December 21, 2015
The key bases of our agricultural systems—the world’s land, water, and climate—ensure that farmers can feed the world. But these resources are being depleted, even as global demand for agricultural products is expected to mushroom in the coming decades. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) predicts that demand will be 60 percent higher in 2050 than in the three-year average for
...December 10, 2015
Sustainable investing is gaining momentum and increasingly taking its place at the center of mainstream investment conversations. We believe we are at a critical moment of change where integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into quality investment strategies is not only considered acceptable as a part of sound investment management, but is viewed as core to prudent investing and
...December 3, 2015
The Pembina Institute’s newest interactive map quantifies the number of jobs in B.C.’s green-building sector and pinpoints where energy-efficient homes and buildings are located in the province. Released today to coincide with Buildings Day at the United Nations climate-change conference in Paris, the B.C. Green Buildings Map shows that this growing
...May 26, 2015
A leaked report from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) will make banning bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides a lot easier. An economic analysis of the use of neonicotinoids on soy and corn crops shows a very tiny benefit to a very few farmers. Corn growers in some parts of Ontario may be seeing an economic benefit of only 3.6% while soy planters see almost no benefit (0.4%). These
...May 26, 2015
You’re going snorkeling along a coral reef. This is biodiversity on over-drive: Every square centimeter is covered with hundreds of little creatures. You see millions upon millions of tentacle-rimmed mouths—each feeding a tiny individual coral polyp—guarded savagely by resident crabs, fish, and shrimp. Right next door, a myriad of other coral species, with added choice residents and predators,
...March 17, 2015
Colleen Cordes’ State of the World 2014 chapter, “The Rise of Triple-Bottom-Line Businesses,” explores the role of ethical capitalism in the quest for sustainable economies. Entrepreneurs are beginning to challenge business as usual, infusing ethics into the notoriously ruthless corporate world. “Put simply, the conventional economic model—amoral capitalism—and the
...March 5, 2015
You may have seen the Globe and Mail story on RCMP intelligence reports suggesting Sierra (along with Greenpeace and Tides Canada) are contemplating unlawful activity around petroleum infrastructure. As John Bennett, Sierra Club Canada’s Executive Director, states, “I’m pretty sure Tides and Sierra are not, and Greenpeace might be thinking about erecting a banner somewhere.” Instead, John
...February 6, 2015
As national governments struggle to resolve pressing global challenges, corporations are positioning themselves within the United Nations framework as efficient players and crucial partners in international policy debates. But with their immense economic and political sway, can corporations contribute to development discussions without the “corporate capture” of governance? In the
...February 5, 2015
Government members of the Federal Standing Committee on Health are using their majority to force a very quick review of the Pest Control Products Act (the law that governs the licensing of pesticides in Canada). But why the big rush? To get it over with quickly before the public knows what’s happening? One acute observer described the government members as 'railroading' the Act. Concerned? John
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