Resource Management

USDA  is soliciting comments on how to best design methods for measuring greenhouse gas sources and sinks in the agriculture and forestry sectors [ notice published Feb. 18, 2011  in the Federal Register. The USDA notice on methodologies for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration from agriculture and forestry is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-02-18/pdf/2011-3667.pdf.]The guidelines are intended to be clear enough that they can easily be used by farmers looking to reduce their GHG  emissions, and will incorporate elements of existing methods and guidelines. USDA expects to complete the project within three years. Carbon sinks are natural systems that suck up and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The guidelines being developed by USDA will be used within USDA and by farmers, ranchers, and forest land owners and will be made publicly available. To ensure the project deliverables are of benefit to the widest possible set of stakeholders,  the process of developing the guidelines, methods, and reporting tools will emphasize scientific rigor, transparency, internal consistency, and reducing uncertainty. The notice emphasized USDA is seeking comments on how it may “best improve upon existing GHG  estimation guidelines for the agriculture and forestry sectors, while at the same time simplifying the input requirements and enhancing the ease of use for individuals and entities. The guidelines will seek to offer emissions calculation methodologies, emissions reduction techniques, and ways to increase carbon sequestration for a wide range of agricultural activities including soil management.

This should be helpful to cotton farmers to have a way approved by a government body to show how much reduction in GHGs they are getting on their farm.

Advertising Age named sustainability one of the “ jargon” words of 2010. Misuse is made easy due to the lack of a universally agreed upon definition.  The difficulty in coming up with a shared definition is complicated by the fact that sustainability applies to a multitude of dynamically interrelated issues — environmental, economic, and social. The most popular definition of sustainability came out of the Brundtland Commission (formally known as the World Commission on Environment and Development) of the United Nations General Assembly on March 20, 1987. The Brundtland definition is criticized as being too vague and not providing a guide for how sustainability can become “operational.” In addition, there is no one regulating the “environmentally-friendly” steps that many companies claim they are taking.

However, used properly (i.e., based on validated improvements and not ‘greenwash’), ‘more sustainable’  describes practices through which the global economy can grow. Today it appears there are many articles indicating that sustainability is helping to shape business. Companies used to shy away from setting public performance targets. But two key changes have occurred. First, sustainability has become a topic on the Board's agenda. Second, it is now more widely understood that becoming ‘more sustainable’ can spark innovation that delivers a competitive advantage--it is not simply a risk mitigation exercise. These changes have led companies like Walmart and Levi as well as many others to link their companies' reputations to their sustainability performance.

Is this what your company is experiencing? Do you expect this of your suppliers and do your customers expect this of you?