The latest developments supporting a shift toward sustainable consumption, as well as specific ways brands are encouraging less wasteful behaviors.
S&P 500 industry leaders that are actively managing and planning for climate change are generating 18 percent higher return on equity (ROE) than peers and 67 percent higher than companies that do not disclose on climate change, according to a new report by CDP. The report tracks industry-leaders over the last three years against their financial performance. The analysis revealed that those who lead on climate disclosure and performance have generated higher profitability.
The number of sea ports using ship evaluation systems to decrease carbon emissions will expand from two to 10 in the next year, according to Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Bloomberg reports.Branson is a founder of the Carbon War Room, a nonprofit that rates ship efficiency.Port Metro, Vancouver and the Prince Rupert Port Authority in Canada already use a system that ranks 60,000 vessels in the merchant fleet with an A-to-G scale for fuel efficiency — ships rated A get the biggest discounts on port fees. Metro gave $1.1 million in discounts last year, while Prince Rupert budgeted for $100,000 this year, according to Bloomberg.
PepsiCo has announced that, by 2020, all of its future point-of-sale equipment purchased in the United States will be free of hydroflourocarbons (HFCs), a popular chemical coolant and considered a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) that contributes to climate change. The announcement was made alongside the company’s 2013 Corporate Sustainability Report and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report.
The Social Impact Investment Taskforce, created by the governments of the G8 in June 2013 to nurture a global market for impact investing, has released eight high-level recommendations devised by government and private sector experts from across the G7, EU and Australia to increase impact investment worldwide.The report, The Invisible Heart of Markets: How Impact Investing is Harnessing Innovation and Capital for Public Good, represents one of the most comprehensive initiatives to date to define what is needed from all stakeholders in the effort to advance the tremendous potential of impact investment to improve society and the environment.The eight recommendations include:
Global economies must cut their energy-related carbon emissions for every dollar of GDP by 6.2 percent — more than five times the rate currently achieved — every year from now to 2100 in order to to limit global warming to 2°C, according to a new report by PwC.Scientists agree 2°C of warming is the limit needed to ensure the serious risks of climate change impacts are avoided worldwide.
2014 marks Recyclebank’s 10th year of inspiring and rewarding smarter, everyday choices for a more sustainable future. Founded in 2004, the company set out with a simple idea: Could education and incentives get people to recycle more? After bringing millions of people together with more than 2,500 local and national businesses over the last 10 years, Recyclebank knows the answer is a definitive yes.Today, the company partners with more than 300 communities across the US who recycled nearly 1.5 billion pounds of waste in 2013 alone. Recyclebank members also took more than 21.6 million environmentally responsible actions for a total of $60 million in rewards value earned in 2013, achieving real-world impact.
An independent study released Wednesday has confirmed that Asia Pulp and Paper Group (APP) has sufficient plantation resources to meet the pulp requirements of its existing mills as well as its future mill in OKI, South Sumatra.The launch of the company’s Forest Conservation Policy (FCP) in February 2013 saw it commit to producing pulp and paper that is free from fiber or activity linked to deforestation. In order to ensure existing supplier plantations have sufficient capacity to meet this commitment, The Forest Trust (TFT) and Ata Marie were asked to conduct an independent “Growth and Yield” study to assess existing plantation areas.
The California State Legislature has passed a bill to ban single-use plastic bags in California, which will now head to the governor’s desk.Last Friday, the California senate voted 22-15 to approve the ban, Senate Bill 270. After being signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, the legislation will implement a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags while promoting recycling and California manufacturing. It also will provide financial incentives to maintain and retrain California employees in affected industries.The ban will begin in 2015 for grocery store carry-out bags and create a mandatory minimum ten cent fee for recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable bags.Specifically, SB 270 will:
Developing countries lose at least $1 trillion every year through shady deals for natural resources, the use of shell companies, money laundering and illegal tax evasion, according to a new report by the ONE Campaign.The ONE Campaign, co-founded by Irish rocker Bono to end extreme poverty and disease, says curbing corruption in sub-Saharan Africa could provide money to educate an extra 10 million children a year. Money recovered from corrupt activity could pay the salaries of an additional 500,000 primary school teachers in Africa, provide antiretroviral drugs for more than 11 million people living with HIV and fund nearly 165 million vaccine shots.
