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Earlier this month, several of the world’s largest chocolate companies created buzz with the promise that they would work with NGOs to stamp out deforestation within their supply chains. That announcement, however, was limited to a statement saying the effort is a work in progress; more details will supposedly be revealed during the COP23 climate talks in Bonn, Germany, later this year.

But the promise of reducing deforestation, along with pledges to improve the lives of cocoa farmers, are nothing new to Edouard Rollet and Mathieu Senard, co-founders and co-CEOs of Alter Eco Foods.

Known mostly for its line of fair trade and organic chocolates, the California-based company also markets rice and quinoa food products. Last week, TriplePundit spoke with Senard by telephone to learn more about his company’s impact on the chocolate industry, as well as listen to his reaction to the aforementioned news from the industry’s chocolate giants including Hershey, Mars and Nestlé.

Senard was cautiously optimistic about the global chocolate companies’ pledge to make their sourcing of cocoa beans more responsible and sustainable. “They understand that the long-term viability of their supply chains are at stake,” he began. “It’s not that they are moving in this direction to do something ‘good,’ but they know it’s in their best financial interests to start working on these things.”

The problems the chocolate industry faces are well documented. The future supply of chocolate is threatened by drought and exhausted soil, which are among the many tolls exacted by climate change. And these challenges are hardly new, Senard explained. “Frankly, when we have visited farmers and share with them ways to offset climate change, the farmers tell us, ‘Well, we’ve known this for 20 years,'” he told 3p.

Climate change is making the cultivation of cocoa even more difficult for farmers as unpredictable climate patterns can prove disastrous. Drought is the obvious risk, as one bad harvest can decimate the global chocolate supply. But too much rain can affect the fermentation and and drying of the cocoa before it is ready to be processed into chocolate.

Those risks can trickle down into the entire global supply chain. If there’s a disruption in Ghana or Ivory Coast – which in Senard’s estimation produces 70 percent of the world’s supply of cocoa – smaller companies such as Alter Eco will feel those repercussions.

“We want to be a regenerative, not an extractive company," said Mathieu Senard, Alter Eco co-founder and co-CEO.

“If there’s going to be a viable chocolate supply chain in the future, then we need to reinvent and regenerate the industry to make sure farmers have a livelihood for them and their families,” Senard insisted.

In his view, chocolate giants would do better to follow the lead of Alter Eco and other companies striving to produce fair and ethical chocolate.

From the beginning, Alter Eco worked with farming co-ops directly, eschewing the traders that are one factor behind the global chocolate industry’s human rights and environmental struggles. This work was a natural transition for both Senard and Rollet, as they began their careers with NGOs, lived around the world and eventually completed business school. “For us, fair trade came at the intersect of our education and business experience,” Senard explained.

The two friends decided to build a business based upon the success of coffee, which was the first commodity to be bought and sold using the fair trade model. “The idea behind Alter Eco was to extend the offering of foods beyond coffee to be fairly traded and create impact,” Senard recalled. “So we started with chocolate, and then into grains such as quinoa and rice. Our goal is to buy directly from cooperatives and, more importantly, pay a fair price.”

Alter Eco extended the fair trade model to what Senard described as “full-circle sustainability.” The company insists that it goes beyond fair trade with a holistic approach that benefits both people and the planet. “We want to be 100 percent organic and non-GMO,” he continued, ”but, in addition, we offset our carbon emissions, and use compostable packaging.”

By incorporating all ideals of sustainability, Alter Eco is building what it hopes is an exemplar of future business by providing excellent food products, while at the same time, harms no one and nothing in the process.

In Senard’s view, fair trade was merely the first building block of the company’s efforts. The company claims that it treats its suppliers in a fair way, and pays a fair price in order to help break the cycle of poverty that has long been the bane of small farmers who cultivate the vast majority of the world’s cocoa supply. The company partners with farmers to make sure there is no child labor – as Senard was quick to say, “Kids belong in school, not in the fields.”

Ensuring that any children living these communities can stay in school starts with making sure the company’s partner cocoa farms in Ecuador and Peru can thrive in the first place. After all, more efficient farms can result in less labor needed to cultivate cocoa, or any crop for that matter. To that end, Alter Eco works with NGOs, such as Pur Project, as well as local farmers, to implement various programs that can improve cocoa cultivation, such as transitioning these co-ops to organic agriculture techniques.

Agro-forestry, or the planting of trees within farms, is just a start, as they help to regenerate the soil, prevent erosion, provide shade and improve local water management. Senard repeatedly emphasized that if the company is really going to be viable in the long run, it needs to do whatever it can to regenerate and invest in its supply chain – a lesson he hopes is imparted as well to the large players within the global chocolate industry.

The fair trade premiums, which according to Alter Eco’s books have totaled $1.2 million, can result in countless dividends for communities. From repairing roads to the improvement of the facilities in which the cocoa beans are fermented, the enhancement of these businesses’ operations is one important outcome. Farmers feel more empowered and motivated as well, as in the end they are the ones who decide how these funds will be spent. The premiums can also help grow local economies sustainably, as they can be applied to the construction and staffing of new schools, the purchase of farm animals, investments in additional agriculture products, or even the launch of eco-tourism ventures. These funds are hardly charity, as these farmers have worked hard to reap these funds - and Alter Eco also benefits from a stronger and more resilient supply chain.

