Collaboration
Follow the growing amount of collaborative work — cross-functional, cross-sector, pre-competitive and more — bringing about massive, disruptive, needed shifts to business as usual.
What Are the Success Factors and Risks for Relationships Between Industry and Academia?
This is the second of five questions from a roundtable discussion with the directors of sustainability research centers at six top business schools. See part one here.When we think about relationships with industry, we think of three key success factors.
Do Sustainability Research Centers View Industry as a Partner or a Client?
I held a roundtable discussion with the directors of sustainability centers and institutes at six top business schools to learn more about how they engage with industry.The first question was: Do you view industry more as a partner or client?I may get us off to a bad start, because I want to say “both.” I would say as a partner, because we rely on industry to give us insights into what knowledge and skills our students need to learn. But then as a client, when we’re doing consulting projects for companies.
Florida’s First Community and Restaurant Supported Fishery Planned For Key West
Dock to Dish, a New York-based community and restaurant supported fishery, has announced plans to open Florida’s first community supported fishery in Key West next month in conjunction with Key West restaurateur Chris Holland and the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association.The goal of the new enterprise is to bring the health benefits of locally harvested fish and seafood back to local consumers while helping to strengthen the in-state commercial fishing industry, Dock to Dish says.
Largest Tuna Supplier in Western Pacific Agrees to Provide MSC-certified Tuna
FCF Fishery Company (FCF) has announced that its joint investment, Nambawan, and its associated fleet, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PNAO/Pacifical as a commitment to maintaining Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) sustainability standards while trading tuna harvested from Pacific Island Nations (PNA) waters.Under the agreement, FCF will work with the PNA and Pacifical on criteria for certification and ensuring traceability and reporting from fish harvested to transportation, and processing into its semi-finished and finished products.
Al Gore, Pharrell Williams Talk Climate Change at WEF Annual Meeting
World leaders, activists and celebrities have descended on Davos, Switzerland this week to discuss everything from Ebola to climate change and the future shape of the world economy at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2015.
Dutch Tech Reclaims Organic Fertilizer at Drinking Water Plants
Royal HaskoningDHV has partnered with Dutch water supply company Vitens to help other drinking water companies around the world recover humic acid, an organic fertilizer.Humic acid is often discharged as a waste product during the drinking water blanching process. However, it can now be reclaimed sustainably in its pure form, providing an organic soil improver.
Mars, UC Davis Launch Innovation Institute for Food and Health
Mars, in partnership with UC Davis, launched the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, part of the university's World Food Center, at a day-long symposium on Wednesday. Laureates and other leading scientists discussed major challenges relating to improving global food security, sustainable agriculture and health for a growing world population.The Innovation Institute is being supported over the next 10 years with a pledge of $40 million from Mars and $20 million from UC Davis and aims to advance new discoveries in sustainable food, agriculture and health.
BASF, Boeing Join DOE Program to Develop Advanced Composites
57 companies, including BASF, Boeing and Ford, have joined the Department of Energy’s new Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Advanced Composites. A consortium of companies, nonprofits and universities led by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville are investing more than $250 million to launch the Institute, focused on cutting-edge research on advanced fiber-reinforced polymer composites, which combine strong fibers with tough plastics that are lighter and stronger than steel.
New Global Traceable Down Standard Addresses Animal Welfare, Supply Chain Traceability from Farm to Factory
In 2013, after years of efforts to develop the highest standard for animal welfare in the industry, outdoor goods retailer and manufacturer Patagonia published its 100% Traceable Down Standard to provide a roadmap for other brands to meet the same high bar and prevent needless animal suffering. Patagonia says it is the only company to date to have fully implemented this rigorous standard, which it achieved in 2014.
Timberland Reforestation Program Slowly Sowing Seeds of Change in Haiti
Timberland has long been one of the more proactive and socially responsible companies within the apparel industry, and this commitment has continued since its acquisition in 2011 by the multinational VF Corporation. The outdoor gear company has launched a bevy of social responsibility programs across the globe and reports on its environmental, social and governance progress quarterly. Now, leading up to the five-year anniversary of Haiti’s devastating earthquake on January 12, the company is promoting the work it has done to help the Caribbean nation rebuild.
