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207 results
Scaling transition finance for green industrial transition of the Indian iron & steel sector
The paper argues that for India to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070, the iron and steel sector—responsible for 10-12% of national GHG emissions—must shift to low-carbon production. It proposes a comprehensive 'Green Steel Mission' and a national sustainable finance taxonomy to bridge the gap between conventional and green technologies. The authors emphasize the need for differentiated strategies for primary steel (BF-BOF route) and secondary steel (DRI-IF/EAF route), noting that secondary producers face higher financing barriers despite having high near-term abatement potential. Key recommendations include mandating corporate transition plans, developing a detailed sectoral technology roadmap, and adopting innovative financial instruments like Carbon Contracts for Difference (CCfD) to support low-TRL technologies.
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Document type: Research paper
Open letter to ITRE committee: time to vote for an EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) that works for climate and industrial transformation
Carbon Market Watch and several partner organisations call for the immediate phase-out of free EU ETS allowances, arguing they create market failures and hinder industrial transformation. The letter advocates for full auctioning of allowances to generate revenues for green investments, the removal of free allocations for sectors covered by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the rejection of a Carbon Leakage Protection Reserve. It further proposes increasing the minimum annual benchmark reduction rate to 1% and integrating carbon pricing into a broader regulatory framework including pollution performance standards and green public procurement.
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Document type: Statement
Product Design
The document argues that product designers are uniquely positioned to mitigate climate impact because over 80% of emissions from product use are determined during the design phase. It provides a comprehensive framework for 'making your product design job a climate job,' offering specific tactics for digital products (such as minimizing energy-intensive UX/UI elements), physical products (such as dematerialization and designing for repair), and general organizational practices (such as creating sustainability-focused KPIs and reducing business travel). The guide also emphasizes the integration of behavioral science to nudge users toward sustainable actions and the necessity of embedding climate justice to protect vulnerable communities.
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Document type: Guide
Sales and Client-Facing Roles
The document outlines how individuals in sales, consulting, and creative roles can leverage their positions to drive climate impact. Key recommendations include refusing to work with fossil fuel and extractive companies, integrating carbon fees into pricing, and shifting sales models toward services and repair to reduce waste. It also suggests using client relationships to encourage the adoption of science-based climate targets and minimizing carbon-intensive business travel.
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Document type: Guide
Procurement
The document outlines how procurement professionals can leverage their purchasing power to reduce climate impact and increase business resilience. It suggests selecting suppliers with science-based emissions targets, optimizing logistics for efficiency, and collaborating with designers on circular product development. The guide emphasizes that sustainable procurement can lead to revenue increases of 5–20 percent and supply chain cost reductions of 9–16 percent, while also providing a mechanism to integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice strategies through supplier diversity programs.
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Document type: Guide
ENERGY LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF NEED: A BLUEPRINT FOR STATES
The document argues that states can lead the energy transition by attracting clean industrial projects and supporting the electrification of industrial process heat. It highlights the economic risks of the federal OBBBA—projecting $170 billion in higher energy bills and a $1.1 trillion GDP shrink by 2035—and proposes specific state-level policy actions, such as clean heat production tax credits, streamlined permitting for industrial parks, and targeted support for clean hydrogen in heavy industry.
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Document type: Policy brief
FSD AFRICA SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT GUIDELINES
The FSD Africa Sustainable Procurement Guidelines establish a tiered approach to embedding sustainability into the procurement cycle, moving beyond the lowest price to determine the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT). The guidelines categorise procurement into goods and services, individual consultancies, and consulting firms, with requirements scaling based on contract value. Key priorities include supporting local African economies, engaging diverse suppliers (women, youth, and persons with disabilities), reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and ensuring compliance with a Supplier Code of Conduct. The document provides a five-step procurement cycle—planning, criteria development, code of conduct adherence, evaluation, and monitoring—supported by specific tools such as the Sustainability Issues Prioritisation (SIP) Worksheet and a Sustainable RFx Clauses Menu.
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Document type: Guide
FSD Africa Supplier Facing FAQs/Q&A
FSD Africa's sustainable procurement framework prioritizes products and services with low environmental and ethical impacts and positive social results. The organization evaluates suppliers across four pillars: environmental (GHG emissions, energy efficiency, waste reduction), economic (Most Economically Advantageous Tender), social (equity, diversity, inclusion, and local economic development), and ethical (reduction of child labour, human trafficking, and labour exploitation). Rather than focusing solely on the lowest price, FSD Africa uses the Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) method to reward overall value, including sustainability. Suppliers are encouraged to provide specific evidence of their practices, such as ISO 14001 or Fair Trade certifications, though FSD Africa accepts suppliers at various stages of their sustainability journey, including small businesses without formal policies, provided they demonstrate transparency and intent.
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Document type: Guide
CEO GUIDE TO THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
The document argues that the circular economy is a strategic tool for businesses to navigate a 'decade of polycrisis' characterized by supply chain uncertainty and material insecurity. It focuses specifically on the City of Cape Town, noting that the city is expected to run out of landfill space by 2035 and currently has the highest landfill gate fees among South African metros. The guide introduces a 7-step process for CEOs to transition from linear to circular models, ranging from mapping resource flows to influencing supply chains. It details '9R' strategies—such as refuse, rethink, reduce, reuse, repair, refurbish, remanufacture, repurpose, and recycle—supported by local examples like Zerocrete and Barloworld Equipment. Additionally, it outlines regulatory pressures, including mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for sectors like packaging and electronics, and a provincial target for 100% organic waste diversion from landfills in the Western Cape by 2027.
