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.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
This is an edited excerpt from Pablo Barros' upcoming book, Behaviour change, consumption and sustainability: how companies can influence individuals in a world in transition, due for publication in September 2013.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As President Obama prepares to unveil his budget for the coming year, 33 multinational companies, including eBay, IKEA, L’Oréal, Nike and Limited Brands, have signed a “Climate Declaration” urging federal policymakers to take action on climate change.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Within the next five years, all products sold in Whole Foods stores in the U.S. and Canada will be labeled to indicate if they contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs), according to a recent announcement.
CLEANTECH -
Outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced 13 major U.S. employers and eight stakeholder groups have joined the Department of Energy’s Workplace Charging Challenge, which aims to increase workplace charging by tenfold over the next five years.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Government must lead the way to developing a food policy that moves beyond the current customer-focused, cheap food culture towards a more sustainable long-term system, according to a new publication released by the Food Ethics Council.
The Army is the first department in the Federal government to apply the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting in an effort to respond President Obama’s executive order to reduce the government’s energy consumption and emissions.