PRESS RELEASE -
Nestlé Waters North America announced today that its Ontario, California, factory received certification for meeting the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard. Created and supported by prominent environmental conservation groups, development organizations, and industry leaders, the AWS Standard is the first comprehensive global benchmark for responsible water stewardship across social, environmental, and economic criteria.
Conformance with the AWS Standard was audited by SCS Global Services, an international third-party certification body.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
With greater focus being placed on the fashion industry’s environmental impacts, efforts are emerging almost daily in an effort to help the sector shed its unsustainable rep.
PRESS RELEASE -
Regionalized lifecycle inventory (LCI) modeling generates and links process datasets to the location in which they occur[i]. Given agricultural lifecycle assessments (LCA) are particularly spatially-sensitive, Quantis’s Rainer Zah was involved in developing a framework streamlining the generation of high-resolution crop production datasets in any region of the world. Our experience with applying the framework to the footprint assessment of food, feed, fiber or biofuel and material production shows that it allows decision-makers to consider micro-spatial variations otherwise overlooked in LCA.
COLLABORATION -
When it comes to achieving bold sustainability goals, every action counts — a concept that is catching on fast with industry heavy hitters such as JPMorgan and GSK. The two companies have struck up new partnerships with GE and Schneider Electric, respectively, to tackle emissions and resource inefficiencies that threaten to impede their climate progress.
CLEANTECH -
Brewers across the country are embracing new technology to tackle some of the industry’s most pressing sustainability challenges: emissions and water.
References to carbon capture are often reserved for discussions of power plants and coal, but the process could hold promise for the recovery of CO2 at craft breweries. Engineers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California have developed a technique to filter CO2 from power plants that could help breweries cut costs and reduce their CO2 emissions.
CLEANTECH -
In a world full of people who depend on water, the most urgent subject is scarcity. More than a billion people live in areas where water is scarce, and that number is likely to reach 3.5 billion by 2025. About 97 percent of the Earth’s water is saltwater, but only around 1 percent of it is potable. Water conservation is a big issue in first-world nations; we enjoy the luxury of plumbing, but a single leak can waste 3,000 gallons a year. Meanwhile, the sea level is rising at a rate of 3.4 millimeters per year.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In an effort to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the world today, National Geographic and GSK Consumer Healthcare have joined forces to launch the Chasing Genius Challenge. The competition aims to uncover innovative solutions for issues related to sustainability, global health and food security and will provide $25,000 to winners to scale their ideas.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Levi Strauss & Co. continues to drive the apparel industry towards a more sustainable, circular model, announcing that it has awarded more than $350,000 grants to the inaugural class of its LS&Co. Collaboratory fellowship program. The funding will go towards new approaches and innovations in the apparel supply chain.
PRESS RELEASE -
Merit Partners Inc. and Sunbelt Holdings have been named recipients of the Industrial Project of the Year award by NAIOP for REI Goodyear DC, a distribution center for Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), located at PV|303, a master planned business park in Goodyear, Arizona.
The facility is the only net zero energy, U.S. Green Building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified distribution center in the world. Its roof features a 2.2 megawatt solar system that produces enough energy to power the entire facility, or the equivalent of 390 homes for one year.
PRESS RELEASE -
For companies, direct water costs generally represent a marginal expense which can sideline any decisions to invest in better water resource management. If we compare the risks related to water and energy, an investment to improve energy efficiency would allow for a quick and significant return on investment while reducing environmental impacts; however, investing in better water management, generally leads to higher OPEX without a direct financial benefit.
CLEANTECH -
MIT has developed a new technology that could revolutionize wastewater treatment and water purification. Providing an alternative to more energy- and chemical-intensive alternatives, MIT’s new method is capable of removing even extremely low levels of pollutants from water.
The technology was developed by MIT postdoc Xiao Su, Ralph Landau, Professor of Chemical Engineering T. Alan Hatton and five others at MIT and at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
We are killing our planet. Of course, it’s not quite that simple, but, as acclaimed writer Elizabeth Kolbert explains in her Pulitzer-Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction, humans are to blame for the impending mass extinction that will spell the end of many of the world’s species. The Earth has seen five other mass extinctions over the last half-billion years; one of them was the asteroid that obliterated the dinosaurs. But this time, it’s not an asteroid — it’s us.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
With Earth Day 2017 quickly fading in the rearview mirror, I’m reminded of the challenge we face every other day of the year: maintaining high awareness and action on sustainability issues. Government agencies and nonprofits have traditionally shouldered the greatest responsibility for year-round efforts aimed at influencing behaviors that benefit individuals and society. But a growing number of forward-thinking businesses and brands are beginning to invest in the kind of genuine behavior change programs known as “social marketing” – or, when done by a corporation, “corporate social marketing.”
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
What if there was an easier way to connect revolutionary solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges with the capital needed to initiate real change? That’s exactly what the Global Opportunity Explorer sets out to do.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Lack of access to clean drinking water is the reality for millions of Indian citizens, an issue that National Geographic and Water Aid India are hoping to tackle through the launch of Mission Blue. With support from top Bollywood talent, the initiative aims to raise awareness about water scarcity and demonstrate how small acts of conservation every day can help secure a safe, clean water supply for future generations.
PRESS RELEASE -
On Saturday, April 22, millions of people across the globe celebrated Earth Day to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability. At Kimberly-Clark, it’s also a day to reflect on Kimberly-Clark’s sustainability achievements and where we’re going in the future.
Of course, sustainability has come a long way since Kimberly-Clark was formed in 1872! Throughout our history, we’ve continuously improved how we operate and embed sustainable practices into our business.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Just weeks after the launch of McDonough Innovation’s Fashion for Good innovation and practical action lab in Amsterdam, the 12 startups selected to participate in the Plug and Play — Fashion for Good accelerator have been announced.
PRESS RELEASE -
The cost of natural disasters worldwide could reach $314 billion annually by 2030, up
from around $250 billion now, according to a 2016 report by the World Bank, which cites
rising climate change as a key threat to cities around the globe.
Natural disasters, such as floods, tornadoes, and wildfires can quickly cut off access to
basic, everyday needs. The biggest of these, and the most urgent, is access to clean,
safe drinking water. Damage to infrastructure, as well as flooding, can contaminate drinking water supplies, not only inhibiting people’s ability to hydrate, but can also lead
to sanitation issues and the spread of waterborne diseases.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Water scarcity and shortage is a growing problem that affects around three billion people across the globe and climate change is only serving to aggravate the already acute issue. While businesses will play an important role in reducing environmental impacts for water resource depletion, changing consumer attitudes is critical in order to truly address and find solutions for the issue. Yet the many people are unaware of water scarcity issues, as well as their own consumption habits.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
With sustainability named as a top priority for millennials and Generation Z, companies and organizations are increasingly tapping youth to help find solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges.