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HSBC will stop financing new oil and gas fields and will not on board new clients which are investing heavily in exploration.

The bank said its move to end financing, for all and any new fields where a final investment decision was taken after 31 December 2021, is consistent with the IEA’s Net‐Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 scenario, a timeline it shares.

HSBC said it will no longer provide finance, either through capital markets or lending, for the purpose of new oil and gas fields and related infrastructure. It said it will not start a new relationship with a prospective client that has more than 10pc of its planned oil and gas capital expenditure (capex) in exploration, or has more than 10pc of production volume from ultra-deepwater, shale oil or extra heavy oil projects.

The bank will also demand prospective clients have clear plans for elimination of flaring by 2030 and reduction of methane emissions by 2025 in the EU and OECD countries, and by 2030 for the rest of the world. But HSBC said it will continue to provide finance and other services to existing oil and gas fields, so oil and gas supply can “meet current and future — declining — global demand”.

“Our approach is to prioritise real world emission reductions as we support our clients in delivering the energy transition alongside security of supply,” HSBC said. “Fundamentally, we will continue to support energy clients that take an active role in the energy transition and who apply relevant robust industry standards.”

“Natural gas will play an important role in the energy mix beyond 2050 due to the critical role it plays in a hydrogen economy which is a central component of a net zero energy system,” HSBC said, adding that it has “appetite” to finance green or blue hydrogen projects.

The move by HSBC comes after question were raised at the recent UN Cop 27 climate summit about role of the finance sector, and particularly about implementation of pledges made at Cop 26 a year earlier. Non-governmental organisation (NGO) ShareAction said many European banks that had signed up to the IEA-aligned Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), which includes HSBC, were still funding new fossil fuel projects. The NZBA initiative, established last year, has more than 120 banks as signatories, representing nearly 40pc of global banking assets.

HSBC does not disclose how much financing it provides for the oil and gas sector. NGO the Rainforest Action Network put this number at $86.53bn in the 2016-19 period — a figure that includes thermal coal, a sector from which HSBC has begun to withdraw.

HSBC has an interim target to reduce the absolute emissions of activities that come under its wholesale credit and project finance criteria by 34pc by 2030, compared with 2019 levels. This includes emissions from the power sector, and HSBC said today it will not provide new finance for new oil-fired power generation. This also apply for new unabated gas-fired power plants and the conversion of existing coal-to-gas-fired power plants, “unless the client demonstrates to HSBC that the new power plant is part of the client’s overall transition plan to achieve abated power generation”.

Smart utility metering and optimization

Markus Kick, International Business Development Manager, Phoenix Contact Electronics, Bad Pyrmont, Germany

To successfully implement long-term and sustainable climate strategies, all areas of a manufacturing company – from the raw materials warehouse and the batch house, through individual production and the packaging and warehouse area, all the way to the building itself – must be considered. If this is not done, attempts to reduce greenhouse gases and to comply with directives on the environmental and materiality analysis of a company often fail.

Holistic, sustainable reduction of greenhouse gases in factories taking environmental issues into consideration along with an increase in networking and efficiency through standardized open automation
(Image source: petrmalinak@shutterstock.com)

To reduce, optimize, and balance resource outlay, it is necessary for the operators to be able to quickly and easily record the utility consumption of the individual production lines and processing areas right down to the installed sensor, both locally and globally. Different liquid and gaseous utility are used for food production in the existing systems of this hybrid industry – for example, natural gas/air mixtures for heat treatment in the thermal processes in baking and melting processes and in cooling processes. Here, every single cubic meter of natural gas and every liter of water has to be used not just efficiently, but also intelligently and in a manner that conserves resources. Such a methodology must be possible in a continually expanding and interoperable networked production in which it does not matter whether the system is 20 years old or older or whether a new mixing, cutting, or stirring unit with a state-of-the-art communication system – for example, a process and control system – is added later. Equally, it should not matter whether a discrete or process engineering area within the factory is involved.

Digitalization solutions that can be connected to all systems of the field and network levels for the analysis of utilities in existing processes
(Image source: Gorodenkoff@shutterstock.com)

Generic, scalable, and modular turnkey system

The All Electric Society is the solution for a carbon-neutral world. This vision of the future describes a world in which electrical energy generated from renewable sources is the primary type of energy and is available in sufficient quantities, is fully economical, and is completely carbon-neutral. Industry is taking on a key role in achieving the strived-for climate neutrality, because the solutions being brought forward are enabling the electrification of all other sectors, including building, mobility, energy, and infrastructure. So that the globally important food industry – one of the largest industrial sectors – can achieve the goal of net-zero emissions simply and economically, Phoenix Contact has created the ‘Digital Factory now’ concept, taking the framework conditions of the All Electric Society into account. This concept provides the industrial sector with a generic, scalable, and modular turnkey system that meets the challenges of digitalization, efficiency, and sustainability in equal measure.

