Jane is Director of Business Environment at trade association the BRC, covering social policies; an economic brief including energy and transport; environmental and natural resource challenges such as climate change and waste and packaging, sustainable sourcing, resource re-use and recycling. She leads a team of policy and public affairs staff who work with retailer members and stakeholders, seeking to create a public policy and economic environment within which retailing can flourish and meet society's needs. Prior to this role, Jane was Head of Property and Creditor Insurance at the Association of British Insurers for seven years, where she led on climate change. Jane's early career was as Civil Servant at HM Treasury and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF).

Tell us about what are you working on right now

"My job is a mixture of pushing forward on our own agenda and dealing with the reactive, for example, pulling together a response to the Batteries Directive consultation; considering our position on the Global Harmonising System on chemicals; and trying to understand what the Government wants us to achieve on plastic bags when they don't seem to know themselves.

"Many of our members have very well developed policies on climate change and waste. We're working with them and members who are just starting out on that path. We are unique as a sector in having close contact with shoppers in the UK, so we can help get the climate change message out and provide easy ways to start engaging in the issue.

"My job covers all aspects of CSR and the business environment, including issues as disparate as tax and diversity, so predictions for the Budget and the Mayor of London's report on women's role in the London economy have also come across my desk recently."

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role and how do you deal with them?

"Number one - juggling priorities! Sometimes it's a challenge weighing the 'immediate' against the 'important,' particularly as you might have to choose between devoting time to a press enquiry into retailers' reaction to the latest survey and writing a policy paper on sourcing sustainable palm oil or take-back schemes for batteries. I have a great team who advise me and the support of members, who put me right.

"Number two - learning about the sector. I spent the previous seven years working in the insurance sector on environmental and social issues and while many of these issues facing retailers are similar, the way they impact on the sector and how retailers can respond are often different. Retailing has a very high property footprint, employs 3 million people and has procurement chains that stretch from the farm next door to factories in Shanghai. It also operates from many different formats - village shops, shops on the High Street, retail parks and over the internet. There's a lot of retailing realities to learn and new people to relate to.

"Number three - shaping our forward agenda. As a member organisation, it is essential our priorities reflect the interests of members. They have to be at the heart of our decision-making. Trade associations also have an important role in holding up a mirror to their sector so that they can see themselves as others do. It's essential to understand what our stakeholders feel is important and reflect this to members, then we can work collectively to determine where we need to take action to change; which messages we need to articulate more clearly; who we need to be working with; and what we've got right in the past. I like to make things fun as well as working hard, as I think that helps people be at their most creative."

What can you do about discouraging businesses to avoid "greenwashing?"

"It's one of the fundamental roles of a trade association to be a critical friend to the sector, but always behind closed doors. Every major business values its brand far too much to risk it by making claims that they will later regret. Indeed, my experience is that there's a lot happening that retailers are keeping to themselves, simply because they don't want to overstate things. I was on a member visit recently where I was shown a huge programme on waste reduction and recycling which you're never likely to read in the press, because that company prefers to work to deliver value to their customers and shareholders without hitting the headlines."

What is most challenging about creating the BRC environmental agenda?

"There are times where it is difficult to come to a common view, simply because members' interests vary so much and the perfect solution for one would be commercial suicide for another. But on the environment, I think there is a lot of common ground and members see many of the issues as non-competitive. There isn't a BRC member who doesn't think we should be engaging on environmental issues and there is a good consensus on the key issues - climate change, carbon reduction, waste and packaging. The more challenging part is addressing these issues in a way that meets the needs of each member, their operations and how they want to position themselves and finding the resources and building the relationships to deliver all the things we would like to do."

What has been your most successful low carbon initiative and what made it so?

"At the BRC we've only got to the planning stage - delivery will happen soon. In my previous role at the Association of British Insurers I helped put together the ClimateWise initiative which brought together firms from across the whole of the insurance industry in signing up to five climate change principles, supported by the Prince of Wales' charities, Business in the Community and the Business and Environment Programme. The focus of insurers is on dealing with the consequences of increasingly severe weather events. But members were very clear that managing their own carbon was an important part of this process, even though the effects would be felt in future rather than the more immediate problem of the £3 billion-worth of flooding claims they were dealing with last summer.

