NEW METRICS -
As the sustainability world places increased focus on supply chain issues, there’s no doubt that any corporation on an authentic CSR journey needs to carefully examine the impacts of its entire supply chain. In fact, according to the United Nations Global Compact’s recently published Global Corporate Sustainability Report, supply chain management is the single greatest barrier to large companies advancing to the next level of sustainability performance.
NEW METRICS -
Less than a third (32 percent) of CEOs believe the global economy is on track to meet the demands of a growing population, while two-thirds (67 percent) report that the private sector is not making sufficient efforts to address global sustainability challenges, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Global Compact (GC) and Accenture. Still only 38 percent say they currently are able to quantify the business value of sustainability.
NEW METRICS -
On Tuesday at the New Metrics of Sustainable Business Conference, Climate Counts will present initial findings of the first-ever science-based rating of corporate carbon emissions. The study, conducted by Center for Sustainable Organizations (CSO) Executive Director Mark McElroy and Bill Baue, applies CSO's Context-Based Carbon Metric, which compares company carbon emissions to science-based targets.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Chipotle keeps sticking its neck out for "sustainable," locally produced food — now with an animated short-film attack on "Big Food" and with the promise of more expansive and aggressive efforts to come."The Scarecrow" is a 3-1/2-minute film that Chipotle Mexican Grill released online last week that depicts what the brand calls "a dystopian fantasy world" in which "all food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. Scarecrows have been displaced from their traditional role of protecting food, and are now servants to the crows and their evil plans to dominate the food system."
General Mills has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI) by S&P Dow Jones Indices and investment specialist RobecoSAM after demonstrating best-in-class performance against numerous sustainability metrics, according to a recent announcement.The DJSI provides analysis of financially material economic, environmental and social practices, including innovation or supply chain management, climate strategy and stakeholder engagement, with a special focus on industry-specific risks and opportunities.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
At Saatchi & Saatchi S we believe that employees are not only the heart and soul of a company, they are a company’s greatest asset in propelling and achieving its sustainability vision. At its most inspirational, employee engagement is also about magnifying the power of individual actions to effect large-scale change.
Yesterday, Walmart broadcast its Global Sustainability Milestone Meeting through its online portal The Green Room. The meeting celebrated the global retailer’s progress since the launch of its Sustainability Index in August 2012, a collaborative measurement tool that monitors product environmental impact. The essential role of partnerships in achieving progress, alongside the benefits of Walmart’s size and scale in influencing positive change, were key undertones.
PRESS RELEASE -
At Saatchi & Saatchi S we believe that employees are not only the heart and soul of a company: they are a company’s greatest asset in propelling and achieving its sustainability vision. At its most inspirational, employee engagement is also about magnifying the power of individual actions to effect large-scale change.
Monadnock Paper Mills has announced its membership in the Gift Card Network and its educational committee to raise awareness of the benefits of forest materials as alternatives to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and bioplastics for gift card programs.Monadnock, along with fellow manufacturers of sustainable card materials, say they will contribute educational resources and drive discussions around ecological options for card production.The Gift Card Network is a community of gift card industry members that connect, collaborate and contribute through a highly specialized online platform, events and group discussions. Members identify and create media, information, and services around education, challenges, and potential solutions to help the industry move forward.
Alaska Airlines is the most fuel-efficient carrier in the United States, according to a report released yesterday by the International Council on Clean Transportation, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C.Alaska, along with its regional partner Horizon Air, led all 15 mainline U.S. carriers as the most fuel-efficient airline operating in the United States in 2010, outperforming the least fuel-efficient carrier by 26 percent.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, September 5, 2013 – Sustainable Brands® recently announced that it is expanding its start-up competition to London, England. Environmental and social-impact entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas are encouraged to apply and compete at the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) in conjunction with the SB London conference taking place on November 18-19 at the Lancaster London.