As with many companies in the food industry, the electronics manufacturer Phoenix Contact has the clear goal of operating climate-neutrally by 2030 throughout the entire value-added chain. In terms of the system and application development of the company, this means that the solutions that are provided to users for increasing efficiency in a sustainable production system (among other reasons) are proven beforehand in their own factories and their networks. This is already being done industry-independently and openly in the Digital Factory at the Bad Pyrmont location, for example. This analysis also resulted in the use case utility metering and reporting with our own Proficloud.io cloud solution and the open PLCnext Technology ecosystem’.

The PLCnext Factory in Bad Pyrmont: The factory that illustrates sustainable digitalization and experiences gained within an open ecosystem

Due to the expansion of the directives on sustainable materiality analysis and social responsibility of the economy, for example to include the CSR definition (Corporate Social Responsibility), the entire industry must act. According to the Statistischen Jahrbuch 2019 (Statistics Annual 2019 – German only – destatis.de), Statistics | Eurostat (europa.eu), more than 45,000 manufacturing companies in Germany and over two million in Europe are affected by this. If those responsible want to manage their operations in an economically desirable, smart, and digital future, it is essential to consider and analyze a factory holistically.

Globally useable solution for all supply media

In particular due to the current economic and global political situation regarding resource scarcity, Phoenix Contact has created a modular digitalization and open solution concept in the context of the ‘Digital Factory now’. This includes, among other solutions, ready-made as well as individual control cabinet solutions in accordance with the tool-box principle for every production environment, including potentially explosive areas. The concept can be rolled out via the in-house Proficloud.io global cloud system for one single factory or numerous factories worldwide. In this concept, it does not matter whether natural gas, water, nitrogen, heavy oil, electrical energy, or other utilities are to be recorded. The PLCnext-based IIoT framework enables the seamless control, visualization, and evaluation of consumption and mixing ratios. Furthermore, data can be exchanged securely, openly, and without additional data silos between the field level and the superordinate systems – for example, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Distributed Control System (DCS), and the cloud.

Right now, these properties are being used by the operators of natural gas-air heated melting and baking furnaces. The all-important combustion ratio is optimized in parallel in the inventory process with only minimally invasive adjustments, without interfering with the stations, machines, or systems in the CE process. Downtimes are therefore excluded, and expensive external installation costs are avoided. Through the consistent use of free, open machine learning apps via the digital PLCnext Store marketplace, status-based monitoring and diagnostics for each sensor can be integrated into the self-learning system or retrofitted. In this context, it does not matter whether differential pressure transmitters, thermocouples in the oven or in the natural gas system, or the quantity transmitter in the air supply are under consideration. With just a small amount of investment, an economical, sustainable carbon footprint per bread roll, waffle, or cookie can be achieved in parallel operation with high-level time savings and effectiveness increases. In the Phoenix Contact production facility at the Bad Pyrmont location, this approach has increased overall equipment effectiveness by more than 10 percent in just 18 months, based on just three to five percent of the data generated per system. This equates to a factor of 5 compared to conventional automation systems.

Increased protection against unauthorized data access

Energy and utility costs cannot be calculated in the long term. Directives such as the CSR, the rapidly changing climate, and the pressure from large companies in the supply chains are affecting the globally active small and medium-sized operators increasingly often. Furthermore, the European food industry and a large number of other industrial areas are considered to be sectors relevant for network and cybersecurity in accordance with IEC 62443 and the directive on the security of network and information systems, NIS 2.0. This results in higher levels of protection in the classic field and production level through segmented networks. The holistic approach of the ‘Digital Factory now’ concept provides both local and global solutions and support for facing the significant changes on the global market already mentioned, enabling manufacturing companies to position themselves effectively and cost-effectively step-by-step for the coming years.

Natural gas supply and distribution skid with a network segmentation and remote access control cabinet in accordance with IEC 62443 from Phoenix Contact
(Image source: engineer story@shutterstock.com)

“We are the last generation that has a realistic chance of avoiding a climate catastrophe,” says Linus Steinmetz, who has been involved with Fridays for Future since 2018. Particularly for a significant branch of industry such as food manufacturing, Phoenix Contact, with its industry-specific users, can effect a long-term change in the direction of carbon-neutrality. The foundation for this is the high-level innovative power of the All Electric Society mission statement, based on a holistic approach that includes sustainable digitalization in an open automation landscape.

Various component parts of the solution concept

The turnkey hardware, software, and cloud solutions from Phoenix Contact for reducing greenhouse gases contain the following component parts:

For more information: https://www.phoenixcontact.com/en-ae/industries/digital-factory/digital-factory-now-fields-of-action


Carbon credits could make a significant contribution to achieving net zero by 2050, but only if participants address issues over limited supply and integrity, the Secretary General of the International Energy Forum (IEF) told a conference.

Trade in voluntary carbon credits could grow 100-fold by 2050 if teething problems are addressed, Joseph McMonigle said in a keynote address to the S&P Global Carbon Markets Conference in Barcelona.

