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Articles by Derric Pennington
Opinion | Godspeed to Dolly Parton, a ‘kin’ I never met but always knew
Opinion | Godspeed to Dolly Parton, a ‘kin’ I never met but always knew From roadtrips to visit family in Appalachia to driving around the Twin Cities with my kids, she’s been part of the soundtrack of my life. Dolly Parton performs Aug. 14, 2023, in Overland Park, Kan. "I guess, like many, I’d just assumed she’d live forever," Derric Pennington writes.
PepsiCo and TalusAg Announce Low-carbon Ammonia Attribute Agreement to Help Accelerate Fertilizer Decarbonization
Agriculture is a system - and a critical part of the food system. A lot of you are talking about fertilizer and the incredible team at PepsiCo has been leaning in. Decarbonizing fertilizer is important to advancing climate progress at scale. We believe it should be done in a way that works for farmers.
Is sustainable aviation fuel plan an example of public-private-nonprofit greenwashing?
Opinion editor's note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency recently introduced its sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) program to the public while standing in an experimental agricultural research field at the University of Minnesota with representatives of the Forever Green Initiative (FGI) and Friends of the Mississippi River. Why?
“Derric, your LinkedIn posts aren’t very constructive.”
This is a critique I hear now and a gain from people I do admire. It’s true; my persona on social media is more about calling out that the ‘glass half-empty.’ But that’s because there is an overwhelming number of voices in the sustainability profession that just focus on the ‘half-full.’ No one seems to have an incentive to talk about the empty half, the trade-offs. I imagine doing so my jeopardize future half-full glasses or one’s funding or job. And, I get it.
ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT NATURE IN BINARY TERMS?
Based on my reading of the Science Based Targets Network’s methods for setting targets for nature, you likely are or will be. Similar to the Science Based Targets initiative FLAG targets, the SBTN focuses on a simple dichotomy of “nature” vs “agriculture (or not nature)” or “no people” vs “people.” It’s a dichotomy as old as environmentalism itself.
What’s your beef, Derric?
I think the most important action is targeted reduction of consumption volumes through changing incentives. Also, I’m not living in a regenerative utopia. All agriculture production is going to be a net positive in terms of GHG emissions. Livestock production is a key contributor as you know. However, eliminating livestock production all together isn’t something I’m ready to advocate for.
It’s offset innovation - carbon storage tech to the rescue!
It’s not surprising to see so many consulting and tech companies calling for and investing in sequestration credits through natural and manmade i.e., direct air capture approaches — offsets. For example, the self-promoted sustainability leader, Salesforce, is woefully behind meeting its 2030 and 2040 emissions targets they set in 2021. Instead of reducing their emissions they have increased them by 40% over their choice of a 2019 baseline.
Has Nature and Climate Accounting Loss Sight of the Farmer?
Indeed, how many actual full-time land workers are even at the table of these myriad initiatives meant to influence their decisions and their wellbeing?
Supplyshed Carbon Accounting.
THERE’S A NEW THING THAT’S GOING AROUND and I’ll tell you what they’re putting down…its call hashtag#Supplyshed Carbon Accounting. It’s similar to the concept of “mass balance” except lacking the “balance.” Basically, you model both farmer practice (without the farmer) and the expected CO2 sequestration from practice for your assumed sourcing area, Supplyshed, this too, is often modeled. Once you have the supplyshed CO2, you add this to your GHG emissions disclosure. Perfect, Right?
Does your company pay external outlets to write articles about your business?
So what responsibility does the original publisher of the sponosred content have to communicate this point in their own marketing? A noted expert in corporate communication stated to me that “Sponsored content should be viewed as ads or advertorials and not independent journalism. There should be an impenetrable line drawn between the two.” So I’m curious if these actual posts reflect “good practice.” Or do they blur the line between sponsored content versus independent journalism? Does it matter?
Grounding Platitudes from Davos
Hello friends, below is a collection of my cartoons and reflections on last week’s World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. Enjoy, Derric I’ve accepted that corporate ethics are not society-writ-large ethics. Corporate ethics as practiced today define “good” as maintaining or increasing profit margins based off the market and legal regulations. Society-writ-large defines “good” in terms of individual and collective well-being.
How should we interpret corporate ESG ratings?
How can the same company receive an "A" grade for their climate change efforts but also be judged to rank low on transparency and integrity regarding these efforts? Guess which rating companies are publicly chirping about? After seeing the assessment by @Climate Market Watch (CMW) ( https://lnkd.in/giY9Zyzj), I was curious how their interpretation of a company's climate change efforts compared to another highly publicized rating assessment by CDP.
Certification standards could significantly help us meet our food, water and climate goals
Community Voices features opinion pieces from a wide variety of authors and perspectives. (Submission Guidelines) Derric Pennington Do you know how the sugar that goes into your soda or candy contributes to climate change and water stress? Ever wonder how we can reduce those impacts? We had these same questions. Turns out, certification standards can be part of the answer.
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