Brynn McNally
Crowdsourcing Sustainable Solutions: Unilever Launches Foundry IDEAS Platform
Collaboration / Unilever unveiled a new initiative at the Cannes Lions festival on Friday that aims to put fresh momentum behind its Sustainable Living Plan with public input. The Foundry IDEAS platform will act as a hub for consumers and entrepreneurs to work together to tackle sustainability challenges. - 5 years ago
Trending: Subway, Kroger Face Public Pressure to Ditch Antibiotic-Laden Meat
Behavior Change / Growing public health and consumer safety concerns about the overuse of antibiotics in food has sparked a wave of resistance, with both Subway and Kroger facing pressure this week to curb their reliance on antibiotics — which the companies say they use to promote growth and produce their meat efficiently.Opposition to the excessive antibiotics use has arisen from the spread of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbug’ bacteria, which render infections that are normally treatable with antibiotics more severe and even deadly. Food contaminated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is one way in which ‘superbugs’ can be transmitted from farms to people. - 5 years ago
#BusinessCase: SABMiller Saves US $17M Through Water, Carbon Reductions
Product, Service & Design Innovation / This week, SABMiller released its annual Sustainable Development Report, announcing progress to reduce water use and carbon emissions and achievement of significant financial savings associated with these environmental measures. - 5 years ago
BASF Convenes Scientists, Leaders at Symposium to Discuss Sustainable Food Solutions
Leadership / On Tuesday and Wednesday in Chicago, BASF is hosting a Science Symposium, gathering academics and thought leaders from a variety of disciplines to discuss the challenge of sustaining global food production.The event, “Sustainable Food Chain – From Field to Table,” is part of BASF’s yearlong program to celebrate its 150th anniversary, during which it will collaborate with multiple stakeholders to “co-create” solutions to global issues including smart energy, food and urban living. - 5 years ago
Wearables, Startups, 3D Printing Helping Ford Drive Progress in Autonomous Vehicles Technology
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Today, Ford announced progress on its commitment to developing autonomous vehicle technology, including innovations in wearable technology and collaborations with startups in Silicon Valley to make mobility solutions more accessible. The announcement, made at the Further with Ford trend conference, marks a transition from Ford’s investment in autonomous vehicle technology as a research effort to an advanced engineering program. - 5 years ago
Report: Biobased Products Industry Adds $369B, 4 Million Jobs to US Economy
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / A new report suggests the U.S. biobased products industry has a notable impact on the nation’s economy. It is the first research effort to quantify the effect of this industry from an economics and jobs perspective, according to U.S. Agricultural Secretary, Tom Vilsack.“Before, we could only speculate at the incredible economic impact of the biobased products industry. Now, we know that in 2013 alone, America’s biobased industry contributed four million jobs and $369 billion to our economy,” Vilsack said. - 5 years ago
Hershey Fights Malnutrition in Ghana with ‘Energize Learning’ Program, Aims to Reach 50,000 Children
Collaboration / The Hershey Company today announced a partnership that will support its campaign to fight malnutrition in Ghana. As part of its Energize Learning program, the company is teaming up with the Ghana School Feeding Programme and current partner Project Peanut Butter to distribute a peanut-based protein supplement called Vivi to schoolchildren. The program aims to reach 50,000 children by 2016, and eventually expand to serve all children in Ghana’s school feeding program. - 5 years ago
How to Rewire Business: SustainAbility Releases Second 'Model Behavior' Report
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Despite bold efforts to make companies’ processes and products more sustainable, many businesses that flourish today are inherently unsustainable. Companies must fundamentally change their modus operandi to survive in a future of resource scarcity and climate change — no amount of renewable energy sourcing or green product engineering, for example, can accommodate these conditions. - 5 years ago
With 'Too Hot To Handle,' Guardian and Ben & Jerry's Banking on Humor to Drive Climate Action
Marketing and Comms / Can humor save us? Today, the Guardian launched a new multimedia series on climate change that aims to drive the public conversation, debate and action on climate change by making its readers laugh. “Too Hot to Handle,” which encourages readers to take “a lighter look at the dark problem of climate change,” was created in partnership with Ben and Jerry’s and will run through December 2015. - 5 years ago
Ford Leaders Discuss New Sustainability Report, Environmental Achievements, Smart Mobility
Product, Service & Design Innovation / On Wednesday, Ford Motor Company released its 16th annual sustainability report, highlighting progress to reduce its environmental impacts and to innovate “smart mobility” models that accommodate growing interest in alternatives to vehicle ownership and crowded cities.Notable successes in 2014 included: - 5 years ago