“There is a huge opportunity for voluntary carbon markets, which can only be realized with concerted international efforts. Overall, the market is characterized by low liquidity, scarce financing, inadequate risk-management services, and limited data availability. Building trust in the market is vital to achieving these goals so we must work harder to improve transparency, standardization and stability,” he told the audience in Barcelona.

A carbon credit is a permit which allows a country or organization to produce a certain amount of carbon emissions and which can be traded if the full allowance is not used. They come from four categories: avoided nature loss including deforestation; nature-based sequestration, such as reforestation; avoidance or reduction of emissions such as methane from landfills; and technology-based removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere like carbon capture, utilization and storage. According to the World Bank, global carbon credit revenue grew 60 percent to $84 billion in 2021.

The Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets estimates that demand for carbon credits could increase by a factor of 15 or more by 2030 and by a factor of up to 100 by 2050. Management consultant McKinsey issued a report in 2021 that estimates demand in 2030 in the range of 8 to 12 gigatons of CO2 per year of carbon credits.

“It is critical that purchasing a carbon credit can be trusted to bring a real reduction in CO2 emissions,” Mr McMonigle told the conference. “The market today lacks transparency and there is a lack of data on how money is spent. The world will need a voluntary carbon market that is large, transparent, verifiable, and environmentally robust.”

In 2016, the European Commission found that 85 percent of projects it examined were unlikely to achieve their stated reduction claims. Similar conclusions were found in a 2019 ProPublica investigation and a 2021 study on forest preservation in California.

The second issue is supply of credits, Mr McMonigle said. “The development of projects would have to ramp up at an unprecedented rate,” he said, adding that most of the potential supply of avoided nature loss and of nature-based sequestration is concentrated in a small number of countries.

Project and financing risks could reduce the supply of carbon credits to as little as 1 gigaton of CO2 per year by 2030, according to the McKinsey report.

Policy makers need the carbon markets to work better because they are increasingly relying on them to deliver a portion of their promised reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris agreement, he told the conference. And companies are seeking higher volumes of carbon credits because their regulators and shareholders are demanding rapid and measurable progress towards net zero goals beyond what they can deliver internally.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is central to the development of an effective international market for trading carbon credits, Mr McMonigle said. “It serves as the crucial link between the trade in carbon credits and countries’ commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so it is vital that we see these talks come to a successful conclusion.”

Talks at COP27 in Egypt were meant to deliver a breakthrough in implementing Article 6, but differences between the parties remain, and negotiations have been extended into 2023.

“Differences relate to the deadline for transferring emissions reduction projects listed under the Clean Development Mechanism to the new registry, the procedure for moving credits between countries, and the conditions for mandatory cancellations of credits,” Mr McMonigle said.

Governments are also looking at how carbon credits can be used to promote clean energy technologies in the developing world, he added. The United States launched an initiative at COP27 to enable companies to earn credits for funding clean energy projects in the developing world. Launched by White House Climate Envoy John Kerry with the Bezos Earth Fund and Rockefeller Foundation, the Energy Transition Accelerator will create a new type of carbon credit for companies that deploy capital to retire unabated coal-fired power and accelerate the buildout of renewables in developing countries.

Governments in emerging markets, and in particular energy producers, have recently embraced carbon credits, Mr McMonigle said.

Saudi Arabia, for example, held its first auction in October, selling 1.4 million tons of high-quality, CORSIA-compliant and Verra-registered carbon credits. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi Global Market and AirCarbon Exchange are setting up a voluntary carbon market based in the UAE capital, aiming for a launch in January.

Tariq Al Fahaam, RIYADH, 1st December, 2022 (WAM)


DP World Chairman and Group CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem announced the company intends to invest up to $500 million to cut CO2 emissions from its operations by nearly 700,000 tonnes over the next five years.

The announcement was made as Bin Sulayem addressed delegates at the UN Climate Conference (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt today by video. He also reinforced DP World’s commitment to sustainability by taking on the Green Shipping Challenge (GSC).

Launched earlier this year by US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change John Kerry and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, the challenge encourages countries, ports, companies, and other actors in the shipping value chain to come forward with concrete announcements to further ocean-based climate actions.

“Global trade has been an enormous force for good, keeping our world connected and lifting millions out of poverty over the last few decades. But this growth is not without consequences – from the scale of energy required to make, move and use goods to the resource intensity of logistics and the challenges economic growth can bring. As a leading enabler of global trade, we have the tools, ingenuity and drive to lead a step change in logistics,” Bin Sulayem said.

The planned reduction in carbon emissions by nearly 700,000 tonnes represents a 20% cut from 2021 levels.

DP World’s plans include replacing its global fleet of assets from diesel to electric, investing in renewable power and exploring alternative fuels.

“Our World, Our Future’ is our sustainability strategy, one that is designed to deliver responsible operations. We have already committed to becoming a carbon neutral enterprise by 2040 and net zero carbon enterprise by 2050. We will work with our global partners to develop an action plan to advance the goals of the GSC and encourage industry players to devise plans to address climate change,” added Bin Sulayem.

