Weathervane: A Climate Policy Blog from Resources for the Future

Mar26

EPA Calls for Corporate Identifiers on GHG Disclosure

Earlier this week, the EPA proposed expanding its greenhouse gas (GHG) observation net by adding additional emissions sources to its mandatory GHG reporting system. If the proposal is enacted the system, which required some 31 industrial sectors to begin tracking and reporting their GHG output earlier this year, would expand to cover oil and natural gas sectors.

The rule also proposes folding an additional layer of reporting into the mix, requiring facilities to disclose their corporate ownership. As environmental concerns become increasingly important in investment decisions, having a clear picture of who is emitting and where will help investors, corporations and government devise smarter plans and policies going forward.

As Mark Cohen pointed out in this July 2009 post, the EPA already includes corporate identifiers in many of its monitoring programs and the measure could be of great use to investors and observers:

Corporate identifiers are important because facility environmental performance varies by the location, size, and financial standing of the parent company. Investors and NGOs are also increasingly interested in corporate-level climate policies and impacts. For example, the Carbon Disclosure Project, Global Reporting Initiative, and budding carbon footprint labeling efforts (See post A Call for Product Carbon Labeling) are dependent upon accurate data to verify corporate sustainability performance.

The EPA currently requires corporate parent identifiers in other reporting programs, such as the Risk Management Plan Rule. This small burden on reporters could reduce redundancy and errors that could lead to contradictory conclusions.

Tiffany Clements is managing editor of Weathervane.

Published: Mar-26-10 | 0 Comments

Jul15

Will Wal-Mart Lead the way on Carbon Labeling?

Voluntary Programs, Waxman-Markey, Disclosure

Image Courtesy Cool Business Ideas The movement to disclose carbon content in products could get a tremendous boost from massive retailer Wal-Mart, according to this story from Marc Gunther. He writes:

[Wal-Mart] is developing an ambitious, comprehensive, and fiendishly complex plan to measure the sustainability of every product it sells. Wal-Mart has been working quietly on what it calls a "sustainability index" for more than a year, and it will take another year or two for labels to appear on products. But the company's grand plan-"audacious beyond words" is how one insider describes it-has the potential to transform retailing by requiring manufacturers of consumer products to dig deep into their supply chains, measure their environmental impact, and compete on those terms for favorable treatment from the world's most powerful retailer.

Wal-Mart and Congress may be on the same wavelength. As Mark Cohen wrote in this earlier post, the Waxman-Markey energy bill—currently working its way through the Senate—includes a provision (Sec. 274) for a program similar to the retail giant is considering.

Tracking the amount of carbon that goes into a product throughout its manufacturing and distribution is massive undertaking, unprecedented in the U.S. (see Joel Darmstadter's look at measuring life-cycle carbon for energy sources). But as Mark pointed out there are models to look toward, “Efforts are already underway in the U.K.—where the Carbon Trust is labeling hundreds of products, and Japan where a voluntary program is being tested with 30 major manufacturers.”

Tiffany Clements is managing editor of Weathervane.

Published: Jul-15-09 | 0 Comments

Jul14

EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule – Will We Really Know Who is Emitting?

EPA, Disclosure

A proposed EPA rule would require individual facilities in the U.S. to submit information about their greenhouse gas emissions to the EPA. It would target suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions.

The proposed measure focuses on facility-level emissions, but does not require identification of the facility’s parent company. In response to EPA’s call for public comments, 57 individual researchers from around the world submitted a joint letter calling for inclusion of a corporate identifier.

Corporate identifiers are important because facility environmental performance varies by the location, size, and financial standing of the parent company. Investors and NGOs are also increasingly interested in corporate-level climate policies and impacts. For example, the Carbon Disclosure Project, Global Reporting Initiative, and budding carbon footprint labeling efforts (See post A Call for Product Carbon Labeling) are dependent upon accurate data to verify corporate sustainability performance.

EPA currently requires corporate parent identifiers in other reporting programs, such as the Risk Management Plan Rule. This small burden on reporters could reduce redundancy and errors that could lead to contradictory conclusions.

The first of the proposed Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reports are due in 2011. The required public comment period ended on June 9, 2009, however, late comments may still be submitted to the EPA here.

Mark Cohen is vice president for research at Resources for the Future.

Published: Jul-14-09 | 0 Comments