PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Travel platform Booking.com is making moves to drive the tourism industry towards a more sustainable model with the launch of a new accelerator program, Booking.com Booster. Designed to identify, mentor and fund enterprising startups from around the world that are seeking to have a positive impact on the global tourism industry, the three-week program taking place in June 2017 in Amsterdam will culminate in a chance to pitch for grants of up to $538,000 from Booking.com.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Stakeholder engagement non-profit Future 500 has released its annual Top 10 Stakeholder Engagement Trends report for 2017.
PRESS RELEASE -
The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS (NYSE: UPS), announced it is awarding grants totaling more than $2.3 million to non-profit organizations to increase global volunteerism. Grants will support initiatives to bolster global communities, including disaster preparedness and recovery, youth literacy and skills development and veterans training.
The UPS Foundation also announced UPS employees completed a record 2.7 million hours of volunteer service in 2016 providing more than $62 million in economic impact to nonprofits and NGOs around the world. UPS is on track to meet its goal to contribute 20 million global volunteer hours by the end of 2020.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
With rainforest destruction and forced labor still urgent concerns in palm oil cultivation, a diverse group of NGOs and investor organizations, organized by Ceres, today released shared guidance for corporate reporting on company commitments towards responsible palm oil sourcing and production.
PRESS RELEASE -
The rooftop garden next to General Motors’ Renaissance Center world headquarters wrapped up another productive growing season. Now in its third year, the garden – thriving from the landfill-free facility’s compost – resulted in 815 pounds of fresh produce, 150 jars of honey, and $3,546.00 in donations to a community shelter located across the street.
Andiamo Detroit, an Italian restaurant inside the headquarters, made eggplant parmesan, spicy salsa and bruschetta for customers using the garden’s vegetables and herbs. In turn, the restaurant owner made a donation equal to the food’s value to the nearby warming center.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Leading Japanese consulting companies including Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting (DTC) and Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting (MURC) are actively enhancing their pro bono businesses. Rather than it being simply voluntary work, their aim is to use their employees’ specialized skills to help social businesses and the NPO/NGO sector, thereby increasing their employees’ positive motivations and, as a side effect, enhancing their companies’ social reputations.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
After a year of intensive work, the High Carbon Stock (HCS) Convergence Working Group announced in Bangkok today that they have reached agreement on a single, coherent set of rules for implementation of companies’ commitments to “no deforestation” in their palm oil operations and supply chains.
PRESS RELEASE -
GivePower Foundation, a non-profit organization that uses solar energy technologies to deliver essential community services to the developing world, was awarded a second $500,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, totaling $1 million in grant funding in the past year.
PRESS RELEASE -
New campaign promotes FSC as one simple action with a profound impact.
For the first time, six publicly traded companies – some of which are competitors – have come together to promote the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) directly to consumers. The companies are HP Inc., International Paper, Kimberly-Clark, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, and Williams-Sonoma, Inc. All sell FSC-certified products.
PRESS RELEASE -
KOHLER, Wis. – October 6, 2016 – Based on the most recent Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count, there are more than 46,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County on any given night. Living on the street means not only finding a place to sleep and a source of food, but often going days or even weeks without the basic dignity of a hot shower or access to restrooms.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A network of 90 NGOs from around the world including big names such as Greenpeace, Oceana, the Story of Stuff Project, GAIA, 5Gyres and Clean Water Action have come together to launch a massive global movement to achieve a “future free from plastic pollution.” Under the banner Break Free From Plastic, the group aims to change society’s perception and use of plastics, as well as identify and pursue solutions that reduce and prevent plastic pollution.
COLLABORATION -
Today, brewers, governments NGOs and retailers in 76 countries around the world partnered on the second annual Global Beer Responsibility Day in an effort to promote responsible consumption of beer.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Today, the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a project of the nonprofit As You Sow, launched its newest initiative, YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced. YESS will work to eradicate modern slavery in cotton harvesting and yarn production by enabling yarn spinners to identify and eliminate cotton produced with forced labor, and be verified for having fair labor practices. The development of YESS is supported by Humanity United.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The average American emits 17 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year just by going about their daily life – breathing, blow-drying their hair, cooking, and so on. The figure is similar for Australians (16.5 tonnes) and not much better for Canadians (14.1 tonnes), and for most people, it is impossible to reduce this figure to zero. At the same time, many understand that we face an imperative to reduce our impact and help cool the planet. So what are we to do?
PRESS RELEASE -
Thrift store chain challenges back-to-school shoppers to collectively save 700 million gallons of fresh water by replacing one new tee with a thrifted one
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Less than five months after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group’s certification, that suspension has been lifted – much to the dismay of NGO campaigners. While the RSPO’s Complaints Panel has said it is “satisfied that IOI has met the conditions set out in its letter to IOI,” Greenpeace Indonesia and the Center for International Policy says they have yet to see any real action on the ground.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Mark Manning, former oil industry insider and director of acclaimed Iraq war documentaries The Road to Fallujah and Caught in the Crossfire, has turned his lens to another battle taking place in the Gulf, this time on the U.S.’ Gulf Coast. The upcoming feature-length documentary, The Rising, details the devastating effects not only of BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, but of the company’s cleanup efforts following the spill and the apparent large-scale cover-up of their health impacts on the coastal communities.
PRESS RELEASE -
This article was originally posted on the Conference Board, Giving Thoughts Series May 24, 2016.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week, outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland announced a goal to double its footprint in five U.S. cities by 2020 in an unexpected, unique way. Each year for the next five years, the brand will match its retail floor space with the creation or restoration of an equivalent amount of green space in a different city with a Timberland store, beginning with New York City. The next four cities will be revealed later this year, with projects ranging from walking trails to community gardens to city parks.