Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 24 of 53.
Waste Not /
Ford’s Oakville Assembly plant now sends no operational waste-to-landfill, an achievement that gives Ford Motor Company the distinction of becoming landfill-free at all its manufacturing facilities in Canada.Oakville Assembly is the first Ford assembly plant in North America to achieve this environmental designation.The Essex Engine Plant received landfill-free status in 2012 and Windsor Engine Plant in 2013. A total of 21 Ford facilities around the globe maintain zero waste-to-landfill status. By Ford’s definition, this means that those facilities do not send any operational waste to a landfill.
- 9 years ago
Collaboration /
Airbnb has partnered with Nest to provide selected hosts in the US with free Nest Learning Thermostats as part of an effort to help Airbnb's community of hosts and guests to conserve energy.
The Nest Thermostat programs itself, automatically turns down the heat when a host or guest is away, and can be controlled from a mobile device. All hosts who participate in the program will have access to MyEnergy, a service that allows you to track your energy consumption, learn how to save energy, and be more efficient as part of their energy plans.
- 9 years ago
New Metrics /
WegoWise, a building intelligence provider, has launched a new rating for apartment building energy efficiency performance.WegoScore is a simple numerical assessment that provides a clear snapshot of a building’s utility usage, enabling property owners to prioritize retrofits, better manage their portfolios and communicate building efficiency to tenants. The rating condenses numerous complex measurements of building performance into one number. It is a tool for the real estate industry to communicate efficiency efforts among owners, managers and occupants. It also can highlight superior asset management practices to the financial markets.
- 9 years ago
Cleantech /
The first commercial-scale biofuel plant in the United States is now open and will eventually produce more than 25 million gallons of fuel a year from corn waste.Project LIBERTY converts baled corn cobs, leaves, husk and stalk into renewable fuel. The $272 million plant, located in Emmetsburg, Iowa, has officially started up, processing its first batch of biomass into cellulosic ethanol and is moving forward toward continuous operation. At full capacity, the facility will convert 770 tons of biomass per day to produce ethanol at a rate of 20 million gallons per year, later ramping up to 25 million gallons per year.
- 9 years ago
Leadership /
In 2013, governments and companies invested $9.6 billion in initiatives implementing nature-based solutions to sustain the world’s clean water supplies, according to a new report from Forest Trends’ Ecosystem Marketplace.
- 9 years ago
Behavior Change /
The California State Legislature has passed a bill to ban single-use plastic bags in California, which will now head to the governor’s desk.Last Friday, the California senate voted 22-15 to approve the ban, Senate Bill 270. After being signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, the legislation will implement a ban on single-use plastic grocery bags while promoting recycling and California manufacturing. It also will provide financial incentives to maintain and retrain California employees in affected industries.The ban will begin in 2015 for grocery store carry-out bags and create a mandatory minimum ten cent fee for recycled paper, reusable plastic and compostable bags.Specifically, SB 270 will:
- 9 years ago
Products and Design /
VELUX America has unveiled Active House USA, a custom sustainable home in the St. Louis suburb of Webster Groves, MO that combines leading sustainability and high performance building practices from around the world.The prototype home defines the next generation of sustainable home building in the U.S., combining expertise from leading sustainable building practices in the United States and from European Active House Alliance practices.
- 9 years ago
Behavior Change /
Developing countries lose at least $1 trillion every year through shady deals for natural resources, the use of shell companies, money laundering and illegal tax evasion, according to a new report by the ONE Campaign.The ONE Campaign, co-founded by Irish rocker Bono to end extreme poverty and disease, says curbing corruption in sub-Saharan Africa could provide money to educate an extra 10 million children a year. Money recovered from corrupt activity could pay the salaries of an additional 500,000 primary school teachers in Africa, provide antiretroviral drugs for more than 11 million people living with HIV and fund nearly 165 million vaccine shots.
- 9 years ago
ICT and Big Data /
The U.S. Water Partnership has announced the launch of a new platform that offers the global community simple online access to a growing library of U.S.-generated water data and knowledge.H2infO was created to increase global access to important U.S.-generated water information resources, filling a gap in knowledge management identified by the international water community. By the end of 2014, more than 10,000 water resources from leading U.S.-based institutions will be centrally accessible through this expanding tool.The platform was developed by the U.S. Water Partnership, a public-private alliance formed to unite and mobilize U.S. expertise, resources and ingenuity to address water challenges where needs are the greatest.
- 9 years ago
Supply Chain /
Major brands that drive demand for cotton have an economic interest in reducing the industry's water use because it improves farms’ income and yields, according to a new report by social enterprise CottonConnect.
