We help companies throughout the product supply chain create environmentally-sustainable businesses. Our consulting services include: creating enterprise-level environmental sustainability visions, goals and strategies; re-engineering internal processes to reflect environmentally-sustainable best practices; and  maximizing the environmental sustainability of product supply chains through the design and implementation of supplier assessment mechanisms.

We work in a variety of industries. We are extremely sensitive to clients' budgets and their capacity for change.

Whether it's an energy, water, chemicals or solid waste issue, our team of professionals is ready to help your business. Please contact us to learn how we can help you.

About a year ago, we used this space to discuss the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative's proposed standard for accounting and reporting GHG emissions throughout a corporate value chain ... from cradle to grave, if you will. Now, the standard's drafting is nearing completion and we expect the substantive content to be finalized next month (actual publication won't take place until September). So, for companies seeking to better understand an important part of heir environmental impacts (as a step toward reducing those impacts), the emergence of this standard is an important development.

"Value chain" GHG emissions occur upstream all the way back to raw materials extraction and downstream all the way to the end-of-life treatment of the product (yes, the standard has a way to deal with these concepts in a services situation). Here are some of the standard's highlights:

• Guidance as to what of all of this value chain activity to include in the GHG emissions inventory, acknowledging that the more inclusive the better.  
• A thorough discussion of how to collect and manage the large amounts of data that will be associated with the inventory project.  
• Language about choosing the right "emissions factors" to convert raw data like electricity consumption into CO2 equivalents.
• How to deal with the tricky issue of end-of-life recycling. 

Yes, it's a very technical standard, but it's the result of a lot of input from a large group of correctly-identified stakeholders. By the time it's published, it will have been road-tested by over 30 multinationals and reviewed by over 1,000 members of a Stakeholder Advisory Group (we're a member).

We fully expect that the "Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard for Accounting and Reporting" will become the de facto standard by which companies get a handle on the size of their business's impact on climate change. And we think it should be on your agenda sooner, rather than later.
 

In the Feature Article we talked about the importance of the new Value Chain GHG Emissions Accounting and Reporting Standard. What can you do now to prepare to use this tool?

• Go to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative's website and download a copy of the latest draft of the standard. Take a quick read through it ... don't get caught in all the technical details right away, but get a flavor for the way the standard works.
• Give thought to how you would manage the standard's data requirements. Do you have the IT and HR capacity? Would you use an existing database tool or have to acquire a specialized one? Who in your company can be trained to request, collect and manage data? Will you need to hire outside consultants or other professionals? 
• One important goal of the standard is to report your findings. Have you reported on environmental issues before? What transparency-related issues might come from publishing such a report? What might reporting this information do to your relationships with your value chain partners?
• Ultimately, you need to put your findings from the standard to use in reducing GHG emissions. How might you set a reduction target and develop strategies to achieve that target? 

We know a great deal about this issue and are able and ready to help you understand value chain GHG emissions. If you have questions or comments, please contact us at 212-343-1006 or info@kuhnassociatesllc.com. 

Here are a few of the many interesting sustainability events happening in the coming months:

April 4 - 6, Laguna Niguel, CA ... Fortune Brainstorm Green 2011 seeks to move beyond eco-efficiency concerns to explore high-level, strategic approaches to a sustainable future for the business world. www.fortuneconferences.com/brainstormgreen/.  

April 15, Portland, OR ... The University of Oregon Academic Extension presents "Water Sustainability from A to Z: Innovative Conservation and Management Techniques," a one-day workshop covering local, regional and global water sustainability issues. Visit the event website.

May 4 - 7, Long Beach, CA ... the Alternative Clean Transportation "ACT" Expo bills itself as the largest gathering of alternative fuel and advanced, clean technology transportation vehicles in the United States. Fleet operators should take special note! Learn more at ACT Expo.

June 9 - 10, Arlington, VA ... the Sustainable Fragrances 2011 Conference will bring together industry leaders from the cosmetics, personal care, grooming and cleaning industries to discuss everything from raw materials to a sustainable supply chain. Take a look at their website for information and registration.