Mike Hower
Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
The Ocean Cleanup Sets Course for World’s Largest Landfill — On Water
The largest landfill in the world can’t be found on land at all — but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The so-called “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” consists of millions of pounds of trash, mostly plastic, which have created an oceanic deser... View More
Norwegian Government Makes Largest Coal Divestment in History
The Norwegian parliament has unanimously voted for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund (GPFG) to adopt strong divestment criteria for companies involved in coal mining and coal fired utilities, including 49 companies and subsidiaries based in the U... View More
AB InBev Reportedly Most Water-Efficient Brewer in the World
Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced it achieved a water use ratio of 3.2 hectoliters per hectoliter of production from 2013 to 2014, which the company says makes it the most water-efficient brewer in the world.This resulted in saving the equivalent ... View More
AECOM, 100 Resilient Cities Launch Student Competition to Solve Urban Risks
AECOM, Van Alen Institute and 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) on Wednesday launched a new ideas competition calling on multidisciplinary teams of students worldwide to identify risks to urban food, energy or water systems and offer strategies that make ... View More
Whirlpool, Kohler Commit to Research Project for Net-Zero Water in the Home
Whirlpool Corporation and Kohler will collaborate to identify ways to achieve net-zero water in the home, according to an announcement made this week at SB '15 San Diego.During the conference, representatives from both companies discussed a shared ho... View More
Ben & Jerry’s Announces Carbon Tax Covering Farm to Landfill Emissions
Ben & Jerry’s has announced that it will institute its own internal carbon tax of $10 for every metric ton of its greenhouse gas emissions, from farm to landfill.Using a recent Lifecycle Analysis that gave the ice cream company a “cow-to-cone... View More
Report: UK Public Sector Embracing Smart Tech, But Financing and Implementation Hurdles Remain
A majority (87 percent) of public sector sustainability professionals in the UK have begun to embrace smart technologies, but future projects are stymied by lack of finance and poor implementation strategy, according to new research by GE Lighting an... View More
GRI: Info Tech Will Lead to Real-Time Sustainability Reporting by 2025
Future improvements in information technology will lead to greater transparency, with sustainability reporting moving fully into the digital realm and occurring in real-time instead of annually, according to a new paper by the Global Reporting Initia... View More
HP ‘Living Progress’ Report Highlights Stakeholder Engagement and Environmental Stewardship Efforts
HP is redoubling its efforts towards improved governance and stakeholder engagement, according to the company’s 2014 Living Progress Report, released Wednesday. The report describes HP’s global citizenship policies, programs and performance throu... View More
CFSI Helping Companies Comply with New EU Conflict Minerals Legislation
The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) today announced it is available to help companies navigate compliance with the pending conflict minerals legislation recently voted on by the European Parliament.In addition, the CFSI says it is adopting a... View More
BMW, Google Top Global Corporate Reputation List
BMW, Google and Daimler are the world’s most reputable companies, according to the Reputation Institute’s 2015 Global RepTrak® 100.Rolex, LEGO, The Walt Disney Company, Canon, Apple, Sony and Intel rounded out the top ten.The annual survey measu... View More
Trending: Pro Baseball, Public Schools Innovating to Reduce Waste
As concerns over bulging landfills abound, a diverse and growing group of innovators across the country are looking for new ways to transform trash into something less wasteful.The Minnesota Twins and Eco-Products, for example, recently partnered to ... View More
Solar-Powered UK Microbrewery Launches Kickstarter Campaign
Sustainable-minded beer lovers rejoice because a new UK-based microbrewery called Bucks Star plans to use solar power to make its beer.The startup says the ingredients, the brewing process and the energy source to run its machinery are all focused on... View More
Report: U.S. No. 1 in Clean Tech Innovation, But Lags in Reducing GHGs
The United States leads the world in cleantech investments, patents, renewable energy generation and electric vehicle (EV) adoption, but still is slow to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new ranking by Next 10.Ov... View More
San Diego, Aurora Among ‘Most Water Wise' Cities
San Diego, Calif., Aurora, Colo., Torrance, Calif., Poway Calif. and Hermosa Beach, Calif. are the cities with the highest percentage of residents that made pledges during a monthlong campaign in April to promote water efficiency.The 2015 Wyland Nati... View More
White House Sets Sights on Climate Change’s Public Health Impacts
Climate change is literally killing us, according to some of the nation’s leading medical practitioners, who have found direct and indirect links between it and an increase in respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease and heat-related deaths. A... View More
CVS Health: Financial Incentives Help Smokers Quit
Employer-sponsored smoking cessation programs with financial incentives are associated with higher rates of quitting smoking and sustained abstinence, according to a new study by the CVS Health Research Institute and researchers at the Perelman Schoo... View More
Survey: U.S. Beekeepers Lost 40% of Bees in 2014
Beekeepers across the United States lost more than 40 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2014 to April 2015, according to the latest results of an annual nationwide survey led by a University of Maryland professor.Whil... View More
Nestlé to Transform California Milk Factory to ‘Zero Water’
Nestlé is investing in technology to help reduce the amount of water it uses in California at the five water bottling plants and four facilities where food or petcare products are manufactured.Work is underway to transform the Nestlé milk factory i... View More
Hilton, WWF Partner to Improve Sustainability in Hospitality Industry
Hilton Worldwide today announced an initial three-year commitment with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce its impact on the environment. ... View More
