Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 36 of 53.
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging /
Carlsberg has joined with a group of global suppliers to develop the next generation of packaging products that are optimized for recycling and reuse, otherwise known as “upcycling.”The term, popularized by William McDonough & Michael Braungart in 2013’s The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability — Designing for Abundance, espouses the idea that through proper design, humans can have a positive net impact on the social and ecological world. The Upcycle rejects the idea of merely being ‘less bad’ and proposes that we focus more on creating a positive footprint for future generations — all while generating profit.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
EOS Climate on Tuesday announced it will provide the DuPont refrigerant distributor network access to its Refrigerant Asset System (RAS) to help curb greenhouse gas emissions generated by refrigerants.Launched last November, the RAS software and systems make the existing refrigerant supply chain more efficient, enabling users to track every pound of refrigerant from purchase through to recovery, reclamation and its eventual end-of-life.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Boeing has announced it will join with Etihad Airways, Takreer, Total and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology to collaborate on a new initiative to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).The initiative, BIOjet Abu Dhabi: Flight Path to Sustainability, will engage a wide range of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive framework for a UAE biofuel supply chain by focusing on research and development and investments in feedstock production and refining capability in the UAE and globally.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Blue Sun Energy, a transportation fuel technology commercialization company, has implemented its enzymatic biodiesel processing technology at its 30 million gallon per year biodiesel production facility in St. Joseph, Missouri, making it the most advanced in the world.Blue Sun says it has fully commercialized the enzymatic process technology and the St. Joseph plant is operating at full scale, which will give it a clear competitive advantage in the biodiesel market. The process at the St. Joe refinery produces high-quality biodiesel, which is further improved by the state-of-the-art distillation system installed last year at the refinery.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
Almost 100 percent of companies have a corporate citizenship budget today, up from just 81 percent in 2010, according to a new report from the Carroll School of Management Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College.The Profile of the Practice 2013 explores how the environmental, social and governance (ESG) dimensions of business — corporate citizenship — are managed in today’s business world, and how these practices have evolved since the last report in 2010. It is based on a survey of 231 companies that provided data on their corporate citizenship strategies, operational structures and business practices.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Royal Philips has introduced a new InstantFit LED T8 that reduces the cost for facility managers replacing fluorescent tube lighting with energy-efficient LED technology, known as LED tube lamps (TLEDs).Philips estimates that the installed base for fluorescent tube lighting today amounts to 12 billion (lamp) sockets globally. Linear fluorescent tube lighting with instant start ballast is one of the most common types of general lighting used in shops, offices and industrial spaces. If all current fluorescent lighting was replaced by TLED lamps, Philips says it could result in savings of over $55 billion in energy costs — the equivalent of energy generated by 210 medium-sized power plants.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
MetLife Stadium, set to host the upcoming Super Bowl XLVIII, is the first stadium in the world to earn the title of Certified Green Restaurant® stadium from the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), exceeding its certification standards.With a full, game-day seating capacity of 82,500, MetLife Stadium is one of the largest stadiums in the NFL. Operated by foodservice partner Delaware North Companies Sportservice, the stadium has over 200 on-site restaurants servicing up to 100,000 people a day and is the largest food-service operation ever to receive GRA certification.Talk about making the most out your resources: MetLife is the only active venue to serve as the home stadium for two NFL teams, hosting 20 NFL games per season — more than any other stadium.
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
Imagine a marketplace where you can buy — or not buy — products and services that accelerate social innovation by redefining the capitalist narrative; a place where you can purchase or sell “goods for good” from companies or to consumers around the world. Look no further come February 12, when the COMMON Marketplace makes its official debut.Developed by COMMON, the world’s first “collaborative brand” made up of a community of creative and business professionals, the organization says the new online marketplace is a place where “goods for good” can be bought and sold. In order to sell on the Marketplace, companies must apply and meet a set of design, sustainability and collaborative criteria.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Walmart, Costco and Kohl's topped the 2013 Solar Capacity Rankings, which ranks companies by the total installed capacity of their systems and the number of operating installations, as well as showing the geographic diversity of their solar deployment.Apple, IKEA, Macy’s, Johnson & Johnson, McGraw-Hill, Staples and Campbell’s round out the top 10.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Sustainable supply-chain management company EcoVadis and BSR’s Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG) have announced a partnership aimed at standardizing sustainability reporting requests for the sea freight supply chain.Under this partnership EcoVadis will align its environmental assessment questionnaires for sea carriers with the Clean Cargo Environmental Performance Survey framework. Clean Cargo members also will have the opportunity to leverage the EcoVadis online collaboration platform to access sustainability scorecards on their partners’ performance.