“We’re doing this through three main pillars of activity; the electrification of our ports and terminals equipment, investment into renewable energy and through research and development projects that will look into alternative fuels, vessels and vehicles across our portfolio,” said Bin Sulayem.

“Our ports and terminals business is making steady progress, by following the strategy of maximising efficiency, equipment electrification, supply of renewable electricity, low carbon fuels and carbon compensation,” he said.

In January, DP World entered a strategic partnership with the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, an independent, not-for-profit organisation, undertaking intensive research and development to find practical ways to decarbonise the global maritime trade industry.

“Decarbonising the maritime industry requires the complete rewiring of the entire system, imagining new supply chains and structures. It is a huge undertaking, but one that we are ready to venture into. We bring extensive expertise in integrated logistics and infrastructure, and deep understanding of the complexity faced by the industry, having grown from a local port operator in Jebel Ali to an end-to-end supply chain solutions provider, moving around 10% of global cargo”, he added.

One of the biggest challenges comes from the marine services and logistics businesses which represent a major portion of the DP World’s total carbon footprint through their fleets of vessels and trucks. Addressing this will be an important part of developing solutions as the company pursues its net zero target.

The global decarbonisation strategy aims to first reduce absolute emissions as much as possible, then focus on replacing fossil fuel with renewable energy resources, and finally purchase offsets for the hard to abate remaining emissions for the 2040 carbon neutral target. Complementing technology driven solutions such as replacing vehicles and fuels, DP World is also working with local communities where it operates to establish carbon offset schemes, and carbon sinks such as mangrove forests.

How corporations measure their social impact — the “S” in ESG — can greatly influence how they address the well-being of their employees, communities, and other stakeholders

Persistent social inequalities and the urgent need for a fair transition to a more sustainable economy bolster the argument for measuring and reporting social risks and impacts as part of any environmental, social & governance (ESG) initiatives.

The intersection of climate change and inequality is reshaping the world, and the social contributions of private sector companies are increasingly part of the expectations and solutions to a just transition for investors, members of communities in which companies operate, and members of civil society. However, myths around the lack of measurement of social impact persist, despite well-known ways of doing so.

Tackling the “S” through investors’ eyes

Investors and the financial sector have been tackling how to account for, measure, and communicate companies’ social impact for a while, according to Bettina Reinboth, Director of Human Rights & Social Issues at Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), a UN-supported network of institutional investors that promotes responsible investment through the use of sustainability practices. In a recent article, PRI clarified how the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights set expectations for investors to act on human rights.

Institutional investors, particularly those considered universal owners, maintain a long-term investment horizon. This takes a multi-decade view of how the transition to a sustainable global economy impacts people internally and externally, the main component of the social part of ESG.

Likewise, corporate directors are focusing on holistic employee well-being now in large part because of investors’ demands and the upcoming regulatory requirements to meet their fiduciary and oversight obligations. “Talent is a part of everything an organization does, and we see boards leaning into talent matters with management more than ever,” says Carey Oven, National Managing Partner at Deloitte’s Center for Board Effectiveness. “They are requesting more data around engagement and sentiment and exploring enriching ways to get feedback from the workforce in a much bigger way than they had before.”

Up until a few years ago, companies could get away with having a human rights policy with the expectation of adherence from the top of the organization to the bottom, including board oversight, as important foundational elements. More recently, however, investors’ savvy is increasingly on the rise, and investors are looking for more detailed information about measurement. Some of the more pointed questions on investors’ minds include: i) how actual and potential negative outcomes for people are identified; ii) what due diligence and verification of the adherence to policy and practices are performed; and iii) what is the process for dealing with effective grievance mechanisms.

In part, this is the reason for the spike in investors noting publicly when there is a gap between what a company says it does and what it actually does within ESG.

Culture & well-being as a key measurement of the “S”

The well-being of people is central to the social performance of firms. Investors and now corporate directors are looking for ways to capture social indicators as part of companies ESG strategies. Yet, in order to measure an organization’s social impact, a company must first define its stakeholders, which include employees, consumers, and local communities, including those that may be part of the company’s supply chain.

Because employee well-being is central to that of society, for companies to understand the full scope of how their actions and policies contribute to well-being is important. Critical elements of a comprehensive corporate approach to well-being include: i) aspects about the work itself, and the social interactions that employees have at work; ii) the skills each employee gains through employment; and iii) the sense of purpose from the job experienced by each employee.

In addition, measures of employee inequality, representation, pay, promotion, and overall working conditions are equally important. More specifically, there are many people well-being indicators organizations can use to measure their social impact, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These indicators include:

Further, to address the impact on the well-being of local communities and society as a whole, the OECD highlights the following indicators:

Analyzing the social risks and impact through lens of well-being of employees and society is one of many ways to measure the “S,” but also a simple and logical one. The interplay between the social impacts during the climate transition will only grow.

