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Welcome to the ninth 2021 edition of The Nett Report. Last year, given the uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis, we began publishing this report to provide our clients and friends with new perspectives and insights in hopes of stimulating creative thinking during that challenging period of time. Well, the challenges continue and so does The Nett Report. Feel free to share with friends! Links to the 2020 reports can be found here and the 2021 reports here.
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Quotable
‘When you get to my age, you'll really measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That's the ultimate test of how you have lived your life. The more you give love away, the more you get.”
— Warren Buffett, Chair and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., April 28, 2021
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Climate Change
“The climate conversation has been made very acute by what we’ve just been through. It really has become a virtual circle…the investor side, the developer side, the tenant, the architect, are all starting to be in synch. It’s a transformative moment.”
— Diane Hoskins, co-CEO, Gensler, CEO Daily, April 29, 2021
Cutting methane emissions could slow warming by 30%
It’s not talked about much, but 40% of climate change is not caused by carbon dioxide, but by short-lived but powerful greenhouse gases including black soot, hydro-fluorocarbons, and methane. A new study reported in the Washington Post and published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, “calculated that a full-scale push using existing technologies could cut methane emissions in half by 2030. Such reductions could have a crucial impact in the global effort to limit warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial levels — a central aim of the Paris climate accord.”
Covid reduced greenhouse gas emissions but not enough to reach global targets
Impact Alpha on April 24, 2021, reported that ”greenhouse gas emissions fell about 7% last year as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down large parts of the global economy. That nearly achieved the reduction that is needed every year to keep global warming below the 1.5º Celsius increase considered the threshold for catastrophe.” The story reports that the “International Energy Agency forecasts emissions will increase this year by 1.5 billion tons, or 5%. To talk about accelerating progress when we are still stuck in reverse is wildly premature. And yet wild talk may be a crucial precondition for progress.”
Climate change a factor behind increased migration at southern border
According to a story by CNBC on April 18, 2021, “climate change is reinforcing underlying vulnerabilities and grievances that may have existed for decades, but which are now leading to people having no other choice but to move.” This from the United Nations Refugee Agency. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CNBC that “violence, natural disasters, food insecurity, and poverty” in Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador account for 71% increase in the number of people attempting to cross the border in March compared to February, and a 34% increase over the same time last year.
Time-lapse shows drought's toll on Lake Mead
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the U.S. and 28th largest in the world. As reported in the April 16, 2021, Nett Report, the west has been in a sustained period of drought since 1999. On April 21, 2021, Vox reported Lake Mead is at 39% of capacity and has dropped 10 feet since last April. The story includes a time-lapse video showing how the reservoir has shriveled since 1984.
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Future of Work / The Economy
“Covid has substantively raised people’s awareness of general global connectedness, The line has been crossed. It has gone from an intellectual conversation about sustainability to more of a gut sense. People are looking at it as a business opportunity.”
— Mark Foster, SVP, IBM Global Business Services, CEO Daily, April 22, 2021
Climate change is becoming more important to business
On April 22, 2021, Earth Day, CEO Daily reported abut IBM’s Institute of Business Value's global consumer survey covering 14,000 people in nine countries. The survey provided these findings:
- Nine in 10 consumers reported the pandemic affected their views on environmental sustainability, and many reported they are willing to pay more out of their own pockets — or even take a pay cut — for a more sustainable future.
- More than 70% of people now say they are more likely to work for, or stay with, a company with a good record or reputation on the environment.
- 55% are “willing to pay more for brands that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.”
- 48% of investors say their portfolio “already takes environmental sustainability into account,” and another 21% say they will likely add sustainability as a factor for investment decisions in the future.
- The U.S. continues to be an outlier when it comes to public attitudes on climate, with only 51% saying climate change is very or extremely important to them, compared to 73% in the other eight countries surveyed.
In a separate IBM survey, 84% of CEOs said that sustainability will be important to their strategy in 2022—up from just 32% who said the same in 2018.
GDP grew at a 6.4% annual rate in first quarter
The Wall Street Journal reported on April 29, 2021, that gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a 6.4% annual rate in the first quarter, leaving the economy within 1% of its peak before the pandemic. The article quoted one expert as saying “everything about this crisis has been unique,” and that 2021 is “shaping up to be a rapid, consumer-driven recovery.”
Clean energy demand creates new work for Texas shipyards
Texas Monthly reports in the May 2021 issue that shipyards that once produced “a steady stream of “jack-up rigs,” offshore platforms that tap petroleum miles beneath the ocean floor, are now building ships that place pilings to support offshore wind turbines in the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Clean energy companies struggle to find trained workers
According to a story in Reuters on April 20, 2021, “many clean energy companies are struggling to find enough workers with the right training.” Bob Keefe, executive director of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2), said the country already has more clean energy workers than real estate agents, farmers or bankers. “They’re not blue state jobs, they’re not red state jobs,” Keefe said. ‘These are red, white and blue jobs.” Disclaimer: I am a member of E2 and a state and national advisor to the group.
