Leadership
Exemplary cases of sustainability leadership and intrapreneurship, and the qualities, ethical principles and/or dilemmas inherent within them.
Regenerative Business: Diving Into the History, Etymology and Practice of 'Regeneration'
Forty years ago, I meet a cadre of business designers and developers who called what they did Regenerative Business Design. They had led a revolution with extraordinary success in Procter & Gamble, which gave the business world a state of the art approach in producing Return on Investment with people and assets. They delivered earnings for the consumer products giant that were the envy of all industries, in an industry whose margins were collapsed to below 5 percent.
7 Components of Purpose-Led Brands
We have entered the Age of Purpose — purpose as a collective value of growing cultural importance in many societies; as an emerging leading force in personal and career development; and as a driver of business decisions looking to create long-term value, build resilience and connect with increasingly conscious stakeholders. It may be early days for the Age of Purpose, but there are many signs it will only continue to gain momentum.
WWF's Markets Institute Out to Advance Sustainable Food Production
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has launched the Markets Institute, a dedicated platform working with stakeholders — particularly the private sector — to increase the speed and scale of market-based approaches to help optimize global food sector sustainability.
Trending: Food, Fashion Providing Employment for Refugees
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015, and over 50,000 more arrived by boat in January 2016. While most asylum seekers are trying to escape the war in Syria, tens of thousands are also fleeing Afghanistan, Kosovo, Iraq, Albania, Pakistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Serbia, and Ukraine. Once they arrive in Europe, they face numerous barriers to employment – not the least of which are the influx of people, tough economic times, and employers’ perception of refugees.
The New Copernican Revolution: Fritjof Capra on the Shift to 'The Systems View of Life'
Fritjof Capra is one of the world’s leading thinkers in systems theory, and the author of many influential books, such as The Tao of Physics; The Web of Life: A New Synthesis of Mind and Matter; The Turning Point: Science, Society and the Rising Culture; The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living; and Learning from Leonardo: Decoding the Notebooks of a Genius.
ASU Initiatives Delivering on Mission to Solve, Educate, Engage on Sustainability
Arizona State University (ASU) has emerged as a leader in sustainability education in part due to its Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a series of programs designed to solve global sustainability problems, educate future leaders in sustainability strategies, and engage and inform the public around sustainability issues.
Union of Concerned Scientists Ad Presses Presidential Candidates on Climate Threat
Over the next month, the Manchester Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire’s five video screens will regularly show an animated ad depicting the state’s four leading presidential candidates with tides rising to their waists from climate-induced sea level rise. The 10-second spot asks, “How will you deal with sea level rise in New Hampshire?” and is expected to be seen by the candidates, their teams, and the press as they arrive for the GOP presidential debate on February 6 and primary on February 9.
Reinventing Work: Finding the Work That Brings You to Life
Why do so many people work so hard just to build up the funds to quit?In 25 years of coaching, I have met thousands of people with the same dream: to have “enough” money to do what they really want to do. The dream outcome is different for each – but the impact on their life today is always the same. Like Didi and Gogo in Waiting for Godot, we sit, wait and put up with work we don’t want to do to save for the life we actually want. This is the lifeblood of capitalism, and of the entire savings and pensions industry – that we share a dream of a golden future that has to be paid for with savings from work.There is another version of the story. Find the “Work” that matters to you and do it now in a way that brings you to life.
Obama Administration Declares Moratorium on New Federal Coal Leases
The Obama administration has announced a moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands, citing concerns regarding pricing and pollution. This followed on the heels of the president’s final State of the Union address, in which he said the United States must improve the way it manages its fossil fuel resources and move towards a clean energy economy.
White House Taps Private Sector for ‘Moonshot for Water’
The White House on Tuesday announced a new public-private water innovation strategy aimed at addressing the impacts of climate change on the use and supply of the nation’s water resources.The strategy, known informally as the “moonshot for water” calls for an aggressive two-part approach led by federal agencies, and enlists the private sector and other stakeholder groups to help significantly scale up research and investment in water efficiency solutions.