Many assume that the expected global economic slow-down will stall sustainability efforts, but PRI’s Reinboth argues the opposite — that progress on sustainability will accelerate based on recent evidence of momentum because of the simultaneous, negative multiple shocks to the well-being of people and society during the global pandemic as the crisis shined a spotlight on the global vulnerabilities and how the social part of ESG intersects with the “E” and the “G” as well.

Source: https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/news-and-media/measuring-social-esg-well-being/

PepsiCo is introducing bottles made from recycled plastic in several of the region’s markets across beverage brands like Aquafina and Pepsi.

With only one country in the region allowing the use of recycled plastic in food and beverage packaging in 2020, PepsiCo continues its journey of policy unlocks aiming to introduce recycled bottles across 10 AMESA countries by 2023.

PepsiCo aims to continue its progress towards expanding plastic collection programs to 14 AMESA markets by developing recycling infrastructure through advocacy and partnerships by 2023.

The reiterated sustainability commitment comes as PepsiCo marks one year of its strategic, end-to-end transformation, called pep+, which puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how the company will create growth and value. From sourcing ingredients to making and selling its products more sustainably, pep+ connects the future of its business with the future of the planet.

Envisioning a world where packaging never becomes waste, PepsiCo’s pep+ ambition aims to design 100% of its packaging to be recyclable, compostable, biodegradable or reusable by 2025 and to cut virgin plastic from non-renewable sources per serving across its global beverages and convenient foods portfolio by 50% by 2030. PepsiCo already introduced recycled plastic in some beverage brands in South Africa and Bangladesh in 2022 and is gearing to bring in recycled plastic bottles across Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Pakistan, and other AMESA countries by 2023.

PepsiCo is also the first food and beverage company to locally introduce 100% rPET in Qatar and Kuwait in 2022, followed by other GCC countries by 2023. In Egypt, as policymakers lay out an ambitious COP27 roadmap, PepsiCo launched the biggest PET collection program in Egypt ‘Recycle for Tomorrow’ in 2021 and is now introducing locally manufactured recycled plastic bottles as part of its efforts to build a circular economy by 2030. PepsiCo wants to work with bottlers and partners in each country to help build a circular and inclusive value chain in line with its global pep+ goals.

Eugene Willemsen, CEO, PepsiCo AMESA said, “Packaging circularity has been a key priority of PepsiCo’s pep+ sustainability goals. Our partnership with region-wide governments and industry coalitions has helped successfully unlock use of rPET across 13 AMESA countries by 2022. Recognizing one-year of pep+, we continue our journey towards circularity with a renewed vigor of expanding recycled plastic into 10 AMESA countries by 2023 in PepsiCo brands through consumer education. Our commitment to multi-stakeholder collaboration and accelerated investment in recycling infrastructure will advance our efforts in waste management and packaging circularity.”

PepsiCo in AMESA has supported 107,000 tonnes of plastic bottles and 19,000 tonnes of Multi Layered Plastic (MLP) films to be collected and recycled across seven countries as per 2021 estimates. This was delivered through mass collection partnerships, deploying reverse vending machines, launching incentive programs, and partnering with recyclers for ensuring the beneficial use of collected plastics. Earlier this year, in the capacity of Expo 2020 Dubai’s Official Beverage and Snack Partner, PepsiCo helped to reduce the use of single-use plastic, diverted at least 85% of on-site waste and avoided more than 500,000 plastic bottles through Aquafina water stations as well as by replacing plastic bottles with Aquafina aluminum cans and glass bottles.

In partnership with government ministries across AMESA countries, there are plans to boost accelerator programs and hackathons like the MENA edition of the Greenhouse Accelerator Program and The Egypt 2030 Hackathon that promote circularity solutions in line with PepsiCo’s vision for a more sustainable food system. PepsiCo AMESA is committed to working with multiple stakeholders to take collective action that will accelerate progress towards a circular economy.

Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON), a global leader in energy and climate transition solutions, today announced the launch of its Environmental Sustainability Index. The index is the first quarterly indicator of key trends pertaining to global efforts in climate change mitigation and other sustainability initiatives. Two-thirds of the S&P 500 have set emission reduction targets of some kind, according to an August report from Harvard Business Review.

In its first of a quarterly series, Honeywell’s new index is tracking sentiment data on corporate climate priorities and approaches to environmental sustainability. The global study surveying over 600 business leaders who are involved in the sustainability process revealed that 90% of respondents are generally optimistic about overall success with prior twelve-month goals across sustainability categories including energy evolution and efficiency, emissions reduction, pollution prevention and circularity/recycling. However, forward-looking perceptions are less confident, with just 67% of respondents being optimistic about achieving goals for the coming twelve months. Additionally, only 63% are optimistic about achieving their goals by 2030, an anchor deadline year for numerous commitments.

