Supply Chain
How leading companies, NGOs and solution providers are working to address the myriad issues that can arise in any supply chain.
Listen to Your Critics: They Could Be Your Biggest Allies
It was every retailer’s worst nightmare: Days after the Rana Plaza factory collapsed in one of the worst industrial disasters in recorded history, activists began plastering the Internet with pictures of clothing labels uncovered amongst the rubble of concrete and human remains. Amongst these, some of the world’s most recognized brands, including Mango, H&M and Walmart.
Consumers, Activists Declare Victory as General Mills Commits to Non-GMO Cheerios
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. GMO Inside, a campaign of national non-profit organization Green America, celebrated a victory yesterday after target General Mills announced that its original Cheerios cereal would now be produced without the use of GMOs.
Purchasing & Procurement
Anyone who has spent serious thought and effort on sustainable procurement would know that, even though it may seem straightforward conceptually, procurement comes with a world of complexity of its own.
Top 10 Ways Brands Used Their Power to Create a More Sustainable World in 2013
2013 was a banner year for companies using their muscle to drive transformative change, both internally and globally. Without further ado, here is just a taste of some of the progress we found most inspiring.
Stopping Global Deforestation: How to Turn Around a Giant (Part 2 of 2)
This is the fourth in a series of excerpts from Engaging Outraged Stakeholders: A How-To Guide for Uniting the Left, Right, Capitalists and Activists (Affinity Press, 2013), the new book from Future 500. Earlier this month, we posted the beginning of Chapter Two: The Power of Engagement, and learned six reasons to engage your activist stakeholders.
Brands, Palm Oil and the Ugly Face of Beauty
After the recent piece regarding palm oil and the depredations its industrial cultivation rains on the heads of one of our most wonderful simian cousins, if there is anyone in the beauty industry or from one of its agencies that read it and didn’t end up feeling anything other than a creeping, yawing shame climb up their neck I would be staggered.Sadly, whether they give enough of a flying arse to do or say anything about it has more to do with income, career, the unassailable truth of an utterly disinterested management structure and the luxury of distance.
Fashion Revolution Day: A Global Movement to Clean Up an Industry
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. For those within the fashion industry who have been working for many years to highlight the need for more transparent, traceable and accountable supply chains, the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh was a metaphorical call to arms. The days following the tragedy saw a plethora of articles calling for a more ethical fashion industry and we looked for ways to channel this energy and momentum into lasting change.
Hershey Ups Palm Oil Sustainability Goals, But NGOs Push for More
In addition to achieving its commitment to source 100 percent mass-balanced RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil)-certified palm oil more than a year ahead of its original 2015 commitment, The Hershey Company announced last week it will also work with its suppliers to achieve 100 percent traceable and sustainably sourced palm oil by the end of 2014.
Stopping Global Deforestation: How to Turn Around a Giant (Part 1 of 2)
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. This is the third in a series of excerpts from Engaging Outraged Stakeholders: A How-To Guide for Uniting the Left, Right, Capitalists and Activists (Affinity Press, 2013), the new book from Future 500. Earlier this month, we posted the beginning of Chapter Two: The Power of Engagement, and learned six reasons to engage your activist stakeholders. Here we continue further into Chapter Two to examine one of seven examples of how engaging activists stakeholders has helped companies serve their purpose.
Woody Harrelson Using Equity Crowdfunding to Scale Straw Paper Enterprise
Last week, institutional crowdfunding marketplace Optimize Capital Markets released a call for accredited investors looking to profit by disrupting an environmentally destructive industry while solving a massive waste problem: Optimize’s client, Prairie Paper Ventures, co-founded by actor Woody Harrelson, makes paper from agricultural waste.
Scientists Think Santa's Carbon Footprint Should Earn Him Some Coal in His Stocking
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. In an interesting yet ‘bah humbug’ kind of study, a group of scientists at the University of Leeds' School of Earth & Environment got together and calculated that Santa's carbon footprint from delivering Christmas gifts to the UK alone could be as high as 9 tons per stocking — 25 permits more than the average Brit emits in a year. As part of the University's work with Yorkshire-based sustainability charity the United Bank of Carbon (UBC), the academics set out to highlight the possible environmental damage caused not only by Santa's sleigh and eight reindeer but the manufacturing of the presents themselves.