Alter Eco’s efforts on paying special attention to its supply chain certainly justify its triple bottom line business model. The company keeps growing its revenues, from $7 in 2012 to $14 million in 2014, and to what is now a $20 million annual business. A taste of its chocolate bars or truffles also explains the company’s success; like many of its competitors in the fair trade chocolate space, its products are both smooth, have depth, and lack the waxy texture and sugary taste typical of the mass produced chocolate found in supermarket candy aisles. The company does not use any emulsifiers such as lecithin, and to skirt the palm oil controversy, Alter Eco sources coconut oil from India instead.

From Senard’s point of view, Alter Eco’s success shows that business should be a force to regenerate the world, rather than simply extract from it. He hopes the big players in the chocolate industry will follow. “When you just extract from areas like Africa and South America, and just extract from famers without thinking about their livelihoods, the fact is that you can’t keep increasing chocolate sales without destroying the chocolate supply chain, as some companies have been doing the past 50 years,” he said as he wrapped up his conversation with 3p.

Image credit: Alter Eco

By Dick Kempka

Change in political administrations can be traumatic, particularly if your candidate didn’t win. Elections have consequences that can impact your livelihood, and policy uncertainties can be troubling.

As an active participant and investor in forestry projects over many years, The Climate Trust has a singular perspective on the potential impact upcoming policy changes may have on carbon sequestration on federally owned land. As we approach the first 50 days of U.S. President Donald Trump’s time in office, we have been exploring realistic approaches for preserving precious forest sequestration benefits.

In 2016, we heard much about America’s iconic National Parks as part of the 100-year birthday celebration of the National Park Service. But there is also much to be said about the older sibling of this entity: the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Forest System (NFS). The NFS was created by the Land Revision Act in 1891 and is 126 years old this year.

The U.S Forest Service manages the National Forest System that consists of 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres. The U.S. Forest Service is the largest natural resources research organization in the world, with a mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. A colorful description of the agency was offered by Gifford Pinchot, first chief of the Forest Service: “National Forest land is managed to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run.”

National Forests reside in 42 states and these spaces are expansive, comprising 30 percent of all federal land, and 8.5 percent of the total land area in the U.S. Alaska has the most national forestland with nearly 22 million acres, followed by California (20.8 million acres) and Idaho (20.4 million acres).

Two general forest types comprise the National Forest System: eastern forests (generally acquired by the federal government after being logged several times while in the private domain) and forests west of the Great Plains that have largely been held by the federal government since the settling of the American West. Most of the four million acres of national grasslands are east of the Rocky Mountains, ranging from the badlands of North Dakota to north-central Texas, with three more west of the Rockies in Oregon, Idaho, and California.

In the early days, during President Theodore Roosevelt’s tenure, there was great federal land expansion that doubled forest reserve acreage. Congress responded by limiting the President’s ability to proclaim new reserves. Illustrating that the role of government has been a political issue for over a century. Certainly, national policies dictate how public lands and wilderness designated within these lands are used, maintained, and preserved.

Today, the U.S. Forest Service is a multiple use agency that must abide by the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960. Meaning, that unlike the National Park Service that focuses mainly on park preservation, the Forest Service must manage for diverse interests such as conservation, timber harvesting, livestock grazing, wildlife, and recreation. Extraction of natural resources is permitted in the National Forest System creating conflicts over logging, mining, endangered species, and related economic and environmental issues.

The Forest Service has identified four major threats to the health of the Nation’s Forests and Grasslands.

Fire and fuels: Catastrophic fires, particularly in the western U.S., have devastated some national forests. In short, the lack of active management to remove small trees and brush can limit open stands of big, healthy trees that have traditionally existed.

It is essential for this fire fuel to be removed to avoid large scale, excessively hot fires that destroy the nutrients in the soil. A Forest Service report in 2015 estimated that within a decade the agency will spend approximately two-thirds of its budget to battle fires.

This means mission-critical programs that can help prevent fires, such as forest restoration and landscape management, will suffer—creating a dangerous cycle where the problem gets exponentially worse over time.

Invasive species: Non-native flora and fauna have invaded millions of acres of the National Forest System. The invaders cause massive disruption in the function of ecosystems, reducing biodiversity, and degrading ecosystems’ health. The final impact of invasive species in the U.S. is estimated at $138 billion per year in economic damages and associated control cost.

Loss of open space: Populations near national forest and grasslands are rising and outpacing growth in other parts of the U.S. From 1990-2010 it is estimated that populations living within 50 miles of NFS lands increased by 36 percent, from about 112 million to 153 million, and this trend is expected to continue.

Numerous impacts associated with increased housing and populations near public lands have been reported, including the blockage of public access points to trails by development. Creation of new unplanned access points and housing growth also have impacts on wildlife habitat and water quality, as well as increased risk of fire damage, and illegal use of NFS lands adjacent to private properties.

Unmanaged recreation: There has been a phenomenal increase in the use of NFS lands for many recreational activities. The recent advances in motor vehicle technology has rapidly expanded the use of off-highway vehicles and put pressure on the Forest Service’s ability to provide opportunities desired by the public, while sustaining NFS lands and resources.

U.S. forests currently serve as a carbon sink, offsetting approximately 10-20 percent of U.S. emissions from burning fossil fuels each year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and other government researchers have concluded that the pervasive threats that face forestlands, including climate change, may ultimately affect the ability of U.S. forests to continue to store and sequester carbon. A plan to execute forest health treatments at larger scales that meaningfully reduce threats is required to address the vital sequestration role that NFS lands have in the global carbon cycle.