- 9 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has announced it is launching a modernization initiative that will improve the process and increase transparency for making Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) determinations of ingredients added to food.GMA will take the lead in defining a standard that will provide clear guidance on how to conduct transparent ingredient safety assessments. These procedures will be documented in a Publicly Available Standard (PAS) for GRAS determinations. The PAS will be a science-based framework that specifies a rigorous and transparent ingredient safety assessment process. The procedures included in the PAS will also ensure GRAS assessments meet the regulatory requirements of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
- 9 years ago
ICT and Big Data /
IBM has announced significant advances in its artificially intelligent computer system, Watson's, cognitive computing capabilities that are enabling researchers to accelerate the pace of scientific breakthroughs by discovering previously unknown connections in Big Data.Available now as a cloud service, IBM's Watson Discovery Advisor is designed to scale and accelerate discoveries by research teams. It reduces the time needed to test hypotheses and formulate conclusions that can advance their work -- from months to days and days to just hours -- bringing new levels of speed and precision to research and development.
- 9 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
FedEx could be liable for hundreds of millions of dollars in drivers’ operating expenses and wages after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week that a class of 2,300 individuals working for FedEx Ground was misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees.As a result, FedEx may owe its workforce of drivers hundreds of millions of dollars for illegally shifting to them the costs of such things as the FedEx branded trucks, FedEx branded uniforms, and FedEx scanners, as well as missed meal and rest period pay, overtime compensation, and penalties. The case, known as Alexander v. FedEx Ground, covers employees in California from 2000 - 2007.
- 9 years ago
Supply Chain /
Nespresso has announced it will invest nearly $550 million USD over the next six years to implement a new sustainability strategy aimed at achieving carbon neutrality, as well as 100 percent responsibly sourced coffee and managed aluminium.
Dubbed “The Positive Cup”, Nespresso says the strategy is based on Nestlé’s approach to Creating Shared Value (CSV) and builds upon the steps it already has taken over the last five years to improve farmer welfare and drive environmental sustainability in coffee sourcing and consumption.
Part of the investment will be used to establish a new Sustainable Development Fund, which the company says will play a key role in channelling resources into specific sustainability projects.
- 9 years ago
Collaboration /
Novozymes and Monsanto say they have discovered several microbes that are demonstrating increased yield in corn and soybeans, a result of ongoing collaborative research into microbial products farmers can use to help meet rising global demand for food stuffs.This year, the companies’ BioAg Alliance conducted research across 170,000 field trial plots in 70 locations throughout the United States. The companies expect to more than double the number of research field plots next season.
- 9 years ago
Behavior Change /
Tyson Foods is in risk of losing close to $500 million in government contracts if found guilty in and ongoing criminal investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency over the recent release of toxic chemicals at a plant in Monett, Mo.The food company has enjoyed more than $4.7 billion in contract business from the U.S. government since 2000, but this could all end with the guilty findings in the Monett investigation.The EPA probe came after Tyson was caught sending Aliment (an additive used in chicken feed) tainted wastewater into Monett’s wastewater plant which released high levels of ammonia into the city’s water system. The ammonia killed an estimated 100,000 fish within four miles of the site.
- 9 years ago
Leadership /
Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies collectively devoted more than $363 million to support community health initiatives in 2013, according to a new report by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.The sixth annual Investing in America’s Health report demonstrates the 37 BCBS companies’ efforts to promote healthier communities nationwide. One in three Americans rely on these companies for access to healthcare which, according to the report, puts them in a good position to create and maintain lasting partnerships with doctors, hospitals, schools and other organizations to help create stronger, healthier communities.
- 9 years ago
Behavior Change /
Saving money is the number one reason executives cite for taking actions towards more eco-friendly business practices, according to a new report from Grant Thornton.The company’s 2014 International Business Report, Corporate social responsibility: beyond financials, draws on more than 2,500 interviews with business leaders in 34 economies and looks at what companies are doing to make their operations more sustainable and why. The report finds that cost management (67 percent) emerges as the key sustainability driver, followed by customer demand (64 percent) and because it’s the “right thing to do” (62 percent).
- 9 years ago
Stakeholder Trends and Insights /
SCS Global Services (SCS), provider of third-party environmental and sustainability certification, has released an updated version of its Recycled Content Certification Standard, which helps manufacturers conserve natural resources, support corporate sustainability goals, and meet customer specifications for recycled products.The SCS Kingfisher Recycled Content label has been applied to products in a wide range of industries, such as textiles, carpet, packaging, building and interior products, wood and paper, insulation, jewelry, precious metals and more.
- 9 years ago
Cleantech /
The world soon will see its first electric Grand Prix series with cars powered with electricity derived from algae as part of an effort to showcase the best in new zero emission technologies, BusinessGreen reports.The racing organization, Formula E, has signed a deal with UK start-up Aquafuel to supply generators powered by glycerine, a byproduct of biodiesel that also can be produced from salt-water algae. The fuel is biodegradable, non-toxic and can be used in modified diesel generators to generate power. The compound comes from algae and has zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. When it burns, there is no smoke, smell, or even sound.
- 9 years ago