After the devastating tsunami in Japan early in 2011, we began exploring the interrelationship of green/ethical procurement (such as conflict minerals) with business continuity/disaster recovery planning. Now, an article from leading electronics supplier Digi-Key states that lead times are delayed up to almost 6 months for a significant amount of the world’s production of tantalum capacitors as a result of the flooding in Thailand, combined with raw material supply impacts of conflict minerals laws/policies. Of course, higher prices are also expected. ”Combine those two things together and that put a big strain on the supply of raw materials in the market as well as pricing,” said Joe Porter, vice president tantalum product marketing at Kemet Corp. based in Greenville, S.C. We continue to believe that significant opportunities exist for business continuity/disaster recovery planning efforts to incorporate growing green/ethical procurement initiatives. Robust sustainability risk assessment exercises are essential in identifying relevant gaps and areas for improvement. Feel free to contact us for more information about how we can help.
Read more →In Tampa Bay, an all-to-real demonstration is playing out of the trickle-down economic impact of a company operation being shut down for environmental reasons. The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported this story. The Mosaic Co. is a publicly-traded company with over $6billion in annual revenue reported last fiscal year. Mosaic mines phosphate ore. The company has been mining in Polk County since 1995 and recently filed for an expansion of operations to access reserves in Hardee County. These ore reserves represent about 10 years of active mining operations. The Sierra Club, along with other NGOs challenged the issuance of a federal permit that would allow Mosaic to expand, alleging that the expanded operations would cause environmental damage to the headwaters of the Peace River and other streams that drain into the Charlotte Harbor estuary. On July 30, in response to the challenge U.S. District Judge Henry Lee Adams Jr. in Jacksonville issued a preliminary injunction against the expansion, saying the Army Corps had failed to adequately explore alternative plans that would cause less environmental damage to the area. The article reports that, if the Mosaic expansion does not move forward, the economic impact would be dramatic. At least 18 companies
Read more →The Elm Group International, LLC is accepting entries for a drawing to win an environmental compliance audit priced at $1.00 fixed rate for labor fees. The contest winner gets 5 consecutive days of one Elm staff member’s time to conduct an environmental compliance audit in the U.S – for $1.00 in labor cost. The rules and limitations (posted in the entry form) set forth the details of this offer. Patrick Doyle, founder of Elm: “Elm has been financially successful ever since its founding in 2003. Even in the midst of the worst global economic collapse since the 1930s, Elm posted record revenues in 2009. In light of that, we wanted to have some fun in 2010. Part of that was investing in new technology such as the iPad, which proved to be very successful in the field. This give-away is another opportunity for us to have fun, while also providing real benefit to the winner.” “There is a bit of a thrill in this for us,” said Lawrence Heim of Elm’s Georgia operations. “We certainly don’t know what type of company or site will win and I have no idea where I will be traveling to for this assignment.” “I
Read more →EPA announced it is proposing yet another delay in the implementation of the “new” SPCC regulations, originally published in 2001. EPA states: Types of facilities that may be eligible for the proposed one year extension: Oil production, farms, electric utility plants, petroleum refining and related industries, chemical manufacturing, food manufacturing, manufacturing facilities using and storing animal fats and vegetable oils, metal and other manufacturing, real estate rental and leasing, retail trade, contract construction, wholesale trade, other commercial, transportation, arts entertainment & recreation, other services (except public administration), petroleum bulk stations and terminals, education, hospitals & other health care, accommodation and food services, fuel oil dealers, gasoline stations, information finance and insurance, mining, warehousing and storage, religious organizations, military installations, and government facilities. In summary, the proposed rule would: Extend the date by which the owners or operators of certain facilities must prepare or amend and implement an SPCC plan by one year to November 10, 2011 Delay the compliance date for facilities with milk containers that are constructed according to the current applicable 3-A sanitary standards, and subject to the current applicable grade “A” pasteurized milk ordinance (PMO) or a state dairy regulatory requirement equivalent to the current applicable PMO
Read more →Doubtful that the acronym would make it past any corporate review, but the linkage between ESH risk and IT management is real. There have been plenty of reports on energy consumption by IT hardware, e-waste disposal concerns and chemical/metals content of electronics. But what has not seen much attention is the potential ESH risk posed from internet security breaches. Internet security breaches? A risk to environmental, health and safety? There has been a tremendous growth in computer-based operational controls in manufacturing and process lines. These computer systems can – and sometimes do – control activities such as chemical mixing, fuel flow, exhaust venting and pollution control equipment operation. If these computer systems were to become controlled through unauthorized remote access (in other words, a hacker), a great deal of damage could result. Here are a few scenarios that actually happened. During an IT security test, the “hacker” – a paid consultant in this case – found a way to control the fuel flow to a power generator. The “hacker” ended up running the generator far beyond safety limits, causing it to overheat and start a fire. Fortunately, this was done under controlled circumstances so no one was hurt, no collateral