“At Honeywell, we have the privilege of serving customers around the world in every sector and industry,” said Darius Adamczyk, chairman and CEO of Honeywell. “In 2021, over sixty percent of our annual revenue was from solutions that contribute to ESG-oriented outcomes, and approximately 60% of our R&D spend was directed towards ESG-oriented innovation.[1] This gives us a unique position to help our customers and the world solve their biggest climate and environmental challenges, so that they can reach their targets by – or before – their committed deadlines. Our position also makes us an authority on monitoring sustainability trends progress across the market, which we’re sharing with the world through the Honeywell Environmental Sustainability Index.” 

More key highlights from the study include:

“As environmental sustainability efforts take center stage, we were incredibly pleased to have the opportunity to partner with a global leader like Honeywell in developing a data driven index that can serve as a bellwether for tracking the sentiment, adoption, and intent of companies around the world in reducing their carbon footprint,” said Daniel Newman, principal analyst and founding partner of Futurum Research. “Over the next decade, we expect Sustainability to be further prioritized through not only policy, but increased investment by the world’s leading companies to demonstrate the importance of sustainable practices, becoming a mandate from consumers, investors, and company boards around the world.”

“It is promising to see energy evolution and efficiency high on ESG managers’ agendas. This is an area that often results in the highest ROI, because the more efficient your operations, the less you pay in energy costs.,” said Evan van Hook, chief sustainability officer of Honeywell. “When it comes to making progress, the market is bifurcated. On one hand, you have companies that need help kickstarting their sustainability journey, and others that have relied on process changes and now need deep expertise in how to attack tougher problems. No matter companies’ maturity, the real opportunity lies in leapfrogging into a technology-driven approach to sustainability. This will help make faster progress.”

Honeywell itself committed in April 2021 to become carbon neutral in its operations and facilities by 2035 through a combination of further investment in energy savings projects, conversion to renewable energy sources, completion of capital improvement projects at its sites and in its fleet of vehicles, and utilization of credible carbon credits where needed. These initiatives represent a continuation of the company’s sustainability efforts that began in 2004 and have already yielded a reduction in greenhouse gas intensity of more than 90%. Honeywell has also committed to setting a science-based target, including scope 3 emissions, with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

To download the full index and survey report, please visit http://www.honeywell.com/us/en/company/sustainability/environmental-sustainability-index.

Methodology

The Environmental Sustainability Index is based on a global double-blind survey of 653 business, technology, and sustainability professionals directly involved in the planning, strategic development, implementation, or oversight of environmental sustainability goals and initiatives. The survey was conducted by Futurum Research, a global technology, digital innovation and market disruption-focused strategy, research, and analyst firm, during Q2 & Q3 of 2022. Additionally, survey panelists were required to be in a leadership role within their organization, with organizations required to have a minimum of 1,000 active employees.

Source: Press release

Plastics used in farming activities are accumulating in agricultural soil worldwide at an alarming rate, a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published on Monday reveals.

Plastics are used extensively in agriculture, from plastic-coated seeds to protective wraps used to modify soil temperature and prevent weed growth over crops.

These synthetic materials also added intentionally to biosolid fertilizer, which is spread on fields, and are used in irrigation tubes, sacks and bottles.

Biodiversity, health impacts

While all these products have helped increase crop yields, there is growing evidence that degraded plastics are contaminating the soil and impacting biodiversity and soil health, the report warns.

Microplastics come in a large variety of sizes, colours and chemical compositions, and include fibres, fragments, pellets, flakes, sheets or foams.

Moreover, microplastics, such as the one used in some fertilizers, are also impacting human health when transferred to people through the food chain.

“There is only a finite amount of agricultural land available,” said report’s co-author Professor Elaine Baker from the University of Sydney. “We are starting to understand that the build-up of plastic can have wide-ranging impacts on soil health, biodiversity and productivity, all of which are vital for food security”.

Everything’s affected by plastic

UNEP’s experts explain that over time, big pieces of plastic can break into shards less than 5 mm long and seep into the soil.

These microplastics can change the physical structure of the earth underfoot and limit its capacity to hold water. They also can affect plants by reducing root growth and nutrient uptake.

Currently the single-biggest source of microplastic pollution in soil, is fertilizers produced from organic matter such as manure.

Although these can be cheaper and better for the environment that manufactured fertilizers, the manure is mixed with the same plastic microspheres that are known to be commonly used in certain soaps, shampoos, and makeup products.

While some countries have banned these microspheres, other microplastics continue to enter our water systems via discarded cigarette filters, tire components, and synthetic clothing fibres.

What to do?

The report highlights that progress is being made to improve the biodegradability of polymers used in agricultural products.

However, some protective films – used to prevent moisture loss – are now being marketed as fully biodegradable and compostable, which is not always the case.

Bio-based polymers are not necessarily biodegradable, some may be as toxic as fossil fuel-based polymers, and their price is still an issue.

A solution proposed by the report authors are the so-called ‘cover crops’, which shield the soil and are not meant to be harvested.

These nature-based solutions can suppress weeds, counter soil diseases and improve soil fertility, but there are concerns they could reduce yields and increase costs, UNEP warns.

