Governors Join Growing Chorus of Climate Change Proposal Supporters

December 2nd, 2008

Last week, I commented on the recent flurry of activity taking place in Washington indicating that climate change legislation, which will be introduced in the U.S. Congress next year, is already attracting lots of support.

For example, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), recently outlined recommendations – including a cap-and-trade proposal - that the group wants to see among the incoming U.S. administration’s top priorities for next year. You’ll recall that the Wall Street Journal CEO Council made a similar endorsement last week.

Here are reasons why you should be concerned about this trend:

A cap-and-trade system will require businesses to provide detailed reporting to account for its CO₂ emissions. Many companies currently use spreadsheets for environmental reporting. A cap-and-trade scheme will require far more detailed and complex reporting — well beyond the capability of most legacy systems to support efficient and effective carbon management.

In order to determine how a cap-and-trade scheme will impact your company, you’ll need to establish a carbon inventory and then develop a long-term carbon management plan that enables your company to track your CO₂ emissions against applicable regulatory limits. Neither task is simple; both require robust information management support.

EHS technology offers numerous benefits for efficient carbon management, including the capability to proactively manage emissions to avoid purchasing costly carbon offset credits. Also, information management supports improved EHS performance, which impacts a company’s ability to attract capital.

If current trends continue, there will be a narrow window of opportunity for businesses to get ahead of any proposed legislation. With climate change solidly fixed at the top of the political agenda in Washington, your business needs to start planning now for the potential impact that a climate change proposal will have on the bottom line.

Tags: cap and trade carbon management ceo council climate change co2 emissions ehs western governors association wga

Entry Filed under: Sustainability, Corporate Governance, GHG Regulations and Voluntary Reporting