President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

President Trump has proposed deep cuts to the EPA's budget - ones that put the health and safety of people at great risk. C4. Regional.

Written by Diane MacEachern

Can your family go plastic-free this month? Plastic-free July is a global campaign that challenges people to give up single-use, disposable plastic. The idea is the brainchild of Rebecca Prince-Ruiz, an activist living in Western Australia who was studying the problems of plastic waste and ocean plastic pollution when she realized that, in addition to raising awareness, she wanted to do something to actually reduce plastic waste. She helped round up just 40 people in Perth, who volunteered to forego plastic for the month of July. In the last 6 years, the idea has become so popular that this year, over a million people in 130 countries are on board.

Beth Terry, America’s best-known plastic-free activist, first participated in Plastic Free July in 2014. She has nothing but praise for this initiative and its founder.

Plastic-Free July is proof that one individual’s actions can make an enormous difference if we each can find the courage to not only change some of our personal habits but also to speak up and share those personal steps with others,” says Beth.

Rebecca “realized that recycling alone could not solve the plastic pollution problem,” noted Beth, and that “we must stop consuming so much plastic in the first place.” For example, here at Moms Clean Air Force, we’ve advocated giving up face wash and body scrubs that contain plastic microbeads. We’ve also raised awareness about how polluting plastic straws can be, along with the dangers they pose to wildlife.

On Beth’s website MyPlasticFreeLife.com as well as on PlasticFreeJuly.org you’ll find dozens of additional ways to live plastic-free. Included in Beth’s list of “100 Steps to a Plastic-Free Life” are “carry your own containers for take out food and leftovers,”along with reusable utensils and glass drinking straws. Eat ice cream on a cone rather than get it in a plastic-lined cup. And here’s a surprise: give up chewing gum. Almost all chewing gum is made from plastic, Beth says. When people spit it out, they’re spitting out little plastic wads that can take decades, if not longer, to break down.

PlasticFreeJuly’s list of “A-Z Alternatives for Plastic Free Living” shows how easy it can be to replace single-use plastic with a reusable version. You’re probably already using a reusable cloth bag rather than plastic at the grocery store, and drinking from a stainless steel or aluminum water bottle rather than buy water in a plastic bottle. But the A-Z list includes replacing plastic doggy doo bags with folded up newspaper, a menstrual cup in place of a throwaway plastic tampon, and cloth diapers (or “nappies,” as they say Down Under) for disposables.

PlasticFreeJuly’s website lists some pretty stunning facts. For example:

• Scientists predict there will be more tonnes of plastic than tonnes of fish in the world’s waterways and oceans by 2050.
• Plastic manufacturing consumes 6% of the world’s fossil fuels.
• In the first 10 years of the 21st century, the world economy produced more plastic than it did during the entire 1900s!

The group also highlights inspiring stories and case studies to show just how big an impact can be made when people band together against plastic. One hospital service is now avoiding using 70,000 plastic cups annually. A commercial strip in the town of Victoria Park inspired 13 local cafes to sell customers reusable cups for their coffee, then used the proceeds to plant almost 3,000 native plant seedlings. Two eco entrepreneurs set up the “Wasteless Pantry” that sells groceries and laundry goods out of bulk bins in reusable containers that minimize waste.

Beth says,

“This July, think about how the actions of one person can be magnified by the example they set for others.  Look at your own plastic consumption and take what steps you can to replace disposable plastics with plastic-free reusable items. But don’t stop there. Let your friends and family know what you’re doing and why. Participate in a beach or river cleanup.  Get active with a local environmental group. Speak out to legislators about plastic bag bans or Styrofoam bans. Write to companies requesting less plastic packaging. We can’t all do everything, but each of us can find one way to help spread the word.”

Choose to refuse single-use plastic all month HERE.

TELL CONGRESS: NOBODY VOTED TO MAKE AMERICA DIRTY AGAIN

Institutional investors worldwide are increasingly encouraging oil and gas companies to improve and disclose their management strategies to minimise methane risk. Methane – an invisible, odorless gas and main ingredient in natural gas – is routinely emitted by the global oil and gas industry, posing a reputational and economic threat to portfolios. Natural gas is […]

As the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) move forward with the permitting process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – one of the most important restoration projects in the Coastal Master Plan – your voice and support are needed! The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion would reconnect the river with nearby wetlands and deliver sediment to build and maintain tens of thousands of acres in this crucial area. To get this project constructed, the Corps must follow ...

Read The Full Story

The post Your Voice is Needed for #OurCoast: Attend Upcoming Mid-Barataria Scoping Meetings appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

As the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) move forward with the permitting process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – one of the most important restoration projects in the Coastal Master Plan – your voice and support are needed! The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion would reconnect the river with nearby wetlands and deliver sediment to build and maintain tens of thousands of acres in this crucial area. To get this project constructed, the Corps must follow ...