“None of these solutions are a magic bullet. Plastic is inexpensive and easy to work with, which makes trying to introduce alternatives a hard sell”, Ms. Baker explained.

However, the expert recommends governments to disincentivize” the use of agricultural plastics, following the path of the European Union, which earlier this year restricted certain types of polymers from being used in fertilizer. 

“Now is the time to adopt the precautionary principle and develop targeted solutions for stopping the flow of plastic from the source and into the environment”, the Australian scientist underscored.

Source: UN News

As government representatives begin to the finalise the agenda for the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt next month, for pre-COP planning in the Democratic Republic of the Congo capital, Kinshasa, Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists in New York that the work ahead is “as immense as the climate impacts we are seeing around the world”.

“A third of Pakistan flooded. Europe’s hottest summer in 500 years. The Philippines hammered. The whole of Cuba in black-out. And here, in the United States, Hurricane Ian has delivered a brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune from the climate crisis,” he highlighted.

And while “climate chaos gallops ahead, climate action has stalled,” he added.

Faulty maths

The top UN Official underscored the importance of COP27 while warning that the collective commitments of G20 leading industrialized nations governments are coming “far too little, and far too late”.

“The actions of the wealthiest developed and emerging economies simply don’t add up.,” he said, pointing out that current pledges and policies are “shutting the door” on limiting global temperature to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C goal. 

Mr. Guterres warned, “we are in a life-or-death struggle for our own safety today and our survival tomorrow,” saying there is no time for pointing fingers or “twiddling thumbs” but instead requires “a quantum level compromise between developed and emerging economies”.

“The world can’t wait,” he spelled out. “Emissions are at an all-time high and rising”. 

And he said that while pursuing their own “drop-in-the-bucket initiatives” international financial institutions must overhaul their business approaches to combat climate change.

Backsliding

Meanwhile, as the planet burns, the Ukraine war is putting climate action on the back burner and the dynamic climate actors in the business world continue to be hampered by “obsolete regulatory frameworks, red tape and harmful subsidies that send the wrong signals”. 

Meaningful progress must be made to address loss and damage beyond countries’ abilities to adapt as well as financial support for climate action, upheld the UN chief

Decisions must be made now on the question of loss and damage as “failure to act” will lead to “more loss of trust and more climate damage,” he said, describing it as “a moral imperative that cannot be ignored”.

Action ‘litmus test’

COP27 is “the number one litmus test” of how seriously governments take the growing climate toll on the most vulnerable countries.

“This week’s pre-COP can determine how this crucial issue will be handled in Sharm el-Shaikh,” he informed the media, noting that the world needs clarity from developed countries on the delivery of their $100 billion pledge to support climate action in developing countries.

Moreover, adaptation and resilience funding must represent half of all climate finance; multilateral development banks “must raise their game”; and emerging economies need support to back renewable energy and build resilience.

While the Resilience and Sustainability Trust led by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a good start, major multilateral development bank shareholders must be the driving force for transformative change, he continued.

“On every climate front, the only solution is solidarity and decisive action”.

The Secretary-General chief upheld that by showing up at COP27 in Sharm el-Shaikh, all countries – led by the G-20 – can demonstrate that “climate action truly is the top global priority that it must be”.

Step up climate adaptation support

Meanwhile in Kinshasa, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned environment ministers and others that the window of opportunity to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis is closing.

She stressed that greater support for climate adaptation in developing countries “must be a global priority”, particularly progress on adaptation finance. 

Ms. Mohammed recalled that at last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow, developed nations had promised to double adaptation support to $40 billion dollars a year by 2025.   

The UN deputy chief called for a clear roadmap on how the funding will be delivered, starting this year. 

She added that $40 billion is “only a fraction of the $300 billion that will be needed annually by developing countries for adaptation by 2030”.

Counting every moment

Ms. Mohammed underscored that the world “desperately needs hope”.  

“We need progress…that shows that leaders fully comprehend the scale of the emergency we face and the value of COP, as a space where world leaders come together to solve problems and take responsibility,” she said.

“Every moment counts”.

The deputy chief said that it is time to prove that we are moving in the right direction “with an outcome that shows our collective commitment to addressing the climate crisis because people, and the children here today, and the planet matter”.

Source: UN News

Everyone is throwing this catchy slogan around these days, whether it be activists, writers, presidents, or the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. It gives strong impetus to address our planetary crisis. But they don’t actually explain why there isn’t another planet we could live on. So, is it true? What do Earth sciences and astronomy tell us?

Next time you’re out on a clear night, look up at the sky and pick a star. It most likely has planets around it. Could we live on one of them? The data show that 1 in 5 stars host an “Earth-sized”, “temperate” planet. Astronomers deem a planet “Earth-sized” if it has a radius between 0.5-1 times that of Earth, and “temperate” if it receives between 30-100% of the heat that Earth receives from the Sun. There are around 300 billion stars in our galaxy, which adds up to 63 billion planets with sizes and temperatures similar to Earth!

