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Product, Service & Design Innovation

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.

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Bechtel Innovation and Sustainability: Two Sides of the Same Coin

Global stressors — from water scarcity to modern-day slavery — are reinventing traditional business models across heavy industries that support a more secure, sustainable future. As one of the largest engineering, procurement and construction companies in the world, Bechtel is uniquely positioned to be part of this transformation. We’ve completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all seven continents.

Panera Launches Zero-Added Sugar Beverages, Challenges Industry to Be More Transparent

Transparency is increasingly becoming a food industry standard, with more and more brands sharing information regarding supply chain and nutritional content with consumers. This new wave of transparency is also joined by a greater focus on creating products that are made with “clean” ingredients derived from natural sources. Since the launch of its “Food as It Should Be” campaign back in 2014, Panera Bread has been sharing its journey towards serving only “100% clean” food.

5 Questions to Ask to See If an ‘Ethical’ Fashion Brand Is Legit

As a responsible shopper looking to do the right thing, you might think if a brand is openly talking about their environmental or labor practices, they’re probably legit. And if they show you a picture of a happy worker or an NGO partner, it’s probably a sign of good intent and practices, right? Wrong. Buyer beware — greenwashing (i.e. exaggerating their environmental chops or social practices in an effort to make themselves seem sustainable, and even diverting attention away from negative practices such as child labor, or the consumption-driven fast-fashion model) is definitely a thing, and it’s not just the big fast-fashion brands.

In Search of Sustainable Leadership: A Series

This is the first in a series of articles examining ‘sustainable leadership’ and what it entails Find links to the full series below. Building a ‘sustainable’ brand or enterprise can involve many things. Depending on your circumstances, these might range from generating sustainable solutions for everything from energy to supply chains, packaging, manufacturing, food, electronics, transport, marketing, buildings, textiles … Building a sustainable brand is about identifying the strategic and tactical priorities that face your business today and leveraging the more sustainable alternatives, which are constantly emerging, to solve them.

#BusinessCase: Uber’s Leadership Crisis – Or, How Values Impact Brand

It appears that Uber’s chickens have come home to roost. A steady drip of negative stories over the past several weeks has snowballed into a full communications crisis — one that peaked recently, in a public apology from CEO Travis Kalanick, in which he admitted that he “must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up.” Widely hailed as the world’s most valuable startup, the company has been in the headlines lately for all the wrong reasons.

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J&J Reveals Winners of First Africa Innovation Challenge

At the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, Johnson & Johnson revealed the winners of its first Africa Innovation Challenge, an initiative designed to drive innovative and sustainable health solutions that will benefit African communities. The Challenge is part of the company’s comprehensive approach to collaborate with and support Africa’s vibrant innovation, education and health systems institutions.

Leaders of the Purpose Revolution: ECOALF’s Javier Goyeneche

This is one of a series of interviews that started when Rosie Warin, CEO of culture and communications agency Kin&Co, began having conversations with high–profile, values–driven leaders of the ‘purpose revolution’ about the future of leadership. Each explores how these leaders got to where they are now, and what they think the future of values–driven leadership looks like. How did the man who now turns abandoned fishing nets, old tires and coffee residues into clothing get to where he is today? We found out when we sat down with Javier Goyeneche, founder of Spanish eco-fashion brand ECOALF.

Trending: New Solutions for Coffee Capsules, Hard-to-Recycle Products Reach Commercial Scale

Coffee cups, coffee capsules and MDF are some of the most popular and hard-to-recycle products in circulation, accounting for hundreds of thousands of tons of waste sent to landfill each year — an issue that companies and governments are striving to address. New initiatives and innovations across industries could, however, set a new standard for these problematic products.

Back to the Roots, NYC Schools Take 'Undo Food' Movement One Step Further

A recent move by the New York City public school system signals a major win for small food companies and champions of better nutrition. The pressure to provide wholesome, nutritious foods is considerable for public schools across the U.S. following the introduction of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010, and many rely on products from large companies such as Kellogg, Post Foods and General Mills, which are both affordable and accessible, for their breakfast programs.

