Editor's note
| Author | Kimberly Reynolds - Ryan Schmidt |
| Position | Co-Editor in Chief - Co-Editor in Chief |
| Pages | 2-2 |
upon them to better incentivize DES development and clear the
way for these important technologies to revolutionize electricity
generation and distribution in the twenty-first century.
On behalf of the Sustainable Development Law & Policy
Brief, we would like to thank this issue’s authors for their time
and effort to make this publication possible. These insights offer
a unique approach to complex and increasingly vital issues that
we face as global citizens. We would also like to thank our hard
working staff members for the time they committed to ensure
this publication is of the highest quality. Finally, we would like to
thank our readers for their continuing interest and support over
the past several years.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Reynolds Ryan Schmidt
Co-Editor in Chief Co-Editor in Chief
2Sustainable Development Law & Policy
The Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief strives
to confront and analyze legal and political issues entailed in
achieving economic and environmentally friendly goals during
a period of rapid industrialization. The private sector, while
often scrutinized for its role in environmental degradation, has a
significant part to play in sustainable development. This partici-
pation has been envisioned through market based approaches,
such as sustainable supply chains, corporate social responsibil-
ity, investment in green technology, and green finance. However,
challenges and criticism still remain as the private sector begins
to participate in sustainable development initiatives.
This issue features three articles that broadly address how the
private sector can both contribute to and hinder sustainable devel-
opment initiatives. Mr. Luke Trompeter’s article, Green is Good:
How Green Bonds Cultivated in Wall Street’s Environmental
Paradox, explores the creation and purpose of green bonds and
posits that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”),
Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), and the Municipal
Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”) are best suited to
provide clear definitions and disclosure laws for green bond
projects. This helps ensure the investments using green bonds
are actually used for “green” projects as these bonds enter main-
stream investment. Ms. Kate Nancy Taylor’s article, Appraising
the Role of the IFC and its Independent Accountability
Mechanism: Community Experiences in Haiti’s Mining Sector,
scrutinizes the role played by the International Financial
Corporation (“IFC”) during the 2010 Eurasian Minerals Inc.
mining investment exploration in Northern Haiti. Ms. Taylor
looks to the extent at which the IFC was able to enhance environ-
mental and social outcomes as well as public accountability of
the project. Lastly, Lindsay Breslau, Michael Croweak, & Alan
Witt’s article, Batteries Included: Incentivizing Energy Storage,
explores how certain U.S. states are incentivizing the access and
use of Distributed Energy Storage (DES) technologies, which
allow households and businesses to store substantial amounts of
electricity on site. This article offers suggestions for improving
eDitor’S note
Feature:
26 | benefittinG from SuStainable Development
by Victoria Frappaolo
27 | Small SuStainability Supply:
how Small buSineSS & lean manufacturinG
can chanGe Supply chainS
by Carlos Lopez
