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.
Global, Multisector Commitments Aim to Eliminate Plastic Pollution at the Source; Is It Enough?
NOTE: This article was updated on October 30, 2018 at 11:45am ET. A Global Commitment to eradicate plastic waste and pollution at the source has been signed by 250 organisations including many of the world’s largest packaging producers, brands, retailers and recyclers, as well as governments and NGOs. For some signatories, the Global Commitment is just one facet of their plan to overhaul their approach to plastic. The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment is led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), in collaboration with UN Environment, and was officially unveiled at the Our Ocean Conference in Bali today.
Nat Geo, Wattpad Call for Stories About Global Plastic Crisis
The only positive side of the marine plastic problem is the growing tide of actions from the global business community to try and solve it — in the past year alone, the issue has spawned campaigns, documentaries, cross-industry collaborations, scientific breakthroughs,
As Michael Approaches, Companies Are Changing the Way We Weather Natural Disasters
Natural disasters are becoming a new reality for many Americans. In 2017 alone, 25 million people, or 8 percent of the U.S. population, were affected by a natural disaster — a “historic year,” according to FEMA. More often, corporates are responding before, during and after natural disasters to serve affected employees, customers and communities. Historically, companies have responded to disasters by providing the basics of food, water, and shelter — often via cash donations to relief organizations. But in the past few years, we have seen more companies bring their competencies, products or services, and people to disaster situations in innovative ways. And they are changing the way communities across the U.S. weather and recover from disasters.
Making National Parks 'Smart' Could Be Key to Their Sustainability
More and more studies suggest that time spent outdoors can help foster our mental and physical development and wellbeing. Unfortunately, maintaining green spaces such as urban and national parks is not always an easy task. Maintenance can be particularly challenging for national park authorities, who often need to keep watch over hundreds of miles of wild terrain.
BCFN Foundation, UN SDSN Promise Roadmap to Global Food System Transformation
The past few weeks have seen a flurry of big announcements and commitments regarding increasing sustainability in a variety of areas, including overhauling our broken food system: Two weeks ago, at the Global Climate Action Summit, FoodShot Global launched a new investment platform aimed at accelerating food system transformation through a “Moonshots for Better Food” challenge to startups working to create a healthier, more sustainable and more equitable food system worldwide; while earlier this week at Climate Week NYC,
APP, MTG Partner to Turn 1K Women from Forest Communities into Herbal Entrepreneurs
The Indonesian Network of the United Nations Global Compact today announced a partnership between Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) and Martha Tilaar Group (MTG) — a leading Indonesian manufacturer of cosmetics and herbal medicine — to train 1,000 women from forest communities to help preserve herbal plants and become self-sufficient entrepreneurs.
Neighbourly Calling for More Partners to Redistribute Surplus Food Across UK, Ireland
Giving platform Neighbourly has today put out a call inviting charities, food projects, schools and community groups to join its free food surplus redistribution scheme. Neighbourly is the redistribution partner to retailers and manufacturers including Marks & Spencer, Starbucks, Heineken, Lidl and Danone.
Stakeholders Collaborating for a More Sustainable Bioeconomy
Over the last few years, the bioeconomy — a global economy that uses biological resources and waste from the land and sea as inputs to food, industrial and energy production — has been a major point of discussion for scientists and policymakers alike. According to the World Economic Forum, our bioeconomy is far from sustainable as it presently exists, as companies across many industries continue to rely on environmentally damaging practices.
Latin American Leaders Commit to Forge Inclusive Digital Future for All
On Thursday, Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda — a globally recognized disability rights expert, President of World Enabled and Director of the Inclusive Cities Lab at the University of California Berkeley — shared his vision for socially inclusive, smart cities of the future in a keynote address at the Smart City Expo LATAM Congress 2018 in Puebla, Mexico.
GCAS: 400 Investors, Salesforce & Friends 'Step Up' to Ensure Climate Turning Point by 2020
Today, among a flurry of big announcements at the Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) in San Francisco, Salesforce announced its leadership in the creation of the Step Up Declaration and strategic corporate commitments to help catalyze a climate turning point by 2020.
Nature's Path, Back to the Roots Partner to Bring Organic Cereals to Every School in America
Marking a major milestone moment for the organic food movement, Nature’s Path — the world’s largest organic breakfast company — and sustainable food and garden startup Back to the Roots have inked an exclusive licensing agreement to bring Back to the Roots’ organic, four-ingredients-or-less cereals into every school cafeteria across the country.
Thought Leadership Is Overrated
My first problem with so many people focusing on “thought leadership” is the myriad of people (and organizations) who confer the title on themselves — rather than understanding that, to be a thought leader, one must be considered such by others. But my bigger problem with the concept is that, in my opinion, it focuses too much on the individual and fails to recognize, appreciate and encourage what I call ‘collaborative co-creation,’ where more than one person comes together to create something greater than they could have alone.
Creating Business Alliances Around Bolivian Quinoa
When multiple layers of the supply chain work together, transformation is most effective. At Archer Daniels Midland Company, we have seen this firsthand, through providing financial and other support to improve the lives of quinoa farmers in Bolivia. Together with our partner, Andean Naturals; and our customer, Kashi, we have been working to promote sustainable quinoa and improve the welfare of the farmers and their families by empowering women farmers, improving access to education, and increasing quinoa productivity.
UNICEF, LIXIL Partner to Provide 250M People Access to Basic Sanitation by 2021
Sanitation is one of the most pressing social and public health challenges today. 1 in 3 people worldwide do not have access to a safe toilet — and 892 million people have no choice but to defecate in the open. Every two minutes, a child dies from a preventable diarrhea-related disease — approximately 288,000 children each year. The issue also contributes to the number of girls who drop out of school, since they are especially affected by a lack of hygiene and sanitation during their period.
Why Apparel Brands Should Work Together to Build a Sustainable Future
I recently spent time in Copenhagen for the Fashion Summit. There were a lot of statistics thrown around but there is one that I can’t get out of my head. 50 million tons of clothes are produced every year and 87 percent of them will end up incinerated or in a landfill. And our industry is expected to double. That math is 87 million tons per year burned or tossed!
Cities, Countries, Companies to Automakers: You Have the Keys to a Zero-Emissions Future
States, regions, cities and international business are uniting to use their purchasing and policy influence to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) around the world through a new Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Challenge, launched today.
Fashion for Good Adds PVH - Parent of Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein - as Latest Partner
Fashion for Good and PVH Corp., one of the largest apparel companies in the world that owns brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, today announced their partnership to accelerate the transition towards a good fashion industry.
How Brands Can Bee of Help in Protecting Pollinators
This week, National Pollinator Week, marks an important time to not only celebrate the role honey bees play in the sustainability of our food system, but also to spur action that can support the health of these pollinators. While everyone can play a part in maintaining bee health, collective action is the key to safeguarding the 35 percent of the world’s crops that rely on pollinators to some degree.
Trending: New Partnerships Grow Reforestation, Research, Offset Programs in South America
How much forest land — and what quality — is needed to ensure forests can continue to provide people, plants and animals worldwide with clean air and water, food and the goods and services they need to thrive?
CGF Calls for Accelerated Action Against Forced Labor, Unethical Recruitment
At the 2018 Global Forum on Responsible Business and Recruitment this week, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) called on businesses around the world to play their part in the fight to end all forms of forced labor. The event, co-hosted by the CGF and Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB), brought together key stakeholders to discuss how best to galvanize efforts and drive real progress on the issue.