Category Archives: News Commentary

Our commentary and views on current events

It's not just about the trucks, but we can't do it without the trucks

By | Bio | Published: April 4, 2013

A great piece in the Wall Street Journal caught my eye last week.  The article highlighted the impressive productivity gains trucking fleets have made recently. These, in turn, have led to a reduction in average truck miles of two percent from 2006.  Two percent might not seem like much. But, by increasing the productivity of [...]

Also posted in Behavior, Fleet Vehicles, Goods Movement, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Supply Chain Management | Leave a comment

Top 10 Private Equity ESG Developments in 2012

By | Bio | Published: January 24, 2013

As we close out our first month of 2013, let's look back at the prior year to reflect on the progress the private equity industry has made on environmental, social and governance (ESG) management. In classic fashion, we hereby present a top 10 list of private equity ESG developments in 2012. 1. Private equity reporting [...]

Also posted in Behavior, EDF Climate Corps, Energy Efficiency, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Partnerships, Private Equity, Tools | Leave a comment

Blackstone's Solar Program Demonstrates Power of Network Effect

By | Published: January 7, 2013

Our hat's off to Blackstone, which recently announced a new solar program. This development has the potential to cut energy costs by 10 percent and improve environmental performance across all the firm's real estate assets and portfolio companies, which have aggregate revenues of $116 billion. Smart Energy Capital will oversee installation of rooftop solar panels [...]

Also posted in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Private Equity | Leave a comment

BSR Insight highlights environmental progress in private equity

By | Bio | Published: October 9, 2012

When Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) first teamed up with leaders in the private equity industry four years ago, we were building on the learnings from over 20 years of partnerships with leading public companies.  However, as BSR’s recent blog points out, there are now new lessons learned from private equity firms that all companies can [...]

Also posted in Innovation, Partnerships, Private Equity | Leave a comment

BSR Report Takes Stock of Private Equity Industry's ESG Reporting

By | Bio | Published: October 1, 2012

A recent report by BSR on the level of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting in the private equity industry provides a useful benchmark of the progress that has been made, as well as the ground that remains to be covered. BSR authors Laura Gitman and Charlotte Bancilhon reviewed the ESG reporting practices of the [...]

Also posted in Innovation, Partnerships, Private Equity, Tools | Leave a comment

Replacing your iPhone? Think again before trashing it

By | Published: September 12, 2012

With the unveiling of a new iPhone today, many of us are wondering what to do with the device we bought last year. But old cell phones aren’t the only problem. From Apple laptops to Zenith televisions, 20-50 million tons of electronic products are discarded annually, be they buried in landfills, burned in incinerators or [...]

Also posted in Behavior, Eco-Challenge Series, Innovation, Partnerships | Leave a comment

Fighting the Same Fight: EDF Climate Corps Crosses Paths with C40, BBC, Others

By | Published: July 13, 2012

By Katie Ware and Andrew Willens Heat waves. Droughts. A disappointing climate summit. This summer’s headlines have been less than encouraging for the fight against global warming. Nonetheless, the EDF Climate Corps team sees reason for optimism. Rio+20 did not produce the binding international climate commitments many had hoped for, but it did demonstrate "big [...]

Also posted in Behavior, EDF Climate Corps, Energy Efficiency, Innovation | Leave a comment

Help Wanted: Private Equity Firms Add Staff to Manage Environmental Risk and Opportunities

By | Bio | Published: July 2, 2012

A growing number of private equity firms are hiring in-house professionals and engaging outside experts to better manage environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities.  Private Equity International's Responsible Investment Handbook 2012 highlighted this trend earlier this year. In particular, the handbook spotlighted the fact that private equity leaders are adding new and much deeper [...]

Also posted in Behavior, Innovation, Private Equity | Leave a comment

Are you at Fortune Brainstorm Green?

By | Published: April 17, 2012

One of the most popular conferences in the corporate sustainability space started yesterday: Fortune Brainstorm GREEN. If you are at the event, please introduce yourself to one of our EDF Business experts: Jon Coifman, Marketing and Communications Director Audrey Davenport, Project Manager Andrew Hutson, Project Manager Jasper Jung, Marketing and Communications Manager Emily Reyna, Project [...]

Also posted in Events & Activities, Innovation | Leave a comment

Moving Away from PR Focused Sustainability

By | Published: April 12, 2012

By Lillias MacIntyre, Program Associate, Corporate Partnerships, EDF Defining “sustainability” in general terms can be difficult, since definitions evolve over time with new ideas or trends.  Sustainability today encompasses contexts of natural resources and the environment, economics and social equity, but generally speaking,  to be sustainable is to use “methods, systems and materials that won’t [...]

Also posted in Behavior, Innovation, Treasure Hunts | Leave a comment