Bringing Carbon To Base

2020: Davos Manifesto – “The Universal Purpose of a Company
in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”
“The purpose of a company is to engage all its stakeholders in

shared and sustained value creation. In creating such value, a
company serves not only its shareholders, but all its
stakeholders – employees, customers, suppliers, local
communities and society at large. The best way to understand
and harmonize the divergent interests of all stakeholders is
through a shared commitment to policies and decisions that
strengthen the long-term prosperity of a company.”
“A company is more than an economic unit generating wealth…
Performance must be measured not only on the return to
shareholders, but also on how it achieves its environmental,
social, and good governance objectives.”
United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals
“blueprint to achieve a better and
more sustainable future for all”
2000 – UN Global Compact, Millennium
Development Goals
2004 – Who Cares Wins: Connecting Financial
Markets to a Changing World - ESG
2005 – Principles of Responsible Investing
2015 – Sustainable Development Goals
2017 – Specific Targets & KPIs, Financing for
Development Task Force
WHAT IS CARBON FOOTPRINT
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as the total set of GreenHouse Gas (GHG)
emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.
It is probably an extension of the concept of "ecological footprints" developed by the
ecologist William Rees at the University of British Columbia in the early 1990s.
The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human
activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced
by your activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time
period of a year.
WHAT IS GHG?
Greenhouse gases (GHG) are those that can absorb and emit infrared radiation.
The most abundant greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are:
Gas Formula Contribution
Water Vapour H2O 36-72%
Carbon Dioxide CO2 9-26%
Methane CH4 4-9%
Ozone O3 3-7%
Carbon dioxide is a so called greenhouse gas causing global warming.

Other greenhouse gases which might be emitted as a result of personal activities are e.g. methane
and ozone. These greenhouse gases are normally also taken into account for the carbon footprint.
They are converted into the amount of CO2 that would cause the same effects on global warming
(this is called equivalent CO2 amount).
The carbon footprint is a very powerful tool to understand the impact of personal behavior on
global warming.
MAIN EFFECTS OF GHG
Climate Change: Climate change is the ultimate effect of large carbon footprints. Greenhouse
gases, whether natural or human-produced, contribute to the warming of the planet. From
1990 to 2005, carbon dioxide emissions increased by 31 percent. By 2008, the emissions had
contributed to a 35 percent increase in radiative warming, or a shift in Earth's energy balance
toward warming, over 1990 levels.
Depletion of Resources: Large carbon footprints deplete resources on large and small scales,
from a country's deforestation activities to one home's increased use of air conditioning. The
more those with large carbon footprints use resources, the more greenhouse gases increase
and spur further climate change
BENEFITS OF GHG REPORTING – KEY ELEMENT OF SUSTAINABILITY / ESG
Leading organizations that understand and address sustainability issues perform better, offer more value to their
stakeholders, improve their access to capital, retain more productive and engaged employees and students, and
improve their reputation.
Customer
Reputation Value
>75% of 200 research >80% of 200 research studies

studies conclude that good Improved
conclude that good ESG
Less Costly
ESG practices result in Company ORGANIZATION Financing standards lower the cost of
better operational Performance capital.
performance.
Increased More
Investor Employee
Interest Engagement
Defining Sustainability
• ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance, a
group of issues that help define sustainability with tangible ENVIRONMENTAL
metrics • Climate change
• Air emissions
• Water
• This assessment focused on the Environmental aspect of • Energy
sustainability to align with UND’s key commitments to • Waste
• Biodiversity
clean energy.
• A clear definition of sustainability allows an organization to

identify, communicate, and act on the issues most
• Workforce diversity • Organizational structure
important to their stakeholders. • Human rights • Sustainability framework
• Community and processes
• Investors and all other stakeholders increasingly view ESG development • Disaster preparedness
• Animal welfare • Financial security
performance as a proxy for competitiveness. • Health and safety
SOCIAL GOVERNANCE
Mechanism for Expressing Corporate
ESG Purpose
Correlation between ESG / EHS and a company’s
performance
 As Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) morphs into Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
for many companies, there is growing evidence that ESG policies and practices have a positive impact
on a company’s financial performance and long-term business strategy as well as the attraction and
retention of diverse talent.
 According to research reports, top employers, as measured by employee satisfaction and

attractiveness to talent, have significantly higher ESG scores than their peers – a pattern that is
partly due to these companies relatively strong environmental performance, but the trend is also
present across social and governance issues.
 Mirroring the importance of ESG to talent attraction and retention, research reports suggest the
growing importance of ESG issues to investors and other stakeholders and encourages companies
to incorporate ESG reporting into their regular communications with stakeholders.
 Lastly, and equally important given today’s customer and investor-focused business environment,
don’t forget about environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks as well. An experienced
ESG/EHS consultant would advise their clients that there is much more to uncover than what is
underground.
Big Three ESG Activism – An Example
Source: Lazard
ESG Oversight: Role of Audit Committee
• Measurement and Accounting
• Identification of ESG Impacts and Dependencies
• Selection of Framework and Standards
• Materiality
• Management of Assurance Process
• Engage with Independent Auditor
• Internal audit
• Transparency
• Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Impact of Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG)
Issues On Companies Today
Understanding the impact on the “Environment” from an ESG and EHS perspective:
 GHG Emissions
 Emissions Intensity
 Energy Usage
 Energy Intensity
 Energy Mix
 Water Usage
 Environmental Operations
 Climate Risk Mitigation
ESG / the environment – how companies are
impacted:
• Effluents & waste: Safe disposal and focus on recycling, reuse or recovery as energy.
• Emissions: Emissions reduction & carbon offsetting.
• Water: Water efficiency and sustainable use in farming and production.
• Land Use: Sustainable land management and protection of ecosystem.
• Biodiversity: Protection of biodiversity and ecosystems within operational range.
• Energy: Energy efficiency, use of renewables and coproduction (biogas).
• Materials: Responsibly sourced materials.
Commitment towards the UN Social Development Goals of:

• Affordable & clean energy
• Responsible consumption & production
• Climate action
How companies can reduce their carbon
footprint:
• Harness renewable energy sources (e.g. Solar Energy)
• Water conservation / Plantations & Afforestation Projects
• Waste management
• Educate and engage stakeholders
• Manage and control emissions
• Prudent use of materials and technology

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2020: Davos Manifesto – “The Universal Purpose of a Company

in the Fourth Industrial Revolution”

“The purpose of a company is to engage all its stakeholders in

Carbon dioxide is a so called greenhouse gas causing global warming.

>75% of 200 research >80% of 200 research studies

• A clear definition of sustainability allows an organization to

 According to research reports, top employers, as measured by employee satisfaction and

Commitment towards the UN Social Development Goals of:

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