Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Clean Energy Investment

Environmental Achievements

• Increased divestment from fossil fuels by institutions and individuals representing $2.6 trillion in assets.

Social Achievements

• Faith community's strong moral case for climate action and clean energy access.
• Growth in university commitments to divestment, nearly tripling in the past year.
• Divestment by state and local governments worldwide.
• Rapid growth in foundation pledges to divest.

Governance Achievements

• Large pension funds and private-sector actors such as insurance companies holding over 95 percent of the total combined assets of those committed to divest.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Some institutions declined to report on their assets.
• Some individuals declined to provide information on their personal investments.

Mitigation Strategies

• Arabella Advisors contacted institutions via phone to request information.
• Data on individuals' assets was collected through an online survey.

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Flooding due to sea-level rise

Transition Risks

• Stranded assets
• Carbon regulation

Opportunities

• Investment in clean energy

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Social Equity
• Environmental Sustainability
• Economic Opportunity

Environmental Achievements

• Chesapeake Compost processes 180 tons of food scraps per week.
• DC Central Kitchen recovered 807,534 pounds of food in 2014.
• Virginia Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program has potential to reduce annual nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution.

Social Achievements

• Arcadia Center's Mobile Market distributes fresh, local food in low-income neighborhoods.
• Capital Area Food Bank purchased 400,000 pounds of fresh produce from local farms for distribution.
• DC Healthy Schools Act aims to increase access to healthier diets and reduce rates of overweight and obese youth.

Governance Achievements

• Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Limitations in food access programs for low-income communities.
• Insufficient attention to workplace equity.
• Powerful political opposition to pollution control measures.
• Regulatory loopholes in pollution regulations.
• Lack of a strong grassroots base on agricultural pollution.
• Need for sustained assistance for farmers transitioning to sustainable methods.
• Sustainability standards unevenly integrated into food initiatives.
• Lack of comprehensive food recovery systems.
• Need for coordination and data in supply chain initiatives.
• Need for community-supported fisheries (CSFs).
• Insufficient institutional demand for locally produced food.
• Continued barriers to affordable or accessible land.
• Regulatory barriers to scaling regional food production and distribution.

Mitigation Strategies

• Explore effective ways to subsidize local food initiatives.
• Build partnerships with leaders and organizations working to promote economic development.
• Build partnerships with existing social justice organizations.
• Invest in research to identify market opportunities and supply-chain needs.
• Support advocacy and public education campaigns to increase consumer demand for local food.
• Expand the region’s supply-chain infrastructure.
• Strengthen the advocacy capacity of organizations engaged in food system work.
• Attract new investment capital to support business incubation, land acquisition, and supply-chain infrastructure development.
• Target schools and health care organizations for increased engagement in regional food initiatives.
• Increase statewide and regional coordination.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Initiatives to increase institutional demand for local products; various food hubs connecting producers to markets.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Projected changes in climate impacting arable land, water supplies, and fishing stocks

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Triple-bottom-line framework (social equity, environmental sustainability, economic opportunity)

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change

Environmental Achievements

• Not disclosed

Social Achievements

• Not disclosed

Governance Achievements

• Not disclosed

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Lack of clarity and confidence in the quality of credits and lack of certainty that projects are creating real impact (impact integrity).
• High barriers to entry for buyers and sellers.
• Credit quality issues: efficacy of projects in reducing emissions and objective assessment of credit quality.
• Concerns about environmental and social integrity of many credits (additionality, leakage, permanence).
• Lack of a shared definition of quality and agreed-upon standards for assessing and verifying credits.
• Conflicts of interest due to project developers paying standards organizations.
• Uncertainty about the ethical and environmental acceptability of using credits as an alternative to decarbonizing operations.
• Lack of transparency about corporate credit purchases and their impact on sustainability efforts.
• Highly variable and fundamentally too low credit prices, not reflecting the true value of climate change mitigation.
• Shortage of qualified talent in the VCM.
• Lack of adequate market infrastructure (risk management tools, data tools, centralized data sources).

Mitigation Strategies

• Efforts by leading advocates, practitioners, and stakeholders to address challenges.
• Taskforce on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets (TSVCM), Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), and Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) working to improve credit quality, transparency, and market efficiency.
• Development of Core Carbon Principles by ICVCM to establish criteria for high-integrity carbon credits.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Not disclosed

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Not disclosed

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Null

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed