at the process of planning for climate impacts across sectors. We discovered emerging trends in climate adaptation in different sectors as well as obstacles identified by practitioners. These obstacles, which we refer to as “barriers,” range from the simple to the complex. For example, some managers lack the time to research the latest climate change science. Some managers reported that, despite being tasked with managing impacts from climate change, they do not have financial support from their respective organizations. In still other cases, decision makers with clear mandates and well developed plans struggle with training their staff and have a difficult time communicating goals with various stakeholders.

Note: This report is an update and supplement to the Barriers to Implementing Climate Adaptation Plans: A Survey of Climate Professionals Across Sectors report published in November 2011.

Gaining New Perspectives: Lessons Learned from German Responses to Climate and Energy

In 2011, two Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) Board Members, Valerie Patrick of Bayer Corporation and Melissa Adams of WGL Holdings, Inc., participated in the American Council on Germany’s (ACG) Study Tour to gain new perspectives and information on climate and energy issues. The ACG Study Tours aim to give American professionals the opportunity to engage in a two‐way dialogue with German officials, business leaders, journalists, and other experts to gain a better understanding of the German political, economic, social, and environmental landscape.

Climate change and energy are excellent examples of policy and economic topics that Germany has taken a very different strategic approach to compared to the United States. American representatives had the opportunity to learn directly from German experts about how the nation addresses energy and climate change challenges, and share U.S. ideas and practices with their German counterparts.

Report: Trends in Corporate Climate Change Governance

Climate change governance is an increasingly important issue as more organizations are becoming mature in their climate change strategies. While best practices in some areas have emerged, there is little consensus on the most effective way to govern climate change within an organization. This report examines data publicly reported to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) from the Investor CDP Questionnaire to determine trends in climate change governance and uncover relationships between governance and performance.  The CDP data shows that there is a relationship between industry sector and climate change governance. Sectors exhibit differences in the amount of incentives given and the highest organizational level that is directly responsible for climate change. Organizations that are better known or have larger revenue also showed a relationship with climate change governance. Fortune 500 and high visibility brand organizations had more climate change governance than other organizations. Finally, both total revenue and disclosure scores for companies were related to their climate change governance. Generally, more climate change governance was related both to higher revenue and a higher disclosure score.

White Paper: Change Management and Climate Change in Organizations

Change management is widely used in business as a systematic and lasting method to move an organization from one state to another. This report highlights the use of change management concepts and tools to accelerate taking action in organizations in response to climate change and to other challenges that stand in the way of sustainable development. Ineffective change management is the leading cause of failure in implementing organizational programs. In addition, change management speeds up results by successfully embedding the needed strategies for the change into the business processes and operations of an organization. Targeted towards climate change and sustainability professionals, this report addresses the case for change concerning sustainability and organizations; presents the change management framework for implementing a sustainability strategy in an organization; and addresses strategy, leadership and planning aspects of the change management framework.

Microsoft’s Carbon Neutrality Commitment and Internal Carbon Fee

In May 2012, Microsoft announced a companywide commitment to become carbon neutral beginning with its fiscal year 2013 (which started July 1, 2012). The commitment—to achieve net-zero carbon emissions for Microsoft’s data centers, software development labs, offices, and employee air travel—is accompanied by an internal carbon fee charged to business groups as an accountability and carbon reduction fundraising measure. From interviews with TJ DiCaprio, Microsoft’s Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability, and using information from the Microsoft whitepaper titled “Becoming Carbon Neutral,” the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO) has assembled a case study looking at some of the strategies and best practices used to build Microsoft’s commitment.

Synthesis Report: 2012 Defense, National Security and Climate Change Workshop

Since 1900, the global population has increased over fourfold, putting unprecedented strain on our planet’s resources and life supporting systems. Humanity’s contribution of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere has begun to cause Earth’s climate to change, warming hundreds of times faster than it has at any point so far in our planet’s history. Awareness of climate change is growing in the defense community, exemplified by the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which was the first version of the guiding defense document to explicitly consider how climate change might affect the defense mission.  On June 25-26, 2012, over 130 leaders working in the climate and defense nexus gathered in Washington, DC to participate in a workshop titled “Defense, National Security and Climate Change: Building Resilience and Identifying Opportunities Related to Water, Energy and Extreme Events.” During those two days, participants shared insights in roundtable sessions and listened to leaders representing a broad range of organizations and perspectives. The workshop aimed to present a variety of perspectives from the defense and associated communities on the national security and defense implications of climate change. By bringing together the leading minds in the field, the workshop sparked important conversations and allowed participants to learn and share insights on the state of climate change work in the defense community.  The purpose of this report is to distill some of the main themes and ideas derived from the workshop and synthesize what was learned. Click here to download the full report.

Report Abstract: Barriers to Implementing Climate Adaptation Plans: A Survey of Climate Professionals Across Sectors

As organizations and entities across sectors implement climate adaptation plans and policies, leaders are increasingly in need of high-quality information to make better decisions. To find this information, it is common practice for managers to look to their peers for lessons learned and best management practices. This approach works well of r seasoned constituencies who share time-tested experiences, which, it should be mentioned, are often standardized and accredited. However, through rapidly rising popularity, managing the impacts of climate change is still in its infancy, Field tested lessons have yet to crystallize and best practices have a long way to go before they are standardized. The result is that managers are left to implement ad hoc climate plans with little to no feedback for effectiveness in creating resilience or reducing actual risk. To help resolve this issue, we took a hard look at the process of planning for climate impacts across sectors. We discovered that instead of looking for a quick fix, managers are faced with many obstacles—some expected; other surprising—as they implement their plans. This complimentary summary presents some highlights and the full report is available for purchase.  Click here to download.

Report Abstract: Climate Change Leadership in Higher Education Institutions

Over the last decade, climate change has become a critical topic of concern. As a result, organizations across sectors, including higher education institutions, are responding by making significant organizational changes. Through a comprehensive survey and in-depth interviews of individual institutions, we analyzed how higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada are restructuring their governance structures in order to respond to climate change. The 146-page final report contains the results shown in dozens of tables, nearly 100 charts and graphs, interviews, sources, and institutional profiles. This complimentary summary presents some highlights and the full report is available for purchase.  Click here to download.