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Walmart
UCS: 40% Less Fuel Use by Heavy Duty Trucks, Creating $30B in Savings, Feasible with Existing Technology
5 years ago - Ahead of the release of a new heavy duty truck fuel-efficiency standard from the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this spring, a new Union of Concerned Scientists study, released this week, says new fuel efficiency standards for heavy duty trucks should require at least a 40 percent decrease in fuel use, and shows the target is achievable with existing technology and would result in billions of dollars in fuel cost savings.
Brands: Why Should It Be Up to Walmart to Tell Us If You Are Sustainable?
5 years ago - Walmart recently launched its Sustainability Leaders online shop. While I commend the company’s efforts over the past six years to elevate sustainability as an important attribute of products and their manufacturers, I feel that this launch is a bit misplaced. I am sure that it will be successful in terms of awareness and conversions, and I hope that the intent is genuine, but should Walmart even be the creator of the index? How about an independent organization such as the B Lab? How about the brands themselves?
Walmart.com Launches New Shop to Help Shoppers Find and Support Sustainability Leaders
5 years ago - On Tuesday, Sustainable Brands joined a couple hundred Walmart team members and industry influencers at Walmart’s eCommerce headquarters in San Bruno, CA to learn about an important milestone on the journey shared by those attending. What drew these players together was a shared interest in helping shift the world toward a sustainable economy — and an awareness of the key role Walmart has, and is playing, in spurring this shift along.
Safeway to Sell World’s First Fair Trade Certified Seafood, Improve Communities at the Same Time
5 years ago - Last week, Safeway and Fair Trade USA announced a partnership to launch Fair Trade Certified™ seafood into the North American market. The program addresses both social and environmental responsibility in fishing communities across the globe. In March, Safeway will debut the world’s first Fair Trade fish – wild-capture tuna from small-scale fishermen in Indonesia – in its Northern California, Portland and Seattle Division stores.
Walmart Raises Hourly Pay for 500,000 Store Employees
5 years ago - Walmart has announced it will give pay raises to approximately 500,000 full-time and part-time associates at Walmart U.S. stores and Sam's Clubs in the first half of the current fiscal year.Starting in April, current and future hourly associates will make $9.00 per hour, or $1.75 above the federal minimum wage. By February 2016, current associates will earn at least $10.00 per hour.The compensation announcement came as part of $1 billion worth of comprehensive changes to the company’s hiring, training and scheduling programs, as well as to store management structure. The retailer says these changes will give its associates the opportunity to earn higher pay and advance in their careers.
The Leaders and Laggards of Sustainability Goals
5 years ago - Imagine that you arrive to take your first flying lesson. The instructing pilot asks, “How much fuel do you guess we should put in the tank?” You think: “Guess? Come again? Shouldn’t we calculate the distance between where we are and where we are going, and then determine the fuel needed (and add in some extra fuel for peace of mind)?”Yes. And the same is true for sustainability goals.
Closing the Loop on Recycling: Unilever, P&G Aim to Give Communities Greater Access to Recycling Programs
5 years ago - Regardless of where we live, we’re neighbors — sharing this grand global space, and thus all of its sustainability challenges and opportunities.Therefore, we believe we also share in the responsibility to develop solutions, and to work together when our combined resources can have a positive impact that none of us could achieve on our own.
Catalyzing Change: Georgia Tech Establishes Hub for Sustainable Business Collaboration
5 years ago - Howard Connell, managing director of Georgia Tech’s new Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business, points to the panel of presenters at the Center’s inaugural event as an example of how it plans to address the systemic complexities of sustainability.
Report Highlights CPG, Food Companies Leading and Lagging on Better Packaging
5 years ago - Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have issued a new report examining packaging used by 47 fast food/quick service restaurant (QSR) chains, beverage companies, and consumer good/grocery companies and highlights the leaders and laggards in terms of its recyclability.
Walmart, Target Advance Joint Supply Chain Initiative
5 years ago - Walmart, Target and Forum for the Future (FFTF) have established three working groups to take forward actions agreed at last year’s beauty and personal care (BPC) product sustainability summit, according to ChemicalWatch. The groups will focus on aspects of chemicals in products.Working Group 1 — Supply Chain Information Sharing
Measuring Sustainability, Part III: How a Sustainability Index Can Optimize Decision-Making
5 years ago - In the first two parts of this series, we explored the motivations behind creating a sustainability index, and the steps to take when creating an index. In this final part of the series, we will explore how organizations can deploy an index to make consistent decisions to support a sustainability strategy.After the index has been designed and created, the next task is to deploy it into the decisions-making structure. Let’s explore some examples of how other organizations have deployed this approach to make more sustainable products.
