{"id":276345,"date":"2010-02-04T11:47:48","date_gmt":"2010-02-04T16:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greenrightnow.com\/?p=8735"},"modified":"2010-02-04T11:47:48","modified_gmt":"2010-02-04T16:47:48","slug":"business-leaders-make-a-plan-for-global-sustainability-by-2050","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/276345","title":{"rendered":"Business leaders make a plan for global sustainability by 2050"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>From Green Right Now Reports<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As governments wrestle with the rules of the game for a greener future, businesses are putting their own playbooks on the table.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.alcoa.com\" >Alcoa<\/a>, a longtime champion of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alcoa.com\/global\/en\/eco_alcoa\/info_page\/eco_overview.asp\" >environmental action<\/a>, helped lead a team of 29 global companies, representing 14 industries, in developing a coordinated plan for how the world\u2019s burgeoning population could live peaceably, comfortably and sustainably on the planet.<\/p>\n<p>The plan, released today and called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alcoa.com\/global\/en\/pdf\/PRINTER_WBCSD_Vision_2050_PRINT_Low.pdf\" >Vision 2050<\/a> lays out what human inhabitants \u2013 9 billion human inhabitants \u2013 will need to do to live within their means on Mother Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe world already has the knowledge, science, technologies, skills and financial resources needed to achieve Vision 2050. However, concerted global action in the next decade will be required to bring these capabilities and resources together, putting the world on the path to sustainability,\u201d said Alcoa Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Mohammad A. Zaidi co-chaired the 18-month project.<\/p>\n<p>All the companies participating were part of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wbcsd.org\" >The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)<\/a>, a global association of about 200 companies. The CEO-led group studies the intersection of business and sustainable development.<em> <\/em>Through the council, the companies share knowledge and best practices.<\/p>\n<p><em>Vision 2050<\/em> spells out the actions and changes that must happen over the coming decade \u201cto make a sustainable planetary society possible,\u201d according to a news release. These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Meeting the development needs      of billions of people and enabling their education and economic      empowerment, particularly of women.<\/li>\n<li>Developing radically more      eco-efficient solutions, lifestyles and behavior.<\/li>\n<li>Incorporating the costs of \u201cexternalities\u201d      &#8212; starting with carbon, ecosystem services and water &#8212; into the      structure of the marketplace. (In other words, putting a price on natural      resources, thereby equalizing the playing field for businesses that practice      careful use of those resources.)<\/li>\n<li>Doubling agricultural output      without increasing the amount of land or water used<\/li>\n<li>Halting deforestation and      increasing yields from planted forests<\/li>\n<li>Halving carbon emissions      worldwide (based on 2005 levels) by 2050, with greenhouse gas emissions      peaking around 2020 through a shift to low-carbon energy systems (i.e.,      renewable energy like wind and solar power) and highly improved      demand-side energy efficiency (energy efficient buildings).<\/li>\n<li>Providing universal access to      low-carbon mobility<\/li>\n<li>Delivering a four- to      ten-fold improvement in the use of resources and materials. (Think      recycle, reuse and reduce.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Vision 2050<\/em>, an 80-page document, calls out businesses\u2019 role as integral to transforming world markets, but cautions that companies must not harm natural resources or reduce biodiversity. It is a self-described \u201cbest-case scenario for sustainability\u201d intended not as a \u201cdefinitive blueprint\u201d but a launching point for developing strategies and dialogue with governments, the news release explains.<\/p>\n<p>Alcoa has shown its own commitment to sustainability by reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by a 43% over its 1990 base year; setting up community programs worldwide and winning recognition for its ethical practices, ranking 11 out of 581 companies on the Covalence Ethics Index.<\/p>\n<p>About 73 percent of the aluminum produced in the world is still in use, Alcoa reports, making the company\u2019s core<a href=\"http:\/\/www.alcoa.com\/global\/en\/eco_alcoa\/info_page\/alcoa_recycling.asp\" > recyclable product<\/a> more sustainable than many raw materials.<\/p>\n<p>The company employs nearly 60,000 people around the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Green Right Now Reports As governments wrestle with the rules of the game for a greener future, businesses are putting their own playbooks on the table. Alcoa, a longtime champion of environmental action, helped lead a team of 29 global companies, representing 14 industries, in developing a coordinated plan for how the world\u2019s burgeoning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6460,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6460"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}