Episode 190: Ambition, angst and action at Climate Week, Danone CEO prioritizes biodiversity
Tune in for a recap of news and conversations during more than 300 events linked to the UN General Assembly. Plus inside PepsiCo's Sustainable Farming Program and a peek into Engie Impact.
Climate Week Cheat Sheet
Tune in from the top for commentary from GreenBiz Executive Director Joel Makower and Editorial Director Heather Clancy. Visit the links below for some of our coverage.
- The new language of climate change: Trillions
- World leaders' commitments fall short at UN Climate Action Summit
- Business leaders call out the climate resisters among them
- There's another grim report on oceans — but there's still time to act
- Farming plays key role in UN climate push on land restoration
Features
Now we're talking zero carbon as a service? (18:35)
ENGIE Impact, part of the giant French energy company ENGIE, is a consulting and analytics company that already manages energy and wastewater services for more than 1,000 clients. Next up: a new offering it has dubbed zero carbon as a service. We talk with Clinton Moloney, managing director of sustainability solutions for the Americas, about this ambitious new mission.
Danone CEO: We must be guardians of biodiversity (24:40)
This week, Danone was one of 19 multinational companies — including DSM, Google, Kellogg, Kerin, L'Oreal, Mars, Unilever and Yara — supporting the new One Planet Business for Biodiversity coalition, which will be facilitated by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Danone chairman and CEO Emmanuel Faber spoke with us about how our current food system's celebration of monoculture degrades soil and ecosystems, and why every company — not just those selling food, clothing or other plant-based organisms — should be focused on restoring biodiversity.
PepsiCo cultivates farmers (32:24)
Over the summer, PepsiCo announced the latest milestone in its Sustainable Farming Program — 100 percent of its North American potatoes are sustainably sourced. The food and beverage company's larger goal is to sustainably source all of its raw agricultural products such as potatoes, whole corn, oats and oranges by the end of 2020. We chat with Christine Daugherty, vice president of global sustainable agriculture and responsible sourcing at PepsiCo, about that vision. You can read more about PepsiCo's progress on sustainability in its 2018 CSR report (PDF), which was published during Climate Week.
*Music in this episode by Lee Rosevere: "Keeping Stuff Together," "New Day," "As I Was Saying" and "Southside"
What's new at GreenBiz?
Building a climate-resilent future. Join us for an interactive discussion about how to better anticipate, prepare for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This session at 1 p.m. EST Oct. 1 will offer a deep dive on the collaboration between AT&T and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, which will enable the massive telecommunications company to visualize how rising sea levels, wildfires and shifting flood plains might affect its business operations now — and 30 years into the future. Register for the free webcast.
Pick up the pace toward a zero-carbon future. Many organizations are prioritizing carbon emissions reductions — through energy efficiency, renewables procurement and other measures — but only 15 percent are on the track to meet their goals. Join us on our next interactive webcast at 1 p.m. EST Oct. 15 for ways to accelerate progress from new data disclosure strategies to accessing supply chain risks to ideas for aligning climate action roadmaps to material business issues.
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