Business plans: ExxonMobil, M&S and Apple

the environmentalist gives a round up of environment management news from companies including Apple, BAFTA and ExxonMobil

US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil is to publish information on the risks that stricter limits on carbon emissions would pose for its business. A shareholder resolution seeking disclosure of potential stranded assets has now been withdrawn after the company agreed to publish online a carbon asset risk report, describing how the firm assesses the risk of stranded assets from climate change.

Apple chief executive Tim Cook, meanwhile, warned shareholders that the technology company would resist demands to drop environmentally friendly practices if they became unprofitable. “Cook made it very clear to me that if I, or any other investor, was more concerned with return on investment than reducing carbon dioxide emissions, my investment is no longer welcome at Apple,” said Justin Danhof, from the conservative National Centre for Public Policy Research.

In the UK, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and software company Greenstone are to redevelop the industry’s carbon calculator, called Albert. Greenstone will redevelop Albert to improve its usability and analytical functionality.

Multinational consumer goods business Unilever has issued its first “green sustainability” bond, the first of its kind on the sterling market. Worth £250 million, it will finance projects linked to the company’s sustainability ambitions, focusing specifically on reducing CO2 emissions, water consumption and waste generation from its operations.

Marks & Spencer has become the first retailer to receive triple certification from the Carbon Trust for its achievements in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, waste and water consumption.

Software company SAP has announced that it plans to use only renewable energy to power its data centres around the world. “Committing to 100% renewable electricity in our data centres and facilities is a natural consequence of our business model shift into the cloud,” said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer at SAP. The firm’s latest integrated report reveals that its data centres consumed 173 GWh of energy in 2013, up 8% on 2012.