AHC Group articles

For the last thirty years we have all been working very hard to put ourselves out of the remediation business, so why be concerned with where  remediation will be ten years in the future? In responding to environmental legacies of the past hasn’t industry put policies and procedures in place to prevent the creatin of future liabilities? Don’t we design and operate facilities today to minimize the generation of wastes and the potential for spills, releases and discharges? If so, how can ther

The author describes first-hand how this leading energy company has significantly expanded its oil sands operation in Alberta, Canada, while effectively managing environmental impacts and addressing the needs of the local community, including aboriginal people. Suncor`s `parallel path` to being a sustainable energy company has led it to develop hydrocarbons for today`s needs while also investing in wind energy for the future.

THE TURNAROUND AT SUNCOR

When Suncor first invested in the

While the diplomats stumbled over compliance mechanisms to curb global warming at The Hague, it increasingly appears that the public has crossed the line to believe we have entered a long, hot century. Polar melt down and extreme weather may ultimately be attributed to natural cycles, but don`t look to the public and the institutions that respond to the public to do any more waiting for more scientific evidence of global warming.

Kirk Johnson in the New York Times reported that, `In the New

This article examines the forces responsible for America`s ongoing energy crisis cycle (now over three decades old and still creating impasse), and suggests ways in which industry leaders, environmentalists, government, and the public can work together to eliminate the need for energy development.

THE CHALLENGE FOR CORPORATIONS

Underlying the progress that has been made in the past 30 years and the steps that must be taken over the next several decades to satisfy the demands of our 3

This article points to the signs of a shift from the model of an over-dependence on central power plants to a distributed renewable energy system, and discusses the major growth opportunities for businesses developing new technologies.

Our electricity grid, with its emphasis on large polluting and centralized power plants that inefficiently send power long distances over transmission lines, is an artifact that is over 100 years old. The architecture of the existing transmission grid is the a

With recent deregulation of the electricity industry, the author finds parallels in the deregulation of the telephone industry and explains what it means for consumers.

Last summer, skyrocketing electricity bills in San Diego and New York City — the first cities in the nation to experience the dynamics of an open, competitive power market — have many calling for more direct government intervention at federal and state levels and a return to the days of the regulated electric utility.

Benchmarking is about comparing one firm`s systems to a set of another firm`s parallel systems — a simple yet effective approach to learning for management at a time when learning is critical.

`Tact,` my wife once explained, `is the intelligence of the soul.` It was a dramatic point, and it has stayed alive in my mind across these last twenty years.

`Tact` is such a short but powerful word. The first reason corporate benchmarking is an effective management tool resides in the fact

Read about the serious challenges and opportunities that EH&S managers face in times of domestic and global upheavals to determine their own priority and fit in corporate governance.

POSITIONING EH&S IN THE POST-ENRON/ANDERSEN ENVIRONMENT

Relative to the specific climate for EH&S thinking and initiatives, EH&S executives should expect a number of changes in CEO, senior executive and Board demands for scrutiny, accountability and public reporting.... Gaining a greater

Written by a consultant specializing in value chain social responsibility, this article details the challenges of promoting social responsibility through the supply chain of a specialty company operating in the world`s second largest commodity business — coffee.

THE COFFEE CRISIS

Over the past five years, a severe drop in the commodity price of coffee has devastated coffee producers worldwide. In 2002, prices paid to farmers sunk to their lowest levels in 30 years (in 100 years in

Here the author examines how a growing number of companies that have adopted corporate social responsibility programs, especially those that harness the immense power of volunteerism, are building the business case for these social investments and encouraging them to take root and grow so they are more than just a passing fad.

Jeff Schwartz, CEO of Timberland, a $1.5 billion New Hampshire-based global footwear, apparel and accessories company, recently proclaimed that economist Milton Friedm