"We also undertook some research into what customers were looking for by way of carbon reducing and climate-proofing (reducing weather damage) insurance policies. About half of customers for household insurance said they would like products which incentivised action on carbon reduction. The research highlighted business opportunities that would support development of a low carbon economy and showed how markets might develop. Nothing drives change and innovation faster than a realistic business prospect."

Are current UK Government climate change targets to reduce carbon serious enough?

"I spent nearly 20 years in the Civil Service so I know there's often a lot more happening below the waterline than the beholder might imagine - that gliding swan is probably frantically paddling against the current! I think it's not all that important to choose between 60% and 80% by 2050 now. We don't have to consider the current debate as the last one.

"What's more important is that we've decided we need to do something drastic and put in place mechanisms to do that and have started out on the journey. So I'm less frustrated by the choice of targets than I am by the lack of Government action on stimulating change. Retailers are making it easier and cheaper to buy energy-efficient lightbulbs and white goods and looking at how the same could be achieved for a range of electronic products and withdrawing products with heavy energy usage, such as patio heaters.

"For customers on a tight budget, price remains the main choice determinant. We've asked the Chancellor and the European Commission to offer reduced VAT on energy efficient goods and to drop punitive import tariffs on those produced outside the EU. And we've pressed for the planning and rating systems to accommodate and promote renewable energy production and for investment in rail infrastructure to enable the 'greening' of freight."

What low carbon trends do you predict in the UK retail sector?

"I think there are five key areas: building on existing carbon reduction commitments by getting to grips with the property portfolio and preparing for the Carbon Reduction Commitment; continuing to wring out every saving possible from shipping and freight hauling; understanding the whole lifecycle carbon budgets of supply chains and products, a very complex and resource-consuming venture; providing increasingly energy-efficient products and services for our customers; and going beyond the easy-to-recycle and re-use materials to tackle some of the more difficult packaging and end-of-life product issues. For the latter, we haven't got the answers yet, but lots of people are working on them.

"We can't do all of this on our own and that's why it's so important for the Government to stop talking about climate change or using relatively minor issues such as carrier bags to distract attention from the really big changes that are needed. What about the fact that our railways can't absorb much more freight or guarantee it gets to the right place at the right time, so retailers are forced onto the roads?"

In which ways is the retail industry forging ahead when it comes to implementing measures to mitigate the effects of climate change?

"Supermarkets have been very astute in using short-term weather forecasting to predict demand for products and clothing retailers can switch production remarkably quickly if it's a wet summer or early autumn, for example. All major businesses have continuity plans in case something affects a store or distribution centre. I think every business sector is struggling with predicting how medium-term demand patterns will change with climate but retailers are incredibly adept at shifting their business models to respond to - or even inspire - trends.

"It will be interesting to see the types of tools that [Defra's] UK Climate Impacts Programme will provide and how this will help in planning physical and service retail elements. This means finding resources for the future when the economic downturn is reducing margins, but you can bet the leading retailers will be looking to anticipate the challenges ahead."

What's next on the environmental agenda at BRC?

"My immediate focus is preparing for our climate change conference where retailers will share good practice across the sector and around that time, I will welcome a new Environmental Policy Adviser. We will then have the capacity to take forward an ambitious agenda, including engaging smaller retailers who don't have expertise to put environmental strategies in place. There's so much to do and members are very keen to get on with it!"

Low Carbon Board Report

International Standards: Singing From The Same Hymn Sheet?

Companies are under pressure to disclose information about their carbon emissions - and progress with reducing them - as never before. This pressure can only grow, with disclosures playing an important role in shaping relationships between a company and its stakeholders.

It is therefore important for companies to be as clear about the criteria that will be used to judge their performance. Customers and employees may use reports as a way of choosing which company they wish to buy from or work for. The investment community will use them to evaluate financial risks, while those focused on ethical investment will use the data for their own specialist indices.

"It is important that we find a common set of international standards in terms of company reporting on carbon emissions and their environmental impact."

NGOs will use carbon reports to determine whether an organisation is complying with its obligations and to assess its impact. Governments will use the data as part of an ongoing dialogue with the business community about meeting national targets.

