PRESS RELEASE -
A pair of Department of Energy grants awarded to UPS (NYSE: UPS) will enable the company and a world-class team of engineers to conduct cutting-edge research aimed at reducing emissions and revolutionizing the charging process for electric trucks.
The grants, announced today, are part of the Department of Energy’s efforts to spur innovation and promote more efficient cars and trucks.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
A new report from relief and development charity Tearfund and the Institute of Development Studies suggests that businesses and governments could help save lives and create jobs by adopting a circular economy approach to waste management.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Two surveys of consumers in the United Kingdom (UK) have highlighted their growing demand for food supply chain ethics.
Research from Globescan showed that the vast majority of shoppers believe that food companies and the government are responsible for ensuring long-term food production sustainability. 92 percent of shoppers put the onus on food companies, indicating they should focus their efforts on securing the future sustainability of food, while 85 percent believed the government should be held accountable.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
A unanimous decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld the government’s right to use a social carbon price to inform policymaking. The verdict rejected an industry-backed litigation that challenged the Department of Energy (DOE)’s use of a $36/metric ton estimated social cost of carbon (SCC) in its decision-making on the premise that the figure is not based on “real-world” data.
PRESS RELEASE -
The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding about $6 million in funding for projects at Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico that advance fuel cell and hydrogen technologies.
Ford will use the money to develop a uniquely American fuel-cell catalyst production process, according to U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, who announced the funding Thursday afternoon.
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.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
In the south of Spain, unsustainable water use is threatening Doñana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Europe’s most important wetlands. Located southwest of Seville, the Park supports millions of migratory birds and is a stronghold of the endangered Iberian lynx.
LEADERSHIP -
16-year-old climate activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez is petitioning the 2016 U.S. presidential candidates to take a strong stance on ending climate change. In a Care2 petition and a corresponding video letter, Martinez is urging the candidates to pledge to end fossil fuel use in the U.S. by 2026. The petition attracted over 100,000 signatures in its first week online.
CLEANTECH -
California’s aggressive climate policies — combined with the sheer size of its economy — have helped it create the most clean energy jobs of any state in the country, according to a new study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center.
The report, The Link Between Good Jobs and a Low Carbon Future, says the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) — California’s principal climate policy — has created 25,500 blue-collar job years — or around 53 million hours of blue-collar construction work. Many of these jobs have been created in regions of the state where they are most needed, with high unemployment and low income.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
After passing the Senate last week, a bill proposing a federal labeling standard for foods with genetically modified ingredients - and blocking states from creating their own standards - sailed through the US House of Representatives on Thursday, and is now on its way to President Obama.
The bill, which passed by a landslide 306 to 117 vote, directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a national labeling standard that allows food producers to choose how they want to disclose the presence of genetically modified ingredients - manufacturers will be able to use text, symbols or a QR code that consumers must scan with a smartphone to relay the information.
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In West Virginia, residents will soon be seeing a lot more green than they’re used to. And it may come in the form of dollar bills, too.
Researchers from West Virginia University are teaming up with a new startup called Agri Carb Electric Corporation to investigate the farming infrastructure benefits of hemp. This will mark the first time West Virginia has allowed hemp cultivation in 70 years.
LEADERSHIP -
Business and political leaders convened in London on June 28 and 29 for the second annual Business & Climate Summit, where they called for the ratification of the Paris Climate Agreement without further delay, as well as more collaboration between businesses and governments in order to achieve global policy frameworks conducive to long-term, climate-resilient, low carbon investments.
PRESS RELEASE -
General Motors has announced plans to invest $10m (£6.96m) in a Canadian plant as part of an effort to boost driverless technology and cold weather testing. GM will also hire 1,000 new workers in Ontario to focus on research for connected and driverless cars.
Canada, and particularly Ontario, has been promoting its car-making sector as it attempts to compete with Mexico. Canada has been fighting to keep carmakers in the country. Many have been lured to Mexico, where production is cheaper and the cars have the same tariff free access to the US market.Ontario's Premier called the investment a "vote of confidence".
PRESS RELEASE -
Integrating purpose through a common brand promise and aligning sustainability strategy with internal culture and values are key drivers of corporate leadership according to the findings of the just-released 2016 Sustainability Leaders Survey by GlobeScan and SustainAbility in partnership with Sustainable Brands.
The Sustainability Leaders Survey tracks expert opinions on the evolution of the sustainability agenda for two decades, along with views on the leaders and institutions most responsible for driving it forward. This is the first edition of the survey since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change in late 2015.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
NGO Rainforest Action Network (RAN) claims it has found many Japanese companies are either “systematically misreporting compliance” under Japan’s Corporate Governance Code, or have a “fundamental lack of understanding as to what constitutes meaningful sustainability reporting and stakeholder engagement.”
LEADERSHIP -
In the wake of the signing of the historic global climate agreement on Earth Day, more than a half-dozen leading food and beverage companies converged on Capitol Hill last week to press U.S. House lawmakers for federal action on climate change.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Leading seafood brands, major UK retail chains and some of the world’s largest fishing companies have struck a groundbreaking deal to protect a key Arctic region from industrial fishing for cod.
WASTE NOT -
Award-winning chefs from across the country, including ‘Top Chef’ head judge Tom Colicchio, gathered in Washington, D.C. on May 25 to advocate for food waste reduction in the American food system. In hopes of educating lawmakers on the severity of the issue, the group met with 22 Senate and House offices in tandem with a first-of-its-kind House Agriculture Full Committee hearing assessing food waste from farm to table.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
According to the USDA, consumer demand for organic foods has grown by double-digits every year since the 1990s — but organic acreage has not kept up. Today, only about one percent of US farmland is organic and farmers looking to transition to organic face real barriers, including shouldering financial uncertainty during the three year transition period required to be eligible for USDA Organic certification.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
The trade association for the United Kingdom’s resource and waste management sector, the Environmental Services Association (ESA), recently released a report which celebrates the industry’s achievements – and urges the government to ensure “recycling and diversion rates do not go backwards.” The group provided four recommendations which it believes will create a more resilient waste collection system and aid the push towards a circular economy.