Read The Full Story

The post Your Voice is Needed for #OurCoast: Attend Upcoming Mid-Barataria Scoping Meetings appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

As the State of Louisiana and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) move forward with the permitting process for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion – one of the most important restoration projects in the Coastal Master Plan – your voice and support are needed! The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion would reconnect the river with nearby wetlands and deliver sediment to build and maintain tens of thousands of acres in this crucial area. To get this project constructed, the Corps must follow ...

Read The Full Story

The post Your Voice is Needed for #OurCoast: Attend Upcoming Mid-Barataria Scoping Meetings appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

By Sean Wright

Institutional investors worldwide are increasingly encouraging oil and gas companies to improve and disclose their management strategies to minimize methane risk.

Methane – an invisible, odorless gas and main ingredient in natural gas – is routinely emitted by the global oil and gas industry, posing a reputational and economic threat to portfolios.

Natural gas is widely marketed as a low-carbon fuel because it burns roughly 50 percent cleaner than coal. But this ignores a major problem: methane. Natural gas is almost pure methane, a powerful pollutant that speeds up Earth’s warming when it escapes into the atmosphere.

Last month marked a significant milestone in investor action on the methane issue. The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) launched a new initiative representing 35 investors and U.S. $3.8 trillion in assets that will engage with the oil and gas industry across five different continents to improve its methane management and disclosure practices. The PRI initiative complements existing methane engagement efforts focused on the U.S. led by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and CERES.

EDF Senior Manager Sean Wright recently sat down with Sylvia van Waveren, a Senior Engagement Specialist with Robeco Institutional Asset Management, a Dutch-based investment firm managing over $160 billion, to discuss the matter and understand why some investors are keen to affect the status quo on methane.

Wright: Why is methane a focus of your engagements? What do you see as the risks of unmanaged methane emissions? 

Sylvia van Waveren, Senior Engagement Specialist, Robeco Institutional Asset Management

van Waveren: Methane is one of the most important drivers of engagement with the oil and gas industry. We invest in oil and gas companies worldwide. A year ago, we started engaging them, specifically on climate change – and within that the methane issue is included.

In the past, methane was viewed as a U.S. shale gas issue, but more recently it has become important in Europe as we learned that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. So in that sense, we learned a lot from the U.S. discussions and we still do.

I would like to stress that we see the methane issue more as a business opportunity than a risk. What we often say to companies is that methane is a potential revenue source. It would be a waste if companies do not use it. 

Wright: The scope of PRI’s initiative is global, with investors from 3 different continents as far away as Australia and New Zealand, and a plan to engage with companies from the Latin America, Europe, North America and Asia-Pac. What does this level of global collaboration convey about methane emissions? 

van Waveren: I am happy and it is good to see that others have taken up the seriousness of this issue, as well.  Methane is no longer a U.S. only problem. The issue is being raised and discussed in all kinds of geographies.

I’m a firm believer in collective engagements. They can be a powerful force when the issue is not contained within borders. That is the case with greenhouse gases. So yes, I’m happy to see the PRI initiative taking off and I am an active believer in getting this solved and bringing attention to this subject.  

Global investor touts methane opportunity with oil & gas industry
Click To Tweet

Wright: In your conversations thus far with companies about methane, what resonates best when making the business case for improving methane management and disclosure?

van Waveren: When we talk about motivation at the company level, I have to be honest, it’s still early days. The European companies are talking in general terms and just now conceptualizing methane policies. If we’re lucky, they have calculated how much methane is part of their greenhouse gas emissions. And if we’re more fortunate, they are producing regional and segregated figures from carbon, but it’s really very meager how motivated the companies are and what triggers them most.

I really feel we should emphasize more with companies to get them motivated and to really look at the seriousness of methane. One issue that is particularly bothersome is that many companies do not know how to calculate, estimate and set targets to reduce methane. It is still a mystery to many of them. That’s why we come in with engagements. We need to keep them sharp on this issue and ask them for their actions, calculations and plans. 

Wright: Who are other important allies that have a role in solving this problem, and why?

van Waveren: We always would like to have an ally in the government. For example, carbon pricing or carbon fixations are all topics that we look for from the government. But in practice, that doesn’t work. Governments sometimes need more time. So we do not always wait for the government. When companies say they will wait for government, we say, “You should take a proactive approach.”

We rely very much on our knowledge that we get from within the sector. We review data analyses and make intermediate reports of scoring. We find best practice solutions and we hold companies accountable. There are also times when we name names. So in that sense, that is how engagement works. The data providers and other organizations with good knowledge and good content on methane – and EDF is certainly one of them – are very instrumental to get the knowledge that we need.

Wright: Can you give me an example of a widespread financial risk facing an industry in the past that was proactively improved by investors leading the charge – similar to this initiative?

van Waveren: More than 20 years ago, we had a greenhouse gas issue – acid rain. Investors helped solve that problem. Because of this, I’m hopeful that investors can also play a positive role in reducing methane.

I would also say the issue of Arctic drilling. Not so long ago, this was top of mind when we talked to our portfolio companies. A lot of companies have now withdrawn from Arctic drilling, especially from offshore Arctic drilling. I think investors were quite successful in sending a clear signal to the industry in a collective way that we didn’t see Arctic drilling as a good process. Maybe profitable – if at all – to the companies, but certainly not for the environment.

