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In April, KPMG’s Climate Change and Sustainability practice released new research, Corporate Sustainability: A Progress Report, which revealed that over 30% of businesses still don’t have a strategy for sustainable growth in place. Just over 60% of the 378 companies surveyed said they currently had a working strategy for corporate sustainability, up from just over half polled in 2008. Of those that didn’t, 70% expect to have one within the next fve years. Reasons given for the slow take-up of sustainability programs include a lack of common metrics and tools for measuring the impact of programs; competition for fnance with operational programs that have a quicker ROI; and the lack of a rigorous international framework of regulation.

Toshiba TEC has extended the CarbonZero carbon offs scheme introduced for its printers and MFDs to other divisions, starting with Toshiba electronic point of sales (EpoS) systems and Auto ID printers.

As with its MFDs, Toshiba will neutralise all carbon emissions generated in the production and distribution of the products by buying carbon offsets from co2balance, which runs a variety of Gold Standard schemes including the supply of energy-effcient stoves to villagers in Kenya.

The African Energy Effcient Stove Project, now being extended to the Indian sub-continent, is co2balance’s most popular offsetting programme. The stoves consume 70% less frewood than traditional open fres, reducing the amount of carbon released when cooking and bringing nu and social benefts. www.toshibatec-eu.co.uk

Four out of 10 FTSE 100 businesses still have no clear targets to cut carbon emissions, despite rising energy prices and the Government’s ambition to set a legally binding target on greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020.

Analysis by the Carbon Trust ( Raising the Bar ) found that only 59% of the FTSE 100 have robust reduction targets in place at a time when consumers are starting to pay more attention to such considerations.

A recent consumer survey by the Carbon Trust found that the number of shoppers prepared to shun brands that fail to display carbon footprint labels on products has doubled in the last year from 22% to 45%.

When asked whether they would buy low carbon labelled goods over non-labelled goods of identical quality, the survey found that 47% are more likely to choose ‘low carbon’ labelled products.

One in fve (21%) said they would pay more for carbon-labelled products. In a separate initiative, the Carbon Trust Standard has launched a free guide to help growing businesses measure, manage and reduce carbon emissions and energy costs ( The Growing Business’ Guide to Managing Carbon ). It estimates that UK SMEs could collectively save £400 million a year in energy costs and more than 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 by reducing their carbon footprints and certifying their efforts under the Carbon Trust Standard. SMEs that have used the Carbon Trust Standard SME online certifcation tool have, on average, cut their energy costs by £2,000 per annum.

The Growing Business’ Guide to Managing Carbon can be downloaded for free at: www.carbontruststandard. com/GrowingBusinessGuide.

Pedal-powered deliveries in central London have earned Offce Depot the Environment Product / Service Award at the annual Environment and Energy Awards, part of SustainabilityLive. The offce products supplier introduced its Cargocycle initiative to cut carbon emissions from its UK vehicle feet by as much as 80% in central London.

The People and Environment Awards for Business (PEABs) reward the efforts of individuals or teams that have demonstrated exceptional leadership and vision in implementing green business initiatives.

The organisers hope that by focusing on individuals rather than their employers, the PEABs will inspire more people to push forward green initiatives for their workplace. The deadline for the inaugural PEABs is August 31, 2011.

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