Welcome!

February 17, 2012

In an effort to “help industry and the environment prosper,” this blog is devoted to providing the latest news on management system and sustainability topics.

Become an email subscriber and receive immediate notification when a new post has been made to this blog. To subscribe, scroll down the blue boxes on the right and enter your email address in the “Email Subscription” box.  

Need Help?  Have Questions?
Capaccio Environmental Engineering, Inc. has been through the entire process from development and implementation of programs and necessary documents, all the way through to helping our clients achieve the certification/registration to ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 standards. CAPACCIO’s sustainability team is also ready to assist you in addressing your organization’s sustainability challenges and opportunities.  Whether you are just beginning to investigate how sustainability fits into your organization, or if you already have mature programs in place, our sustainability experts can bring significant value to your organization through our services. Click on our logo to see the full range of our services or to request information.Capaccio Environmental Engineering, Inc.

Comments Off | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by capaccioems

Reminder – 2012 CDP Reporting Deadlines are Approaching

May 11, 2012

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) reporting deadlines for 2012 are rapidly approaching.  As a reminder, below are the upcoming deadlines. The CDP rankings are widely used to evaluate the performance and transparency of publically traded companies (even Google Finance prominently lists CDP rankings as part of company key stats and ratios).   Guidance on CDP reporting and information on the scoring methodology is available on the CDP website.

The timeline for Carbon Reporting for Investor CDP:

  • Feb 1:  CDP sends out its annual information request to companies worldwide
  • May 31:  Deadline for corporations to submit their responses
  • Sept -  Publically disclosed information is published on the CDP website

 The timeline for Carbon Reporting for Supply Chain CDP:

  • April 1:  CDP sends out its annual information request to companies worldwide
  • July 31:  Deadline for suppliers to submit their responses
  • Jan – Publically disclosed information is published on the CDP website

The timeline for CDP Water Reporting:

  • Feb 1 – CDP Water Disclosure Information Request to targeted companies
  • June 30 – Deadline for companies to respond to the questionnaire
  • Oct-Nov – Public response data is published on CDP website

Capaccio Environmental Engineering, Inc. has assisted our clients with sustainability strategic plans, benchmarking, gap analysis, carbon and water footprinting, program implementation, data management, and reporting to help improve rankings as well as address other important sustainability performance objectives.   We are proud of the fact that our clients consistently appear at the top of both environmental and business performance lists, which is consistent with our mission of “helping industry and the environment prosper.”

For additional information or assistance in completing or reviewing reports, please contact us at information@capaccio.com.

Leave a Comment » | Carbon Disclosure Project, EMS - Environmental, Environmental Compliance, Greenhouse Gas, SMS - Sustainability | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by jmuszalski

2012 Newsweek Green Rankings are Underway

May 9, 2012

Newsweek announced today that it has initiated its review of publically-traded companies for its 2012 Green Rankings. This is the fourth annual evaluation of the environmental performance of the world’s largest companies, which will be released on October 22, 2012.

The Newsweek Green Rankings are recognized as a leading assessment of the environmental performance of companies in America and around the world. Newsweek’s Sustainability Rankings are the result of a rigorous, peer-reviewed research process, including both quantitative and qualitative assessment of environmental impacts, management, and communication practices. The rankings provide a cross-industry framework for comparing the environmental commitment and performance of major companies.

An initial assessment of annual reports, 10-K, CSR reports, and websites, is already underway by Trucost and Sustainalytics. Initial analyses of ranked companies will be available for review beginning in early June, and the deadline for companies to submit additional data or feedback for consideration is July 31, 2012.

Stay tuned — Newsweek will hold a webinar in early June for anyone who wants to learn more about the Newsweek Green Rankings. 

Capaccio Environmental Engineering, Inc. has assisted our clients with sustainability strategic plans, benchmarking, gap analysis, program implementation, data management, and reporting to help improve rankings as well as address other important sustainability performance objectives. We are proud of the fact that our clients consistently appear at the top of both environmental and business performance lists, which is consistent with our mission of “helping industry and the environment prosper”. For additional information or assistance, please contact us at information@capaccio.com.

Leave a Comment » | SMS - Sustainability, Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by karynt

Take CAPACCIO’s Sustainability Survey!