Wright: Thank you, Sylvia. We really appreciate your time and your thoughtful answers showing how investors can be part of the solution on methane.

By Sean Wright

Institutional investors worldwide are increasingly encouraging oil and gas companies to improve and disclose their management strategies to minimize methane risk.

Methane – an invisible, odorless gas and main ingredient in natural gas – is routinely emitted by the global oil and gas industry, posing a reputational and economic threat to portfolios.

Natural gas is widely marketed as a low-carbon fuel because it burns roughly 50 percent cleaner than coal. But this ignores a major problem: methane. Natural gas is almost pure methane, a powerful pollutant that speeds up Earth’s warming when it escapes into the atmosphere.

Last month marked a significant milestone in investor action on the methane issue. The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) launched a new initiative representing 35 investors and U.S. $3.8 trillion in assets that will engage with the oil and gas industry across five different continents to improve its methane management and disclosure practices. The PRI initiative complements existing methane engagement efforts focused on the U.S. led by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and CERES.

EDF Senior Manager Sean Wright recently sat down with Sylvia van Waveren, a Senior Engagement Specialist with Robeco Institutional Asset Management, a Dutch-based investment firm managing over $160 billion, to discuss the matter and understand why some investors are keen to affect the status quo on methane.

Wright: Why is methane a focus of your engagements? What do you see as the risks of unmanaged methane emissions? 

Sylvia van Waveren, Senior Engagement Specialist, Robeco Institutional Asset Management

van Waveren: Methane is one of the most important drivers of engagement with the oil and gas industry. We invest in oil and gas companies worldwide. A year ago, we started engaging them, specifically on climate change – and within that the methane issue is included.

In the past, methane was viewed as a U.S. shale gas issue, but more recently it has become important in Europe as we learned that methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. So in that sense, we learned a lot from the U.S. discussions and we still do.

I would like to stress that we see the methane issue more as a business opportunity than a risk. What we often say to companies is that methane is a potential revenue source. It would be a waste if companies do not use it. 

Wright: The scope of PRI’s initiative is global, with investors from 3 different continents as far away as Australia and New Zealand, and a plan to engage with companies from the Latin America, Europe, North America and Asia-Pac. What does this level of global collaboration convey about methane emissions? 

van Waveren: I am happy and it is good to see that others have taken up the seriousness of this issue, as well.  Methane is no longer a U.S. only problem. The issue is being raised and discussed in all kinds of geographies.

I’m a firm believer in collective engagements. They can be a powerful force when the issue is not contained within borders. That is the case with greenhouse gases. So yes, I’m happy to see the PRI initiative taking off and I am an active believer in getting this solved and bringing attention to this subject.  

Global investor touts methane opportunity with oil & gas industry
Click To Tweet

Wright: In your conversations thus far with companies about methane, what resonates best when making the business case for improving methane management and disclosure?

van Waveren: When we talk about motivation at the company level, I have to be honest, it’s still early days. The European companies are talking in general terms and just now conceptualizing methane policies. If we’re lucky, they have calculated how much methane is part of their greenhouse gas emissions. And if we’re more fortunate, they are producing regional and segregated figures from carbon, but it’s really very meager how motivated the companies are and what triggers them most.

I really feel we should emphasize more with companies to get them motivated and to really look at the seriousness of methane. One issue that is particularly bothersome is that many companies do not know how to calculate, estimate and set targets to reduce methane. It is still a mystery to many of them. That’s why we come in with engagements. We need to keep them sharp on this issue and ask them for their actions, calculations and plans. 

Wright: Who are other important allies that have a role in solving this problem, and why?

van Waveren: We always would like to have an ally in the government. For example, carbon pricing or carbon fixations are all topics that we look for from the government. But in practice, that doesn’t work. Governments sometimes need more time. So we do not always wait for the government. When companies say they will wait for government, we say, “You should take a proactive approach.”

We rely very much on our knowledge that we get from within the sector. We review data analyses and make intermediate reports of scoring. We find best practice solutions and we hold companies accountable. There are also times when we name names. So in that sense, that is how engagement works. The data providers and other organizations with good knowledge and good content on methane – and EDF is certainly one of them – are very instrumental to get the knowledge that we need.

Wright: Can you give me an example of a widespread financial risk facing an industry in the past that was proactively improved by investors leading the charge – similar to this initiative?

van Waveren: More than 20 years ago, we had a greenhouse gas issue – acid rain. Investors helped solve that problem. Because of this, I’m hopeful that investors can also play a positive role in reducing methane.

I would also say the issue of Arctic drilling. Not so long ago, this was top of mind when we talked to our portfolio companies. A lot of companies have now withdrawn from Arctic drilling, especially from offshore Arctic drilling. I think investors were quite successful in sending a clear signal to the industry in a collective way that we didn’t see Arctic drilling as a good process. Maybe profitable – if at all – to the companies, but certainly not for the environment.

Wright: Thank you, Sylvia. We really appreciate your time and your thoughtful answers showing how investors can be part of the solution on methane.