General Motors Sustainability Newsletter - September/October 2017

GM announced how it is executing on a major element of its vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, recently announced by GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. In the next 18 months, GM will introduce two new all-electric vehicles based off learnings from the Chevrolet Bolt EV. They will be the first of at least 20 new all-electric vehicles that will launch by 2023.

Ecocentricity Blog: David and Goliath

Think about the energy that you use each day. Utility-generated electricity, gasoline-fueled mobility, and heat from natural gas are probably the largest sources, and each is powered by fossil fuels. If you wanted to “cut the cord” on these energy needs, how could you possibly do it?

Expert Interview With Rich Serino, Emergency Management Expert

Rich Serino has more than 40 years of federal, state, and local emergency management and emergency medical services experience. Mr. Serino was appointed as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Deputy Administrator in October 2009. In this role, he worked directly with Administrator Craig Fugate to promote the “whole community” approach to emergency management, which seeks to build, sustain, and improve the agency’s capacity to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Expert Interview With Carol Hufnagel, Wet Weather Infrastructure Expert

Carol Hufnagel, PE, is Tetra Tech's National Wet Weather Practice Leader. She has worked on combined sewer overflow (CSO), sanitary sewer overflow (SSO), and stormwater projects for more than 30 years.

Bloomberg’s New European Headquarters Rated World’s Most Sustainable Office Building

Opening later this month in the City of London, Bloomberg’s new European headquarters is the world’s most sustainable office building, as designed. The building achieved an ‘Outstanding’ rating against the BREEAM sustainability assessment method, with a 98.5% score. This is the highest design-stage score ever achieved by any major office development.

Responsible Investing: Past, Present and the Next 25 Years

Sustainability Joins the Mainstream - Thanks to vocal consumers, shareholders and responsible investment firms, a growing number of companies are now promoting their sustainability, workplace and other social achievements as essential aspects of their brands. At the same time, many corporate leaders have come to realize that pursuing social responsibility can reduce litigation and reputational risk, while also improving innovation and efficiency. In addition, recent academic studies have demonstrated that investing in companies with strong ESG profiles can improve portfolio returns.

Decades of Clean Energy Use Fuels GM’s RE100 Commitment

All of GM’s Ohio and Indiana facilities – including the assembly plants that build the Chevrolet Cruze and Silverado and GMC Sierra light-duty pickup trucks – will meet 100 percent of their electricity needs through wind power. Once the turbines come online by the end of 2018, renewable energy will power 20 percent of GM’s global electricity use.

MilliporeSigma Centers Work Toward a Smaller Carbon Footprint in India

India is the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the world, accounting for 6.8 percent of global CO2 emissions. At the 2015 United Nations Convention on Climate Change, India signed the Paris Agreement and committed to reducing CO2 emissions 35 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 emission levels. Since then, the Indian government has introduced emissions control measures for power plants and tighter vehicular emission standards, while calling on businesses to reduce emissions.

Timberland Speaks on Climate Week Panel That Heralds Optimism As the Way to Shift From Climate Crisis to Broadly Adopted Solutions

At last week’s Climate Week in New York City, I participated in a unique panel discussion entitled: Can business help take back our climate to be fit for life again? And how? Held at the Flanders House, the cross-sector panel was organized by CO2logic, Connect4Climate, The General Delegation of the Government of Flanders to the U.S.A., IFC (World Bank Group), and the New York City chapter of the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.

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