Ecoprogresso

First of all, because climate belongs to everyone. And that is why public opinion is so concerned and paying such close attention. The great majority of opinion polls point to climate change as at the top of citizen concerns. In 2007, the publication of thousands of articles in every newspaper and magazine, from the most serious business papers to the most sensationalist daily tabloid not to mention radio and television, is just one indication of public concern regarding global warming. Hence, changes in climate are now among the leading at the highest levels of government offices worldwide and companies seeking to retain their leadership role face this challenge with confidence. VCM is nowadays a key element to sustainable strategies and the responsibility of any company.

By managing carbon emissions, we deal with the majority of environmental aspects of concern to companies:

• Electricity and other energy type consumption;
• Air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment maintenance;
• Car fleet and fuel consumption management;
• Business travel management;
• Paper consumption;
• Waste management.

VCM is, therefore, an excellent aggregating factor for a set of diverse measures that companies adopt as part of direct action on their environmental concerns.

Addressing a key concern of company managers, VCM allows for the reduction of operational costs by finding eco-efficient solutions and particularly through boosting energy efficiency. Investments usually generate returns in the short and medium term, and hence make good business sense.

Better than demonstrating how VCM reinforces leadership and competitiveness, we provide a few examples of companies - known worldwide as leaders - that have adopted VCM strategies.

HSBC:

Sir John Bond, HSBC group chairman, sums up the business benefits: “HSBC has a deep and longstanding commitment to the environment, and it is our judgement that climate change represents the largest single environmental challenge this century. It will have an impact on all aspects of modern life. It is therefore a major issue for our customers and our staff, as well for every organisation on the planet, no matter how large or how small.” Francis Sullivan, HSBC Director for the Environment.
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Sonae Sierra

Sonae Sierra has for some time now adopted good environmental practices as a corporate value […] We have revised our strategy on the environment, paying greater attention to climate changes, water, waste and soil utilization and, even more importantly, we made positive progress on energy and water consumption efficiency and waste recycling at our centres. It is part of our philosophy to enlarge the scope of our best practices and to inspire our staff members and suppliers to do the same setting an example from our position of leadership. It is also part of our culture to be excited about the future and to find long term solutions to the critical challenges of our time, such as climate changes and excessive resource consumption. (Álvaro Portela, Sonae Sierra's CEO).
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The Future is Carbonfree.

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