Unilever Convenes Leading Companies to Share Lessons from Achieving Zero Waste
Waste Not / Noted sustainability leader Unilever is spearheading a movement for industrial waste reduction.Last week the CPG giant hosted an event in partnership with 2Degrees, bringing together over 100 representatives from academia, NGOs and companies, including Mars, GSK, Coca-Cola Enterprises and Sainsbury’s. Entitled “The zero waste mindset — new ways of thinking to deliver transformational change,” the event created an open discussion on moving companies to zero waste. - 5 years ago
Ahoy! Five Global Shippers Collaborate to Drive Sea Freight Sustainability
Collaboration / This week, five major companies from the beverage and chemical industries announced a collaboration on sustainability initiatives in the shipping sector. FrieslandCampina, AB InBev, AkzoNobel, DSM and Huntsman will join forces under the BICEPS (Boosting Initiatives for Collaborative Emission-reduction with the Power of Shippers) network to create momentum for sustainability improvements in shipping. - 5 years ago
Top Mexican Companies Will Abstain from Fishing Pacific Bluefin Tuna Until 2020
Behavior Change / Member companies of the Pacific Alliance for Sustainable Tuna, representing 93 percent of tuna production in Mexico, have announced they will refrain from fishing Pacific Bluefin tuna until 2020. - 5 years ago
Calling All ‘Voluntourists’: Carnival Launches New Social Impact Travel Brand
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Carnival Corporation has launched a new brand that enables customers to choose “social impact travel” for their next getaway. Carnival says fathomTM will partner with community organizations in destination cities, offering travelers the opportunity to work alongside locals for social causes.Starting in April 2016, fathom will lead 7-day voyages during which passengers can choose from a range of social impact activities according to their passions, skills and interests. The new brand appeals to a growing segment of consumers who desire the ability to positively impact others’ lives, according to Tara Russell, who will serve as President of fathom and as Global Impact Lead for Carnival Corporation. - 5 years ago
Greenpeace ‘Click Clean Scorecard’ Rates Top Websites on Renewable Energy Use, Transparency
Cleantech / If you’ve ever wondered about the energy powering your favorite websites, a new tool from Greenpeace is here to help. On Thursday, the advocacy group released a new browser extension tool that shows which of the most popular websites are moving most ambitiously towards renewable energy use. Users that download the extension (compatible with Google Chrome) can distinguish leaders from laggards by the color of a cloud icon that appears green, yellow, or red whenever they open a new site. - 5 years ago
IoT Technology Helping AT&T, IBM Revolutionize City Water Management
Cleantech / AT&T, IBM and Mueller Water Products have teamed up to use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to address water sustainability in cities. Their partnership combines Echologics sensors and sound technology from Mueller Water Products with AT&T’s LTE wireless network to detect water pressure, temperature and leaks in urban water systems. The IBM Water Management Center helps aggregate the water data, providing a complete view of past, present and future performance. - 5 years ago
Coca-Cola Enterprises Responds to Obesity Concerns, Sets Most Ambitious Sustainability Targets to Date
Leadership / Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) published its tenth annual Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability report this week, in which it set its most ambitious environmental and social targets to date.The new commitments include: - 5 years ago
Daily Table, Non-Profit Grocery Selling Surplus Food, Now Open in Boston
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Daily Table, a nonprofit grocery store selling surplus and slightly aging food, has finally opened its doors in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston.The creation of former Trader Joe’s president Doug Rauch, the store aims to bring affordable nutrition to underserved populations in cities. Its products are inexpensive compared to other grocery stores – a dozen eggs for 99 cents, 49 cents a pound for potatoes, and 29 cents a pound for bananas – because most of the stock is donated from wholesalers and markets. - 5 years ago
Amazon Announces Solar Deal in Virginia, Greenpeace Urges Further Transparency
Cleantech / Today Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a solar farm project in Virginia that will advance the company’s progress towards its recent commitment to powering its data centers with 100 percent renewable energy. - 5 years ago
SC Johnson First CPG Brand to Disclose Product-Specific Fragrance Information to Consumers
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / In an effort to expand the transparency of its products, SC Johnson announced this week that it will disclose product-specific ingredients of its fragrances, beginning with Glade®. Other SC Johnson brands including Pledge®, Windex®, Shout® and Scrubbing Bubbles® will follow. Consumers will be able to access fragrance information on WhatsInsideSCJohnson.com or by calling 800-558-5252. Ingredient information is available down to .09 percent of the product formula, or the top 10 ingredients when there are at least 20 ingredients – whichever provides the most information. - 5 years ago