The Trump administration has already begun the push for a smaller government. Those involved in the environmental protection business have suggested that this reduction will result in the sale of federal land to the states.

Conservatives counter that the Western states, where the majority of NFS lands reside, currently have a heavy burden due to federal land ownership within their state, and local control would result in better land management.

Conversely, environmental advocates believe the cash strapped local governments are likely to simply sell the land to the highest bidder, and buyers will develop these properties to exploit minerals or build new commercial developments, degrading local environmental quality. Indeed, there have been a few new rule and legislative proposals over the past few months that make it easier for the government to sell public land.

One strategy to ensure NFS managed lands are maintained in the public trust and for the enjoyment of all Americans, may lie in the valuation of these natural assets. For instance, identifying the means to generate capital to improve the health of forest ecosystems on public lands through environmental crediting. Such an approach would involve paying for sustainable timber management practices on federal land.

The California Air Resources Board, which manages the largest compliance carbon offset program in the U.S., does not allow forest projects on federally owned land, presumably due to difficulties enforcing California state law on federally owned property. However, it is conceivable that forest projects on federal land may become eligible someday if approved via the federal legislature. Although this is admittedly a long shot now, a systematic and spatial method of assigning value to natural land could certainly drive future policy and serve as a mechanism to protect federal forests.

In 2012, the Climate Action Reserve (CAR), a voluntary carbon market registry, developed a white paper on Forest Offset Projects on Federal Lands. Their findings indicated that the existing CAR forest protocol could indeed be applied to federal lands; however there may be issues with the transfer of property rights to private parties that must be addressed. The American Carbon Registry, another leading voluntary registry, has reported reforestation projects on two NFS properties. One is the fire damaged San Juan National Forest in Colorado, and the second is California’s Angeles National Forest. Both projects used carbon funds from corporations to pay for tree planting.

Related to this work, The National Forest Foundation which was chartered by Congress in 1993 to restore and enhance our national forests and grasslands, created a Carbon Capital Fund. The purpose of the fund is to use voluntary carbon markets to help restore damaged lands, and demonstrate the value of our national forests in a larger climate change strategy.

The Habitat Institute has also developed an innovative method to define natural values that can be applied to forestland—dubbed Combined Habitat Assessment Protocols (CHAP). CHAP was originally conceived of for transportation project mitigation, and was later improved in collaboration with 11 different agencies including the U.S. Forest Service. It is an accounting tool for measuring habitat quality as an indicator of the overall ecological integrity of a site. CHAP essentially delivers a spatial assessment of both impacts and enhancements that can be used in the planning and regulatory process.

Additionally, the practice of mitigation banking has progressed over the years to now include wetlands, streams, and endangered species. There are now several good examples of forest conservation protecting drinking water supplies and other watershed services. The Forest Service estimates that within the next 25 years more than 11 percent (about 44.2 million acres) of the private forests in the contiguous U.S. will be at risk for conversion to developed uses. Conversion increases landscape fragmentation and decreases ecosystem function, significantly impairing watershed health and the multiple ecosystem services forests provide. This means managing the threats to NFS land will take on additional importance, including protecting drinking water sources for millions of Americans.

Quantifiable evaluation approaches such as carbon, habitat, water quality, and other protocols will allow financial value to be assigned to forests including those under NFS management. Valuing these properties beyond their commercial timber, and attracting funding sources for associated sustainable management and restoration, could be the key to paying for healthy forest systems under the NFS.

There is an expanding list of corporations with sustainability programs that address water, carbon emissions, and other social issues that could be tapped as critical sources of capital to this end. These public-private partnerships are the best way to address the perpetual lack of money for forest services present to some extent under all political administrations, and should be expanded to make sure these vital lands say in the public trust. These strategic partnerships will give our public lands a fighting chance to survive the ever-changing carousel of political regimes and continue providing benefits for all.

Image credit: Flickr/Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington

Dick Kempka is the Chief Commercial Officer for The Climate Trust

Donald J. Trump's presidency is causing tech-industry employees to think more about diversity and inclusion, according to polling and research company Market Cube.

The company surveyed 1,411 American tech-industry workers in January on behalf of software development firm Atlassian. And researchers found that 48 percent of these workers said Trump’s election inspired them to "care more about diversity." Twenty-three percent said they have taken action in relation to diversity since the election.

Australia-based Atlassian compiled the data collected from the survey into a report. “Our data shows these national concerns have trickled down to tech workers and impacted their sentiments about diversity in a meaningful way,” the report reads.

The firm breaks down the changes in behavior spurred on by the election:

• 57 percent of tech workers learned more about the experiences of colleagues different from them


• 50 percent engaged leaders on how to create a more inclusive environment


• 44 percent participated in a discussion about diversity in tech


• 41 percent positively changed attitudes about coworkers different from them


• 28 percent participated in an employee resource group 


• 24 percent participated in a hiring-focused program or event


• 17 percent took part in a diversity working group

• 37 percent believe America has actually taken a step back when it comes to diversity and inclusion


• 35 percent predict the election will hurt their company’s existing diversity efforts


• Only 12 percent think it will help

The gap between perception of diversity in the tech industry and the reality

The majority of respondents (94 percent) gave the tech industry, their companies and their teams a passing grade for diversity. About half said their company is doing just fine on D&I and doesn’t need to make any progress. What’s more, 60 percent said their company is making an effort, while 83 percent said their company is already diverse and 79 percent think the average team at their company has a diverse set of team members. But the data about D&I in the tech industry tells a different story. 