Vertical or Horizontal? Measuring Sustainability & Supply Chain Implications
Cross-Posted from New Metrics. I’ve been thinking about different approaches to measuring sustainability for some time now (for the purpose of this discussion, I’m concerned mostly with quantifying carbon emissions, though the discussion can be generalized beyond this). I’ve begun to categorize the measurement approaches I see into one of two categories: horizontal vs. vertical.The horizontal approach is organization-centric. It measures total impact across an organization. The vertical approach is product-centric. It looks all the way up and down a product’s supply chain and measures the total impact of the product through its life cycle.
Insights from COP19: Women Play a Critical Role in Global Climate Crisis
The Rainforest Alliance’s climate team reports back from COP19, highlighting the increasingly crucial role of women in helping communities to mitigate and adapt to climate change.You’ve undoubtedly heard the old saying: “Behind every great man is a great woman.” Today, in many parts of the world, women are getting out in front and playing crucial roles in solving some of the world’s most pressing problems. Unfortunately, when it comes to one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century — combating climate change — women are too often left out of the conversation altogether.
After Years of Pressure, Wilmar International Commits to Ending Deforestation Practices
Wilmar International, the world's largest palm oil trader, today announced a No Deforestation Policy in response to pressure from Greenpeace, NGOs and consumers around the world.
Nike, Inc. Unveils ColorDry Technology and Facility That Eliminate Water, Chemicals In Dyeing
Nike, Inc. today celebrated the opening of a water-free dyeing facility featuring high-tech equipment that will eliminate the use of water and process chemicals from fabric dyeing at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer, Far Eastern New Century Corp (FENC). Nike has named the innovative process “ColorDry” to highlight the environmental benefits and unprecedented coloring achieved with the technology.
UN Global Compact Launches Business Guide Highlighting Rights of Indigenous Peoples
The UN Global Compact (UNGC) on Monday released a new guide aimed at helping businesses understand the rights of indigenous peoples, and recommends practical actions to respect and support these rights.
CDP: Many Businesses Still Unaware of Supply Chain Risks Due to Deforestation
In a year of extreme weather events, commodity price spikes and supply chain disasters, the latest data from CDP’s forests program reveals that the business community remains largely unaware of the deforestation risks in their own supply chains, threatening shareholder value.
Luxury Most Poised for Instigating Positive Change Within Fashion Industry, Says Eco-Age
Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. In a sector where social and environmental commitments have traditionally focused on philanthropic efforts, luxury is perhaps the most poised for instigating positive change within the fashion industry, argues Nicola Giuggioli, CEO of Eco-Age. According to Giuggioli, the luxury industry’s intimate knowledge and appreciation of high-quality materials, manufacturing and notions of provenance, alongside its smaller scale in comparison to mass fashion, position it to become a leader in the sustainability space.
H&M Plans to Pay All Textile Workers ‘Living Wage’ by 2018
H&M, the world's second-largest clothing retailer, established a roadmap this week to pay a fair “living wage” to 850,000 textile workers by 2018, citing that governments were not acting fast enough. But some are arguing that H&M should move faster, as well.During the last year, H&M says it has worked on the problem of how to best address wages, both short and long term, on several levels from purchasing practices, supplier practices, workers’ rights to government responsibility.
Peruvian Stevia Farm Becomes World's First to Achieve Rainforest Alliance Certification
The Stevia One Perú SAC farm in northern Peru has earned Rainforest Alliance certification, becoming the world’s first stevia farm to earn the distinction, according to an announcement today by Rainforest Alliance. The farm met the rigorous standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), conserving natural resources, protecting wildlife and ensuring the well-being of farm families to earn the certification, which marks an important milestone in increasing the sustainability of the industry.