Investment in clean energy is booming
According to a story by Impact Alpha on April 24, 2021, “climate tech to cool the planet is hot” and says investments in the sector reached $16.4 billion In 2020. The outlet provides these examples:
- Pale Blue Dot closes its debut climate tech fund
- CarbonCure Technologies and CarbonBuilt each win $7.5 million for carbon capture and reuse in the cement industry
- Electric boat-maker X Shore draws in $17 million
- BlocPower raises $1 million on crowdfunding platform Raise Green
- Vietnamese e-motorbike venture Dat Bike secures $2.6 million
- Volvo’s electric vehicle company Polestar snags $550 million
- CleanCapital secures $300 million to acquire 63 megawatts of solar projects
- Blue like an Orange invests in Órigo Energia to boost solar energy access in Brazil
Fortune platform to help people prepare for the new world of work
CEO Daily reports that during the pandemic the speed of technological change accelerated even more, “underscoring the urgent need for programs that help workers acquire new skills to keep up with change.” In addition, “digital access to everything expanded, making online education the dominant mode for lifelong learning.” As a result, Fortune is launching Fortune Education. It is starting with the launch of a new ranking of online MBA programs. Ultimately, it will focus on graduate, post-graduate, executive education and personal and professional improvement programs to help people find the programs that will enable them to achieve their life goals.
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Covid
“I keep on thinking of this picture on getting to herd immunity, These sheep turn pink every time they're vaccinated, and there are fewer and fewer white sheep that are unvaccinated next to each other, and then the virus can't spread because it can't spread among the pink sheep.”
— Monica Gandhi, professor of medicine, U.C. San Francisco, Salon, April 28, 2021
What happened in nature when we stayed home?
A BBC documentary narrated by David Attenborough, The Year Earth Changed, “takes a look at nature’s extraordinary response to a year of global lockdown … from hearing birdsong in deserted cities for the first time in decades, to witnessing whales communicating in ways never before seen,” the world changed. Available only on Apple TV+.
Racial wealth gap extends beyond the pandemic’s impact
A New York Times story on April 9, 2021, reported that racial inequities that have been highlighted by the pandemic indicate that even with massive initiatives already in place, “more will be needed to repair … the gap in wealth between Black and white Americans. For every dollar a typical white household has, a Black household has 12 cents and Latinos have 21 cents. The story says those disparities “drag down the American economy as a whole.” Consumption and investment lost Because of that gap “cost the U.S. economy $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion over 10 years, or 4 to 6 percent of the projected gross domestic product in 2028.”
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The Nett Light-Side
Our recent survey suggested we add a section called “The Nett Light-Side,” a special section with sports, travel, etc. Let’s try it out and see what our readers have to say. Please let us know what you think!
World Nature Photography Awards announce 2020 winners
I hate to miss a chance to share some great photos of wildlife and nature. You will find really cool shots in this collection of winners of the 2020 World Nature Photography Awards.
My Octopus Teacher wins Oscar for best documentary
It’s not often that a nature documentary about an ocean subject wins an Oscar, and My Octopus Teacher really deserves it. The human in the story develops a daily relationship with an octopus in a South African kelp forest. I can’t explain anything more in a few short words other than to say it’s worth watching.
Octopus dreams and the evolution of sleep
Speaking of octopus, Wired on April 18, 2021, reported on studies of how different animals sleep and what we might learn from them. It includes studies of octopus and the realization that sleep likely evolved over time until it reached its current state in humans and other species.
Plague of mice in Australia is horrific
While some perceptions of Australia come from stories of venomous snakes and spiders and attacks by great white sharks, a plague of mice in the country is even more horrifying. An opinion in the Washington Post by Richard Glover of ABC Radio Sydney says in the western districts of New South Wales, “millions of mice are now on the march.” He says that “on social media, farmers post videos showing the swarm in action, while farming organizations say the cost is already in the millions. Flooding has driven the mice indoors, and they run across peoples beds, eat their food, infest restaurants, and even bite patients in hospitals and in homes.
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Nettleton Strategies - Helping You Navigate the Big Reset
This is a challenging time for all of us, in a way we have never experienced before. Here are some things you can do to move forward.
Take this time to imagine your future. We encourage you to imagine a post-coronavirus future when you can begin to realize your dreams in a sustainable way.
Assess your current and future status. At Nettleton Strategies, our philosophy has always been that we need to know two things to find solutions and move forward:
- A clear understanding of the status of the current situation.
- A clear vision of how you want your world to be in the future.
With those two benchmarks, you can create a path from your current status to the future imagined status, eliminating the obstacles and identifying processes and resources needed to reach the future state.
Let Nettleton Strategies help! We long ago discarded our flip charts and have facilitated client needs using digital tools. Now we have successfully facilitated client strategy sessions on Zoom. We can do the same for you! Let us help you:
- Clarify your unique value proposition as an organization.
- Identify clear goals that are measurable.
- Align what you do with available funding.
- Determine who should be responsible for next steps.
- Help you to emulate best practices in your field.
If you would like help navigating your way forward, contact us to learn more about how we can help!
Carl Nettleton is an award-winning writer, acclaimed speaker, facilitator, and a subject- matter expert regarding water, climate, sustainability, the ocean, and binational U.S. Mexico border affairs. Founded in 2007, Nettleton Strategies is a trusted source of analysis and advice on issues at the forefront of public policy, business and the environment.
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