The reality is that the majority of tech employees are white men. As reported by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): “Despite rapid transformation in the field, the overwhelming dominance of white men in the industries and occupations associated with technology has remained.” Pixel Envy found that 70 percent of the tech industry workforce is white, while only 6.6 and 9.7 percent are Hispanic and African American, respectively. Women at top tech companies make up only 13 to 37 percent of the workforce.

In the past year, Facebook, Apple, eBay and Microsoft only hired 1 percent more women, while LinkedIn increased their female workforce by 3 percent and Google’s gender ratio remained the same, according to Information is Beautiful.

Ethnic diversity hasn’t fared much better. Microsoft only hired 3 percent more non-white employees, while Facebook hired 2 percent more. Google, Apple and eBay only increased their non-white employees by 1 percent. And LinkedIn actually lost 3 percent of its non-white employees.

How can the perceptions about diversity be so far away from the reality?

Market Cube and Atlassian point to studies that show people perceive more representation and participation than actually exists. Clearly, survey respondents have “systematic errors in perception” when it comes to diversity, Atlassian points out.

The responses also show that the tech workforce perceives the industry as a meritocracy. That belief “makes people less likely to hire, promote, and reward in an unbiased way,” Atlassian concluded.

Such a belief system must be exposed for the lie it is through educating workers on what diversity really means and what full representation looks like “to help them identify areas of improvement within their own companies."

Image credit: Flickr/C.E. Kent

By Jay Walljasper

• Business owners gather at an elegant Montreal event center to celebrate the 20th anniversary of a large-scale economic partnership. The former chief of Quebec’s largest bank is the guest of honor.


• Sidewalks bustle with people walking in and out of homes, offices, bank, pharmacy, workout studio and coffee shop at Montreal’s Technopole Angus— a development that already sports 56 business with 2500 employees and will eventually encompass a million-square-feet of real estate.


• Morning-shift workers unload barrels of paper onto conveyor belts emptying into giant shredding machines on the shop floor of Recyclage Vanier, a Quebec City firm specializing in secure disposal of confidential documents.


• A line snakes down the street for a matinee at the Cinema Beaubien, an art deco moviehouse in a quiet Montreal neighborhood. Taxis line up across the street waiting for customers who will soon be getting out of the early show.


• Leonard Cohen’s gravelly voice rings through the taproom at La Barberie Brewery, located near Quebec City’s business district. Their Belgian-style saisons and bestselling blackberry blanc beers are enjoyed throughout the province. A few blocks away, an 18th century monastery inside Quebec City’s historic walls has recently opened its doors as a hotel and spa.

Each enterprise involves a cooperative or non-profit organization—which together make up 8 to 10 percent of the province’s GDP. More than 7,000 of these “social economy” enterprises ring up $17 billion in annual sales and hold $40 billion in assets (Canadian dollars). They account for about 215,000 jobs across Quebec.

Quebec’s social economy (also translated as “solidarity economy”) extends far beyond the province’s two major cities, and includes manufacturing, agricultural cooperatives, daycare centers, homecare services, affordable housing, social service initiatives, food co-ops, ecotourism, arts programs, public markets, media and funeral homes. The capital that fuels all this economic activity comes from union pension funds, non-profit loan funds, credit unions, government investment and philanthropy.

“We always say the social economy is simply the formalization of the commons. It’s social ownership, the goal of which is a sustainable, democratic economy with a market—instead of a market economy,” explains Nancy Neamtan, co-founder of Chantier de l’Economie Sociale, a network of social economy organizations whose anniversary banquet is described above. “Our mission is building a broader vision of what the economy actually is.”

“When Chantier started out, a lot of people said it wouldn’t work. We had unions, women’s organizations, green groups, and many thought it was too diverse,” Neamtan says. “But it does work.” Evidence for her assertion is visible all around—Chantier’s office is tucked into a six story building that takes up most of a city block, all of which is filled with social economy organizations.

Not all of these social businesses are new—some of the credit unions, cooperatives and union pension funds go back a hundred years. “But they were largely invisible to many people until the name social economy became popular,” Neamtan adds.

Quebec’s social economy ranges from a video game creator’s cooperative to a social integration program for Haitian immigrants to a co-op grocery in a remote town on the Gaspe peninsula to a network of 8000 home healthcare workers, half of whom were on welfare before being trained for the field. Here are more examples showing the range of these enterprises:

Groupe Paradoxe: Chantier de l’Economie Sociale’s 20th Anniversary celebration was staged in a renovated church run by Groupe Paradoxe, which teaches at-risk young people job skills in the booming audio-visual presentation, events and meetings industries.

Desjardins Group: The banker honored for his work at Chantier’s banquet was former president of the Desjardins credit union, founded in 1900 and today the province’s largest financial institution.

The Nitaskinam Cooperative: Also on hand at the banquet was Nitaskinam, an Inuit-run cooperative which designs clothing inspired by art of the Atikamekw people, which has doubled from three to six members in its first year. “The social economy is our traditional economic model and fits with our values,” explains co-founder Karine Awashish, who is also an economic development official of this tribal nation. “I see good opportunities for us to create new social economy jobs in forestry, health services, tourism, arts festivals and youth projects.”