Brown-Forman, BeMyDD Partnering for Holiday Designated Driver Program
Just in time for this season of excess and merrymaking, BeMyDD (Be My Designated Driver), the nation’s largest designated driver service, has launched a joint promotion with Brown-Forman Corporation, one of the U.S.’ largest wine and spirits companies — with brands including Jack Daniel’s, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Korbel and others — that offers first-time users of the BeMyDD transportation service a US$20 discount on their first reservation.
Field to Market Announces Goals to Advance Sustainability of U.S. Agriculture
Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture has announced goals to advance the sustainability of U.S. agriculture, committing its membership of 66 grower organizations to driving sustainable outcomes for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, potatoes and other crops in six key areas:
IKEA, Mars, Novelis, Unilever Among 233 Companies Expressing Support for EPA's Clean Power Plan
Marking the end of the comment period on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, 223 companies have announced their support for EPA’s proposed carbon standard for electric power plants, including IKEA, Mars Inc., VF Corporation, Novelis, Levi Strauss, Unilever and Nestlé.
Cargill, Kennedy and Coe to Develop Beef Cattle Sustainability Assessment
Cargill Cattle Feeders, the cattle supply arm of the company's U.S. beef business, has entered into an agreement with Wichita-based consultancy Kennedy and Coe, in a joint effort to create a verified beef supply chain sustainability assessment program for Cargill feed yards.As part of the collaboration, Kennedy and Coe will leverage its extensive beef-industry and sustainability expertise and ResourceMax™ assessment service developed by its Vela Environmental division.Based on the successful development of benchmarking and measurement criteria, this type of assessment could eventually be expanded to include cattle production in collaboration with stocker operators, ranchers, as well as with Cargill's strategic feed yard partners.
Method, The Nature Conservancy Partner to Protect Water in the Great Lakes Region
Method Products, PBC, leader in eco-friendly household, fabric and personal care products, has partnered with The Nature Conservancy for a groundwater replenishment project. Method's goal is to protect water in the Great Lakes' watershed and improve water quality throughout the area with this program, which offers incentives to farmers to increase groundwater recharge.Through this water-recharge program, Method's goal is to replenish groundwater in equal amounts to the water used in its factory — which is located in the region — targeting 30 million gallons of groundwater recharge over 5 years.
Philips, Bank of America Announce Plans to Improve Global Access to Clean Cooking Technologies
Philips and the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation have partnered to improve access to clean cooking solutions in Africa by introducing clean and efficient household cook stoves to rural communities across the continent. Bank of America, Deutsche Bank and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) announced separate plans to raise $100 million to help provide clean cooking solutions to millions of people worldwide.The Philips-SNV partnership aims to improve the health and wellbeing and income of rural populations while having a direct positive impact on the environment. It will include research, community education and access to financing for adopting clean cooking technologies.
CVS Health Commits More Than $1 Million to Support Tobacco-Cessation Programs
CVS Health has committed to invest more than $1 million in grants to support tobacco-cessation and -prevention programs nationwide. The grants will be distributed to healthcare and community partners working to promote tobacco-free communities, programs that help people kick the habit and help those who don’t smoke to never start.
Japanese Firm Joins BCtA to Promote Public Health in Uganda
Saraya Co., Japanese manufacturer of hygiene and sanitation products, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with an initiative to decrease healthcare associated infections in Uganda.Saraya brings alcohol-based hand rub products to East Africa in an effort to reduce the spread of preventable diseases. The company has committed to improving the compliance rate of healthcare workers in Uganda and scale-up its products production and sales by 2016.
MIT Announces 2014 Climate CoLab Winners
Danielle Dahan has been named the Grand Prize winner of this year’s Climate CoLab, a project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that uses online contests to find creative new ways to address global climate change.Dahan took home the $10,000 award for her proposal, "Improve Building Energy Performance: Green Job Skills Training," which addresses the shortage of qualified personnel to maintain the increasingly sophisticated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems installed in green buildings today.
#SB14London: The Value of Deeper Collaboration to End Deforestation
Another Tuesday afternoon panel brought together a diverse team of industry figures who shared insights surrounding problems of deforestation and the measures that have been taken to halt the process in a region of British Columbia.The Great Bear Rainforest is the name coined by environmental groups in the mid-1990s to refer to approximately 12,000 sq miles of temperate rainforest in a remote region of Canada, on the British Columbia Coast. The area is particularly noted for its outstanding native forestry of Red Cedar, and also its diverse wildlife, including bears, wolves and whales.