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Document type: Guide
The Benefits of Green Public Procurement (GPP) - Evidence from the IISD GPP model
The document argues that Green Public Procurement (GPP) can be cost-effective by reducing energy use and avoiding significant health and environmental costs. While some high-ambition GPP requirements may increase costs by up to 20%, others reduce them, and overall costs are expected to fall as GPP drives market innovation and green industry development.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Rethinking the design of our economies for low-carbon and equitable growth
The IISD Economic Law and Policy program provides technical support, data, and analysis to policy-makers and businesses to align public and private investment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The program focuses on finance, trade, government procurement, and industrial policy, with specific emphasis on agricultural and mining investments in developing countries. Key initiatives include the Annual Forum of Developing Country Investment Negotiators and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development, aimed at building the capacity of officials in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to negotiate sustainable treaties and contracts.
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Document type: Fact sheet
The Knowledge to Act
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is an independent policy research organization that operates across six primary programs: Economic Law and Policy, Energy, Water, Resilience, SDG Knowledge, and Reporting Services. The organization focuses on creating holistic, interconnected solutions to global challenges, providing technical support to developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and tracking the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Its work spans nearly 100 countries, ranging from supporting solar power transitions in India to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia.
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Document type: Guide
Окружающая среда и торговля
The document analyzes how trade liberalization affects the environment through product, scale, structural, and direct effects. It examines the legal tensions between World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), specifically focusing on Process and Production Methods (PPMs), intellectual property rights (TRIPS), and agricultural subsidies. It argues that trade liberalization does not automatically harm or help the environment, but its outcome depends on the integration of economic and environmental policies.
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Document type: Guide
Shaping a sustainable and low-carbon recovery that spurs industry transition
The document warns that post-pandemic recovery efforts risk entrenching carbon-intensive pathways through technological, political, and societal lock-in if governments prioritize a return to the pre-pandemic status quo. It identifies a narrow window of opportunity in 2020 to align economic stimulus with the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals. To achieve a sustainable transition, the authors propose five policy levers: conditional bailouts, environmental tax reform, green public procurement and finance, expanded social welfare, and just transition measures to support workers. The briefing highlights that while some regions like South Korea and the EU are pursuing green recovery plans, others, such as the US and China, are implementing measures that may reinforce fossil fuel dependency.
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Document type: Briefing
A window of opportunity: five ways IFIs can support the transition to green steel in emerging and developing economies
The policy brief highlights a critical window in the 2020s for emerging economies to leapfrog to green steel production, as these regions are expected to see the largest increases in steel capacity by 2030. It proposes five ways IFIs can intervene: acting as knowledge partners for policy frameworks, supporting green hydrogen roadmaps, de-risking investments for first movers and SMEs, utilizing green procurement in their own operations, and scaling up scrap-based secondary steel production and circular business models.
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Document type: Policy brief
Toidujäätmete ja toidukao vältimine ja vähendamine koolides juhendmaterjal
The document outlines strategies to combat food waste in Estonian schools, noting that food loss accounts for 74% of school food waste. It provides tailored guidance for catering staff (e.g., using the Fi-Fo method), teachers (integrating waste themes into curricula), students (taking only what they can eat), and school administrations (optimizing procurement and lunch schedules). It also shares international best practices from Scotland, Poland, and the USA.
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Document type: Guide
EUROPEAN GREEN OFFICE HANDBOOK
The European Green Office (EGO) Handbook serves as a guide for transforming offices into sustainable spaces through a 'light' Environmental Management System (EMS). It outlines a Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle involving top-level commitment, the appointment of a Green Office coordinator, and the monitoring of environmental performance indicators. The document provides detailed technical and behavioral advice across several domains: energy efficiency (lighting and HVAC), sustainable procurement (prioritizing local and Fairtrade products), resource reduction (minimizing paper and water use), waste management (following the waste hierarchy), and the creation of a healthy indoor environment. It also addresses social responsibility, including work-life balance and inclusive employment, and provides a detailed checklist and data requirements for an Office Ecological Footprint Calculator.
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Document type: Guide
Purchasing Power—A “Good Food” Procurement Toolkit
The toolkit outlines strategies for institutions to shift toward sustainable and equitable food procurement, using the Good Food Purchasing Program as a model. It emphasizes the importance of diverse coalitions, the use of food hubs to connect small farms with large purchasers, and the potential for cost-neutral implementation through operational changes. The document provides detailed frameworks for collecting baseline and annual data from vendors and institutions to measure impacts on local economies, sustainable farming practices, and nutritional quality.
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Document type: Guide
Sustainable Procurement of Wood and Paper-Based Products: Version 2
The WRI/WBCSD publication serves as a resource for procurement managers to ensure wood and paper-based products are sourced legally and sustainably. It organizes its guidance around ten essential questions covering origin, legality, sustainability, climate change, and the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples. Version 2 expands the 'guide to the guides' to include 47 tools and resources and provides information on 22 existing procurement approaches.
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Document type: Guide
Beef Purchasing in Food Service: Considerations for Companies on Balancing Climate and Other Priorities
The report analyzes the challenges and opportunities for food buyers in North America and Europe to source lower-emissions beef. It evaluates emerging technologies like feed additives, 'climate friendly' labels, and different production methods including organic, grass-fed, and regenerative beef. The document concludes that food buyers should reduce the volume of beef served, identify sourcing priorities to meet sustainability commitments, and engage directly with producers to adopt lower-emitting practices.
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Document type: Report