UTILE Student Housing Cooperative: One of the youngest entrepreneurs at the banquet, Laurent Levesque, helped launch a student housing development organization with other activists involved in the headline-grabbing 2012 Quebec Student Strike, collaborating with Chantier de l’économie Trust. “Students pay 70-80 percent more in rent on average,” he explained, “which creates an inflationary spiral” that hurts not just them, but their low-income neighbors. With start-up capital from the Concordia Student Union and further funding from social economy partners like Desjardins and the province of Quebec, UTILE is set to break ground on apartments for 160 students.

Technopole Angus: It’s no coincidence that that the Desjardins credit union has a branch in the new Technopole Angus sustainable urban village, which brings opportunities to a working class neighborhood that was rocked when the Canadian Pacific Railway shuttered its machine shops in 1992. A number of historic brick structures were repurposed, and new eco-friendly buildings constructed, with more planned for the project’s phase II. The community will eventually include 500 affordable housing units, 450,000 square-feet of office space, 20 local shops, four public squares, a bike-pedestrian main street and a one-acre urban farm growing organic produce.

Recylage Vanier: A nonprofit organization started 30 years ago by two out-of-work men who realized the recycling industry could benefit the disadvantaged as well as the earth, Recylage Vanier offers training for people struggling to find work because of low job skills, recent immigration, substance abuse, mental illness, disability, or other challenges. Jobseekers arrive here for a 24-week program that emphasizes work readiness and life skills as well as on-the-job experience. Most are long-term unemployed, who have been sent by the Quebec employment bureau and social service groups.

“They have to get along with a boss, get along with colleagues, master simple tasks and then take on new ones with more responsibility, all the way up to driving a forklift,” says Nicolas Reeves, one of Vanier’s managers. For the final four weeks, they split their time between the recycling plant and job hunting with the help of staff counselors. About 85 percent of graduates find work, and 10 percent seek further education, according to Reeves. Recylage Vanier faces stiff competition from two private companies in the field, so clients who value the organization’s mission are important to their success—including the province of Quebec, which provides about half their business.

Cinema Beaubien: This is nonprofit neighborhood moviehouse explicitly proclaims its mission to “defend the primacy of persons and labor over capital in the distribution of its surpluses and incomes.” The cinema’s importance as a community gathering spot can be witnessed in the long lines at the ticket booth, where patrons merrily chat with one another rather than staring at their phones. Taxis wait across the streets to whisk moviegoers to their next destination, about half of which are from the Taxi Co-op Montreal. (In Quebec City, all taxi drivers belong to a cooperative.)

La Barberie Cooperative Microbrewery: Operating as a worker cooperative for the past 20 years explains the success of this brewery and brewpub, says general manager Jean-Francois Genest, who joined La Barberie three years ago after running his family’s bookstore and later converting another bookstore into a cooperative. “The co-op is a good plan to keep a place going. Sharing the profits means you attract the best workers. For our part, we try to make their jobs as interesting as possible, offer more holidays and higher pay.” Emilie DuMais, who’s tended bar here for eight years, notes, “You have much more ambition working for yourself than working for someone else.”

Le Monastere des Augustines: A convent dating back to 1700s in the heart of Quebec City’s walled city has just opened as an elegantly renovated hotel, spa, museum and conference center. It is organized as a non-profit in accordance with the social mission of nuns still living there to promote holistic health and spiritual renewal. Besides tourists, spa patrons and participants in corporate meetings, guests also include activist groups holding retreats and health care workers seeking a reprieve from the stress of their jobs.

RISQ: In 1997 Chantier created RISQ (Reseau d’Investissement Social du Quebec), which has invested $25 million in technical aid and capital for social economy businesses, resulting in: 1786 new jobs, 5,119 jobs maintained and job training for 1527 marginalized workers across Quebec, according to their calculations. RISQ financial analyst Nathalie Villemure, who worked for many years in private banking, notes that they see fewer defaults than commercial lenders. “These people have a cause bigger than themselves, so they work harder and we help them find solutions.”

Fiducie: In 2007 Chantier launched Fiducie, a $50 million “patient capital” (or slow money) fund that provides long term, non-guaranteed loans of $50,000-1.5 million to promising cooperatives and non-profits with less than 200 employees. “We don’t expect to see anything in repayment for 15 years,” says General Manager Jacques Charest. Thirty million of the investment came from union pension funds with the rest from the federal and provincial governments.

What the U.S. can learn from Quebec’s social economy

Recognize the social economy when you see it: Cooperatives and non-profit initiatives already exist throughout the U.S. and most other countries, so the first step is seeing, naming and claiming the social economy as part of the commons we all share.

Look widely for inspiration and ideas: Neamtan points out that the American tradition of community organizing was a big influence on their early work, especially community development corporations (CDCs) that arose to tackle problems of disinvestment in urban neighborhoods. The Dudley Street Initiative, which transformed a low-income community in the Roxbury district of Boston, was a particular inspiration for her. The proliferation of cooperatives in the Basque and Catalonian regions of Spain provided another model for bottom-up economic development.

Seek solidarity: Social economy initiatives benefit from the longstanding sense of solidarity in Quebec, where French speakers were discriminated against and their local economy dominated by English-speaking Canadians, Americans and English. A analogous situation can be found among racial and social minorities, and in rural and de-industrialized regions where economic power is wielded from outside.

