LEADERSHIP -
California, Gov. Jerry Brown and Senate Democrats abandoned a 50 percent cut in petroleum use by 2030 that was a focal point of the state’s climate change policy, following an intense campaign against the mandate by the oil industry, The New York Times reports.The petroleum cut was meant to help reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2050, using 1990 emission levels as a baseline.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
UK chef and “Food Revolution”-ary Jamie Oliver teamed up with food lobbying organization Sustain to encourage the UK government to consider a tax on sugary drinks and use the proceeds to help curb childhood obesity.Oliver launched a petition last week that has gained over 129,000 signatures so far. The UK Parliament considers all petitions that get more than 100,000 signatures for a debate.“Studies show that soft drinks with added sugar are the largest single source of sugar in the diets of UK school children & teenagers,” reads the petition page.
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Sustainable Brands Rio 2015, which took place August 25-27, saw the participation of over 500 attendees from business, civil society organizations, NGOs, universities, governments and the third sector. This year, the theme "How now: how innovation in sustainability is transforming business now" reinforced an open and critical view on trends which, on a larger scale, may lead to positive change in companies´ business models.
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Rio de Janeiro has become the first city in the world to reach full compliance with the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of city leaders dedicated to reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making urban communities more resilient to climate change and regularly reporting their progress publicly.Rio now has established a local GHG emission inventory using the Global Protocol for Community-scale GHG Emissions Inventory (GPC), the international “gold” standard for GHG emission reporting, according to a recent announcement. It also is the first Brazilian city to complete a study on climate vulnerabilities.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
A coalition of British NGOs and businesses is collaborating on a call for concerted action to curb littering. In a letter to the Guardian, leaders from national companies such as the British Soft Drinks Association and British Plastics Association, as well as global brands McDonald’s and Wrigley’s, are urging the government to develop a comprehensive anti-littering plan.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
A study published this month finds that the UK is the worst-performing European country in terms of food waste, while its leading waste-reduction charity, Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), saw its government funding cut 38 percent last year.
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After the Pope recently added a religious voice to the chorus of hundreds of business leaders, youth, subnational governments (and one boyband) calling on world leaders to take bold action on climate change, Islamic l
CLEANTECH -
In a creative attempt to protect California’s waning water supply, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti yesterday announced the release of 20,000 “shade balls” into the LA Reservoir. The deployment marks the final phase of a program to safeguard the 175-acre, 3.3 billion gallon reservoir by releasing 96 million of the balls onto its surface.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Modern Slavery Act, passed into UK law in March, is the first of its kind in Europe, and one of the first in the world, to address slavery and human trafficking in the 21st century. It includes a Transparency in Supply Chains Clause, which as of October will require companies with a turnover of more than £36 million to publish an annual slavery and human trafficking statement. This turnover threshold will affect over 12,000 companies and their UK and international supply chains.
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Today, President Obama hosted the first-ever White House Demo Day focused on inclusive entrepreneurship, welcoming startup founders from diverse walks of life and from across the country to showcase their innovations. The President also announced new public- and private-sector commitments that promise to provide more Americans with the opportunity to pursue their bold, game-changing ideas.
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The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a coalition of 300 investors with assets under management of over $100 billion, along with Calvert Investments and Christian Brothers Investment Services, commend Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) for this week’s introduction of The Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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The European Commission is expected to unveil its revised Circular Economy Package this autumn – an occasion that will mark the first significant piece of policy intervention in this space. The Commission is under pressure to get the detail right this time, having ditched the original proposals earlier this year, deeming them not ambitious enough.
CLEANTECH -
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Sunday pledged to construct half a million new solar panels within her first four years of taking office, Reuters reports.Clinton called for a decisive national shift to renewable energy sources, setting a goal of generating enough renewable energy to power every U.S. home within a decade after she takes office. She called for more solar, advanced biofuels and energy efficiency, among others.The two goals were the first elements of what Clinton said would be a comprehensive climate-change agenda to be released over the next few months, Reuters reports.
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Today, the US Department of State released its 2015 Global Trafficking in Persons Report, which places countries onto one of three tiers based on the extent of their efforts to comply with “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.” This year’s report maintained Thailand’s Tier 3 designation, its lowest ranking.Greenpeace, which earlier this month released the ninth edition of its Carting Away the Oceans (CATO) report ranking 25 leading supermarkets on the sustainability of their seafood procurement, had this to say:
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IKEA will be the first national retailer in the United Kingdom to pay workers above the government's new National Living Wage, BBC News reports.The Swedish furniture company said it would pay all of its 9,000 UK workers at least £7.85 (US $12.22) per hour hour starting in April 2016. Employees in London will be paid £9.15 ($14.40) an hour, reflecting the higher cost of living. The wage increase will affect around half of the company’s UK employees.
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Regional and state governments around the world are committing to ambitious emissions-reduction targets in the lead-up to December’s COP 21 meeting.Today, the Climate Group’s Compact of States and Regions announced record commitments to reducing GHG emissions from 20 governments representing 220 million people and $8.3 trillion in GDP. All reporting governments have a series of reduction targets across their operations, with some as ambitious as 90 percent reduction by 2050 and 100 percent reduction by 2060. 18 governments have also reported renewable energy targets.
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The mayors of Baltimore, MD, Little Rock, AR and West Sacramento, CA have been recognized with top honors in an awards program administered by The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) and funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation.Presented Monday at USCM’s 83rd Annual Meeting in San Francisco, the 2015 CommunityWINS (Working/Investing in Neighborhood Stabilization) Grant Program includes monetary grants to city-based non-profit organizations and recognizes mayors for exemplary leadership in developing local programs that promote long-term economic prosperity and improve the quality of life for residents in three categories: neighborhood stabilization, economic development and job creation.
WASTE NOT -
Recyclebank, which claims to to inspire and reward smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future, has named Mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills, MI “Mayor of the Year” as part of the first annual Recyclebank Awards.The awards recognizes one “Mayor of the Year” and participating U.S. cities and towns that go above and beyond expectations to “slash the trash” by promoting recycling efforts and recycling education.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
For one of the last breakout sessions of the week, Tom Smith, Acting General Manager at Sedex; Vincent Kneefel, Manager of the United Nations Global Compact; and Christina Gossmann, Marketing Manager at Digital Divide Data (DDD) sat down to discuss the business applications for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
“Use your city as a platform,” opened moderator and CSO for the City of Palo Alto Gil Friend.While local governments have gotten the bad reputation of being slow, bureaucratic animals, the panelists, representing four major cities across the United States — including Los Angeles and New York City- presented the business case for corporations to integrate their sustainability efforts with their cities for the success of shared goals.