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 →Elm has completed its initial field trail of the iPad for EHS auditing. Lawrence Heim of Elm’s Georgia office: In our week-long test of the iPad in an actual client audit setting, we used many of the features available in our selected data collection application. There were other relevant features that we did not use this time, but expect to in the future. To sum it up, the iPad and our selected application performed flawlessly. Data capture – over 50 pages of handwritten notes in this case – was efficient and error-free. We were able to create charts, tables and diagrams, as well as use a “highlighter pen” feature. The user-defined data tagging function worked extremely well to quickly identify matters needing further information or clarification. That feature also allowed quick, easy access to – and certainty in locating – findings in the notes. Data tags clearly indicated finding summary information for further convenience. Exporting the notes was rapid and seamless. The resulting file can be viewed/emailed to the client in PDF form as well as other formats if needed. I believe that our use of the iPad created a time efficiency of between 15% – 20% on this particular field
Read more →Yesterday, the world’s largest retailer and its cadre of sustainability advisors released the 61-page Walmart Supplier GHG Innovation Program: Guidance Document. Elm has read through this document and provides a brief overview of what we think are several important points. What follows is a combination of excerpts from the document combined with Elm comments. Not all of these points are implementation “how-to’s”. Some of our comments reflect potential problems that should be evaluated by suppliers who are impacted by Walmart’s supplier sustainability initiatives. The program will initially focus on the following product categories: Animal feed, apparel, candy, cheese, frozen food, fruit, grains, household detergents, meat, media, milk, motor oil, pharmaceuticals, produce, sanitary paper products, snacks, soap & shampoo, soft drinks & beverages, televisions, and vegetables. GIVING CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE (TO WALMART) In past articles, Elm discussed our view there is a true business risk – rather than competitive advantage – to first-mover adoption of GHG reduction programs. We had anticipated that such risk would be rooted in regulatory requirements. While that may still be a concern in the longer term, it appears now that the more significant risk relates to Walmart suppliers. The retailer has specified that no
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 →NYT reports that Washington has abandoned hope of issuing carbon legislation this year, including cap-and-trade. The inaction is also dragging down regional/state programs as well, including the well-hyped RGGI trading program. This shouldn’t come as a real surprise to anyone. But it does continue to increase the business uncertainty surrounding emissions in the US. Tune in again next year. Or the year after….
Read more →An Australian publication CFO World posted an insightful piece on how CFOs should support and participate in corporate risk assessment processes. Events like the recent BP oil spill would surely be a wake up call for all CFOs that events perhaps seen as ‘external’ factors can no longer be considered from a do-nothing mindset. As we have commented several times in the past, technical EHS staff sometimes inadvertently discount events. The technical training and mindset of these folks tends to push them to focus on events with a significant probability. Doing so generally ignores the potential impact of a low-probability event. CFOs have a strong grounding in risk assessment, analysis. They can influence better risk assessment outcomes. Teaming with a CFO perspective brings the “impact” element much more to the front of the process, forcing the technical viewpoints to broaden their review and consider matters in a different light. The article also provides a good summary of key points for CFO involvement in a risk assessment process, which can form a solid basis for a model of cooperation in such activities.
Read more →The New York Time published an interesting story about Citibank’s environmental reputation. Apparently, Citibank Hong Kong ran a promotion giving a 15% discount to Citibank card holders for a shark’s fin dinner at Maxim’s Chinese Cuisine. Oops. While shark fin is considered a delicacy in the Orient – and most of the world’s commerce in shark fin takes place in or through Hong Kong, there is growing global concern about the legality and sustainability of harvesting the fins. The promotion drew swift condemnation, with a lively discussion group created on Facebook and an e-mail campaign aimed at Citibank’s marketing manager. Last week, Citibank Hong Kong withdrew the promotion, which was to have run until the end of the month, in response to feedback. ‘‘Citibank is committed to managing our business in a manner that benefits the society and the environment,’’ it said in a statement. “A few years ago, there may have been no reaction to Citibank ads promoting shark fin soup,” Michael Skoletsky, executive director at Shark Savers in New York, said in an e-mail message. “Now, Citibank’s fast response shows that companies can’t fall behind an informed public on important environmental problems like shark fin soup.’’
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 →
Follow Us!
By BREAKSTS penny stocks