Day: June 18, 2021

As the Asia-Pacific region confronts and recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, we must continue our pursuit of sustainable development and take action on global climate change, the existential challenge of our time. Our region must take its place at the front lines of this effort. The region, which now accounts for 36 percent of global GDP, has made great progress in economic development and poverty reduction. But it is also responsible for around 80 percent of the world’s coal consumption, and up to 60 percent of CO2 emissions. Many countries have experienced the devastating consequences of climate change: floods, droughts, heat waves, and storms.

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has completed work on a pilot sustainable drainage scheme at Mill Street in Pontypridd – which has introduced green features to help reduce surface water flooding and divert it from traditional drainage systems in heavy rainfall. The pilot, which is fully-funded by Welsh Government, has introduced a tree pit and rain garden to provide an adaptive form of flood alleviation that improves the area’s aesthetics and biodiversity, and is also resilient for the future. The new rain garden is sized at 35m2, and will provide drainage for the surface water run-off from the nearby concreted car park, which is 1,085m2. Prior to the works, water run-off from this area would flow directly into the drainage systems – and it is hoped this will be reduced by up to 50% following the delivery of the pilot scheme.

Everyone in the world could have access to clean, affordable energy within the next nine years if countries modestly increase investments, according to new reports released today, in advance of a major ministerial meeting on 21-25 June where countries and businesses will begin to announce energy plans for the decade. Annual investments of around $35 billion could bring electricity access for 759 million people who currently lack it, and $25 billion a year can help 2.6 billion people gain access to clean cooking between now and 2030. The required investment represents only a small fraction of the multi-trillion-dollar global energy investment needed overall, but would bring huge benefits to one-third of the world’s population.

ALDI has committed to removing single-use plastic from all of its own-brand tea bags by the end of this year. The UK’s fifth-largest supermarket will replace the oil-based plastic sealant on the bags with biodegradable materials. It follows a similar move by Sainsbury’s in January. Aldi said the outer plastic wrapping on boxes will also be dropped. The move means 1.4 billion pieces of single-use plastic will be removed. Richard Gorman, of Aldi, said: “The changes we’ve made to our tea range will help us reduce our environmental impact and offer our customers even more environmentally sustainable options.” He added: “By the end of this year, all of our own-brand tea bags will be biodegradable and contain no plastic whatsoever.”

Sustainable Gastronomy Day was first observed on 18th June 2017, led by the UN General Assembly, UNESCO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). What is sustainable gastronomy? Many of us use these buzzwords in everyday conversations but the FAO break it down in a more thought-provoking way: Gastronomy can be described as the style of cooking of a particular region; a cultural expression of the world’s natural and cultural diversity. Sustainability considers how to carry out processes in a way that is not wasteful of natural resources – and that can be continued into the future without any detrimental effects.

At a time of increasing interest in enhanced and evolving sustainability disclosures and broad-based agreement on the immediate need for an established set of collaborative global sustainability reporting standards to supersede the numerous and non-mandatory reporting frameworks which currently exist, being responsive to stakeholder disclosure demands is challenging. However, many companies recognize the need for more robust disclosure to underscore the ability of their businesses to create long term sustainable value. Join BDO and our guests, Bob Hirth, Vice Chair of the SASB, and Andrew Buchanan, BDO Global Head of IFRS and Corporate Reporting, as we discuss the current and future state of corporate reporting from both a global and a U.S.-based lens.

The Australian construction industry is transitioning to becoming more sustainable. Despite their crucial role, Australian communities as the end-users of this transition have been overlooked. Buildings contribute as much as 30% of the total waste produced and as much as 40% of total greenhouse gases. Residential construction makes up the biggest sector in construction; about 80% by cost. If sustainable construction is to be realised, it must take root in the housing sector. Little progress, however, has been made. Current literature places much of the blame with the owners and occupiers of houses – The line goes that builders would build sustainable houses if people really wanted them. The question arises: are reported societal concerns for sustainability merely superficial or supported by intention and commitment to act.