Companies

In order to drive the progress and development of innovative solutions that tackle climate change and help the environment, there needs to be regulatory frameworks in place that help companies make bolder steps forward, top industry CEOs told CNBC. Ester Baiget, the CEO of biosolutions firm Novozymes, said that “roadblocks” usually stand in the way of companies producing sustainable solutions which needed to be removed. “We need to work more with authorities to create the framework that we can move bolder … faster,” Baiget said on an “IOT: Powering the digital economy” panel moderated by CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a regulation which is based on the past,” she added, pointing out that in her own sector it can take six years to register a new microbe (or microorganism) to replace fertilizers, for example. Microbes have been put...

A new platform allows companies and landowners to monitor the ecosystems in their supply chains, as governments around the world increasingly consider regulations that require businesses to account for biodiversity. The tool, NatureHelm, provides a subscription-based platform where large corporate entities or individual landowners can track significant species and ecosystem markers on their properties. The platform also provides analysis of how factors are changing over time and recommendations to improve biodiversity outcomes. NatureHelm plans to launch this month. “[Tracking biodiversity] is no longer something that is a nice thing; this is going to become regulated,” says Debbie Saunders, a conservation ecologist and founder of NatureHelm. “It’s quite revolutionary for me. I used to go bird-watching for my job, and all of a sudden, I feel like I can help create positive change at a global scale.” The new push toward be...

Carbon offsets have become big business as more companies make promises to protect the climate but can’t meet the goals on their own. When a company buys carbon offsets, it pays a project elsewhere to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on its behalf – by planting trees, for example, or generating renewable energy. The idea is that reducing greenhouse gas emissions anywhere pays off for the global climate. But not all offsets have the same value. There is growing skepticism about many of the offsets sold on voluntary carbon markets. In contrast to compliance markets, where companies buy and sell a limited number of allowances that are issued by regulators, these voluntary carbon markets have few rules that can be enforced consistently. Investigations have found that many voluntary offset projects, forest management projects in particular, have done little to benefit the climate despite their claims. I specialize in sustainable finance and corporate governance. My collea...

Carbon offsets have become big business as more companies make promises to protect the climate but can’t meet the goals on their own. When a company buys carbon offsets, it pays a project elsewhere to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on its behalf – by planting trees, for example, or generating renewable energy. The idea is that reducing greenhouse gas emissions anywhere pays off for the global climate. But not all offsets have the same value. There is growing skepticism about many of the offsets sold on voluntary carbon markets. In contrast to compliance markets, where companies buy and sell a limited number of allowances that are issued by regulators, these voluntary carbon markets have few rules that can be enforced consistently. Investigations have found that many voluntary offset projects, forest management projects in particular, have done little to benefit the climate despite their claims. I specialize in sustainable finance and corporate governance. My collea...