Here’s the catch: while there are billions of planets out there, none of them is quite the way we need it to be in order to survive on it. Every planet has its own history and character, much like people do. There are almost eight billion people alive today; and yet everyone is different. Even identical twins each have their own unique personality and life story. The same goes for planets. We have no reason to expect any two planets to be alike. Thinking we could live on a planet just because it is a similar size and temperature to Earth is a bit like deciding that someone is our best friend after finding out their shoe size and favorite color.

The Martian surface as photographed by NASA's Curiosity Rover. Would you really want to live there? Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
The Martian surface as photographed by NASA’s Curiosity Rover. Would you really want to live there? Photo courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.

Take Mars. It is half the size of Earth and receives 40% of the heat that we get from the Sun, so technically speaking, it is “Earth-sized” and “temperate”. The photos sent back by NASA’s Curiosity rover reveal familiar landscapes: we could be on Earth, perhaps somewhere in the Atacama desert. But don’t be fooled! Look at the sky: it’s a mucky brown-yellowish color. That’s because Mars has 100 times less air to breathe and it is full of dust. What little air it has is primarily carbon dioxide, which would immediately suffocate us. Oh, and it’s as cold as the Antarctic. Mars may have similar properties to Earth by astronomical standards, but it is nothing like Earth to us humans.

Any semi-reasonable plan to establish a long-term presence beyond Earth requires a planet to which we are fit. Earth was not always so friendly to humans as it is today. For around 90% of its 4.6 billion-year history, it had conditions completely incompatible with our survival. We have only been a part of our planet for less than 0.05% of its existence. Geological evidence from ancient rocks shows that Earth has had many faces. Earth’s earliest life was welcomed onto a world that would have been entirely inhospitable and alien to us: at the time, early Earth had green oceans and a red sky. It had no continents to stand on, no oxygen to breathe, and no ozone layer to protect us from the Sun’s harmful UV rays. And yet life took hold and thrived, slowly shaping Earth over hundreds of millions of years, eventually transforming it into a world capable of supporting complex organisms such as ourselves. For example, billions of bacteria worked over billions years to shape our atmosphere into air we can breathe.

Earth is the home we know and love not because it is “Earth-sized” and “temperate.” No, we call this planet our home thanks to its billion-year-old relationship with life. Just as people are shaped not only by their genetics, but by their culture and relationships with others, planets are shaped by the living organisms that emerge and thrive on them. Over time, Earth has been dramatically transformed by life into a world where we, humans, can prosper.

The relationship works both ways: while life shapes its planet, the planet shapes its life. Present-day Earth is our life support system, and we cannot live without it.

Despite impressive advances in technology, transforming Mars into a planet capable of supporting humans is complete science fiction. It took hundreds of millions of years to shape Earth into a world capable of supporting us. And that was with a 3.7 billion-year head start from the billions and billions of organisms that preceded us! Let’s be clear: when people talk about terraforming Mars, they’re talking about replicating this very same process, except without billions of planet-construction workers and on timescales of just a few human lifespans.

Is there definitely no planet B? Image by M. Vokser via Wikimedia Commons.
Is there definitely no planet B? Image by M. Vokser via Wikimedia Commons.

Another issue to consider is that other worlds are at unimaginable distances from us. Mars, our neighbor, is on average 225 million kilometers away. Imagine a team of astronauts traveling in a vehicle similar to NASA’s robotic New Horizons probe, one of humankind’s fastest spacecrafts – it recently flew by Pluto! With New Horizons’ top speed of around 58,000kph, it would take at least 162 days to reach Mars.

Beyond our solar system, the closest star to us is Proxima Centauri, at a distance of 40 trillion kilometers. Going in the same space vehicle, it would take our astronaut crew 79,000 years to reach planets that might exist around our nearest stellar neighbor. That’s 79,000 years one way.

Living on a warming Earth presents many challenges. But these pale in comparison to the challenges of converting Mars, or any other planet, into a viable alternative. Astronomers study Mars and other planets to better understand how Earth and life formed and evolved. We are not looking for an escape from our problems: Earth is our unique and only home in the cosmos. There is no planet B.

Dr. R. D. Haywood is an Assistant Professor in Astrophysics and Ernest Rutherford Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK. Her research is on planets that orbit other stars than the Sun. She has formal training in sustainability science and has been invited to talk about Earth as our unique home in the Cosmos at over a dozen institutions worldwide. Dr. A. E. Nicholson is a Leverhulme Research Fellow in Astrophysics at the University of Exeter, and holds a PhD in Geography. Her research focuses on understanding life-environment feedbacks and how these impact the long-term habitability of planets. Both authors are members of Exeter’s Global Systems Institute.

This article first appear on Mongabay. https://news.mongabay.com/2022/09/why-is-there-no-planet-b-commentary/?mc_cid=0019174b1a&mc_eid=eb8f305aea

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