As part of the Centre for Social Markets’ Climate Challenge India Initiative, this paper looks at the state of renewable energy in India.  The challenges faced by India, projected by the International Energy Agency to be the world’s 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases by 2015, are fairly daunting.  Although this means there are many opportunities as well. The Centre for Social Markets (CSM) is an independent, non-profit organisation dedicated to making markets work for the triple bottom line – people, planet and profits.

The carbon challenge is a complex area and, to help managers plan the way forward, Clownfish Marketing has created a Carbon Management guide. This guide aims to outline how organisations can take their carbon management strategy beyond carbon offsets helping them enhance their corporate reputation, protect themselves from inevitable future legislation and demonstrate their commitment to responsible business practices. 

  There is plenty of research evidence documenting the business benefits from high-trust business relationships. Unfortunately at times like this (2009), the knee-jerk crisis reaction of many companies is to squeeze suppliers harder rather than to combine a call for greater efficiency with a collaborative approach to finding sustainable solutions. One study documented in A Guide to Trust (by the Relationships Foundation with Ci) examined supply chain relationships in the motor industry and found dramatic benefits for those with high-trust relationships: Design and distribution ideas were shared, and purchasers handled twice the value of goods when dealing within highly trusted manufacturers. In another industry, Jim Sierck of Xerox USA estimated that the bureaucratic structure created to handle the lack of trust in their buyer/supplier relationships cost them around 7 cents in the dollar.The evidence is clear: If you want efficiency, you need to release all the available talent,...

(Washington, February 9, 2009) – Over 50 of the world’s leading scientists, China experts, political and business leaders recommend immediate action to create a new, groundbreaking collaboration with China to address the urgent issue of climate change.  In a report released today by Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, these leading figures provide the Obama administration a new policy roadmap for immediate action with China.

This article looks at inherent problems associated with seeking economic growth above all else.  In particular it advocates the creation of a more stable system; one that does not constantly need extra-resources, which the world can no longer supply. John Fullerton is a former Managing Director of JPMorgan, where he worked for 18 years in New York, London, and Tokyo, and subsequently was CEO of an energy focused hedge fund. He is now seeking to launch an investment fund for high impact sustainability initiatives and is working on “The Purpose of Capital,” a book about the role of investment capital in sustainable economics. He is a friend and supporter of the E. F. Schumacher Society in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. John can be reached at john@level3cap.com.