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Benchmarking Utility Clean Energy Deployment: 2016

June 30, 2016

Benchmarking Utility Clean Energy Deployment: 2016 provides a window into how the global transition toward clean energy is playing out in the U.S. electric power sector. Specifically, it reveals the extent to which 30 of the largest U.S. investor-owned electric utility holding companies are increasingly deploying clean energy resources to meet customer needs.Benchmarking these companies provides an opportunity for transparent reporting and analysis of important industry trends. It fills a knowledge gap by offering utilities, regulators, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders consistent and comparable information on which to base their decisions. And it provides perspective on which utilities are best positioned in a shifting policy landscape, including likely implementation of the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan aimed at reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

Feeding Ourselves Thirsty: How the Food Sector is Managing Global Water Risks

May 1, 2015

The global food sector faces extraordinary risks from the twin challenges of water scarcity and water pollution. Growing competition for water, combined with weak regulations, failing infrastructure, pollution and climate change impacts threaten the sector's water security and contribute to a water availability emergency that was recently ranked the world's "top global risk" by the World Economic Forum.This report examines how water risks affect the profitability and competitive positioning of 37 major food sector companies in four industries: packaged food, beverage, meat and agricultural products. It evaluates and ranks these companies -- the majority of which are U.S. domiciled and publicly-traded -- on how well they are positioned to anticipate and mitigate these risks, as well as contribute to improved water resource management.The report provides recommendations for how analysts and investors can effectively evaluate food sector companies on their water risk exposure and management practices. It also provides recommendations for how food companies can improve water efficiency and water quality across their operations and supply chains to reduce risks and protect water resources.

Benchmarking Utility Clean Energy Deployment: 2014

July 25, 2014

This report assembles data from more than 10 sources, including state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) annual reports, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K filings and Public Utility Commission reports, to show how 32 of the largest U.S. investor-owned electric utility holding companies stack up on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Water and Climate Risks Facing U.S. Corn Production: How Companies and Investors Can Cultivate Sustainability

June 10, 2014

U.S. corn farmers are among the most productive in the world, generating a record harvest of nearly 14 billion bushels in 2013 -- enough corn to fill a freight train long enough to circle the Earth. This production supports a mammoth agricultural sector comprised not just of farmers, but also major food, meat and energy companies that have an enormous stake in the long-term productivity and resilience of American agriculture. However, in the face of this bounty, three major threats to U.S. corn production loom: climate change, unsustainable water use and inefficient and damaging fertilizer practices.Ceres' new report analyzes the risks facing U.S. corn production. The report provides recommendations for how corn-buying companies and their investors can catalyze more sustainable agricultural practices, while helping farmers preserve and enhance yields, and protect precious water resources. The research is accompanied by new data and interactive maps that highlight irrigation risks and fertilizer pollution hotspots.

Enhancing the Benefits of Girls' Livelihood Initiatives. Promoting Healthy, Safe, and Productive Transitions to Adulthood

February 1, 2011

This docuent shares case studies from the Council's work (with NGOs such as CARE) on adolescent girl livelihoods during the past decade and summarizes valuable lessons to guide current and future programs.

Sharpening the Cutting Edge: Corporate Action for a Strong, Low-Carbon Economy

April 29, 2009

Outlines lessons learned from early efforts to create a low-carbon economy, current and emerging best practices, and next steps, including climate change metrics, greenhouse gas reporting, effective climate policy, and long-term investment choices.

Harnessing Nature's Power: Deploying and Financing On-Site Renewable Energy

March 2, 2009

Provides an overview of approaches to deploying an on-site renewable energy system, including solar, wind, and geothermal technologies. Discusses resource potential assessments, deployment models, financing options, incentives, benefits, and risks.

$60 Million and Counting: The cost of vacant and abandoned properties to eight Ohio cities

February 19, 2008

This research documents the magnitude and cost of the vacant and abandoned properties problem in eight Ohio cities -- Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Ironton, Lima, Springfield, Toledo, Zanesville. The research found:25,000 vacant and abandoned propertiesWidespread vacancies in both large and small cities$15 million in annual city service costs$49 million in cumulative lost property tax revenues to local governments and school districtsWeakened neighborhood housing markets with evidence of property flippingLimited capacity of cities, on their own, to track and address vacant and abandoned properties

Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY): Providing Social Support Savings and Microcredit Opportunities for Young Women in Areas with High HIV Prevalence

March 8, 2006

This document describes providing social support savings and microcredit opportunities for young women in areas with high HIV prevelence. Tap and Reposition Youth (TRY) was a multiphase microfinance initiative which aimed to reduce adolescents' vulnerabilities to adverse social and reproductive health outcomes, including HIV infection, by improving their livelihoods options. The project was launched in low-income and slum areas of Nairobi, Kenya, where rates of HIV infection are high and where young women are disproportionately affected. TRY targeted out-of-school adolescent girls and young women aged 16-22. Through continual review and modification, the TRY microfinance model evolved from a limited savings and credit model, to one that expanded upon social support, such as friendship and mentorship.

State of the World 2005: Redefining Global Security

January 1, 2005

Security concerns remain high on the world's agenda. In this year's annual report, Worldwatch researchers explore underlying sources of global insecurity including poverty, infectious disease, environmental degradation, and rising competition over oil and other resources. Find out why terrorism is just symptomatic of a far broader set of complex problems that require more than a military response.

Swimming in Sewage: The Growing Problem of Sewage Pollution and How the Bush Administration Is Putting Our Health and Environment at Risk

February 1, 2004

Presents seven case studies from around the country that illustrate the emerging environmental and public health crisis resulting from the failure to effectively treat sewage, and recommends solutions to America's sewage problem.

State of the World 2004: Special Focus The Consumer Society

January 1, 2004

A Bangladeshi child eats a bowl of rice. An American child plays with a plastic doll. A woman in Finland talks on a cell phone. A man in Zimbabwe fills his car with gasoline. A Japanese woman reads a newspaper. Think of the objects you buy and use in any given day. Now, try to imagine that there are more than 1.7 billion human beings in the consumer society -- and their numbers are growing yearly. In many cases, excessive consumption burdens societies with bulging landfills, declining fish stocks, and rising obesity levels. Meanwhile, there are still another 2.8 billion who consume too little and who suffer from hunger, homelessness, and poverty. On the Worldwatch Institute's thirtieth anniversary, this special edition of State of the World examines how we consume, why we consume, and what impact our consumption choices have on the planet and our fellow human beings. From factory-farmed chicken to old-growth lumber to gas-guzzling cars, many of the things we buy support destructive industries. But businesses, governments, and concerned citizens can harness this same purchasing power to build markets for less-hazardous products, including fair-traded foods, green power, and fuel-cell vehicles. With chapters on food, water, energy, the politics of consumption, and redefining the good life, Worldwatch's award-winning research team asks whether a less-consumptive society is possible -- and then argues that it is essential.