Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 32 of 53.
Waste Not /
An alliance of food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators has announced the release of a toolkit aimed at helping businesses in the food sector reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfill.The Best Practices and Emerging Solutions Toolkit focuses on strategies food manufacturers, retailers and foodservice operators can employ to keep food out of landfills, and to reduce food waste at the source. The toolkit was produced by the Food Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA), a cross-sector industry initiative led by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the National Restaurant Association (NRA).
- 10 years ago
Collaboration /
Duracell, Volkswagen, LG, and Hitachi are among the first corporate members of CalCharge, a pioneering initiative designed to accelerate the development of the energy storage sector in California.CalCharge emerged out of a joint effort of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) — a DOE national laboratory — and CalCEF to explore ways to support the growth of the California energy storage cluster. The partnership grew to include SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, San Jose State University, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the National Electrical Contractor's Association as the other founding Partner Members.Other corporate members include: Eaton, Enovix, EnerVault, Farasis Energy, Halotechnics, Leyden Energy and Primus.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Fair Trade USA recently announced that it has certified one billion pounds of Fair Trade coffee since its founding in 1998.The organization says this milestone was made possible by the sustainable sourcing practices of nearly 500 coffee companies, which helped Fair Trade coffee farmers and farm workers earn almost $124 million in Community Development Premiums to date, with $30.8 million in 2013 alone.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute has received funding from the Alcoa Foundation to develop a new web-based education program for product designers, according to a recent announcement.Available starting June 9, the course will challenge participants to explore and apply design strategies to ensure that the materials that go into each product can return safely to industry or nature at a product's end of life.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
Walmart has announced plans to purchase energy-efficient LED ceiling lighting fixtures for its new supercenters in the United States, stores in Asia and Latin America, and Asda locations in the United Kingdom, that will use 40 percent less energy than traditional lighting sources.The retailer says the new fixtures will help to further its goal to reduce the kilowatt hour (kWh) per square foot of energy required to power Walmart buildings globally 20 percent by 2020. This is Walmart’s largest purchase of GE LED lighting to date.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
In 2013, adidas issued 66 warning letters to suppliers across 14 countries, and terminated nine manufacturing agreements for social and environmental non-compliance, according to the footwear company’s 2013 Sustainability Progress Report, Fair Play, an annual overview of achievements and challenges as well as a progress update on its 2015 sustainability targets.
- 10 years ago
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging /
Winemaker Truett-Hurst has completed a general supply agreement with Ecologic Brands to produce paper bottles for its PaperBoy brand.PaperBoy recyclable wine bottles are made from compressed recycled cardboard formed into the shape of a standard Bordeaux wine bottle, are 85 percent lighter than traditional glass bottles and filled with appellation wines sourced from the Mendocino and Paso Robles growing regions. PaperBoy is available in 45 states and has two offerings: a 2012 Paso Robles Red Blend and a 2012 Mendocino Chardonnay.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
General Electric and idea accelerator company Quirky have launched Aros, an app-enabled air-conditioning unit that gathers information based on users' habits, cost of energy, and budget to automatically maintain the ideal temperature and maximize savings for the home. Much like Nest's Learning Thermostat, the unit gets “smarter” over time, ensuring that the environment is never too hot or cold.Aros was the idea of Garthen Leslie of Columbia, Maryland, who spent years helping to cut costs and conserve resources at the Department of Energy. Leslie said that it was his own dysfunctional air-conditioner that sparked the idea for Aros.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Heineken has increased the percentage of renewable electricity it uses in its global operations from 9.3 percent in 2012 to 18 percent, to a total of 358,100,000 kWh, according to the beer maker’s recent sustainability report.The increase in renewable energy use, as well as improved energy-efficiency projects, helped Heineken to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 119 kton in 2013, which the company says is the equivalent of nearly 2,400 trips around the globe with a fully loaded 30-ton Heineken beer truck. For example, some 99 percent of the 116,000 refrigerators the company purchased in 2013 were ‘green,’ resulting in an average energy savings of 40 percent over 2010 numbers.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
Diabetes care supplier Novo Nordisk has opened two new clinics in Ghana as part of its Base of the Pyramid program, which creates partnerships to build sustainable access to diabetes care for people with low incomes.The two diabetes clinics serve very different areas of Accra, Ghana’s capital – one suburban and relatively prosperous, and the other populated by people with lower incomes. The clinics are designed to be one-stop, offering screening, access, and a stable and affordable supply of insulin to an area with more than half a million people.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
REI is on track to powering all of its stores and distribution centers by renewable energy, through a combination of renewable energy projects and certified renewable energy certificates (RECs).With 26 solar electric systems generating energy and a strong program to invest in energy efficiency, REI now buys RECs as part of its energy strategy that powers more than 130 stores, two distribution centers and its headquarters.While the company grew nearly six percent in 2013, REI says it increased its energy consumption by just 0.1 percent and reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 39.5 percent.