Tap the power of government: Government agencies have been a partners and funders in many projects through the years. Social economy initiatives often arose even when conservative politicians were slashing government programs to provide a more humane alternative to strictly market-oriented development. Legislation passed by the left-center Parti Quebecois in 1997 gave the social economy movement a big boost by offering local governments more leeway in supporting community and cooperative efforts to create jobs and promote entrepreneurship.

Partner with unions: “The labor movement boosted the social economy by making the choice in the 1980s not to just negotiate contracts but to create jobs and support civic enterprises,” explains Neamtan, which led to the creation of the landmark Quebec Solidarity Fund, an $11-billion-dollar pension fund, of which 65 percent is invested in small- and medium-sized Quebec-owned businesses.

Partner with faith organizations: Historically, the Catholic church controlled many aspects of life in the province, and priests enthusiastically promoted cooperatives and non-profit institutions as models of the church’s social teaching. By the end of the 20th century when the church’s influence waned in the face of increasing secularization, social economy organizations found numerous opportunities to set up shop in closed churches and convents. The church remains an ally, Neamtan notes, “especially now that Pope Francis talks all the time about the Solidarity Economy.

Image credit: Flickr/AJ

Climate change has dominated the news over the past 15 months. First, nearly 200 nations signed a historic accord in Paris during the COP21 climate talks in December 2015. The signatories to the accord, including the United States, the countries of the European Union, China and India, agreed to do their part to cut carbon emissions, and the Paris agreement entered into force months ahead of schedule. 

With their commitments to the Paris agreement, participating nations seek to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. If temperatures rise over that limit, scientists say global warming will accelerate to catastrophic levels. Even worse, it will no longer be possible to reverse these temperature shifts. 

But climate change has also become something of a political football, at least in the United States. For the new presidential administration, early moves seem to focus on easing fossil fuel extraction restrictions. And fossil fuels like oil and coal increase carbon emissions.

It is possible, though, to see the push toward decarbonization as a global movement despite the temporary ascendancy inherent in multiple political parties. Around the world, adoption of decarbonization methods and research into optimal deployment is widespread.

Decarbonization is possible…

One encouraging sign can be found in a recent report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). The agency estimates carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions related to energy can be cut back 70 percent by 2050 with a net-positive economic outlook. A complete phase-out is possible by 2060. 

These emissions reductions will keep the world on track to achieve the 2-degree target  -- without any damage to the global economy, the agency concluded.

But accomplishing this will require increased development and use of renewable energy sources in the G20 countries and worldwide.

… But how best to achieve it?

Countries across the world are debating how best to achieve the necessary carbon emissions reductions. The Global CCS Institute cites four methods.

1. Improved energy efficiency: Energy efficiency includes cutting back on emissions in vehicles and improving the energy efficiency in buildings, both in their heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and in their design. Smart urban design, as well as the recycling and repurposing of materials, are also central to improving energy efficiency.

2. Low-carbon electricity: Development of low-carbon electricity requires reducing dependence upon fossil fuels like oil and coal and increasing use of renewable energy sources like solar, hydro and wind. Solar captures energy from the sun, hydro from water and wind from wind turbines. None of the renewable sources emit carbon, so they do not contribute to carbon emissions.

3. Electrification and fuel switching: Fossil fuels are used for more than electricity. They are also widely utilized in areas like transportation, industry and building. These sectors must also transition to renewable energy sources or fossil fuels that use less carbon.

4. Non-energy emissions: Best-practice farming and reforestation can both reduce carbon emissions. Reforestation and vegetation, in particular, can be used in decarbonization and sustainability practices because trees and vegetation breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen.

Renewables and fossil fuels: Working together

At one point, renewable energy and fossil fuels seemed to be in different camps. One of the most intriguing new energy methods, however, is to combine renewable energy sources with fossil fuels such as natural gas derived from shale.

Although renewable sources such as solar and wind are emission-free, they also have drawbacks. Their power supply is intermittent. Renewable power also currently requires connecting to existing power grids, which can be complicated.

Some observers believe rising production of shale gas in the U.S. has resulted in natural gas becoming potentially highly important in decarbonization. Natural gas has greater efficiency than other fossil fuels in supplying electricity.

Should carbon capture technologies become less expensive, natural gas could be used along with renewable energy sources. The renewables would provide clean energy, and natural gas would counterbalance their comparative unreliability with good energy reliability and strong grid interface.

The decarbonization of the global energy system is very achievable by the mid-21st century if attempts to rein in carbon emissions continue. A great deal will depend on replacing fossil fuel energy with renewable energy like solar and wind power. Innovative new methods to combine the strong points of fossil fuels with the strong points of renewable power are in the works and promise to aid in the effort.

Image credit: Pixabay

Most of us have accumulated a collection of school or office binders over the years, including the infamous Trapper Keeper, which has evolved from the primary colors that paired well with the big hair and pastel Reeboks of the 1980s, to what are now more vivid and modern hues. In adulthood, we accumulate more binders from countless employee training programs and those quarterly sales meetings.

Sure, you can reuse them over and over again, but what about when it comes time to dispose them? You could wield a screwdriver and disassemble them, but consumers are about as likely to do that as they are to scoop coffee grounds out of single-use coffee pods in order to recycle the foil tins.

