MARKETING AND COMMS -
Family-owned paper company Monadnock Paper Mills has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a recipient of a 2013 Environmental Merit Award for its significant contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving.Awarded annually by the EPA since 1970, the Environmental Merit Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose work has protected or improved the environment in distinct ways. A winner in the Business, Industry, Trade or Professional category for the State of New Hampshire, Monadnock has been highlighted for the following achievements:
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN FRANCISCO, July 31, 2013 – Sustainable Brands® announced today that the Sustainable Brands London conference is set to convene November 18-19, 2013 at the Lancaster London. The conference theme, From Revolution to Renaissance, will focus on positive shifts currently taking place in product and service innovation and marketing, as well as provide examples of purpose-driven brand innovation that is reinvigorating global and local economies.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Michael Murray is the president and co-founder of Lucid, a software company providing real-time information feedback designed to “teach, inspire behavior change, and save energy and water resources in buildings.” Since the company’s founding in 2004, over 275 schools and organizations have adopted Lucid’s Building Dashboard, which it describes as a social network for buildings that allows people to view, compare, and share resource usage data online.
PRESS RELEASE -
“Sustainability has become a powerful productivity tool—it’s evolved beyond Life Technologies’ operations to impact the way we drive continuous improvement company-wide.”
Mark O’Donnell
Senior Vice President, Global Operations
Global biotechnology company Life Technologies has released its 2012 sustainability achievements via the company’s second web-based report, its fifth sustainability report overall. Full reporting is available at lifetechnologies.com/sustainability.
COLLABORATION -
Ford and Toyota announced this week they are going their separate ways after teaming up in 2011 to develop a hybrid gasoline-electric powertrain system for light-duty trucks. After completing a feasibility study of their collaboration, the companies have decided to proceed on development of individual hybrid systems, according to Toyota.
PRESS RELEASE -
NativeEnergy Blog
A letter from Jeff Bernicke, President at NativeEnergy
UPS today released its 2012 Sustainability Report, which announces that, while the total number of packages shipped in 2012 increased, the company reduced its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Other achievements included ground and air fuel savings, increased investments in alternative fuel vehicles, and retooled routes that shaved 12.1 million miles from ground deliveries.“The report’s theme, More of What Matters, sharpens UPS’s focus on how to make the most measurable positive impact through sustainability business practices and logistics expertise,” said Scott Wicker, UPS’s Chief Sustainability Officer. Highlights of the 2012 report, which earned an A+ rating from GRI, include:
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Bean and rice tortilla chip maker Beanfields Snacks has achieved its certification as a B Corporation.The family-owned company joins Ben and Jerry’s, Etsy, Patagonia and hundreds of others companies worldwide using the power of business to tackle social and environmental problems.
Since “being green” came into vogue, green claims and corporate sustainability initiatives have proliferated. But not all environmental policies are as eco as the next. In this now cluttered landscape, it can be difficult to choose the right strategic partners to help your company meet its sustainability goals. To help solve that conundrum, a leading conservation organization, Canopy, has just released its Green Print Leadership Report, a resource designed to help companies choose printers that match their sustainability commitments.
WASTE NOT -
Dell has announced key corporate responsibility achievements, such as collecting one billion pounds of electronic waste a year earlier than planned, with the release of its Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Corporate Responsibility Summary Report.The report outlines Dell’s environmental progress and efforts to support communities globally to achieve its sustainability goals, which are based on its Powering the Possible platform, a commitment to put technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet.The strategy focuses on four primary areas: Environment
SUPPLY CHAIN -
An alliance of 17 North American brands led by Walmart, Gap and Target has unveiled the details of its independent Bangladesh Worker Safety Initiative — a five-year pact that aims to improve conditions at Bangladesh garment factories and establish more viable worker communications.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
In the early 2000s, revered British clothing brand Burberry was experiencing some hiccups. For decades, the Burberry name had been synonymous with English culture, but as the 20th century moved into the 21st, the company began to overextend itself. Expanding beyond trench coats and umbrellas, Burberry's name and trademark beige tartan plaid were soon plastered on every item of clothing that could support them. Without a clear vision, the name suffered: Even with the rich history behind the line, customers began viewing the clothing in a different light, and before long, Burberry was more closely associated with England’s gangster culture than with tea and crumpets.
Swedish furniture behemoth IKEA, in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency and Refugee Housing Unit, is developing a solar-powered, insulated, hard-sided shelter the company claims is a superior alternative to tent-based refugee shelters typically deployed by relief organizations.The shelter is large enough to accommodate taller-than-average people, packs up flat and is expected to cost around $1,000. IKEA says it has sent 56 of these prototypes to refugee camps in Ethiopia, Lebanon and northern Iraq for testing.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Mars, Incorporated has been named “Best Private Company” by the 2013 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards. Ethical Corporation is a UK-based global business publication focused on global ethical business and exploring how large companies are responding to the sustainable business agenda.The Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards pay tribute to companies’ commitment to responsible business practices and recognizes global leaders in corporate sustainability, according to the announcement.Other categories included “Best Employee Engagement,” “Best Supplier Engagement” and “Best Sustainability Report,” which were won by Western Union, Natura and The Co-Operative, respectively.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
With the continued, rampant growth of our community come countless opportunities to engage with new, innovative companies and the brains behind them. Today, meet Scope 5 founder Yoram Bernet.
LEADERSHIP -
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and PUMA Chairman Jochen Zeitz have launched a new non-profit call “The B Team,” which aims to deliver a new way of doing business that prioritizes people and planet alongside profit — a "Plan B" for businesses the world over.
COLLABORATION -
Our industry is in recovery mode today as we find our ways home from the always inspiring Sustainable Brands Conference. One of this year’s highlights (there were many) was the Solutions Expo, where 100 providers talked shop in a giant airy tent.
BLOG -
Following a morning of engaging plenaries, Tuesday afternoon began the breakout portion of the SB ’13 conference, with twelve sessions exploring topics across six tracks: Communications; Strategy & Metrics; Employee Engagement & Organizational Change; Manufacturing & Supply Chain; Product & Service Innovation; and Consumer Insights & Behavior Change.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
This is the third in a series of posts on things I learned while leading Corporate Social Responsibility at REI for the past seven years (read parts one and two).I’m often asked if incremental improvements can really lead to sustainable business outcomes. In my experience leading sustainability and corporate social responsibility efforts at REI the answer is: yes and no. It all depends on what happens next.
PRESS RELEASE -
SAN DIEGO -- As the first event organizer in North America to achieve conformity to the ISO 20121 Standard, environmental consulting firm Three Squares Inc. will deploy a comprehensive event sustainability management system for this year’s Sustainable Brands® Conference taking place June 3-6, 2013 in San Diego, California.