The many voices of stakeholders

Given this complex range of interests it is not surprising that work on formulating internationally agreed standards for reporting emissions has been fragmentary. Companies seeking guidance have a somewhat baffling array of sources to choose from.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) (http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/G3Guidelines/) brings a broad focus to the issue, being concerned with sustainability in general rather than carbon emissions and global warming in particular. GRI, which works closely with the United Nations, aims to address the needs of a wide range of stakeholders. Its guidelines are thought to be used by more than 1,000 organizations in 60 countries to produce their sustainability reports.

The latest version, called GRI G3, provides guidance on defining the boundaries of reporting, and sector specific guidance, providing key performance indicators (KPIs) for reporting greenhouse emissions due to direct and indirect energy use. It also has KPIs for energy savings.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) (http://www.cdproject.net/) aims to reflect the interests of the global investment community, supported by 250 institutional investors with estimated assets of $40 trillion. It provides a mechanism for investors to make a single global request for disclosure on greenhouse gas emissions, and the participating companies, around 1.000 in number, respond through the website.

Naturally enough, the data collected by CDP reflects the interests of investors, focusing on strategy and risk identification and management and governance, as well as emissions and targets.

Many companies will already be familiar with the ISO 14000 series of environmental standards drawn up by the International Organization for Standardization. The standards relating to greenhouse gases in particular come in three parts. ISO 14064-1 (http://www.iso.org/iso/catalogue_detail?csnumber=38381) provides guidance at the organisation level for reporting emissions and removals; ISO 14064-2 (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=38382) focuses on the project level; and ISO 14064-3 (http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=38700) provides guidance on validating emission reports.

Arguably reflecting a narrower range of interests is the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a global association of around 200 companies. With a membership made up largely of chief executives of multi-national companies, WBCSD has a more obviously "pro-business" agenda than some of the other organisations.

Working in partnership with the World Resources Institute, WBCSD has drawn up its own Greenhouse Gas Protocol (http://www.ghgprotocol.org/). This addresses two main areas: corporate accounting and reporting standards, which are designed to help companies assess their total emissions; and guidelines focused on emissions arising from particular projects.

Moves towards greater harmony

To bring greater coherence to all this activity, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was established in January 2007 at the World Economic Forum. It aims to ensure consistency by building on and incorporating work carried out by the Carbon Disclosure Project, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and others.

Such work is certainly needed. "It is important that we find a common set of international standards in terms of company reporting on carbon emissions and their environmental impact for two reasons. First, to ensure that the time and effort in compiling company reports is well spent and meets stakeholder expectations. Second, to achieve comparability in the environmental data to promote wider use across the investment industry," says Dr Danyelle Guyatt, Principal at consulting and research company Mercer.

"At Mercer, we have found that very few mainstream fund managers and analysts - outside of the sustainability branded products - systematically integrate environmental data into their analysis. Perhaps part of the reason for this is the lack of data comparability due to different reporting standards being used by corporations," she told Low Carbon Board Report. "

The need for consultation and collaboration

In the UK, efforts to bring greater coherence to emissions reporting are being co-ordinated by the British Standards Institution (BSI). At present, work is focused on a Publically Available Specification, PAS 2050 (http://www.bsigroup.com/en/Standards-and-Publications/How-we-can-help-you/Professional-Standards-Service/PAS-2050/).

"PAS 2050 is intended as the first step towards a future internationally agreed method for organisations to measure the GHG emissions embodied in their products and services," says BSI.

Part of the PAS process has been to identify and assess existing methods for the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions to inform the work on PAS 2050, says BSI. "These include the ISO 14064-1 Specification with guidance at the organization level for the quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals; the WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol; and ISO standards on Life Cycle Assessment," BSI told Low Carbon Board Report.

PAS 2050 is intended to be useful for all sizes and types of organisations, and all lifecycle stages along the supply/value chain of a product or service, from raw materials to end of life.

"There is a requirement for a standardized, consistent method that organisations can use to measure the greenhouse gas emissions embodied in their products and services. This is what the PAS aims to provide," says BSI.

Key questions:
· What, if any, environmental standards are already implemented by your organisation?
· Which environmental standards would help you comply with your legal and regulatory obligations on emissions?
· Are your stakeholders requesting disclosures of emissions data, what might you expect them to request?