COLLABORATION -
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today it has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Coca-Cola to support the revival of economic activity and livelihoods in Leyte, the Philippine province most devastated by Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in early November.Under these MOUs, USAID, P&G and Coca-Cola will help establish new sari-sari stores (small community stores) and rehabilitate damaged or destroyed sari-sari stores located in public markets. In addition, the organizations will facilitate store owners’ access to microfinancing loans and other interventions to help them get back on their feet.
COLLABORATION -
Today, Climate Counts and the Center for Sustainable Organizations (CSO) released a collaborative report, Assessing Corporate Emissions Performance through the Lens of Climate Science, which revealed that, surprisingly, almost half of the Top 100 companies analyzed rated sustainably in the study, with Autodesk, Unilever and Eli Lilly earning the three top spots in the rating.Of the 49 companies that scored sustainably, 25 of those exhibited revenue growth even as their emissions declined, proving that decoupling of growth and emissions is possible.
COLLABORATION -
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Tokyo and the Business Call to Action (BCtA) last week hosted the first BCtA event in Japan to encourage the Japanese private sector to participate in innovative business approaches that create development impact.The BCtA forum in Tokyo featured a number of innovative business practices, showcasing how companies can overcome market challenges that can benefit the poor and create social and economic impact in local communities. The event also highlighted the work that UNDP and the BCtA have initiated to promote public-private partnerships.
The U.S. EPA on Friday backed away from its previously mandated targets for U.S. biofuel production by relaxing the proposed levels of ethanol use outlined in its Renewable Fuel Standard, to address the “E10 blend wall.” The proposal would set ethanol use at 15.21 billion gallons — just under 10 percent of motor-fuel consumption and 16 percent lower than targets established by Congress in 2007 — and also called for public input on the levels of renewable fuels to be blended into gasoline and diesel as required by Congress under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Many organisations are grappling with the same question: How do we create an employee reward and recognition programme designed to deliver widely adopted and sustained pro-environmental behaviours?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The upcoming Sochi 2014 Olympics will be the first in history to achieve carbon neutrality, according to a recent announcement by The Dow Chemical Company, the Official Carbon Partner for the Games. This includes carbon footprints associated with the travel of athletes, spectators and media from all over the world traveling to Russia for the Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games, between February and March 2014 — amounting to roughly 160,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Cruise ships dumped more than a billion gallons of sewage in the ocean last year, much of it raw or poorly treated, according to federal data analyzed by Friends of the Earth, which is calling for stronger rules to protect oceans, coasts, sea life and people.
COLLABORATION -
Businesses must work with government and the scientific community to help counter damage to the world’s oceans, according to a panel established by the World Bank to advise the Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO).The Blue Ribbon Panel consists of 21 global experts from 16 countries and includes high-level players ranging from CEOs of some of the largest seafood companies in the world — such as Thai Union Frozen Products, Bumble Bee Foods and High Liner Foods — to government officials and prominent marine conservationists. Without taking action to turn around the declining health of the ocean, the panel warns the consequences for economies, communities and ecosystems will be irreversible.
ICT AND BIG DATA -
Data, Data, DataSustainable business these days requires data, and lots of it. Companies are using sustainability data for a multiplicity of reasons: to inform corporate strategy, comply with regulations, evaluate investments, improve transparency, develop products and processes, manage risk, benchmark themselves against competitors, change organisational culture, and engage with supply chains.
COLLABORATION -
Business calls for strong climate change action are getting louder. A half-dozen more leading global companies including Microsoft, Owens Corning, Diageo, Thornton Tomasetti, and Acer America Corporation last week joined hundreds of other U.S. businesses in signing the Climate Declaration, which calls on federal policymakers to seize the economic opportunity of addressing climate change, according to CERES.
ICT AND BIG DATA -
Kraft Foods, General Mills and Monsanto are among the first to join the World Food LCA Database (WFLDB), which aims to develop a comprehensive database for food and beverage life cycle assessments (LCAs).
Launched last week by the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope and consulting firm Quantis, the project is expected to be completed by 2015.
A slew of funding partners have already come on board, including Mars, Nestlé, Mondelez International, Bayer, Syngenta and Yara. The French Environment and Energy Management and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment have also committed to the program. Agroscope and Quantis say they hope to continue to recruit additional companies and government agencies to join the project.
The U.S. could dramatically lower the power industry’s draw on strained water supplies by replacing aging power plants with water-smart options such as renewable energy and efficiency, according to a study recently released by the Union of Concerned Scientists-led "Energy and Water in a Warming World" Initiative.Water-Smart Power: Strengthening the U.S. Electricity System in a Warming World claims the choices the industry makes now will decide how much the energy sector will tax the nation’s threatened water supplies and contribute to climate change in the decades to come.
LEADERSHIP -
President Obama’s National Climate Action Plan, released on June 25th, calls for strong action to protect remaining tropical forests through a commitment to lead international initiatives in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).But Obama is not the first to acknowledge the vital role that forests play in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nor is he the only one currently calling for urgent action on tropical forest conservation.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
A group of leaders from government, industry, academia, standards organizations and NGOs are joining forces to solve the biggest obstacle to sustainable institutional purchasing: a lack of standardization in how sustainable purchasing is defined, guided, measured and rewarded.The Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council will launch with a free, live webcast from Washington, DC on July 23 at 1pm EST.
LEADERSHIP -
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), which represents more than 165,000 businesses nationwide and more than 300,000 entrepreneurs, executives, managers and investors, has thrown its support behind President Obama’s recent announcement to introduce new limits to carbon emissions from power plants and other pro-environment measures.ASBC applauded President Obama’s plans to address greenhouse gas emissions and the growing economic uncertainties posed by climate change. The organization says climate change poses a serious threat to American businesses, such as disruptions to supply chains, increasing insurance premiums, structural damage from extreme weather events and rising energy and health care costs.
LEADERSHIP -
In response to the growing effects of climate change on winter recreation, some 108 ski areas from around the United States have joined with 40 other businesses in signing the Climate Declaration, which calls upon federal policymakers to take advantage of the economic opportunities of addressing climate change.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Ecolab has introduced a breakthrough product to help reduce the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks related to ineffective produce washing in foodservice operations.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As the fourth and final piece in our 4-part series of ‘hot lists’ (check out our other picks for hot products, books and business model innovations), this week we introduce 13 hot research reports tracking the state of various aspects of corporate sustainability, as well as respective consumer attitudes and behaviors.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Nike last week partnered with NASA, USAID and the U.S. Department of State to bring together some 150 materials specialists, designers, academics, manufacturers, entrepreneurs and NGOs to catalyze action around one of the world’s biggest challenges — the sustainability of materials and how they are made.
ICT AND BIG DATA -
“Tech giants have the capacity to lead society to cleaner, smarter energy systems, as both Cisco and Google have demonstrated,” announced Greenpeace International Senior IT analyst Gary Cook. The two companies tied for first place in a recent evaluation of the top 21 IT and telecom firms that prioritize energy solutions to climate change as a core aspect of their business model.