Elizabeth Sturcken: EDF+Business

Renewable energy is now cheaper than fossil fuels, which presents a huge opportunity to cut costs and emissions in commercial buildings. Switching to solar energy in the U.S. could reduce commercial property owners’ electricity costs by an average of 75%. Building retrofits with existing climate technologies can cut energy use in commercial buildings by 40%, […]

Two weeks ago, as the Environmental Defense Fund team entered the conference grounds in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, which would serve as our ‘office’ during the United Nations’ annual climate talks, the theme of COP27 was clear.  The slogan “Together for Implementation” was pasted on walls and signs around the conference — implementation being UN lingo […]

Companies need further guidance on their climate commitments – on how to prioritize, plan, and implement them. Fortuntely, regardless of industry or sector, there are five pathways for climate leadership.

A new report from EDF and Deloitte offers step-by-step insight for companies on turning net zero pledges into action.

Companies across the globe are responding to the urgent call for climate action by pledging to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, if not sooner. More importantly, businesses are increasingly setting goals that go beyond their operational footprint to encompass their value chains. Given that supply chain emissions are more than five times greater than a […]

The LEAF coalition is driving progress at the speed and scale that the climate crisis demands by investing to protect tropical forests.

As stakeholder demand for climate leadership surges and as the business benefits of climate action become clear, executives are increasingly embracing net zero by 2050 as the new business imperative. This means setting net zero by 2050 goals, and turning these pledges into progress. As the Transform to Net Zero initiative stated in its position […]

In the earliest weeks of the pandemic, I, like millions of others, struggled with feelings of dread, powerlessness, and anxiety. I’ve been working in the corporate sustainability space for nearly 25 years, and during that fateful week of March 9th, 2020 (when the world as we know it forever changed), I couldn’t help but worry […]

Even in this unprecedented and challenging landscape, companies are setting ambitious net zero climate goals. That’s because they increasingly realize the risks posed by climate change and the need for – and business benefits of – bold and immediate action.  At the same time, stakeholder pressure to lead on climate is surging. Yet despite this encouraging […]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns we have just 30 years to reduce emissions to the point where we have no impact on the climate. The scope of this challenge is daunting — requiring total transformation of our energy, transportation and food systems — as are the human, financial and business risks of climate […]

Investor, employee and customer pressure on companies to help lead the way to a more sustainable, equitable and resilient future is at an all-time high. Their calls for leadership are only reinforced as the current administration continues to denigrate and divide, while the nation tries to recover from the devastation of COVID-19 and work for […]

“Without business, … we will never achieve the goals of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees (Celsius). This is only the beginning – we are just getting on track.” -Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, the UN Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Action Summit In the wake of the failure of the UN Climate Conference […]

“Without business, … we will never achieve the goals of keeping temperature increases below 1.5 degrees (Celsius). This is only the beginning – we are just getting on track.” -Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, the UN Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Action Summit In the wake of the failure of the UN Climate Conference […]

My 12-year-old daughter Anna has become quite the environmentalist lately. She’s even started turning out the lights while you’re in the room to save on energy! Yes, this can be annoying. But I admire her passion and enjoy watching her become more invested in our planet. Anna and the 1.4 million kids skipping class to protest climate […]

My 12-year-old daughter Anna has become quite the environmentalist lately. She’s even started turning out the lights while you’re in the room to save on energy! Yes, this can be annoying. But I admire her passion and enjoy watching her become more invested in our planet. Anna and the 1.4 million kids skipping class to […]

By: Elizabeth Sturcken, Managing Director, EDF+Business Supply Chain, Environmental Defense Fund and Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement, WWF – ‎World Wildlife Fund Imagine, for a moment, what it would mean if the world’s biggest brands couldn’t access the key ingredients for their products. What if Starbucks had trouble sourcing coffee? What if Coca-Cola couldn’t […]

By: Elizabeth Sturcken, Managing Director, EDF+Business Supply Chain, Environmental Defense Fund and Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement, WWF – World Wildlife Fund Imagine, for a moment, what it would mean if the world’s biggest brands couldn’t access the key ingredients for their products. What if Starbucks had trouble sourcing coffee? What if […]

Businesses today are taking basic services and turning them into well-designed, convenient user-friendly experiences. You see it every day with companies like Spotify and Seamless. Or Netflix, which is suggesting I watch The Great British Baking Show, based on my family’s viewing-history. Now, imagine the possibilities if we applied this business model to sustainability. The […]

Businesses today are taking basic services and turning them into well-designed, convenient user-friendly experiences. You see it every day with companies like Spotify and Seamless. Or Netflix, which is suggesting I watch The Great British Baking Show, based on my family’s viewing-history. Now, imagine the possibilities if we applied this business model to sustainability. The […]

I have helped Walmart, Starbucks and other companies get started with sustainability. I can help you too, using all the lessons I’ve learned from them. I don’t want to sound like just another environmentalist waving my hands, jumping up and down that we need to act to reverse climate change NOW. The truth is simply […]