Two companies say they have found an alternative to these contraptions generally made out of cardboard, vinyl and metal. Office Depot recently announced a partnership with market upcycling leader TerraCycle that both firms say can help boost waste diversion efforts.

The solution is relatively simple. Consumers with unwanted binders can schlep them to the nearest Office Depot location within the contiguous United States. Upon presenting them to a store employee, that customer will receive a $2 coupon for each beat-up binder, which can then be applied to the purchase of a new binder.

Be sure to read the fine print: Only six binders can be brought in at a time, and that coupon applies to a single purchase, whether it is an individual binder or a multi-pack. Par for the course: Do not to expect to get any cash back with that voucher for a free binder; as the usual retail lingo goes, the deal cannot be combined with any other offer. TerraCycle Points fiends will be disappointed, as any gathering of binders will only be compensated with the aforementioned coupons.

As of press time, it does not appear that these binder materials will be refashioned into new products sold at Office Depot. According to the company, any cardboard or paper product will be recycled, or even composted. Those pesky metal rings and spines will be smelted and then recycled. And the vinyl coverings will end up reprocessed into resin pellets that can be used for new industrial purposes.

This is another noble effort on behalf of TerraCycle, but as with more recent programs, this binder program’s scalability will be in question. The personal care products company Garnier, for example, is trying to convince consumers to recycle those bathroom empties; but the amount of bottles that must be shipped to TerraCycle may prove onerous for the average consumer, let alone for any dormitory or office trying to participate in that program.

This is not Office Depot’s first venture with TerraCycle. Three years ago, the retail chain’s southern Ontario stores participated in a coffee pod recycling scheme. After several months, both companies claimed success and said they would expand the program across all of Canada. Since that announcement, however, the companies have been silent about that program’s progress.

Nevertheless, if in the near future TerraCycle can release some solid numbers outlining this binder recycling program’s success, such an outcome could spur other retail chains to do the same – and, in the meantime, help divert a pesky waste item while freeing up more space in bookshelves and closets nationwide.

Image credit: Office Depot

Despite regional pressures on municipal landfills, the U.S. still has plenty of space in which to dispose of its garbage. The waste management industry is quick to dispel the concept of the disappearing landfill as a myth, and the costs of solid waste disposal are, at worst, increasing at a modest rate year-to-year.

Nevertheless, Americans generate a lot of garbage. One estimate suggests that if all the garbage collected in the U.S. over one year was dumped in a pit 400 feet deep, that hole would consume 1,000 acres of land.

At a time when companies are trying to cut costs wherever they can -- and prove to their stakeholders that they are a lean, responsible or environmentally-conscious organization -- tackling waste is one place to start. So it make sense that more companies are striving to go zero waste to landfill (ZWTLF), or as close to it as possible.

One company that is moving toward a total zero-waste operation is Ford Motors. “We feel that from a company perspective, it’s something we need to stand for,” said Andy Hobbs, sustainability, environment and safety engineering director for Ford. “Environmental stewardship is important to us, and we take the view that we should not just collect waste and put it in a hole in the ground.”

Put in a more elegant way, Hobbs describes Ford’s zero-waste program as taking action on conservation, specifically toward eliminating landfill disposal while also reducing water consumption.

The challenges that companies face when they transition to a zero waste operation often vary by industry and location, Hobbs told us. But the overall process in which a project leader should go about this route is fundamentally the same.

The person managing the process needs to evaluate both broad company-wide objectives, as well as facility-specific goals, Hobbs advised. “Establish aggressive short-, intermediate- and long-term goals to eliminate waste being disposed in a landfill, and include percentage reduction goals, as well as deadlines for accomplishing such goals."

In Hobbs' view, it is critical for any business leader working on a zero-waste project to be realistic. Make it clear what you and your company want to accomplish, as in establishing short-term waste minimization targets while setting long-term, zero-waste-to-landfill goals. And all of these targets should be measurable, achievable, ambitious and implemented over a specified time, Hobbs told us.

For those who are conceptualizing a zero-waste program from scratch, Hobbs suggested following a seven-step framework – which, again, can vary based on industry or a company’s location:

1. Gain management’s support


2. Develop accurate and measurable metrics


3. Define what zero waste means to the company


4. Finalize and communicate those zero-waste goals across the organization


5. Decide on a “top five” priority list


6. Develop, implement, and share zero-waste steps and actions


7. Finally – and arguably most importantly -- share your company’s successes

On that last point, Bill Hoffman, senior scientist at UL-EHS Sustainability, underscored that a zero-waste program cannot succeed as a top-down approach. “On nuts and bolts, you have to get everyone involved because it really is one of those types of projects where yes, you can set ambitious goals and processes, but in the end, it’s the person on the loading dock sending discarded materials out the door who has the control over where that waste is going out.”

To that end, UL-EHS provides three validation levels for companies that wish to ensure their waste diversion claims are audited and can be verified: greater than or equal to 80 percent waste diverted from landfills; 98 percent or higher; and, of course, 100 percent zero waste, which means that not one item goes to an offsite landfill.

The reality is that for most companies, achieving a waste diversion rate of 80 to 90 percent is relatively easy. After all, an auto manufacturer such as Ford will have little problem offloading scrap metal; a brewing company can easily find someone who can take spent grains and turn them into animal feed. Packaging materials and recyclables such as paper, plastic, and even pallets are the low-hanging fruit. Other materials may need more thought, but they can often be reused within a facility, or even donated.

