The latest creative strategies and tools helping organizations to engage their teams in building market-leading, purpose-driven brands.
A key ingredient in everything from beauty products to detergents and even ice cream, palm oil is an important commodity that generates billions of dollars in revenue each year. However, unsustainable palm oil production practices are the root cause of considerable environmental and social risks. Efforts to address issues such as deforestation and human rights violations are on the rise as a result of increasing pressure from consumers and investors, as well as a growing awareness of the threat inaction poses to future business, yet a sustainable palm oil industry is still a long way off.
Craft beer has taken off over the past five years, with the industry now boasting over 6,000 craft breweries in the US alone, 700 of which opened in the past year. In order to continue this momentum, Anheuser-Busch (A-B) has launched Elevate, a new initiative that aims to take craft brewing to the next level by creating a stronger, safer, more sustainable category and raising awareness of its craft beer and cider brands.
The face of the U.S.’s workforce is undergoing a vast and rapid change as an estimated 10,000 baby boomers retire each day. With nearly 4 million people calling it quits each year, this silver tsunami is creating a personnel gap that is being felt by a broad range of industries.
“The most important resource a customer, coffee brand or even the roaster has in the coffee industry is the relationship with a farmer,” said Thrive Farmers’ co-founder and chief sustainability officer, Ken Lander, from his small coffee farm tucked away in the village of San Rafael de Abangares, Costa Rica.
At COP23, the largest cocoa-producing countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, announced far-reaching frameworks for action with leading chocolate and cocoa companies, including Cargill, General Mills, Hershey, Mars, Mondelēz International and Nestlé, to end deforestation and restore forest areas.
Just weeks after 12 C40 mayors signed the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration in an effort to curb air pollution and improve the quality of life for urban dwellers while tackling climate change, the mayors of 25 pioneering cities have pledged to develop and begin implementing more ambitious climate action plans by 2020 to deliver emissions-neutral and climate-resilient cities by 2050.
Corporate sustainability goes far beyond carbon emissions and water efficiency. Workplace gender equality is quickly catching up to science-based targets and circular design in terms of the elements crucial for building businesses that can compete in a rapidly evolving economic landscape that values social and environmental responsibility.
The international Fair-Trade Town movement encourages authorities, corporates, retail outlets and community groups to promote fair trade and spread understanding of fair-trade concepts across its sphere of influence. Over 1,800 towns have been recognized worldwide. Japan may well lag other countries in the movement, but it does have three registered fair-trade cities — Kumamoto, Nagoya and Zushi — and has added its own, sixth requirement to the five core standards for fair-trade town status outlined by Fair Trade Towns International.
Stella McCartney has long been an advocate for responsible, sustainable fashion and was one of the first high profile labels to put forth products that struck the perfect balance of aesthetics and ethics. Unfortunately, as a luxury label, the brand is out of reach for a majority of the masses. Affordable alternatives do, however, exist yet the marketing of responsible threads has largely focused on claims — organic, Fair Trade, etc. — rather than the clothing’s sartorial appeal, representing missed opportunities to connect with consumers.
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has released a special edition of its Annual Report, describing two decades of driving change on the water. More than 400 fisheries, landing 14 percent of global marine catch by volume, are now engaged in the MSC program. MSC Chain of Custody certification has been granted to 42,320 sites and in the last financial year, consumers bought 730,860 tons of MSC labeled seafood, in a market worth $5.6 billion.
Over the past decade, Danish energy company DONG Energy has ambitiously transitioned away from oil and coal to transform itself into one of Europe’s cleanest, most sustainable energy companies.
The Sustainable Development Goals seem to be on everyone’s mind as of late, with new initiatives and reports related to the 2030 Agenda turning up almost daily. Just last week, GRI announced that it was developing a common framework for measuring and reporting business progress and impacts on the SDGs and the University of Cambridge Institute of Sustainable Leadership released a report highlighting the benefits businesses can reap by delivering on the SDG agenda.
“Sell by,” “Use by,” “Display until” and “Best before” food labels intended to inform consumers about food quality and safety frequently come under fire for their lack of clarity and confusing terminology that contributes significantly to the colossal food waste problem — one that costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone. However, little concrete action has been taken to address the problem.
This is an excerpt from Rise Up: How to Build a Socially Conscious Business, released this week from Elevate Publishing. Purpose-driven companies regard employees as their most critical resource, one to be nurtured and sustained rather than exhausted and played out like a mine with a short-term life expectancy.
A significant source of cutting-edge research, innovation and ideas, universities are uniquely positioned to accelerate progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — a notion that is supported by the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC).
SC Johnson, a manufacturer of products such as Windex, Glade, Shout, Raid and Pledge, has signed an agreement to acquire Method and Ecover, two consumer brands from People Against Dirty, a B-Corp and pioneer in ‘planet-friendly’ home, fabric and personal care products. Method and Ecover are well known for their use of naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients and responsible packaging.
Brand purpose consultancy Given London is making it easier than ever for businesses to identify and act upon a purpose beyond profit — and thereby stay competitive in an ever-changing economic landscape — with its new Wayfinder tool.
The food industry is undergoing a major transformation, but while food companies often serve as the face of this so-called ‘food revolution,’ the source of some of the most significant changes isn’t the C-suite, but rather our farms.
As Jack Welch, longtime CEO of General Electric, has said, “no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.” It follows that businesses are actively competing to attract and retain top talent.
While millennials have largely been the focus of city leaders’ efforts to attract new talent and residential growth, a new Brookings study finds that innovation districts — areas which are highly walkable and transit-oriented, rich with amenities and employment opportunities — would also benefit from attracting and serving adults 50 years of age and up, who can fill gaps in the innovation ecosystem, including age diversity, professional expertise and