… most heavily traded edible oil in the world. Golden Agri Resources (GAR) has been in the forefront of this palm oil boom in Indonesia. Founded in 1996 by the influential Widjaja … the world’s leading exporter of crude palm oil. The palm oil boom, however, concerned environmentalists. Palm oil plantations had been carved out of precious rainforest and peat … by scientists that linked palm oil plantations to deforestation, Greenpeace, a global environmental NGO, began campaigning in 2005 to save the Indonesian rainforest. The group …
… In 2014, the four largest palm oil trading companies signed an agreement to end deforestation, development of peat lands and exploitation of locals not only with their own operations, but also from all of their suppliers. Forenvironmental NGOs, the Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (as the agreement was named) represented … local and national officials to support their land claims and look away when it came to environmental regulation. In 2013, environmental campaigners believed they had found …
… Ash award in policy innovation, the "Nobel of policy," upon the Connecticut Green Bankfor its role in "sparking the green bank movement." The Green Bank used financial … consider how different funding structures would impact their mission to accelerate private investment in clean energy, create Connecticut jobs, promote energy security, and address … Should the Connecticut Green Bank rethink how they approached interest-setting? If profitable parts of the organization could support those that would never make sense on a …
… Palm oil is everywhere. Not only is it in the news, it is also an ingredient in roughly half of the products we buy. However, it is not something that consumers can easily spot or screen for. When, in June 2015, France’s Ecology minister, Segolene Royal, called on her country to … alternative to other vegetable oils, production pressures have led to undeniable environmental and social impacts on both global and local scales. The most notable of those …
… Council on Climate Change (GC3), a group charged with creating a comprehensive climate strategyfor the State of Connecticut. As of September 2016, Garcia remained undecided about a key … chose the 15 members of the GC3 from state agencies, quasi-state agencies, business, and nonprofits. The GC3 recommendations would have to take into account Connecticut’s changing …
… Harish Hande and the company he founded, SELCO, provide solar electricity for lighting and power to India's poor. For the work of his company, Hande has received … on Hande to lay off employees and contract the organization. With the help of the World Bank’s commercial finance arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Hande was able to restructure the company in 2008. SELCO remained a for-profit business, but Hande was able to seek new investors more aligned with its mission. In …
… investmentbanking firm receives an urgent call from James D. Marston, Regional Director of Environmental Defense's Texas Office and head of the Texas Climate Initiative. You meet with him and learn that he needs help preparing for an unusual negotiation. Marston will be flying to San Francisco for a negotiating … value of EDF's blessing to the private equity firms? What should be Marston's negotiation strategy (i.e., assess the probability that KKR and TPG would agree to various concessions …
… Like many countries, Australia has a large existing building stock that is responsible for a substantial percentage of its greenhouse-gas emissions. Given that it will take … degree. Misalignment of incentives and perceived project risk are responsible for this underinvestment. Building owners and tenants do not always share reduced energy costs in a way … make in the event of a default is junior to the property mortgage holder. This is why the Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) plays an important role. The EUA is a deal structure …
… NY Green Bank (NYGB), New York State’s $1-billion clean-energy fund, and a young new efficiency … named Sealed signed a $5-million loan-financing agreement as a way to broaden the market for home energy-efficiency upgrades. In New York State, those upgrades face two key barriers … widespread adoption. The first barrier is that a whole-home upgrade is a high out-of-pocket investmentfor a homeowner. Homeowners who make upgrades often have to pay cash outright or …
… financial backing, buy and erect the turbines, and begin generating electricity by 2010. For Walmart de México, becoming the wind farm’s off-taker accomplished a number of important … electricity at below the rates charged by Mexico’s state-controlled utility, shaving costs for the famously thrifty retailer. In addition, the project allowed Walmart de México to get … that took them too far from the company’s central activity of retailing. The company’s investment group analyzed sustainability projects on the same basis as any other project, …