COLLABORATION -
Today, Unilever announced an international awards program designed to inspire young people around the world to tackle environmental, social and health issues. Presented in partnership with the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL), the Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneur Awards, a competition hosted on the Ashoka Changemakers platform, will offer the winner the HRH The Prince of Wales Young Sustainability Entrepreneur Prize.
In June, the Tesla Model S outsold several well-established vehicle brands in California — including Porsche, Buick and Lincoln — according to a recent report from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA), using data sourced from Polk.The electric car company also outsold Cadillac and both Jaguar and Land Rover combined. Even Infiniti — a long-established, full-luxury brand — posted only 51 more registrations.
The Tofurky Company, maker of plant-based meat alternatives, is celebrating the opening of its new LEED Platinum-certified manufacturing plant on the waterfront in Hood River, Oregon.The new plant, which will become operational in early 2014, is only the second LEED Platinum food processing plant in the USA and the sixth in the world. Environmental features of the building include an array of 400 rooftop solar panels capable of producing over 100 kWh of electricity per year, a free solar-powered electric car charging station and a green roof with a bocce court. Recycled materials are used throughout the building, which is 34% more efficient than required by the Oregon Energy Efficiency Specialty Code and 40% more efficient in its use of water.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, August 22, 2013 – Sustainable Brands® announces the program and speaker line up for its annual New Metrics of Sustainable Business conference, scheduled for September 24-25 at the University of Pennsylvania. A gathering point for sustainability executives, business strategists and financial leaders from across the globe, this event focuses on the leading edge of corporate practices and performance indicators that quantify environmental and social impacts and tie them to financial value.
NEW METRICS -
Our economy assigns values to just about everything except for the things that matter most. As far as the current economy is concerned, a tree holds value only if it is cut down, an animal only if it is slaughtered and a person only if they contribute to the GDP. When we are given the price of an item, many values and certain costs are often excluded, which results in the destruction of natural resources, decline in human health and an economy that is less productive than it could be.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Burt’s Bees is an incredible American success story. Roxanne Quimby’s venture into beeswax candles took her from New England craft fairs to lip balm and personal care products sold in thousands of drugstores across the United States, before she eventually sold her company to Clorox for $913 million in 2007. That acquisition has been one within a recent trend of large food and consumer packaged goods companies buying smaller ones for more “natural” or healthful products: Colgate-Palmolive owns Tom’s of Maine; Coca-Cola snapped up Honest Tea; Kraft has long owned Boca Burgers.
WASTE NOT -
Global beverage company Diageo says it is working towards zero waste to landfill targets at all of its sites by 2015, but is looking to make its waste management activities a higher priority via a five-pronged approach.The company's latest sustainability and responsibility report says it has reduced waste to landfill by 53.4 percent this year, contributing to an overall reduction of 77.9 percent against a 2007 baseline. This means that 81,099 tons of manufacturing waste is now being reused or recycled.
PRESS RELEASE -
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., August 13, 2013 – Shelton Group, the nation’s leading marketing communications firm entirely focused in the sustainability and energy efficiency sectors, announced today that its next webinar will focus on sustainability as both an offensive and defensive business strategy.
“Our Eco Pulse™ 2013 survey found that 48 percent of Americans say a company’s environmental reputation is important to their purchase decisions,” said Suzanne Shelton, CEO and founder of Shelton Group. “To that end, telling your company’s corporate sustainability story has both risks and benefits, and without understanding those fully, you might not be able to make the right decisions about allocating your resources.”
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO– Sustainable Brands® recently released a white paper framing the forthcoming opportunities in the field of emerging sustainability metrics called Redefining Value: The New Metrics of Sustainable Business. The 28-page report introduces the rationale behind the need for metrics that better reflect new forms of business impact and value for the 21st century. It brings together a series of exclusive conversations on the topic that began in 2011 with the Sustainable Brands community held both online at www.SustainableBrands.com as well as via a focused annual conference on the topic hosted at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.