The following is one of series of excerpts posted here from the business book Good to Green: Managing Business Risks and Opportunities in the Age of Environmental Awareness, by John Phyper and Paul MacLean (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). Paul MacLean is President of ÉEM, a Nimonik affiliate partner.

Key lessons in developing a corporate strategy in which environmental risks and opportunities are embedded include:

Leadership – Ensure that senior people understand the business impact of green risks and opportunities and its impact on the corporation and put forward a bold vision of where they want to take the company. The role cannot be played by anyone other than a strong believer in sustainable development and the potential corporate value it can bring. This is not about “cosmetic environmentalism” but fundamental change in how a company conducts business.

Ongoing planning – The creation of a strategic plan is not a one-time event. The business environment must be monitored on an ongoing basis, especially in areas of technological disruption or reliance on petroleum prices. This information must then be used for ongoing analysis, reflection, discussion, debate and dialogue around issues and goals in the system. Many companies track information about the business environment but do nothing with it.

Execute, execute, execute – A common failure in strategic planning processes is that the plan is never implemented. Instead, the focus is on writing a planning document/Powerpoint presentation that al too often sits unread in the email inbox. Individual must be assigned objectives that are realistic, provided the resources to achieve these objectives and yes, be held accountable if they are not met. This means periodic review of performance. It also means that if new information emerges in the rapidly changing business environment, leaders cannot play ostrich; instead they must assess impacts on the plan and, more importantly, the key objectives.

Alberta’s Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation is soliciting proposals to get funding for projects that aim to reduce GHG emissions. The CCEMC, an independent not-for profit organization, gets money from the Alberta government and industry to be used for the purposes of a management fund, set up under the Climate Change and Emissions Management Act.

It now has up to $120 million for project funding and sent out a call for proposals last week. The 2009 Call for Proposals Guide can be found here. The CCEMC’s website is also up and running.

For more details about the Call for proposals, you can also check out Davis LLP’s climate change blog.

Environment Canada has already trained 43 new enforcement officers who have completed Basic Enforcement Training and will soon be deployed across the country – likely in the Fall.

It’s related to the Federal government’s push this year to increase fines and expand enforcement tools aimed at ensuring a greater respect of environmental laws and regulations. The government this year amended nine environmental laws to achieve this.

The enforcement officers are being given new powers to investigate cases. At the same time, the courts have new sentencing guidelines that ensure penalties reflect the gravity of offences.

The new rules also aim to deal with environmental offenders by:
* specifying aggravating factors, like causing damage to wildlife or environmental damage that is irreparable;
* allowing for the suspension and cancellation of their permits upon conviction;
* forcing corporate offenders to report convictions to shareholders; and
* mandating a public shaming of corporate offences on a public registry.

In Nimonik, we offer a centralized calendar with most of the important environmental dates. This feature gives you quick access to updates, reporting dates and your permits. We were not happy with the way it looked, it was not using the screen space efficiently and was just plain ugly. So, this weekend, I scratched this itch. Take a look at the before and after. Before: After: