The latest products, services, design approaches and business models that are helping organizations of all sizes deliver on their sustainability ambitions and establish a new business as usual
A number of data platforms have emerged in recent months that aim to help give organizations an eagle-eye view of issues such as deforestation and climate resilience, but one startup is using the power of data to engage individuals who have yet to understand how global environmental problems may be affecting them personally.
On Monday, Bill Gates announced the establishment of a $1 billion investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, geared towards fighting climate change through clean energy innovation.
Thai Union Group PCL, one of the world’s leading and likely most contentious seafood companies, today announced an ambitious strategy to ensure 100 percent of its branded tuna is sustainably sourced with a commitment of achieving a minimum of 75 percent by 2020. As part of the new tuna strategy, Thai Union says it will invest $90m in initiatives that will increase the supply of sustainable tuna. This includes establishing 11 new Fishery Improvement Projects (programs to transform fisheries that ensure sustainable fish stocks, minimized environmental impacts, and improved management of the fisheries, or FIPs) around the world.
Reducing global food waste seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, and two young health food brands — Barnana and Wonky Juice — are looking to address the issue at the source, giving misshapen fruits and vegetables new life and boosting local economies. Fact: Bananas are the number-one wasted food product in the world, with fifty percent of all bananas grown going to waste. Caue Suplicy, founder of organic banana snack brand Barnana, is hoping to change that.
Circular economy fever continues to sweep through the European Union, with smaller countries north and south recognizing the advantages of setting new standards for business as usual. According to Jyrki Katainen (NCP), VP for Jobs, Growth and Competitiveness at the European Commission, Finland’s future is looking bright. At a lunch event organized by the Association of Finnish Political Journalists on Monday, Katainen stated that the country should step up to the plate and into the current power vacuum in Europe, distinguishing itself as a leader at a time when countries such as Italy, Germany and France become more and more preoccupied with defense cooperation.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has officially become the first U.S. energy company to pilot a methane-detection device.
Gifts for our loved ones that also help repurpose waste, benefit people in need, expand the next generation's horizons, and overall provide alternative to "products as usual" ... How is that not a win-win? Here are just a few of our favorite socially and environmentally beneficial gift ideas that will help you celebrate this season of giving (and spending) with a clear conscience.
Siemens and New York-based startup LO3 Energy have announced that they are partnering up to make the energy-sharing economy a reality through the development of microgrids that use blockchain technology to enable local energy trading.
French engineering giant Bouygues Group is making a convincing case for reinventing the wheel, rolling out four new solar road projects across four continents that could change the way we drive by 2018. Colas SA, a subsidiary of Bouygues Group, has designed solar panels that are rugged enough to withstand the weight of an 18-wheeler truck — and are currently building them into road surfaces in France. Colas has been performing research and laboratory tests over the past five years and now plans to construct 100 test sites to further test the new technology before commercializing it in 2018.
Coming off a string of apparent strides toward recognizing the benefits of sustainability – including ratifying a shareholder resolution that commits the company to investing in a low-carbon future, earning a place on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) earlier this year, launching an online tool for low-carbon startups to access financing, and last month
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) today launches the Higg Index Design and Development Module (DDM). Along with the release last month of its updated Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) - a cradle-to-gate scoring tool that measures and communicates the environmental performance of thousands of materials used in creating apparel, footwear and home textile products - the DDM is the latest tool in the Higg arsenal aimed at empowering product designers and developers to make sustainable choices at the earliest stage of apparel, footwear and textile prototype design.
The UK, Denmark and Germany are leading the clean energy transformation in Europe. Since 1990, the UK has reduced its CO2 emissions by 25 percent, while other wealthy countries such as the US and Norway have increased their emissions of greenhouse gases. World's biggest fleet of offshore wind turbines One of the reasons for the UK’s leading role in the clean energy transformation lies off of its coasts, where enormous offshore wind farms convert high-speed ocean winds into sustainable energy. And the development of offshore wind power has only just begun.
When Japanese brewer Kirin launched its Creating Shared Value (CSV) Division in 2013, the link between competitive advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) was a relatively new concept, and Kirin was the first corporation in Japan to institute CSV management. Masaya Hayashida, who spearheads Kirin’s CSV division as executive officer and general manager, states plainly that he is not interested in hypothetical arguments over CSR or CSV. He’s practical, and Kirin’s CSV pursuit of social & economic value has come to fruition in the form of a community-based approach.
Earlier this month at Sustainable Brands’ New Metrics ’16 conference, IdeaScale, Topcoder and SensisChallenges presented on the use of crowdsourcing to drive innovation and de-risk the execution of corporate sustainability initiatives.
Transparency is the new normal, driving an unprecedented need for the integration of sustainability into all aspects of business. It took activists only a few days to plaster the Internet with pictures of the collapsed Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013 that buried hundreds of workers under rubbles of concrete. Through social media and the Internet, it was possible to inform the world before companies such as Walmart and Mango, which sourced from the factory, learned of the disaster.
This week, ethical shoe brand Po-Zu will unveil its Star Wars-themed footwear at the FFANY trade show in New York as part of a major collaboration with the movie franchise. It’s a highly significant launch for Po-Zu, as it will enable the UK-based manufacturer to bring its products to a wider market and raise public awareness over the ‘dark side’ of the shoe trade.
This Friday will be one of the biggest days in the global retail calendar (just behind Alibaba’s Singles’ Day earlier in November). Black Friday sales have begun encroaching on Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., with some stores remaining open on the holiday, and sales beginning even earlier in the week.
A new report from CDP, analyzing a US$1.2tn3 grouping of the world’s major publicly listed international oil and gas companies, reveals an unsurprising transatlantic divide as European companies outperform their U.S. peers in preparedness for a low-carbon future. The oil and gas industry, and the use of its products, accounts for approximately 50 percent of global CO2 emissions1. Climate policies and disruptive technology affecting the use of hydrocarbon products in transport and utilities sectors will require the oil and gas industry to rapidly adapt in order to future-proof its business.
Ramblers Way, an ethically sourced, American-made sustainable clothing company announced today an extensive rebrand across the company along with the new tagline ‘Clothing for a Good Life.’ The new brand look and feel embodies Ramblers Way’s commitment to protect the planet, support local economies and build its business based on lifelong values.
Tom Singh, founder of UK fashion brand New Look, has backed a London-based fashion technology company to help apparel retailers and manufacturers manage their supply chains.