NEW METRICS -
This is the final part of a 6-part series about integral thinking and true materiality. It proposes a new impetus to develop reporting that is able to serve the idea of a green & inclusive economy.
PRESS RELEASE -
Sustainable Brands® recently opened submissions for its internationally recognized startup business competition Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO). Presented and sponsored for a fifth year by Target, the competition culminates at SB’16 San Diego, June 6-9, with venture finalists presenting their early operational plans to business leaders and investors in the Sustainable Brands community.
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Sustainability Rising
It will come as no surprise to this community that sustainability has moved well beyond social and environmental responsibility circles to become a C-suite priority.
The numbers give voice to the trend:
PRESS RELEASE -
The President and CEO of Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA), Tim Brown, is pleased to announce the appointment of well-known sustainability innovator Nelson Switzer as Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer.
Nelson has over 15 years of experience in environmental and social sustainability in Canada, the United States and Europe with deep expertise in sustainability strategy development, integration and implementation. Having held pivotal roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Centrica plc NA, as well as the Royal Bank of Canada, he is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of sustainability. Nelson is also former Executive in Residence at the Ivey School of Business and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Waterloo.
WASTE NOT -
MillerCoors, the second largest brewer in the US, announced on Wednesday that all of its major breweries have achieved landfill-free operations.The Fort Worth Brewery in Texas was the final of its eight sites to reach the milestone, after the facility engaged a 'Sustainability Employee Council' that focused on changing employee behaviors and making recycling easier and more accessible.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Last month, IKEA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Steve Howard, raised eyebrows at a panel debate by suggesting that in some parts of the world we have reached the point of ‘peak stuff’, a comment that was interpreted by some as a warning that consumer appetite for home furnishings had reached a crucial turning point.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
The 2016 MPI European Meetings & Events Conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday saw the launch of the #BeeSustain Challenge, an immersive new workshop experience intended to help industry professionals to incorporate sustainability into event planning, share best practice and reduce their financial outlays.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
To maintain longevity and customer loyalty in today’s fast-changing world, classic brands must strike a careful balance between embracing innovation and staying true to their roots.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
There aren’t many businesses that dedicate a fifth of their team to measuring impact. Luckily at Thread, we recognized early on that if we were going to produce the most responsible fabric in the world with a completely traceable and transparent supply chain, in an industry that is notoriously opaque and dangerous, we would need the data to back it up.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
On Friday, Mars, Incorporated announced that it will remove all artificial colors from its human food products. Over the next 5 years, artificial colors will be phased out of the company's chocolate, gum, confection, food and drink businesses. The company asserts that artificial colors pose no risks to human health or safety, but that the change comes in response to consumer demand for the increased use of natural ingredients.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Our recent research suggests that sustainability is gaining some traction in business, yet few organizations have taken meaningful steps toward developing a green supply chain. Furthermore, North American companies lag their European counterparts.While the concept of “sustainability” is the subject of much discussion in boardrooms, many organizations still struggle with determining what sustainability means for their businesses and supply chains — and more significantly, with committing the resources necessary to make meaningful change.
NEW METRICS -
This is part 2 of a 6-part series about integral thinking and true materiality. It proposes a new impetus to develop reporting that is able to serve the idea of a green & inclusive economy. Part 1 can be found here.Those of us who have been working in the areas of corporate sustainability and integrated reporting struggle to reconcile the gap between our aspirations for a world we envision, and the current world that falls short of sustainability and integration. More precisely, some of the following aspects have also led to the raison d’être of the three initiatives that I presented in Part 1. Here are the most important ones:
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If 2015 was the year that inspired new hope in sustainability with the publication of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the success of COP21, 2016 is the year the rubber needs to hit the road when it comes to implementation and impact. So rather than add to the end-of-year 10-best-of-this-and-that listing stampede, instead I’ve created a 6-piece series summarizing essential learnings from 2015 to focus priorities and actions for 2016.*Reflecting on 2015, my own work focused on front-end developments needed in three interlinked areas:
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Corporate sustainability ratings are of growing interest to business leaders, investors, and the general public. The annual releases of popular ratings such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Index now attract widespread coverage. A key driver of this interest is the belief that these ratings schemes allow us to distinguish sustainable corporations from those that are not.
CLEANTECH -
As sustainable business enters the mainstream, there is a growing need for a skilled labor force that can meet the needs of socially and environmentally focused firms. The rate of growth for jobs with “environmental compliance” as a keyword has increased by 24 percent since 2010, while jobs focusing on “energy efficiency” have grown by 500 percent since 2009, according to data from job search engine SimplyHired.com, compiled by Coyne College.
PRESS RELEASE -
Carlson has been recognized by The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism (The Code) as a top member for 2015.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Since March, snack food company KIND Snacks has been facing scrutiny over the labeling of its products. The company has built its brand on its use of natural ingredients in healthy snack products, but according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), several of its bars shouldn’t be called “healthy” at all. KIND agreed to make changes to the labels in breach, but is also politely asking the FDA to update its rules.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Farmer-owned co-operative Organic Valley surpassed $1 billion in sales on December 22, 2015, making it the world’s first organic-only food company to surpass the billion-dollar milestone.
The company attributes a large part of its recent success to the introduction of two new product lines: In 2014, the company launched Organic Balance and Organic Fuel brand protein shakes; and in 2015 it launched Grassmilk premium yogurt, made with 100 percent grass-fed milk and no grain.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
In his pre-show keynote at CES 2014, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich discussed, among other things, how Intel is addressing a critical issue plaguing the consumer electronics industry — conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — and challenged the entire electronics industry to join Intel in becoming “conflict-free.” The CEO said Intel had achieved a critical milestone and the minerals used in microprocessor silicon and packages manufactured in Intel's factories are "conflict-free" as concluded by