The Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP) has released a Handbook of Drought Indicators and Indices which is freely downloadable The IDMP is co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Global Water Partnership (GWP) and some 30 other partners.

The handbook is aimed at those who want to generate indicators and indices themselves, as well as for those who simply want to obtain and use products that are generated elsewhere. It is intended for use by general drought practitioners such as meteorological and hydrological services and ministries, resource managers and other decision-makers.

Based on available literature and drawing findings from relevant works wherever possible, the handbook addresses the needs of practitioners and policymakers, and is not an academic paper. The handbook aims to present some of the most commonly used drought indicators and indices that are being applied across drought-prone regions.

The goal is to advance monitoring, early-warning and information-delivery systems in support of risk-based drought management policies and preparedness plans. These concepts and indicators and indices are outlined in the Handbook, which will evolve and integrate new indicators and indices as they come to light and are applied in the future.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released a Briefing Paper,  Lifestyle Material Footprint: An explanation, which explains in plain language exactly what the material footprint is.

The material footprint measures the resource use over the complete life-cycle of products, services and activities that shape lifestyles, e.g. food consumption and mobility patterns. It can be applied in different scales, from individual lifestyle material footprints to the average material footprint per capita in a country.

The GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) has produced the first global standard for sustainability reporting, the so-called “G4” Guidelines.

This set of documents has been re-structured, based upon experiences from the previous three sets of Guidelines. The standard is modular in format, making it easier to update various components without having to re-issue the complete standard.

There are three universal modules that apply to all reporters, the Foundation Module (101), the General Disclosures Module (102) and the Management Approach Module (103). These are supported by three topic specific modules, 200 – Economic; 300 – Environmental; and 400 – Social. Working with the five modules enables reporters to develop customised reporting frameworks which can be assessed in accordance with the standard.

A short explanatory video spells out graphically exactly how the standard works and how the modules are used to develop the reporting framework. The main page of the GRI is a very good starting point to navigate through the G4 information for both novice and seasoned reporter.

The World Resources Institute (WRI) have developed a free, downloadable, sustainability Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (sSWOT) Guide which has been designed to help drive action on environmental challenges that are creating real business risk and opportunities.

The Guide is not new (it was launched in 2012) but has been “road tested” by various companies ranging from food producers, chemical companies and water and sanitation providers, through to financial services companies, discount retailers, stationers and internet service providers.

The Guide suggests a “road map” on how to tackle the project with case notes from the various companies who road tested the Guide.

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Small Business Division produced its Practical Guide To Environmental Management For Small Business in 2002.  The Guide, though dated and focussing upon US legislation, is still a useful introduction to the small businessperson who is new to environment and business and needs some guidance on practicalities. The process map on page 7 is a useful first introduction to life cycle assessment (LCA) and helps to move thinking away from environmental management being a luxury, rather than a necessity.

The guide, produced in 2015, examines the context and drivers for responsible sourcing and provides practical guidance and examples on approaches that companies can take to demonstrate that they are producing materials responsibly. Examples of drivers include: climate change, increasing social responsibility expectations of business, and more stringent environmental, health and safety standards and regulations.

Using work undertaken by ICMM, the guide ensures that common sustainable development challenges are considered not only at the mine or metal production facility but throughout the whole value chain.

This approach, termed materials stewardship, was built on the premise that companies have a shared responsibility for the materials that they produce. Demonstrating value focuses on the two complementary sides of the responsible sourcing debate – sustainable procurement and responsible supply.

The guide is organised around four themes that can be summarised as: mapping the value chain, developing programmes and standards; engaging with stakeholders and contributing to knowledge. These topics are supported by case studies that illustrate how the approaches have been successfully applied to create business value and maximise the contribution of companies and materials.

Although aimed at the mining industry, many of the practical suggestions are applicable to other sectors. ICMM’s ten sustainable development principles are particularly useful as high level policy guidelines.

The Guide can be freely downloaded here on the ICMM website.

IPIECA (the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues), who supported the development of the IPIECA Global Water Tool for Oil and Gas (a customised version of the WBCSD Global Water Tool) (GWT) and the GEMI® Local Water Tool for Oil and Gas™ (LWT), have developed an online e-learning course for the tool.

The Water risk assessment e-learning training course aims to improve uptake and implementation whilst helping companies effectively, efficiently and easily monitor, assess and manage water risks.

Through various interactive and flexible units, the course provides managers with an overview of water risks in the oil and gas sector. It also provides practitioners with a thorough overview of how to use and interpret outputs from both the GWT and LWT.

IPIECA encourages the oil and gas industry to take advantage of this great resource, to learn how, at your own pace, to use these water risk assessment tools and make a difference to the communities you operate in.

The course includes:

• A completely flexible approach whereby users can work through at any pace and complete the units in any order. It is estimated that completing all the units would take approximately two hours.
• A voiceover accompaniment to complement the text and highlight key messages – this can be switched off using the mute button.
• Quiz questions at the end of each unit ensure your understanding – please be assured answers are not recorded or timed.
• How the tool is deployed within your company is also flexible, for example: You may want to simply include it as part of training plans with selected staff that is undertaken, at the trainees pace;
• Use the training in a facilitated training session;
• Use individual modules to explain different aspects of water risk management; or
• Link to existing, in-house training.

For a brief overview of the aims and content of the Water risk assessment e-learning training course, please watch the promotional video.

This Guideline was published by the South African Department of Environmental Affairs & Tourism as one of a series of guidelines to assist municipalities in the implementation of the South African National Waste Management Strategy. Having said that, the Guidelines have considerable value to other stakeholders in the management of waste.

The 62 page, freely downloadable, booklet is packed with facts, information, explanatory graphics, key questions for each stage of the process for developing recycling programmes, Frequently Asked Questions, a sample waste stream audit protocol and a model memorandum of agreement for a recycling centre.

THE WH₂OLE STORY- WATER & BUSINESS: HOW TO AVOID THE COMING CRISIS

This freely downloadable 53 page booklet was produced by Context, a consultancy specialising in corporate sustainability strategy and communications. The PDF version is downloadable here.

The publication is light, easily readable and contains plenty of useful throwaway facts to get people’s attention. It does have an “Ameri-centric” approach but it can be selectively used in many other countries. Do not expect a heavily scientific treatise, but rather view it as a source of information if you are looking to persuade decision makers that water needs to be given a higher priority, and that it may be a strategic risk, which, if not properly managed and understood, could bring down the company.

The Carbon Footprinting Guide is published by Nedbank, in collaboration with Stellenbosch University’s Sustainability Institute. The stated aim of the book is to demystify carbon footprint approaches and help readers grasp the main concepts and assist them in carrying out the actual carbon footprint calculations.

The Guide is broadly broken up into four sections:-

1. Background,
2. Applying the Principles,
3. Case Studies and associated explanation, and
4. Discussion on consultants and Auditors.

For those who need to seriously look at calculating their carbon footprint, as free giveaways go, this publication is the best available at the present time. The publication does reflect certain biases which one can appreciate given the sponsor and the particular experiences of the authors. As with any technical or profession-related matter of this nature, readers are strongly advised to consult specialists in relation to their own sector and site specific issues and requirements, and not use a publication like this in isolation.

The authors of the Guide are Dr Marco Lotz, Nedbank Group Sustainability Carbon Specialist and Dr Alan Brent, Professor in the Sustainability Programme of the School of Public Leadership of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.