Sustainable Supply Chains: Can Retailers Be the Rising Tide That Lifts All Boats?
5 years ago - A whopping 97 percent of environmental impacts in the retail sector come from the product itself — from raw materials, transportation and product manufacturing. With impacts so heavily weighted in the supply chain, retailers are increasingly and creatively wading upstream to partner with their suppliers on their greatest impacts. The key to success lies in selecting the appropriate supplier engagement method and then using that approach as a vehicle to deeper collaboration. But can successful retailer approaches truly motivate meaningful supply chain improvements?The benefits of engagement
How Leadership on Sustainability Shapes Smart Regulatory Policy
5 years ago - This past year, we’ve seen some bold action by companies in what we’ve dubbed the business-policy nexus, and it’s taking several different forms. Some have been calling for state or federal action on environmental impacts, while others are taking far-reaching voluntary efforts that could help support policy advocacy in the future.Whether you view engagement on public policy as risk mitigation, providing market certainty, supporting corporate sustainability goals or securing competitive advantage, leading businesses are increasingly stepping up their efforts to support smart policy reform that will benefit the environment and economy.
Setting Yourself Up for Failure? The Challenges of Environmental Target-Setting
5 years ago - Companies often set targets for memorable milestones and landmark years, such as 2015 or 2020, as this makes it easier to communicate and refer to them — there are 17 companies in the FTSE 100 that will be held to account in 2015 for meeting the targets that they themselves publicly set for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Closed Loop Fund Offering Zero-Interest Loans to Help Cities Develop Recycling Infrastructures
5 years ago - The Closed Loop Fund plans to invest $100 million over the next five years to support the development of recycling infrastructure and services in cities across the country.Municipalities across the country can now apply for zero-interest loans to build recycling infrastructure for their communities. The zero-interest loans are repaid from either landfill-diversion savings or revenue generated from the sale of recyclable material. Companies that service municipalities may also apply, and interest rates will be below market rates.
World's Largest Retailers Take Stand Against Forced Labor in Uzbek Cotton Harvesting
5 years ago - With the annual International Uzbek Cotton and Textile Fair scheduled for October 14th and 15th in Tashkent, retailers and apparel brands are taking action to prevent Uzbek cotton from entering their supply chains. Markets for Uzbek cotton sourced with forced labor continue to diminish as consumers become more aware of the egregious human rights violations that occur during the Uzbek cotton harvest.
Walmart Announces New Commitment to a Sustainable Food System
5 years ago - In front of hundreds of associates, suppliers and nonprofit organizations at its Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting on Monday, Walmart announced its commitment to create a more sustainable food system. The company will reach this goal through four key pillars: improving the affordability of food for both customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency of the food chain.
#NewMetrics '14: Kingsbury Navigates Vast Landscape of Tools, Imagines ‘Uber Tool’ for Chemical Evaluation
5 years ago - “Sustainability is about being multidisciplinary. If you only look at a narrow slice or issue, you will not find a sustained solution.” — Tony KingsburyChemical expert Tony Kingsbury’s Friday afternoon breakout session on his leading-edge research into chemical evaluation tools and certifications asked us all to consider the products around us and how much we truly know. The session led attendees through his journey to uncover what an overload of chemical evaluation tools means for experts, companies and consumers.
Moving Beyond Commitments: Collaborating to End Deforestation
5 years ago - Deforestation can pose significant operational and reputational risks to businesses, and we at EDF are seeing companies start to take action in their supply chains. Deforestation accounts for an estimated 12 percent of overall GHG emissions worldwide — as much global warming pollution to the atmosphere as all of the cars and trucks in the world. In addition, deforestation wipes out biodiversity and ravages the livelihoods of people who live in and depend on the forest for survival.
Could Marketing Fresh Produce Like Junk Food Get Kids Eating More Fruits and Vegetables?
5 years ago - Getting kids to eat more fruit and vegetables has long been a challenge that, despite their best efforts, many parents struggle to win. It’s not just parents — it appears that no one, including schools, retailers and health experts, has managed to crack it. Despite all the drive towards healthy eating, fruit and vegetable consumption still falls well short of the recommended amount, with Americans only eating, on average, one portion of fruit and 1-2 portions of vegetables a day.