business

  1. Business

The scoop: You can’t improve what you can’t measure. An organization must accurately measure GHG emissions and carbon footprint to improve its environmental sustainability outlook. 

Here’s an interesting set of stats:

99% of F500 companies report being “sustainability-conscious” or mention it as a priority in their goal statements.

A little over 60% made commitments to reduce emissions with varying degrees of comprehensiveness. A common goal is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, yet most companies don’t have decarbonization roadmaps or intermediary reduction targets.

And less than 15% set long-term and short-term reduction targets in line with corporate standards derived from the latest climate science.

These numbers tell a straightforward story. Sustainability gets a lot of lip service, but most businesses haven’t invested time and money into this objective. Creating a carbon footprint baseline is a high-impact first step in any organization’s sustainability journey, and this exercise achieves diverse goals within profitability and risk management.

Emissions accounting terminology may seem complex, but by the end of this article, we’ll find that the foundations of GHG emissions accounting are relatively intuitive. It’s just a matter of breaking up different impact areas of an organization into smaller, digestible bites.

Dig deeper → 5 min

  1. Business

Why it matters

  • The program failed to exclude big businesses and smaller firms in good standings from receiving the low-interest loans as part of the PPP. 
  • Small businesses received little to no help through the program.
  • A large number of big businesses and small firms that received funding through PPP experienced financial hardship long before the COVID-19 crisis, according to an Associated Press Investigation.

Corporations facing backlash

  • Several large beneficiaries have decided to return the loans received through the PPP.
  • The LA Lakers, Kura Sushi USA and Sweetgreen have returned loans they received through PPP.

Between the lines

  • Small business owners and executives found the PPP process of application ambiguous and confusing. 
  • The Small Business Administration and Treasury Department had given businesses that wrongfully received loans till May 7th to return funds.
  • Corporations and small businesses that received over $2 million in loans will be audited and criminally prosecuted if found guilty of financial wrongdoing. 

Actions taken

  • Publix announced that it will purchase excess milk and food produce from farmers and donate it to Feeding America food banks.
  • Eateries such as Ho Foods and Roku have been feeding healthcare workers through fundraisers, while using their own resources too.

Dig deeper → 4 min

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