By Valerie Chort and David Greenall

In turbulent economic times, the first things to go are those considered optional "niceties" - a list that varies enormously based on an organization’s value proposition. For many organizations, environmental and sustainability initiatives seem to fit this description. Can these activities be "back burnered" until prosperity returns?

The Carbon Disclosure Project, now in its sixth reporting cycle, is maturing. Investors better understand what information they want from companies. Do you understand your carbon footprint well enough?

In a newly carbon-constrained world, being carbon neutral as a company has suddenly become a potential competitive advantage. oing it right, however, can be difficult. Marty Janowitz of Jacques Whitford shares his experience of the process.

By John Goetz

Providing a coalition government does not replace Prime Minister Harper's minority government, the Conservatives are expected to proceed with proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations under their Regulatory Framework on Air Emissions (the Federal Framework), announced in April 2008. But will there be enough carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) offsets to go around for such a program? Chances are, the answer is no.

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has become a business necessity for Canadian companies of all sizes. The success of Canadian organizations whose business decisions and operations affect, and are affected by climate change will depend on their proactive efforts in improving their carbon performance and achieving carbon neutrality. For this reason, the Canadian Standards Association has launched the GHG CleanStart Registry — to help businesses of all sizes with the process of improving their carbon performance and working towards carbon neutrality.

By Michel Girard

Concerns about climate change are increasingly driving public policy and corporate decisions. They are also altering consumer behaviour and rewarding those who build environmental sustainability into their practices.

But a January report from Pollara Strategic Insights indicated that only one per cent of Canadians say they strongly trust companies' claims that they are carbon neutral, while 57 per cent of Canadians say they do not trust companies' claims of carbon neutrality. This skepticism is largely attributed to a lack of transparency and general confusion about carbon neutrality.

Exactly what does it mean for a company or organization to be green?

The creation of North America’s first carbon tax earlier this year in British Columbia has further engaged stakeholders in the debate over what works better in the fight to cut greenhouse gas emissions, consumption taxes or a cap-and-trade system for large final emitters. The issue was debated at the final plenary session at Globe 2008, and good arguments were put forth for both options by the seven-speaker panel. Ultimately, the success of either will depend upon how it is managed.

The United States will be home to a $1 trillion carbon emission market by 2020 if federal and state policymakers continue on their current path towards a comprehensive cap-and-trade program that is confined to domestic trading only. This will mean a carbon price of $40 per tonne as soon as 2015, and a sharp rise in consumer energy prices, according to a report by New Carbon Finance research economists.

Policy experts convened to discuss the implications at Carbon Forum America, and suggest that the only way to ease the shock of such a transition is through the use of carbon offsets purchased through developments in emerging economies like China and India.

Carbon trading in North America is currently fragmented, and experts attending Carbon Forum America in San Francisco, February 27-28, agreed that it is likely to stay that way for a while still. Currently, there are voluntary trading markets and regional markets developing across North America, but no standard form for trading, and no common emissions reductions goals across provinces and states.

That doesn’t mean companies should sit back and ignore their carbon footprint. Experts at the conference shared a number of ideas about how companies can address their carbon use today to prepare for future regulatory regimes.