- 10 years ago
New Metrics /
PepsiCo, Unilever, Heineken and more than 50 other members of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform have developed the world’s first industry-aligned Farmer Self-Assessment (FSA) of sustainable agriculture practices, launched earlier this month at SAI Platform’s General Assembly in Seville, Spain.The FSA is designed for farmers to assess their sustainable agriculture practices in a way that is universally recognized by the food and drink industry, SAI says. The industry-aligned set of assessment criteria for farmers meets the sustainable sourcing needs of many companies. Any farmer can complete the assessment online and it can be used for most crop types, farm sizes and locations around the world.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
Unilever announced today that all of its European factories have joined those in North America in achieving zero non-hazardous waste to landfill. Along with similar achievements in countries from Argentina to Indonesia, this means more than three-quarters of the company’s global factory network no longer sends such waste to landfill, up from 20 percent just three years ago.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
Microsoft recently introduced Windows in the Car, which helps car makers and suppliers capitalize on the Internet of Things by integrating computer systems in vehicles.Announced last week at the Build developer conference, the connectivity system builds on Microsoft's wide experience within in-car entertainment systems — many already available, such as Ford's Sync, run on the Windows operating system.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Tesla Motors sold 1,493 Model S sedans in Norway last month, breaking the Scandinavian country’s all-time vehicle sales record, The Wall Street Journal reports. This was more than double its typical monthly sales in Norway and well in excess of volumes typical for the top monthly seller in that market, according to registrations reported by Norwegian transportation officials.The electric vehicle (EV) company’s March performance topped Norway's previous single-market record, dating back to 1986 when Ford sold 1,454 Sierra sedans in one month. In 1992, Subaru's Forrester fell just short of that with 1,328.
- 10 years ago
Collaboration /
Southwest Airlines has announced a multi-year commitment to Placemaking — a movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community.Through the Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community program, the airline says it has partnered with a nonprofit dedicated to Placemaking, Project for Public Spaces (PPS), to collaborate with local community partners in cities across the country to bring new life to their public spaces. Southwest says Heart of the Community is part of a broader efforts to connect people and strengthen local communities through its core business, charitable giving, community outreach and environmental initiatives.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
General Motors, Samsung and Best Buy are among the 127 organizations to receive 2014 Energy Star Partner of the Year Awards, which the Environmental Protection Agency awards to organizations that have demonstrated innovative strategies to help customers, partners and stakeholders to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through energy-efficiency projects.Other recipients include Meritage Homes Corporation, PepsiCo, Sears, 3M and LG Electronics.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
Lowe's has been ordered to pay $18 million for illegally disposing hazardous waste, including pesticides, batteries, fluorescent bulbs and other toxic materials, as a result of a civil enforcement action filed Tuesday in Alameda County Superior Court, San Jose Mercury News reports.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
Philips has designed its new 40-Watt LED lightbulb to resemble a traditional incandescent bulb, while saving significant energy and lasting up to 25,000 hours.Traditional incandescent bulbs continue to be phased out, but many continue to argue that they prefer their light to that of LEDs. By producing a bulb that looks the same, produces the same kind of light, but uses an LED rather than a traditional filament, Philips hopes to win consumer holdouts over to the energy-superior alternative.
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
Animal and plant nutrients company EnviroFlight has developed a system that turns the by-product from breweries, ethanol production, and pre-consumer food waste into a feedstock for Black Soldier Fly larvae — which then become feedstuff for fish, poultry, swine and cattle — according to a new segment released this week by QUEST, an Emmy Award-winning multimedia series with a new focus on exploring the science of sustainability.Fueled by a demand for a healthy, nutrient-rich protein, the market for seafood has grown steadily over the past five decades. However, the small fish used to make fish meal are wild-caught, which is creating a growing threat of overfishing in the world’s oceans.
- 10 years ago