DECEMBER 2006

includes environmental policy/management, business opportunities, financial services/products, environmental performance (eco-efficiency), and environmental reporting. The social dimension sums up financial inclusion/ capacity building, labor practice indicators, human capital development, and talent attraction and retention. Based on their assessments, the SAM Group described the following recent sustainability developments in the corporate world. There is a trend toward industry-specific sustainability management within particular sectors, moving beyond general sustainability issues. An increased number of companies are competing for sector sustainability leadership. There are large differences in companies capabilities to manage operational risks. While most companies invest heavily in brand management, only a few are able to quantify the returns on their brand investments. Climate change continues to attract increased attention. More global firms are targeting specific needs of developing countries. Generally, sustainability performance continues to increase across all sectors, with plenty of room for continuing progress to be made. This years supersector leaders include: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) (Germany), Automobiles & Parts; Westpac Banking Corporation (Australia), Banks; Norsk Hydro (Norway), Basic Resources; DSM NV (Netherlands), Chemicals; Holcim (Switzerland), Construction & Materials; Sodhexho Alliance SA (France), Travel & Leisure; Statoil (Norway), Oil & Gas; Investa Property Group (Australia), Financial Services; Unilever (Netherlands), Food & Beverage; Novartis (Switzerland), Healthcare; 3M Company (USA), Industrial Goods & Services; Allianz (Germany), Insurance; ITV Plc (UK), Media; Procter & Gamble Co. (USA), Personal & Household Goods; Kesko (Finland), Retail; Intel Corporation (USA), Technology; BT% Group Plc (UK), Telecommunications; and Veolia Environment (France), Utilities. Full results and Guidebooks to the basis for their sustainability assessment are available at www.sustain ability-index.com/06_htmle/reviews/review2006.html. taic modules, will be built in Serpa, Portugal, in one of Europes sunniest areas. GE Energy Financial Services will finance and own the US $75 million facility. PowerLight, a leading global solar power system provider, designed the plant using the companys innovative PowerTracker system. PowerTracker, which follows the sun as it moves across the sky throughout the day and generates more electricity than conventional fixedmount systems, is the worlds most widely used solar power system for large-scale power plants. PowerLight will operate and maintain the Serpa plant. Catavento, a leading Portuguese renewable energy company, developed the project, and will provide management services. This project is GEs first solar power project in Europe, and will raise GEs European renewable energy portfolio to a total of 177 MW. The Serpa solar installation will produce electricity sufficient to power 8,000 homes and avoid more than 30,000 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions, as compared to equivalent fossil-fuel generation. For details, see www. powerlight.com/company/press-releases/2006/ 04.27.06_Serpa_Portugal_Worlds_Largest_Solar_ Power_Plant.shtml. Meanwhile, US-based engine manufacturer Caterpillar Inc., with assistance from the US Environmental Protection Agency and other federal partners, has landed a $58 million contract from China to supply the power generation equipment for the worlds largest power plant fueled by coal mine methane. This project is the result of collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors through the Methane to Markets Partnership, a US-led initiative that now includes 17 partner countries, including China. This development also supports the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, of which China and the United States are members. The power plant will produce 120 MW of electricity from coalbed and coal mine methane from the Sihe mine, in addition to exhaust gas heat that will be recovered to produce hot water and steam for the mining operations. The completed project will avoid an estimated 4.5 million tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. For more details, see www. epa.gov/aging/press/epanews/2006/2006_0518_2.htm.
CONTACT: Roxanne Smith, US Environmental Protection Agency. Tel: +1 202 564 4355; E-mail: smith. roxanne@epa.gov. More information about the Methane to Markets Partnership can be found at www.epa.gov/ methanetomarkets.

Bigger Solar and Methane Power Plants

E Energy Financial Services, PowerLight Corporation, and Catavento Lda plan to build the worlds largest solar photovoltaic power project. The 11-megawatt (MW) plant, comprising 52,000 photovol-