The work of organizations joining forces in win-win, pre-competitive ways to bring about massive, impactful shifts away from business as usual
Planet Forward, a sustainability and media production of the Center for Innovative Media at George Washington (GW) University’s School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), has announced the launch of a new multimedia digital storytelling collaborative that will engage colleges and universities globally to support sustainable programming, student engagement, internships and other projects around the issues of food security, water, energy and climate change. Read More...
The newest trend in social responsibility in the apparel sector emerged in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam on Monday as several of the world’s most influential clothing brands gathered to develop a roadmap to creating a more sustainable supply chain and conserve endangered forests. Read More...
The Coca-Cola Company and WaterHealth International (WHI) have announced a plan to bring safe drinking water to one million school children in 2,000 schools in developing countries by the end of 2015.The Child With Water (CWW) program aims to deliver 500 million liters of safe drinking water a year to school children through water-purification systems installed, operated and maintained by WHI. Currently operating more than 500 plants in five countries, WHI provides safe drinking water access to about 5 million people. Read More...
I recently wrote about how global team engagement has been the key to success for Microsoft’s Carbon Fee Program, a financial model that puts an incremental fee on the carbon emissions associated with the company’s operations. In an organization as large and widespread as Microsoft, internal communications can be the biggest impediment to effectively coordinating top-down corporate policies. Read More...
The Acqua for Life campaign — a partnership between Giorgio Armani and Green Cross International (GCI) that has been targeting water-scarce communities in West Africa (Ghana) and Latin America (Bolivia and Mexico) to roll out sustainable drinking water systems since its launch in 2011 — announced this week it will now extend its work to Sri Lanka, Ivory Coast and Senegal for the first time this year. Read More...
San Francisco-based Timbuk2, famous for its ubiquitous messenger bags, has launched the Timbuk2 Life Cycle — a robust environmental responsibility program to reduce, reuse, repair, recycle, and reimagine Timbuk2 bags — in partnership with yerdle, iFixit, and Terracycle.The company has also added a full-time tailor to implement the ‘repair’ aspect of the program. Read More...
Duracell, Volkswagen, LG, and Hitachi are among the first corporate members of CalCharge, a pioneering initiative designed to accelerate the development of the energy storage sector in California.CalCharge emerged out of a joint effort of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) — a DOE national laboratory — and CalCEF to explore ways to support the growth of the California energy storage cluster. The partnership grew to include SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, San Jose State University, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractor's Association as the other founding Partner Members.Other corporate members include: Eaton, Enovix, EnerVault, Farasis Energy, Halotechnics, Leyden Energy and Primus. Read More...
This week, Nestlé, General Mills, M&S and other global brands committed to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), along with 27 other organizations including FEMSA Foundation, Water Footprint Network, Water Aid, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy, to promote a global framework for sustainable use of the world's limited freshwater resources.The announcement came with AWS' release of the first International Water Stewardship Standard, which defines criteria for good water stewardship, aligns with other sustainability initiatives and supports independent certification. Read More...
A £31 million, pan-European deal has been struck to make hydrogen vehicles a viable and environmentally friendly choice for motorists across Europe. Coordinated by the Mayor of London's Office, the project — the largest of its kind in Europe — features the support of BMW, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, along with hydrogen fuel companies Air Products, Copenhagen Hydrogen Network, ITM Power, Linde and OMV.Other partners include Element Energy, PE International, Institute for Innovative Technology and the European Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. Read More...
Southwest Airlines has announced a multi-year commitment to Placemaking — a movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community.Through the Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community program, the airline says it has partnered with a nonprofit dedicated to Placemaking, Project for Public Spaces (PPS), to collaborate with local community partners in cities across the country to bring new life to their public spaces. Southwest says Heart of the Community is part of a broader efforts to connect people and strengthen local communities through its core business, charitable giving, community outreach and environmental initiatives. Read More...
Recent studies have shown that demand from consumers and clients for sustainable businesses is on the rise. The benefits from investing in sustainable development projects can increase your brand value while improving the health, environmental condition and economic standing of some of the more disadvantaged social groups in the world. Read More...
Climate change and unsustainable development increasingly are threatening some of the world's most popular and appealing travel destinations. In response, Royal Caribbean Cruises and several other organizations have partnered to address these challenges by helping tourism destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America "to safeguard their natural and cultural assets, while enhancing communities and securing a vibrant regional economy." Read More...
On Wednesday, the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) and CSR Europe, facilitators of the European Automotive Working Group on Supply Chain Sustainability, announced an unprecedented agreement among 14 global automakers on a set of standards outlining expectations for suppliers on key responsibility issues including human rights, environment, working conditions and business ethics. Read More...
Just a week after the release of its most recent sustainability report — complete with new 2020 targets, including providing access to clean water to a million people worldwide — and just in time for World Water Day, Keurig Green Mountain (KGM), has announced a multi-faceted effort to address the long-term, interconnected challenges of the global water crisis, starting with a commitment of $11 million to support leading NGOs working to promote water security around the world. Read More...
Longtime rivals ConAgra Foods and Procter & Gamble have teamed up to help Feeding America tackle the ongoing issue of childhood hunger in the US with the 2014 Child Hunger Ends Here campaign, through which the companies hope to help donate up to 7 million meals to the more than 20 percent of children across the country that are food insecure. Read More...
Food Lion, one of America’s largest supermarket chains with more than 1,100 stores across the eastern and southeastern US, has announced the adoption of a sustainable seafood policy that will cover approximately 1,000 fresh, frozen, canned or packaged seafood products sold at its stores. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute will help Food Lion assess its suppliers.Highlights of the policy include: Read More...
Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Hoosier Energy are the first buyers of interstate credits for water nutrients in the United States' new pilot program. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) on Tuesday officially launched the program for water-quality trades in the Ohio River Basin. The initiative tests water-quality improvement strategies in the world’s only interstate water quality trading program.Water quality trading is a market-based approach that could enable facilities to meet permit limits using nutrient-reduction credits from farmers who implement conservation practices, EPRI says. Read More...
Marriott is among the first tourism companies to partner with a new global campaign aimed at raising awareness about the most common illicit goods and services that tourists might be exposed to while traveling.The “Your Actions Count — Be a Responsible Traveler” campaign provides guidance for travelers to recognize possible situations of trafficking in persons, wildlife, cultural artifacts, illicit drugs and counterfeit goods, and invites them to take action through responsible consumer choices, such as alerting the proper authorities to situations. A central focus of the initiative will be reaching out to young people, spreading the anti-trafficking message to future generations of travelers, Marriott says. Read More...
Unilever recently announced a public-private partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) aimed at helping to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers around the world.The goal of the 5-year global agreement — the first of its kind by IFAD with the private sector — is to help improve food security through: Read More...
Project 7, a mission-driven company that donates proceeds from the sale of its products (including bottled water, gum, mints and coffee) to one of seven social and environmental causes, has rather appropriately teamed up with 7UP® for a campaign to “make every bottle count.” Read More...