But once these first steps are accomplished, project leaders can find themselves in the weeds as they hone in on that final 10 to 20 percent. What do you do with random objects such as air filters or the vinyl banners a marketing team used for a one-off event? Those last few percentage points can stump even the most thoughtful and creative professional.

But there are answers, said UL’s Hoffman, even if the solutions hard to find at first. Incineration may not be the ideal option, but if that can be part of a waste-to-heat or waste-to-energy option, it can help your company meet its goals. That hazardous chemical lurking in plastic jugs, it may turn out, could be reused over and again as a solvent.

But the bottom line is: Zero means zero. Hobb noted that Ford has always found non-landfill solutions for its waste. Hoffman explained that as an organization that issues certifications, UL is not in a position to advise a company what to do what those pile of materials in a storeroom refusing to go away. Nevertheless, Hoffman said, “We can tell them there’s a way.”

Finally, there is that question of timing. Companies with operations in locations across the country and even the world will find different logistics and regulatory challenges. Launching a program and seeing it in action can happen in six to 12 months, Hoffman told us, but the key is being realistic.

Hobbs noted that Ford views zero waste from an engineering perspective, a poignant example for other companies: After one of Ford’s plants or offices appears to reach that zero-waste point, the company waits three months and validates data in the interim to ensure that absolutely nothing -- including a bottle of water on someone’s desk -- is going to a landfill.

To date, Ford counts 77 of its facilities as zero waste. The company expects all of its engine and power train assembly plants to reach that metric this year, with an additional eight to 10 sites going zero waste during 2018.

Will your company follow suit?

Photo credit: Ford Motor Co. 

A year has passed since HB-2, or the Public Facilities Privacy and Securities Act, passed both houses of North Carolina’s state legislature during a special session.

The session was called due to a February 2016 Charlotte city ordinance, which prohibited discrimination by sexual orientation or gender identity in public spaces or in any passenger vehicles for hire. In addition to relegating the use of men's and women's public restrooms and changing facilities to the gender noted on citizens’ official birth certificates, the HB-2 law prevents municipalities from passing anti-discriminatory ordinances, establishing a minimum wage or setting codes related to child labor.

The law did not provide any enforcement mechanisms; nevertheless, what became known as the “bathroom bill” sparked a firestorm that continues to this day.

Those who support the bill cite the need for safety and privacy in public restrooms. Opponents say it is beyond discriminatory in how it stigmatizes transgender people, and creates a solution in search of a problem that does not exist.

Depending on where one travels in the state, reactions will vary. Of the 10 most populous U.S. states, North Carolina has the highest percentage of people living in rural areas, and most analysts agree that HB-2 is largely popular across those regions. But in the state’s larger cities and metro areas such as Charlotte and the Research Triangle, attitudes toward HB-2 tell a different story. Signs with the hashtag #ThisIsNotUs are a frequent sight.

In passing the law, North Carolina lawmakers cited logic that “laws and obligations consistent statewide” would both help boost the prospects of local companies and “benefit the businesses, organizations, and employers seeking to do business in the state and attracts new businesses, organizations, and employers to the state.”

The outcome a year later, however, is a mixed bag.

One one hand, North Carolina has one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. Good-paying jobs, dynamic cities, excellent universities, a beautiful coast and spectacular mountains all help attract transplants to the Tar Heel State. But estimates also suggest that the North Carolina has lost many economic opportunities because of HB-2. Last fall Wired magazine estimated that the state lost almost $400 million in business; shortly afterward, Forbes pegged that amount at $630 million.

Many companies based in North Carolina or with significant investments in the state have also spoken out against the law, including Bank of America, NASCAR and Lowe’s. And both college and professional basketball has cried foul over HB-2; the NBA moved this year’s All-Star Game from Charlotte to New Orleans, while the NCAA moved its March Madness games from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Greenville, South Carolina. The NCAA also gave the state an ultimatum: Repeal HB-2, or don't expect any future tournament games until 2022. Many entertainers also skipped North Carolina on recent tours.

Whether the state’s leaders will come around to a change any time soon is doubtful. Considered a swing state in the closing weeks of last year’s presidential campaign, Donald Trump edged out Hillary Clinton by almost 3 percent on election night due in part to his surging popularity in rural counties.

True, Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, a vocal supporter of HB-2, lost his reelection bid in a squeaker during what was a banner year for Republicans nationwide; the state’s new Democratic attorney general, Josh Stein, was also elected in a nail-biter. But HB-2 supporter Lieutenant Gov. Dan Forest was reelected by a comfortable margin, and the GOP maintained its dominance in both houses of the state legislature. Those same legislators also kneecapped much of the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper shortly before he took office.

As Elena Schneider of Politico explained, despite the ongoing protests against the law, North Carolina’s fractious internal politics most likely means HB-2 is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

But the law may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory for its supporters in the long run. The humiliation tied to North Carolina’s loss of marquee sporting events, in addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, have together spooked legislators seeking similar laws in other states. A similar “bathroom bill” is being considered in Texas, but the state’s Republican house speaker recently said the legislation simply creates a “manufactured problem.”

In a competitive economy, companies do not want to lose talent, even if it is over legislation they cannot control. And legislators, who do not want to be tagged as job killers, are shying away from any form of anti-LGBT laws kind.

Image credit: Mr.TinDC/Flickr