Fast-moving industries involved in the production of consumer goods, food, apparel and precious stones have all come under pressure about the provenance of materials, components and products in their supply chains. Many companies in these sectors have responded by developing mechanisms to assure customers and consumers that products can be traced and sourced with environmental and social considerations in mind. Such traceability has reshaped expectations of corporate accountability and transparency.

Attention is now turning to oil and gas. The sector is already facing a reputational crisis following the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the WikiLeaks disclosures and recent events around the Keystone XL oil pipeline and controversy in the UK over the European fuel quality regulation means that it is likely inevitable that there will be growing demand for greater transparency. As in other sectors, traceability will be a key feature of the rising tide…

A compilation of SustainAbility's current and past thinking on the future of energy.

Image: Oceana.org

Oceana, the NGO which, according to its website, is the largest organization focused soley on ocean conservation, has been running a new ad campaign in Washington, DC since about the first anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon accident (mid-April). I see the posters frequently on my ride to and from work on the DC Metro. The campaign is titled What If It Happened Here?, and depicts a DH-like drilling platform fire and the consequences – oil slicks, deployed booms, oiled birds – adjacent to the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument…

At the end of last year, my colleagues and I wrote, debated, and then re-wrote a blog on ten sustainability trends from 2010. Now that 2011 is underway, here are five trends we’re watching closely. We hope you’ll join the discussion and share your thoughts on the key issues appearing (and not appearing) on this list.

It’s time for all those focusing on sustainability to change gears and review strategy. With the ecological system groaning under the strain of an economy simply too big for the planet, we have to face the uncomfortable truth. The time to act just preventatively has past. It is time to brace for impact as we enter The Great Disruption.

The coming years won’t be pleasant, as our society and economy hits the wall and realigns around what was always an obvious reality: You cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. Not ‘should not’, or ‘better not’, but cannot.

BP's 2010 sustainability report tries to take the spill head-on, but stakeholders have even bigger questions in mind.

A new energy joint venture gives a glimpse of a world beyond fossil fuels.

Population numbers are staggering, but the answer, in terms of how many is too many, is more complicated.

The oil industry should, instead of isolating one culprit, commit to addressing systemic failures that led to the spill.

Why has the projection of a world of 9 billion people by 2050 become such a resilient piece of conventional wisdom?

Peeling away the gloss of oil industry terminology reveals disturbing truths about the direction the industry is headed.

How will the Deepwater Horizon accident affect the future of the oil and gas industry?

I’d heard rumblings about a protest of considerable size taking place at the BP headquarters in St James’ Sq, London...

As BP struggles to contain the potentially devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, familiar questions are being ask

Geoff Lye chats with some prominent fellow queuers while hoping to get into the COP 15 main conference.

The long-term health of the petroleum industry requires that strong action is taken on climate change.