PRESS RELEASE -
BATON ROUGE, LA, and GEISMAR, LA, April 6, 2017 – Louisiana State University (LSU) officials joined BASF executives in the public unveiling of the BASF Sustainable Living Laboratory on campus. The Lab, which is the first-of-its-kind at LSU and in the Southeast region, is an innovative space that promotes problem-based teaching and research focused on sustainable solutions to meet global challenges. As part of BASF's workforce development and science education efforts in the region, the Lab is the result of a $1 million donation BASF made to LSU Foundation and the College of Engineering first announced in 2014.
PRESS RELEASE -
On March 8th, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) announced the first 10 recipients of the inaugural Leading Women Awards, developed to recognize outstanding female leaders within the WBCSD membership. The awards, which were announced on International Women’s Day, showcase the business leadership of women in WBCSD member companies who are working to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (aka Global Goals) are viewed by most in the sustainability community as the biggest opportunity yet for the world to shape a new and better way of doing business while shaping a new and better world.
WASTE NOT -
Last month, Indonesia pledged to cut plastic pollution by an astounding 70 percent by 2025, in response to the UN Environment Programme’s #CleanSeas campaign. This commitment is a huge step forward in reducing the more than 8 million tons of plastic going into our oceans every year.
PRESS RELEASE -
Nestlé S.A., today released its annual Nestlé in society: Creating Shared Value and meeting our commitments report for 2016. The report demonstrates how the company purpose, ambitions and 42 specific public commitments contribute to society.
Guided by its purpose of enhancing quality of life and contributing to a healthier future, Nestlé works alongside partners to create shared value, thus contributing to society while ensuring the long‑term success of the business.
PRESS RELEASE -
A "firm belief" that business growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand has seen Heineken publish its latest sustainability report alongside a financial report for the first time, with the report highlighting rapid business expansion alongside a decrease in emissions.
Heineken’s latest sustainability report, released on Wednesday (22 February), reveals a 37% reduction in carbon emissions in production against 2008 levels, just short of the 40% target for 2020. When looking at absolute carbon reductions, a 5% reduction has been recorded in the same timeframe, despite Heineken growing its business volumes by 52%.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Just days after WWF and ISEAL released a new report highlighting the importance of aligning sustainability standards with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), tea brand Twinings announced a new framework designed to improve the lives of tea workers in its supply chain.
LEADERSHIP -
The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) has released its first edition of the Youth Solutions Report, which identifies 50 youth-led projects that aim to solve the world’s toughest issues, during the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum at the United Nations Headquarters.
PRESS RELEASE -
Zurich, Switzerland, and San Francisco, United States, 14 February, 2017 - The momentum in renewable energy has accelerated and made the transition to a low-carbon economy more inevitable. As more organizations set targets of growing the share of renewable energy in their consumption, being able to trace the origin of energy and the impacts of renewable energy procurement has never been more important.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Think tank SustainAbility has released its 2017 trend report, which highlights 10 issues that are expected to have the greatest influence over sustainability in the upcoming year and their implications for the private sector. 2016 was a year of profound global change, rife with protectionism, populism, and political and economic instability, whose far-reaching effects pose a potential threat to the further advancement of the sustainability agenda.
PRESS RELEASE -
A turbulent economy and global forces, such as climate change and poverty, have created pressing social challenges that demand urgent action.
In response, 193 world leaders signed-on to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—also called the Global Goals—to implement a 2030 vision for improving the health of our planet, and the livelihood of its inhabitants.
LEADERSHIP -
In an open letter to the Prime Minister, more than 80 leading companies have united in a call on the government to demonstrate its commitment to delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
CLEANTECH -
Every 15 years, the United Nations gets together to determine its next steps in bettering the earth and the people on it. In late 2015, this took the form of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The SDGs focus on climate action, decreasing poverty, increasing access to health, reducing inequality, and increasing sustainable development, in both rural and developed areas, over the next 15 years. Although the goals appear broad and ambitious, the UN aims to further the advancement of people while protecting and fostering the health and wellbeing of the planet.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Leading Japanese consulting companies including Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting (DTC) and Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting (MURC) are actively enhancing their pro bono businesses. Rather than it being simply voluntary work, their aim is to use their employees’ specialized skills to help social businesses and the NPO/NGO sector, thereby increasing their employees’ positive motivations and, as a side effect, enhancing their companies’ social reputations.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
The new Sustainable Development Goals Fund report on Universality and the SDGs is compelling to the private sector for a number of reasons.
COLLABORATION -
Increasing access to clean, safe and sustainable sanitation to 10 million people by 2022 is a top priority for personal care corporation Kimberly-Clark’s Sustainability 2022 goals, and on November 19, World Toilet Day, the company renewed its commitment to its Toilets Change Lives program, a multi-national commercial program that leverages the power of its well-known brands to educate and engage consumers and help solve the global sanitation crisis.
WASTE NOT -
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy have recognized 15 U.S. businesses and organizations pledging concrete steps to reduce food loss and waste in their operations 50 percent by 2030, as recommended by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
NEW METRICS -
The New Economy has begun. One year into a world where global leaders have agreed to act on 17 concrete Sustainable Development Goals, and where the full force of law is now behind the international agreement on climate change, we are speeding toward a bright future for business that creates value for people, the planet, and the economy.
NEW METRICS -
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) released new global sustainability reporting standards, which it says will enhance corporate transparency worldwide. The standards give companies a common language for disclosing non-financial information, and will help firms “make better decisions” and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, or Global Goals).
COLLABORATION -
Asia Pulp & Paper Group (APP) is reinforcing its commitment towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through participation in “The Pari Island Project,” a new multiparty collaboration aimed at improving the availability and sustainability of clean water in Indonesia.