SUPPLY CHAIN -
From growers to sellers and consumers, there’s no doubt coffee touches billions of people every single day. But as coffee prices continue to decline, how can we address the underlying power dynamics that are driving unsustainable practices?
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
At SB’19 Madrid last week, a diverse array of innovators in various fields demonstrated the notion that asking the right questions and being willing to use imagination to find solutions to the climate crisis and other pressing global issues can turn a Moonshot into reality.
BUSINESS CASE -
Professionals who received their education over 10 years ago — and who haven’t upgraded to be able to understand the implications and complexity of
sustainability trends, risks and opportunities — may be putting their organizations at risk.
CLEANTECH -
“We are already seeing a shift from animal-based to plant-based protein. The next evolution — from land-based to air-based protein — will allow us to [feed] a growing population without needing to remove rainforests or natural habitats.” — Air Protein CEO Dr. Lisa Dyson
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Remediation has had some successes. But you can’t remediate an extinct species, an acidified ocean or a climate that’s pushed beyond its critical tipping point. What we need to be doing is “premediation."
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Ahead of his upcoming keynote at SB’19 Madrid and 50 years after the Moon landing, we spoke with Jim Adams — recently retired Deputy Chief Technologist at NASA — about the moonshot thinking humanity now needs.
LEADERSHIP -
At the C40 Summit in Copenhagen, mayors of 94 cities herald a Global Green New Deal to “drive an urgent, fundamental and irreversible transfer of global resources away from fossil fuels and into action that averts the climate emergency.”
WASTE NOT -
By 2025, the CPG giant says it will eliminate more than 100K tonnes of plastic packaging, and collect and process more plastic packaging than it sells. This makes Unilever the first global CPG company to commit to an absolute plastics reduction across its portfolio.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Ahead of his upcoming keynote at SB’19 Madrid, we spoke with Andrew Medhurst — a one-time investment banker and now full-time volunteer with Extinction Rebellion — about the moonshot thinking we need to get us out of our current predicament.
WASTE NOT -
WWF's ReSource: Plastic platform is helping companies implement ways to reduce the most plastic, measure the impact — and hold them all to account in the process. WWF’s Erin Simon told us more.
WALKING THE TALK -
Climate Week NYC saw the UN declare the 2020s “the decade of delivery.” But while progress has been made, are we too self-congratulatory, staying comfortable within our own echo chambers? Are we really delivering enough at the scale and pace needed?
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Despite some progress since the goals were launched in 2015, advancement over the past four years has been stifled due to socioeconomic, geopolitical and
technological uncertainties, hindering CEOs’ sustainability efforts.
LEADERSHIP -
A few weeks ago, The Business Roundtable reached a major milestone on the path toward a broadly accepted redefinition of business purpose. What's next? We have some ideas.
LEADERSHIP -
A signature element of Earth Island Institute’s year-round New Leaders Initiative, Brower Youth Award winners demonstrate passion and leadership, as well as a commitment to the communities their work serves.
BUSINESS CASE -
I am a huge believer in tiny actions adding up to have incredible, positive impact. We have climate crisis data and solutions — by implementing design thinking, systems thinking, and going about it with a little fun through pragmatic optimism.
LEADERSHIP -
Last month, 181 CEOs in the Business Roundtable (BRT) agreed to new principles for how corporations should act. But how can we develop policies, strategies and programs that really do “support the communities in which we work,” as the principles state?
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Ingredients such as sorghum, fonio and moringa are appearing on restaurant menus and in grocery stores. Increasing the diversity of foods used won’t just deliver flavor and a unique sales angle, but also support more resilient and sustainable production.
WALKING THE TALK -
181 CEOs have signed on to broader purpose — skepticism is warranted, but this is potentially a BFD. Now, let’s see if these companies deliver, and help them when they do — and challenge them when they don’t.
NEW METRICS -
I hope that by now we are more than clear on what we can and need to do about our dwindling carbon budget. If you are not thinking ‘science-based targets’, you really need to catch up — keep reading.
CORPORATE MEMBER UPDATE -
This past Tuesday was the 81st anniversary of the passing of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act—the last major legislation governing personal-care products.