STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
In the lead-up to COP21, the UN conference on climate change, we asked our global community of Millennials at BetheChance.com how they feel about climate change. 250 Millennials (18- to 30-year-olds) from Canada, China, Denmark, India, Poland, United States, United Kingdom and beyond shared a remarkably similar voice: They are deeply concerned about the climate, disappointed in our collective past behavior and desperate for change.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Organizations in the United States and United Kingdom continue to concoct clever ways to convince their citizens that recycling is worthwhile.
In England, a new behavior change campaign is trying to reinforce that every little bit helps: If every Londoner recycled one extra plastic bottle a week for a year, enough energy would be saved to power Wembley Stadium for two years – a venue that can hold 90,000 people. So Resource London is asking Londoners to recycle “just one thing,” in its new “Recycle for London” campaign.
LEADERSHIP -
Today, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline that would have connected Canada’s tar sands to refineries in Texas. The project became a symbol of the fight against climate change, making its rejection a huge victory for the “unprecedented coalition” of groups that came together to oppose it.In his announcement, the President said that he agrees with the State Department’s decision that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the country’s national interests, nor would it make a meaningful long-term contribution to the economy.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
What will our food system look like 10 years from now? According to a new report from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a sustainable, secure UK food system will depend on industry and government action to reframe issues and innovate. The waste-reduction charity predicts there will be new business opportunities in protein supply, data-enabled technology, and food designed for nutritional requirements.
PRESS RELEASE -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today revealed the 100 biggest green power users in the U.S., and Mars, Incorporated entered the list at number six. The EPA’s National Top 100 ranks companies based on their use of green power – zero-emissions electricity generated from renewable sources like wind and solar. Mars is now an EPA Green Power Partner and a member of the agency’s Green Power Leadership Club – recognizing the company’s commitment to using cleaner energy. Green Power Partners are part of a voluntary movement that includes more than 1,300 partner organizations using billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually.
PRESS RELEASE -
Fleet is Part of Clean Air Project with U.S. Department of Energy, Local Governments and Non-Profit
SUPPLY CHAIN -
A public-private partnership has launched a new competition to combat modern-day slavery. Partnership for Freedom will award $500,000 in prizes to technological solutions that are selected as finalists for Rethink Supply Chains: The Tech Challenge to Fight Labor Trafficking.
LEADERSHIP -
One of the highest standards for social and environmental responsibility in business, B Corp certification, was awarded to Fetzer Vineyards and praised by the U.S. Department of Labor last week. The certification developed by the non-profit B Lab now signifies over 1,400 responsibly run companies from 130 industries and 42 countries. The performance standards are comprehensive and transparent, and measure a company’s impact on all of its stakeholders, including workers, suppliers, community, and the environment.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The average age of the American farmer is 58.3 years – it has been climbing for more than 30 years. Over the next 25 years, more than 700,000 new farmers will be needed to replace retirees. In part due to rising costs of education and land, the number of young farmers only increased by 1,220 in the five-year period between 2007 and 2012. Only 6 percent of farmers are under 35 years old.
LEADERSHIP -
General Mills, IKEA and Best Buy are among the 81 companies to recently join the White House-led American Business Act on Climate Pledge, which sets significant greenhouse gas reduction and renewable energy sourcing goals for 2020 and beyond.The pledges focus on increasing energy efficiency, boosting low-carbon investing and making sustainability more accessible to low-income Americans.
WASTE NOT -
It seems increasingly likely that certain types of worms could be an amazing solution to our plastic problem — and that we may eat them and their cousins afterwards.Last week, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a risk profile to address the potential biological, chemical and environmental hazards as well as allergenicity associated with the use of farmed insects as food and feed.
COLLABORATION -
This week, the first draft of the new climate change agreement set for COP21, the United Nations (UN) international conference on climate change, was presented to governments. The document will act as a concise basis for negotiations for the next negotiating session, which is happening from October 19-23 in Bonn, Germany.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Sweden is so heavily forested that open areas are the exception.It’s the opposite of continental Europe, where Germany’s well-known Black Forest or France’s Bois Des Landes are deviations in the landscape, which was deforested centuries ago.In Sweden, the slatten, or “plains,” are distinct. They carry geographic names recognizable to the average Swede, such as Uppsala-slätten or Västgöta-slätten.Not surprisingly, the huge swaths of forest in Sweden are central to the culture and economy, both of which have lofty reputations globally for sustainability.Here are six more things that make Sweden’s forest economy unique, according to Iggesund Paperboard.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
More than 13,000 jobs could be created if Northern Ireland moved to a circular economy, according to a new report launched today in Belfast.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Last week, 10 cities presented ambitious climate action plans in accordance with the planning and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors.
COLLABORATION -
The leaders of state and regional governments, spanning North and South America, Europe and Australia, on Tuesday announced collective climate targets that would save 7.9 gigatons of equivalent carbon dioxide (GtCO2e) by 2030 — greater than the U.S.’s carbon emissions in 2012.Announced at Climate Week NYC, the pledges come from the Compact of States and Regions, a UN supported initiative that aims to drive major emissions reductions after the COP climate summit in December, where the expected deal will come into force in 2020.Altogether, the sub-national governments making up the Compact represent 10 percent of global GDP and 220 million people.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Today The B Team, comprised of leaders of some of the world’s largest companies, is calling on governments and businesses alike to aim for net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050 or before, building upon their February 2015 call to world leaders.A ‘Net-Zero by 2050’ aspiration being adopted by leading companies demonstrates the importance of bold long-term targets, and reinforces what the Leaders of The B Team are asking for from world leaders in the political process at COP21 in Paris.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
The need for reputable corporate leadership has never been more acute. We are grappling with large-scale global challenges - climate change, social dislocation, economic inequality, financial uncertainty - that require a new type of leadership from global entities.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The ongoing plight of the millions of refugees fleeing Syria and other parts of the world has captured the world’s attention, but what happens once they’ve found somewhere safe to settle?In the midst of the refugee crisis, socially conscious jewelry brand Liberti USA is asking you to support the American dream and help resettled refugees exercise their right to work.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
In the less than 100 days remaining before the much-anticipated COP21 climate negotiations in Paris, more and more stakeholder groups are adding their voices to the throng urging world leaders to come to a decisive, actionable consensus on how to address the global climate crisis.