Corporate Strategies
Deloitte & Touche LLP: The Risk Intelligent Energy Company: Weathering the Storm of Climate Change (October 2007). The energy industry has always dealt with risk. However, when the scope, complexity, and interdependency of risk factors increase, or when an emerging risk simultaneously presents significant opportunities, more comprehensive and integrated approaches are necessary. This Deloitte & Touche LLP paper provides insight into identifying key climate change risks, discusses how a Risk Intelligent approach to Enterprise Risk Management helps to manage these risks, and offers guidance on how to adapt business models to the implications of climate change.
Harvard Business Review: Competitive Advantage on a Warming Planet (March 2007). This article by Jonathan Lash and Fred Wellington of the World Resources Institute argues that companies that manage and mitigate their exposure to the risks associated with climate change while seeking new opportunities for profit will generate a competitive advantage over rivals in a carbon-constrained future. This article offers a systematic approach to mapping and responding to climate change risks. (Please note: clicking on the link above will take you to HBR’s download center where you can purchase the article for $6).
The Climate Group: Carbon Down, Profits Up (2007). The Climate Group, an international non-governmental organization, in the third edition of its "Carbon Down, Profits Up" report, describes actions taken by many companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report also highlights the advantages gained by firms that take early action to address climate change.
Business for Social Responsibility: Offsetting Emissions: A Business Brief on the Voluntary Carbon Market (December 2006). This report from Business for Social Responsibility is intended for companies considering the purchase of voluntary offsets for their greenhouse gas emissions. It offers clear steps that guide early assessments and enable corporate decision makers to become educated consumers within voluntary carbon markets.
Ceres and the Investor Network on Climate Risk: Managing the Risks and Opportunities of Climate Change: A Practical Toolkit for Corporate Leaders (January 2006). This Ceres toolkit provides a guide for corporations interested in developing climate strategies. It lists a series of steps corporations should take and includes case studies of companies that have successfully established such strategies.
California Management Review: Climate Change Strategy: The Business Logic Behind Voluntary Greenhouse Gas Reductions (2005). Many companies are taking advantage of the lack of a mandatory U.S. GHG emission reduction program to set targets at their own pace and in ways that complement their own strategic objectives, writes Dr. Andrew Hoffman of the University of Michigan in this California Management Review (CMR) article. They are doing so in order to prepare for the long term should GHG emission reductions become mandatory, while at the same time attempting to reap near-term economic and strategic benefits should new regulations not emerge. (Please note: clicking on the link above will take you to CMR's download center where you will be given the option of purchasing the article.)
Business Roundtable: Every Sector, One Resolve (September 2004). This is a progress report on BRT's Climate RESOLVE program, which is a multi-sector, CEO-led initiative to promote voluntary action to reduce the GHG intensity of the U.S. economy. BRT reports that as of July 1, 2004, 107 companies were taking action to reduce their emissions under the RESOLVE program.
Harvard Business Review: Winning the Greenhouse Gas Game (April 2004). Companies voluntarily reducing their greenhouse gases are helping to shape the governmental regulations that are coming soon. Dr. Andrew Hoffman of the University of Michigan and author of the Pew Center report "Getting Ahead of the Curve: Corporate Strategies That Address Climate Change" writes in this Harvard Business Review (HBR) article that if companies do not act now, they will find their competitors will write the rules for them. (Please note: clicking on the link above will take you to HBR's download center where you will be given the option of purchasing the article.)