May 8, 2012

 

What defines a successful sustainability program? Do you want to hear about what your peers are doing in sustainability?

CAPACCIO is conducting a sustainability survey to gather just this information! We invite you to take part in our survey/research study on Current Sustainability Trends. The questions on this survey will delve into how companies are currently addressing sustainability; in particular, who is responsible for it, what are the current initiatives, and how companies plan to address sustainability in the future.

 This short survey should take 5 minutes or less to complete. As a thank you for your participation, we will share the survey results with you for free when they are released in June.

 

http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/908141/Sustainability-Survey-Phase-1

 

The deadline for participation is Monday, May 14, 2012. Don’t miss this opportunity! Don’t forget we’ll send you the complete study for free as a thank you for your participation. This is data you’ll want  to see!

If you have any questions about the survey, please call Julie Muszalski at 508-970-0033 ext. 124 or by email at jmuszalski@capaccio.com.

Leave a Comment » | SMS - Sustainability | Permalink
Posted by karynt

Sustainable management systems

April 30, 2012

Many of our clients are challenged with identifying and implementing an appropriate system for managing corporate sustainability programs.  Ideally, clients would like to put their efforts toward a system that would be globally recognized by stakeholders (customers, investors, NGOs, etc.).   Some industry organizations and NGOs have established or are in the process of establishing certifications, but these are generally not universally recognized by stakeholders at this time.  Currently, ISO does not have an international standard to which organizations can register that specifically addresses corporate sustainability.   However, ISO has issued social responsibility/sustainability guidelines.

Many clients have already registered to ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, ISO 9000, or equivalent internationally-recognized management system standards.  These client organizations are very familiar with the structure of ISO management systems, and have integrated these concepts within their organizations.  As such, expanding existing systems to address corporate sustainability is a natural evolution that allows organizations to incorporate currently existing guidelines to broaden the usefulness of existing management systems.  

We recently assisted a major packaging supplier to the food industry with the development and implementation of a sustainability management system based on the ISO structure and guidelines.  This system allowed our client to successfully integrate various existing independent activities to:

  1. More fully understand and prioritize sustainability aspects and risks
  2. Ensure sustainability programs properly identified, developed, implemented, and maintained
  3. Provide consistent management review and external reporting feedback mechanism
  4. Align metrics and program results with customer and stakeholder expectations
  5. Continually improve sustainability results in a meaningful and measurable way

As a result of this system, our client has made significant progress on its programs as well as the communication of its results to key stakeholders.  Our client’s key customers have been thrilled with the results of this systematic approach to sustainability.   

Our sustainability team at Capaccio is very pleased to be able to contribute to helping our clients and the environment prosper.  Let us know if you are facing similar challenges, and are looking for ideas or have ideas to share on how to address these challenges.

Leave a Comment » | EMS - Environmental, Environmental Compliance, ISO, SMS - Sustainability | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by jmuszalski

Can we forget the past?

April 27, 2012

Walmart has become a retail superstore, offering one-stop shopping with very low prices. But over the years, the company has been criticized for its large ecological footprint and other social concerns. Walmart just released its 2012 Global Responsibility Report that boasts of notable achievements from the past year including 80% waste reduction, locally grown produce expansion, the women’s economic empowerment initiative, more affordable healthy food choices, use of 1.1 billion kWh of renewable energy, supplier tracking, and improvements in diversity and inclusion.

Just over two years ago, BP faced the nation’s most catastrophic offshore oil disaster. As a result, BP has been forced to clean up environmentally, economically, and socially.  Despite the events of 2010, BP is no stranger to sustainability. The company changed its logo in 2001 to the current green and yellow sunflower symbol, and introduced the slogan, “Beyond Petroleum.” BP’s recent sustainability efforts in 2011 focused on safety and risk management. The company has also invested over $6 billion dollars in alternative energy, including oil sands, shale gas, biofuels, and wind.  BP is not shy about the mess they have been in and is attempting to move forward by correcting their mistakes and focusing on the global energy crisis.  

It is clear these 2 companies have faced their fair share of criticism, while making great strides in sustainability.  Is society ready or willing to forget the past and see these companies in the new light that they are casting as they move into the future?

Leave a Comment » | SMS - Sustainability, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by jmuszalski

« Previous Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 100 other followers