COP21 Agreement Makes History, But Not Everyone Is Happy
Over the weekend, 195 nations reached a landmark agreement at COP21 in Paris to fight climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future.The Paris Agreement, for the first time, brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities. Its main aim is to keep a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The 1.5 degree Celsius limit is a significantly safer defense line against the worst impacts of a changing climate.
Report: Cities Can Help Close COP21 ‘Emissions Gap’
If cities around the world take aggressive climate change action, they can help cut global emissions by 3.7 billion tons a year by 2030 — helping to close the “emissions gap” between what countries have promised to do before the COP21 climate talks, and what is needed to avoid a rise in temperature above 2 degrees Celsius, according to a new report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) on behalf of C40.The emissions gap amounts to around 15 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.
UNEP to Companies: Time to Raise the Bar on Sustainability Reporting
Corporate sustainability reporting desperately needs to up its game in order to align company-level sustainability performance with the broader systems-level ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and COP21, the United Nations climate change conference, according to a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Indonesian Forest Fires, Amazon Tipping Points, and the Business Case for Investing in Reforestation
Businesses have a central role in addressing the forest issues that are in today’s headlines—including the Indonesian fires (which emitted more CO2 in three weeks than the entire German economy in a year), and the Amazon forests, which may be at a tipping point with serious
Study: Developing Countries Will Need $270B to Adapt to Climate Change
Developing countries will need to pay an additional $270 billion more each year to adapt to the impacts of climate change if COP21 fails to elicit increased global pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report by Oxfam.Game-changers in the Paris climate deal warns that developing countries’ economies face being crushed under the double burden of climate change adaptation costs of almost $800 billion and more than twice that in economic losses every year by 2050 if pledges to cut emissions are not improved.
Here's What Stands In the Way of a COP21 Climate Treaty
Despite the recent horrific acts in Paris, next week world leaders will converge on the city for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference — otherwise known as the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21 — to achieve what many hope will be the first legally binding and universal agreement on climate change.
Australian Companies Commit to Carbon Reduction Through We Mean Business
On November 5, 12 Australian companies committed to climate action at the Australian Climate Leadership Summit in Sydney, an official lead-up event to the COP21 UN climate conference. They join over 250 other companies from around the world who have made commitments through the We Mean Business coalition, including over 40 multinationals that are headquartered or active in Australia.
A-B InBev: How a Global Brewer Is Setting the Bar for Innovation in Local Water Conservation
I came to Colorado, like millions before me, for the mountains, the active, sustainable lifestyle — and, of course, the beer. Coloradoans love their beer. So when I was invited up to Fort Collins to check out the water-saving initiatives of a local brewery I jumped at the opportunity. “Which one?” I wondered. Fort Collins is home to more than 15 breweries (roughly 1 for every 10,000 residents), amongst the highest concentrations for any city in America. New Belgium is a certified B Corp — that’d make sense. Or maybe Odell?
Obama Rejects Keystone XL After 7 Years of Drama, Debate, Protest
Today, President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline that would have connected Canada’s tar sands to refineries in Texas. The project became a symbol of the fight against climate change, making its rejection a huge victory for the “unprecedented coalition” of groups that came together to oppose it.In his announcement, the President said that he agrees with the State Department’s decision that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the country’s national interests, nor would it make a meaningful long-term contribution to the economy.
Trending: Fetzer Vineyards, U.S. Department of Labor Celebrate B Corp Certification
One of the highest standards for social and environmental responsibility in business, B Corp certification, was awarded to Fetzer Vineyards and praised by the U.S. Department of Labor last week. The certification developed by the non-profit B Lab now signifies over 1,400 responsibly run companies from 130 industries and 42 countries. The performance standards are comprehensive and transparent, and measure a company’s impact on all of its stakeholders, including workers, suppliers, community, and the environment.