OPINION COMMENTARY:

Imagine if every package – bottles, boxes, or phials – didn’t go to waste but was reused, helping to reduce pollution and conserve resources. Rajan Mehta advocates for a Common Design Reusable Packaging system to standardize reusable containers across industries, reduce environmental impact, and create a more sustainable cycle.

Building a robust corporate transition plan is challenging yet critical to achieve our net zero ambitions. University of Oxford Professor Ben Caldecott, Co-Head of the TPT Secretariat, discusses with Emily Chien, ALI Senior Fellow, how the “gold standard” TPT Disclosure Framework will transform the way companies and governments develop, monitor and apply transition planning best practices to help make businesses more sustainable.

Dr. Satchit Balsari highlights his transformative work with SEWA, India’s Self-Employed Women’s Association, and its “economy of nurturance,” exploring resilient, community-driven strategies for survival and adaptation. He emphasizes the urgent need for interdisciplinary solutions, local innovation, and data-informed policies to tackle complex global challenges.

At the edge of the Sahara, a revolution is growing — one rooted in traditional agriculture that holds the key to Africa’s climate resilience. While the continent contributes just 4% to global emissions, it bears the brunt of climate change's devastating impacts. Discover how local knowledge and ancient farming techniques are being revitalized to restore ecosystems, and bolster food security.

Among today’s most urgent challenges is how natural resources should be managed sustainably. Michelle Atala Urrea Vivas provides a primer on how the field of political ecology focuses on power imbalances in environmental conflicts to better understand why overexploitation and social injustice often result from disconnects between power dynamics and sustainable stewardship of natural resources.

Plastic pollution poses a severe environmental impact on the world. Kat Owens discusses how we can merge art and science and use them as tools to induce social change, engaging communities in collaborative projects to raise awareness and inspire policy change.

Why do few corporations succeed at sustainability transformations, and why do others leave value on the table? Exploring best practices of successful corporate sustainability transformations provides a blueprint for others to follow. Greg Pilz explores the challenges, opportunities, and actions corporate leaders can take to capture value through sustainability.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

The global toll of air pollution is staggering with over 4 million annual deaths and many ailments; most caused by the smallest particles (PM2.5) hanging in the air. Rajan Mehta suggests small lifestyle changes that can help save us against this scrouge.

The challenges our planet faces in waste management are complex. Can photos inspire hope and change behaviors? Jade Doskow believes so and has been working with Freshkills Park, creating an archive of photographs that illuminate the paradox of what was once the world’s largest household waste landfill, now transforming into one of New York City’s largest public parks.

OPINION COMMENTARY:

The merits of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are being fiercely debated on university campuses and elsewhere in society. Dr. Judi Brown Clarke, a chief diversity officer at a public research university and Olympic medalist, advocates for incorporating Olympic values and game theory into DEI initiatives thereby creating inclusive campus environments.

Methane is one of the most potent planet-warming greenhouse gases and is drawing intense global attention. Reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to reduce near-term planetary warming and advance our global climate, health, food security and energy transition goals. Prof. Robert Stavins leads a cross-disciplinary Research Cluster focused on reducing methane emissions, at the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University. Learn how Harvard-wide and broader global collaboration across law, economics, engineering, cutting edge satellite monitoring, private industry, and the COP28 “Global Methane Pledge” signed by 150 countries, are driving progress.

Finding emerging climate market opportunities can be challenging. As generative AI moves into the mainstream, Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim shares how it can transform the way stakeholders and investors unlock new insights to better evaluate a company’s climate solutions, next generation innovation investments, and potential downstream risks and opportunities impacting business performance, human capital, and industry disruption.

Explore over 30 diverse climate change books for kids, spanning various age groups and featuring unique perspectives. Despite challenges such as politicization and book bans, these resources provide valuable insights, offering pathways for children to confront climate challenges through awareness and positive actions. Prepare the next generation for civic engagement through empowering climate literature.

Global demand for high-integrity carbon credits is significant. However, current voluntary carbon markets lack transparency, consistency, and high-quality standards, hindering their potential contribution and impact on climate change. Annette Nazareth is spearheading the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market focused on more efficiently mobilizing finance toward mitigation and climate resilient development with greater speed and scale.

One way to mitigate the global climate crisis is to help developing countries build a carbon neutral energy and industrial infrastructure. This, however, requires both money and technology, resources possessed largely only by developed countries. In this article, Rajan Mehta analyzes the issue of emissions responsibility and suggests a pragmatic approach to limit climate change and reduce its impact.

Hurricane Ian wreaked historic devastation in Southwest Florida one year ago, highlighting the threat of violent storms amplified by climate change, but the solar-powered community Babcock Ranch was unscathed due to comprehensive sustainability and resilience planning. David Cifrino and Luis Perez tell the story of Babcock Ranch, including in the words of its visionary founder, Sydney Kitson.

The Big Myth, by Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway, makes a compelling and well documented case that under the guise of protecting individual freedom, corporations and influential individuals organized to resist efforts to regulate industry. Oreskes and Conway peel away the cloak to expose concerted efforts across broad spectrums of society to propagandize against government efforts to protect the common good, to a point where any government intervention into the marketplace is labeled anti-capitalist. The book is not an assault on capitalism, but an assault on the myth that equates capitalism with freedom.

There is currently an intense political divide in the United States regarding the integration of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors into the investment decisions of public and private pension funds. The key issues are whether ESG factors are appropriate considerations in furthering optimal financial performance and whether it is appropriate for plan fiduciaries to consider potential collateral social or environmental benefits in making their investment decisions. David Cifrino discusses the history, fiduciary law, financial performance and regulation associated with ESG investing.

The world-wide spike in energy prices, instigated by Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, has resulted in calls to “drill baby drill” by some, and celebrated by others as an accelerant to efforts to transition to a greener future. Who is right? Are they both right to some degree? Joseph Aldy, Professor at Harvard Kennedy School and former Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Environment, gives his views on our current energy crisis.

Anyone who is interested in a presidential appointment must navigate a complicated process in order to be confirmed by the Senate. Sarah Bloom Raskin explains what it entails and tells why she withdrew her name from consideration for a post on the Federal Reserve in 2022.