Read more →In case you missed it, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed into law yesterday by President Obama also included new auditing and disclosure requirements for companies who use certain ores/minerals in their products. The requirements apply to certain materials that originate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – called “conflict minerals”. These are defined as columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives; or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or an adjoining country. The text of the new legislation that was included in the Dodd-Frank bill signed into law is below. SEC. 1502. CONFLICT MINERALS. (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON EXPLOITATION AND TRADE OF CONFLICT MINERALS ORIGINATING IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO. It is the sense of Congress that the exploitation and trade of conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is helping to finance conflict characterized by extreme levels of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly sexual- and gender-based violence, and contributing to an emergency humanitarian situation therein, warranting the provisions of section 13(p) of the Securities
Read more →Those of us from the South know the old joke: What does a redneck say before he goes in a hospital? Answer: “Hey Bubba – watch this…” Funny. But what isn’t so funny is that Russia has actually launched a barge that is intended to be the foundation for a floating nuclear power plant. And the head of the Russian nuclear regulatory agency has called the floating power plant “absolutely safe.” They must have hired Neptune, Poseidon, Zeus, Jupiter – and their entire mythological posses – to participate in their risk assessment and control program. That’s impressive. Read the article from Reuters. Perhaps senior level officials from Russia nuclear regulatory agency should come spend a summer in the south with Bubba and his friends. So what does a Russian nuclear agency official say before he creates a nuclear disaster? “Hey Comrade – its absolutely safe”.
Read more →Here is an interesting excerpt from a Reuters piece published yesterday: New York state’s pension fund plans to sue BP Plc to recover losses from the drop in the company’s stock price following the worst oil spill in U.S. history, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said on Wednesday. DiNapoli said the fund owned more than 19 million shares when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April. “BP misled investors about its safety procedures and its ability to respond to events like the ongoing oil spill and we’re going to hold it accountable,” said the Democratic comptroller, who will stand for election in November in the race for New York comptroller. The Pension’s action – and it stated basis for the lawsuit – is dramatic evidence of the risk companies can face from shareholder activism in light of EHS matters. It further supports what BusinessWeek reported last week about the likely increased in shareholder demands related to EHS management and disclosure.
Read more →In years past, we have seen a small – but growing – amount of shareholder activism in publicly traded companies concerning sustainability and environmental matters. Several Fortune 500 companies have faced and defeated these attempts at requiring greater environmental risk assessment and disclosure. 2010 looks to be dramatically different. Setting the stage in 2008, TVA experiences a catastrophic failure of an ash pond in Tennessee that also prompts EPA to initiate their own risk assessment of similar ash ponds across the country. Then, SEC published its Interpretive Guidance on climate risk assessment/disclosure that is effective beginning this year. On the H&S front, Massey Energy faces a mine disaster that claims 29 lives and raises the profile of MSHA enforcement gaps. Now, BusinessWeek reports that investor groups are gearing up to require far more information and disclosure from the companies they invest in. Some highlights of the article: In the past, demands for risk disclosure tended to be viewed as hypothetical. In light of the Gulf disaster, [Robert Graham, founder and head of the environmental law practice at Chicago-based Jenner & Block] predicts that requests for such information will become more mainstream. “These issues are real and this disaster dramatically demonstrates
Read more →In the wake of EPA Region 6’s recent decision to overturn TCEQ-issued air permits for 40 companies, EPA fired another shot at The Alamo. The EPA is offering Texas companies with the approximately 130 affected air permits the opportunity to have third party audits conducted with a promise of enforcement leniency in exchange. The pre-publication version of the announcement is posted at EPA Region 6 website here, as well as the 30-page agreement that audit participants must execute with EPA. Noteworthy aspects of the agreement include: - Highly prescriptive requirements for third party auditor independence and report certification - Detailed requirements for the scope of the audit - Audit report content, format and submission requirements – including taxonomy for supporting document attachments - Mandates and specifications for emissions-related Community Projects to be entered into by the audit participant and approved by EPA - Separate specifications for the NSR portion of the audit and related report - The model Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) Companies interested in participating in the audit program should conduct a thorough review – with legal counsel – of the language contained in the agreement and CAFO documents. Although we at Elm are not lawyers and
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