Getting kids to eat more fruit and vegetables has long been a challenge that, despite their best efforts, many parents struggle to win. It’s not just parents — it appears that no one, including schools, retailers and health experts, has managed to crack it. Despite all the drive towards healthy eating, fruit and vegetable consumption still falls well short of the recommended amount, with Americans only eating, on average, one portion of fruit and 1-2 portions of vegetables a day.
Tyson Foods is in risk of losing close to $500 million in government contracts if found guilty in and ongoing criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency over the recent release of toxic chemicals at a plant in Monett, Mo.The food company has enjoyed more than $4.7 billion in contract business from the U.S. government since 2000, but this could all end with the guilty findings in the Monett investigation.The EPA probe came after Tyson was caught sending Aliment (an additive used in chicken feed) tainted wastewater into Monett’s wastewater plant which released high levels of ammonia into the city’s water system. The ammonia killed an estimated 100,000 fish within four miles of the site.
The gender divide starts young in our society, with boys and girls generally encouraged to adopt a standard set of acceptable behaviors and preferences from an early age. But a number of companies have recently begun to encourage young girls and women to forgo limiting gender roles and fulfill their true potential by embracing their strengths and smarts.
Saving money is the number one reason executives cite for taking actions towards more eco-friendly business practices, according to a new report from Grant Thornton.The company’s 2014 International Business Report, Corporate social responsibility: beyond financials, draws on more than 2,500 interviews with business leaders in 34 economies and looks at what companies are doing to make their operations more sustainable and why. The report finds that cost management (67 percent) emerges as the key sustainability driver, followed by customer demand (64 percent) and because it’s the “right thing to do” (62 percent).
SeaWorld has announced plans to double the size of its killer whale environments at three parks and will fund new programs to protect ocean health and killer whales in the wild.The first of the new environments will be built at SeaWorld San Diego, where the killer whale environment is planned to have a total water volume of 10 million gallons — nearly double that of the existing facility. With a planned maximum depth of 50 feet, surface area of nearly 1.5 acres and spanning more than 350 feet in length, the new environment also will have views exceeding 40 feet in height, providing guests with the world's largest underwater viewing experience of killer whales.
Hyatt Hotels Corporation has announced a global initiative to increase its procurement of responsibly sourced seafood and eliminate the procurement of highly vulnerable seafood species, starting with an initial goal of responsibly sourcing more than 50 percent of its inventory by 2018. In the first phase of a long-term seafood sustainability strategy in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Hyatt will also work toward purchasing more than 15 percent of its seafood supply from fisheries or farms that have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
If the health benefits of fruit and vegetables were marketed more like pharmaceutical drugs, it could potentially develop into a multimillion-dollar boon for the pharmaceutical industry, claims one of the UK’s leading dieticians.Catherine Collins, principal dietician at St George’s Hospital in London, was reported by Food Manufacture to have made this claim recently in response to a new study. The study, which measures the effects of eating five fruit and vegetable portions a day, involved over 800,000 consumers — done on such a large scale as to be referred to as a “granddaddy of a study” by Collins.
Weather-related disasters present significant opportunities for companies positioned to help clients prepare for, adapt to and even gain competitive advantage from the consequences of climate change, according to a new report by Environmental Business International. The global market for this could be as high as $2 billion.In the report, EBI evaluates the first generation of service providers in this emerging business space, looking at how they are positioning their companies to win contracts and at the challenges involved in pioneering adaptation work.
Socially and environmentally conscious attitudes are gaining ground, but corresponding purchases and behaviors are stagnant or heading south — and the rebounding economy may be the culprit. That’s the latest finding from Shelton Group’s seventh annual Eco Pulse™ study, released this week. Eco Pulse polls American consumers each year to track shifts in their attitudes, purchases and behaviors related to sustainability.
Over the last few years, as awareness and urgency around the issue of obesity have grown, campaigns promoting more fruit and vegetable consumption have been launched all over the developed world. But according to a team of researchers at the University of Sydney, such policy efforts have resulted only in modest gains and increased awareness (especially among children) but have largely been ineffective in bringing about a change in consumption behavior. The research was presented at The Quest for Quality Food 2014 Research Symposium at the University of Sydney.
WWF says it will now urge a suspension of fishing for Pacific Bluefin tuna, if fishing nations fail to set binding catch limits in line with scientific recommendations this year.WWF’s hardening stance follows an inconclusive annual meeting of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), which deferred discussions on bluefin tuna quotas to October. Catch reductions of at least 50 percent and a drastic reduction in the number of juveniles caught will also need to be implemented by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Samoa in December in order to secure the future of the fishery.