Biocomposite That Increases Performance, Sustainability Could Be Future of Surf Fins

Surf equipment manufacturer Futures Fins is introducing a new fin for stand-up paddleboards (SUP) created from biocomposites. The RWC (reclaimed wood composite) Keel is an environmentally friendly biocomposite-based fin that meets, and in some aspects exceeds, traditional performance demands.

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ACT Program Seeks to Steer Companies Towards Transformative Business Models

According to results from a new initiative created during COP21 in Paris by CDP and ADEME — the French Environment and Energy Management Agency — business-as-usual is no longer an option. By looking at the future implications of a company’s current business activity in order to accurately assess its readiness for the transition to a low-carbon economy, the Assessing Low-Carbon Transition (ACT) pilot project has revealed stark differences between companies, that on the surface, may look very similar today.

Kashi Expands Certified Transitional Portfolio to Scale Organic Farmland

In an effort to help support farmers and increase the amount of farmland dedicated to organic production, Kashi has introduced a second line of products in its growing Certified Transitional portfolio.

Trending: Dell Releases Ocean Plastic Packaging as New Plastics Economy Takes Shape

Plastics are an important part of the global economy and have many practical applications for everyday life, but their indisputable benefits are countered by their environmental drawbacks — especially in terms of ocean pollution. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, more and more companies are finding new and innovative ways to tackle plastic pollution both at the source and at end-of-life.

Booking.com Launches New Accelerator Program to Scale Sustainable Tourism

Travel platform Booking.com is making moves to drive the tourism industry towards a more sustainable model with the launch of a new accelerator program, Booking.com Booster. Designed to identify, mentor and fund enterprising startups from around the world that are seeking to have a positive impact on the global tourism industry, the three-week program taking place in June 2017 in Amsterdam will culminate in a chance to pitch for grants of up to $538,000 from Booking.com.

Ford Looks to AI, Biomimicry Solutions to Stay Ahead of the Curve

Two new announcements from Ford highlight how the auto and mobility company is harnessing technology to get ahead. With ambitious plans to launch an autonomous vehicle in 2021, Ford has announced that it is investing $1 billion over the next five years in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company founded by former Google and Uber leaders, to develop a virtual driver system.

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WWF: Sustainability Standards Unlock New Market Opportunities, Accelerate SDGs

Changing consumer attitudes and the reality of climate change have shifted the conversation about the business case for sustainability. For more and more companies, embedding sustainable business practices into operations, business models and missions is no longer optional — it is now imperative in order to remain competitive.

Trending: UK Emerges as Sharing Economy Hub While Korea Treads Carefully

People have been sharing goods and services with one another since the beginning of time, but it was not until recently that this age-old practice revealed itself a force of transformation for the economy. Disrupting traditional business practices and paving the way to a new era, the sharing economy shows no sign of slowing down. And while some are embracing it, others remain resistant.

Thread's 2016 Impact Report Traces Company's Work, Down to the 'First Mile'

Pittsburgh, Pa.-based startup Thread - a Certified B Corporation on a mission to end poverty by creating dignified jobs and responsibly sourced and manufactured, high-performance fabric – has just published its fourth annual impact report.

Trending: Food Industry Aims to Cut Waste with Two New Food Labeling Schemes

Food waste and plastic packaging pose significant sustainability challenges for the food industry, but two new labeling initiatives in the US and abroad endeavor to change that. “Best by” and “sell by” labels intended to inform consumers about food quality and safety have never been touted for their clarity. The terminology often confuses consumers, leading them to throw out food items prematurely.

Three Tackles E-Waste, Tech Gap with Reconnected Recycling Scheme

Communications provider Three UK is attempting tackle the ever-growing e-waste problem while connecting disadvantaged citizens to the digital world with a new recycling initiative aimed at redistributing unused mobile phones across the UK. Three’s Reconnected scheme encourages the public to donate their old or unused mobile phones to people at risk, including the homeless, individuals who have left the military and victims of domestic abuse.

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