- 10 years ago
Cleantech /
Abengoa, an international company that applies technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been selected by the Ministry of Energy of the Chilean Government and Corfo (Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion) to develop a 110 MW solar plant using tower technology with 17.5 hours of thermal energy storage using molten salts.Located in the Atacama Desert, the region with the highest solar radiation concentrations in the world, the project will be the first solar-thermal plant for direct electricity production in South America.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Food served in full-service restaurants often is just as unhealthy as, or even unhealthier than, food served in fast-food restaurants, despite consumer perceptions that full-service restaurants are healthier, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.Food prepared away from home is typically higher in calories and lower in nutrition than food prepared at home, and now makes up more than one-third of all calories purchased in the United States, the study says.
- 10 years ago
Products and Design /
The latest iteration of the Mac Pro desktop consumes 68 percent less power in idle mode and its packaging consumes 82 percent less volume than the previous-generation computer, according to Apple’s recent Mac Pro Environmental Report.In the report, Apple highlights the computer’s sustainability performance in relation to climate change, energy efficiency, material efficiency and restricted substances.Most (65 percent) of the Mac Pro’s greenhouse gas emissions come from its production process, while the second highest percentage (33 percent) comes from customer use. The Mac Pro’s emissions total 940 kg CO2e, the company says.
- 10 years ago
Organizational Change /
One in four small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the UK consider sustainability one of their highest concerns for the coming year, according to a new survey by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking (LBCB).While sustainability is becoming an integral part of the business landscape, it has traditionally been much more difficult for smaller firms, who may lack the resources to make changes to company administration practices, LBCB says.Encouragingly, the survey found that three out of ten SMEs plan to invest more in sustainable business practices over the next five years, although another 42 percent said that spending on sustainability is likely to remain flat.
- 10 years ago
Organizational Change /
The Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) plant in Knoxville, Tenn., last week became the 20,000th LEED certification for a commercial project issued by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).As the world’s most widely used and recognized green building rating system, LEED guides the design, construction and operation of 10.5 billion square feet of commercial and institutional space worldwide. By using less energy, LEED-certified spaces save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce carbon emissions; and contribute to a healthier environment for residents, workers and the larger community.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
Seventy percent, or nearly 350 of the Fortune 500 companies do not have a Hispanic member on their board, according to a new study by the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR).The organization’s 2013 Corporate Governance Study (CGS) measures Hispanic inclusion in the C-Suite and boardrooms in Fortune 500 companies, revealing that there has been little progress for Hispanic inclusion on corporate boards over the last 20 years.Some other key findings include:· Latinas only hold 37 out of 5,511 board seats in the Fortune 500
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
Twenty-nine of the world’s leading CEOs and companies in 2013 joined CECP, a coalition of CEOs united in the belief that societal improvement is an essential measure of business performance, founded in 1999 by actor Paul Newman.These CEOs and companies work with CECP to elevate their societal investment strategies and connect them to their core business, as they are a direct line to employee engagement, innovation, customers, new markets, stronger brands and sustainability, as well as mitigating risk and building trust. CECP convenes and supports CEOs, whose companies committed $14 billion last year to solving pressing community challenges.In 2013, CECP welcomed the following 10 CEOs into its ranks:· Sheri McCoy, Avon Products, Inc.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
In the past 15 years, Monadnock Paper Mills has reduced its water consumption by 55 percent through the installation of water recycling equipment, utilizing valve restrictors and instituting other projects identified by the company’s water conservation team, according to the paper manufacturer’s first Sustainability Progress Report.Monadnock says it has worked to exceed aggressive impact reduction goals for the last 40 years. The company tracks impact reductions in several areas, including electricity consumption, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, water usage and solid waste, among others.
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
Unilever and the Cambridge Program for Sustainability Leadership (CPSL) have announced the seven finalists for the inaugural Unilever Sustainable Living Young Entrepreneurs Awards, an international awards program designed to inspire young people around the world to tackle environmental, social and health issues.The competition, open to anyone aged 30 years or under, looks for inspiring practical, tangible solutions to help make sustainable living commonplace.
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
Six months after successfully raising more than $50,000 through one of the highest-grossing crowdfunding food campaigns of all-time, Oakland, Calif., startup Kuli Kuli has launched its first line of moringa superfood bars at 10 Whole Foods locations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.Kuli Kuli Bars are gluten-free, vegan and made with just a few simple all-natural ingredients, the company says. The bars are low in calories but contain high amounts of fiber, protein and vitamins. The primary ingredient? Moringa.
- 10 years ago