CHIME

VF Corporation — one of the world’s largest single purchasers of cotton, whose brands include Lee, Wrangler and The North Face — says much of the world’s cotton comes from areas that are expected to be impacted most by water scarcity and extreme weather  such as the Western US, China, Pakistan and India. The IPCC report makes firms’ risks associated with climate change even more clear, says Letitia Webster, VF’s director of global corporate sustainability.

“Whether in mountains or the ocean, our brands and our consumers are feeling the impacts of climate change,” which means less ski-related business for The North Face.  The company today signed Ceres’ Climate Declaration, calling on US policymakers to enact climate and clean energy policies that will benefit the economy.

What you stop doing is as important, if not more so, as what you start doing

Won’t achieve the endpoint without breaking the journey down into intermediate steps;

Is the Brundtland definition of sustainability ambitious enough? Should we not want to improve the world for future generations

“If it’s easy to remember, it’s easier to participate,” he said.

Oudghin showed examples of the remarkable transparency of some publicly traded companies, such as Nike, where anyone can check up on the details of pretty much every Nike supplier.

“How would we recognize a truly sustainable business if we saw one?”