February 4th, 2010 by Michel Gelobter

Last week I was excited to write about new SEC guidance on how every company should disclose the risks and opportunities from climate change to their bottom line. But this is just one strategy that the Federal Government can and will be taking to promote climate action and reduce energy use whether or not Congress passes legislation.

It turns out that, if you believe the science of climate change, the Federal  Government (and anybody running it) can claim a mandate to take action under existing laws. The National Environmental Policy Act pushes every agency to include important environmental impacts in their decisions and activities. The Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that greenhouse gasses were a pollutant under the Clean Air Act, and therefore could be regulated aggressively. Late last week, the President signed an Executive Order mandating that federal operations reduce their carbon footprint by 28% by 2020.

The Obama Administration appears to be serious about getting greenhouse gasses under control, and they don’t appear to be shy about using all the legal tools in their arsenal to do so. There is widespread consensus that a climate-specific law would be the best way to achieve deep change, but until the political climate for that is ripe, we can expect aggressive use of all the tools at the Executive Branch’s disposal.

I like to call these steps “pincer actions” because, rather than taking climate head-on, they represent a multitude of angles (SEC disclosure, health risks, procurement, etc…) for closing in on a policy. And, like military pincer actions, they evoke a sense of inevitability and sometimes panic. Perhaps Senators Graham and Kerry said it best in a New York Times op-ed piece a few months back…

“The message to those who have stalled for years is clear: killing a Senate bill is not success; indeed, given the threat of agency regulation, those who have been content to make the legislative process grind to a halt would later come running to Congress in a panic to secure the kinds of incentives and investments we can pass today.” (Read more)

So what’s a company to do? First, don’t panic. Hara’s solution can help any company get on top of voluntary and non-voluntary disclosure requirements.

Second, thrive. Hara goes far beyond measurement and accounting to empower you to plan and innovate your way to big savings and increases in productivity.

Third, stay tuned to this blog. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be covering the elements of the Administration’s pincer strategy on climate one by one and explaining what they may mean for you or your supply chain. There’s a lot going on and we’ll be making sense of it right here.