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Mike Hower

Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank

Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories. Page 40 of 53.
Senior Leadership is Largest Driver of Sustainable Business, Report Says
Senior Leadership is Largest Driver of Sustainable Business, Report Says

Leadership / Senior leadership is the most critical driver of sustainability within a business and nearly half of businesses (44 percent) believe engagement with business leaders will be the most important factor in successfully implementing a sustainability strategy over the next three years, according to a new study by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).Sustainability Insights: Learning from Business Leaders, commissioned by Coca-Cola Enterprises, is based on a survey of more than 300 European business executives; it explores how businesses’ sustainability strategies have performed in recent years and identifies the key drivers for future success. - 10 years ago

The North Face Receives EPA Green Power Leadership Award
 The North Face Receives EPA Green Power Leadership Award

Marketing and Comms / The North Face recently became one of eight organizations awarded a 2013 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation’s voluntary green power market.The award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through purchases of power from a utility green-pricing program or a renewable energy certificate (REC) supplier.The outdoor apparel, equipment and footwear company says it installed a one-Megawatt solar system at its distribution center in Visalia, Calif. and worked closely with its parent company VF Outdoor, Inc., and sister brands Lucy and Jansport, to install a 950-kW system at their new headquarters in Alameda, Calif. - 10 years ago

IKEA Selling Solar Panels in the UK
IKEA Selling Solar Panels in the UK

IKEA has announced that it will begin selling residential solar panels at its stores in the United Kingdom, an initial step in its plan to make renewable energy mainstream worldwide.The furniture company started offering solar panels in its store in Southampton this week and plans to sell them at all 17 of its UK stores within the next 10 months.A standard, all-black 3.36 kilowatt system for a semi-detached home will cost 5,700 British pounds ($9,200 USD) and will include an in-store consultation and design service as well as installation, maintenance and energy monitoring service, The Associated Press reports. - 10 years ago

Report Finds Critical Gaps Between Manufacturer and Consumer Priorities
Report Finds Critical Gaps Between Manufacturer and Consumer Priorities

Marketing and Comms / Ninety percent of manufacturers agree that the environment is becoming more important, but 40 percent of consumers think manufacturers are not doing enough in terms of environmentally friendly manufacturing procedures or products, according to a study by Underwriters Laboratories (UL).The Product Mindset examines manufacturer and consumer perceptions about how products are made, sold, bought and consumed. This year’s report claims misalignment is occurring between the two stakeholder groups in what is expected or desired and what is being delivered.Some of the noteworthy gaps include: - 10 years ago

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IPCC Confirms Climate Change Caused By Human Action
IPCC Confirms Climate Change Caused By Human Action

Marketing and Comms / Leading scientists around the world are now 95 percent confident that human influence is the dominant cause of global warming, according to the Fifth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released Friday.Statistically speaking, this means that that the debate is over — climate change is occurring due to human action. As a result of past, present and expected future emissions of carbon dioxide, the effects of climate change will persist for many centuries even if carbon dioxideemissions stop, IPPC says. - 10 years ago

BMW i Offers ‘Virtual Test Drives’ on New Smartphone/Tablet App
BMW i Offers ‘Virtual Test Drives’ on New Smartphone/Tablet App

Those who have been itching to test-drive the new BMW i3 now need look no further than the Apple App Store. BMW has launched an app called ‘BMW i3: Become Electric’ that allows users to virtually test drive the i3 on their smartphone or tablet.The German luxury carmaker says the app “invites users to assume the position of the driver and supporting actor in a dramatic, fast-paced race to save the world.” The app is shot in 360-degree detail using complete surround sound.Users technically only control the virtual vehicles once — tapping the screen to “press” the accelerator pedal. While users also can operate the sat-nav when prompted, they mostly are just a passenger in the storyline. - 10 years ago

Mondelez International Launches Cocoa Life Sustainability Program in Indonesia
Mondelez International Launches Cocoa Life Sustainability Program in Indonesia

Collaboration / Mondelez International has announced an agreement with the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI) and suppliers Armajaro and Olam to promote sustainable Indonesian cocoa farming, improve cocoa bean quality and support the development of Indonesian cocoa communities. - 10 years ago

Marriott Joins Global Commitment to Economically Empower Women Worldwide
Marriott Joins Global Commitment to Economically Empower Women Worldwide

Marriott has joined more than a dozen corporations and non-governmental organizations in a five-year commitment to expand its engagement with female-owned businesses outside the United States, especially in emerging economies.Working with WEConnect International and Vital Voices, two prominent NGOs that support and promote the economic potential of women, Marriott will be part of the pledge to train 15,000 female business owners and spend $1.5 billion with their companies by 2018. - 10 years ago

E&S Topics Comprised 40% of Shareholder Proposals Filed in 2013
E&S Topics Comprised 40% of Shareholder Proposals Filed in 2013

Marketing and Comms / Nearly 40 percent of all shareholder proposals filed in 2013 came from the environmental and social (E&S) category, representing the largest category overall, according to a recent report by Ernst & Young.Taking flight: Environmental sustainability proposals gain more attention identifies the specific requests investors are making in environmental sustainability proposals, company practices referenced by shareholder proponents in their supporting statements and examples of company actions that have led to withdrawals.The top five E&S proposal topic areas were: - 10 years ago

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Lack of Reliable Metrics Impeding Sustainable Business Growth, Study Says
Lack of Reliable Metrics Impeding Sustainable Business Growth, Study Says

New Metrics / Less than a third (32 percent) of CEOs believe the global economy is on track to meet the demands of a growing population, while two-thirds (67 percent) report that the private sector is not making sufficient efforts to address global sustainability challenges, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Global Compact (GC) and Accenture. Still only 38 percent say they currently are able to quantify the business value of sustainability. - 10 years ago

New UN Framework Leverages Business to Benefit Global Education
New UN Framework Leverages Business to Benefit Global Education

A new framework aimed at helping businesses to realize business benefits while advancing global education goals was recently announced by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at a CEO summit in New York.Developed by UNESCO, UNICEF, the UN Special Envoy for Global Education, and the UN Global Compact (GC), The Smartest Investment: A Framework for Business Engagement in Education helps firms make the case that education is not only good for society but also good for business by outlining how to make the case internally about why they should engage in education, selecting appropriate activities and acting in a responsible manner. - 10 years ago

Report: Greater Corporate Sustainability Reporting Needed in Africa
Report: Greater Corporate Sustainability Reporting Needed in Africa

Marketing and Comms / Corporate reporting on sustainability issues in Africa remains patchy and should be expanded in scope, according to the Africa Sustainability Barometer, which gauges the state of corporate sustainability reporting (CSR) on the continent.A new joint initiative of the United Nations Global Compact (GC) and the Financial Times, the barometer covers more than 1,000 international companies with operations in the region, as well as local and regional companies. - 10 years ago

Study: Cultivating Employee Passion Can Give Firms Competitive Advantage
Study: Cultivating Employee Passion Can Give Firms Competitive Advantage

Organizational Change / Organizations that hope to address perpetually mounting competitive pressures need workers who bring passion to their jobs to navigate challenges and accelerate performance improvement, according to new research from Deloitte’s Center for the Edge.Unlocking Passion of the Explorer found that only 11 percent of U.S. workers are passionate and possess the attributes needed for sustained extreme performance improvement. - 10 years ago

Intel Plants in Arizona Recycle 60% of Water Used
Intel Plants in Arizona Recycle 60% of Water Used

Waste Not / Intel treats at least two million gallons of industrial water a day at its plants in Chandler, Ariz., then returns the water to an underground aquifer, according to Bloomberg.The company, which is the city’s largest employer, recycles 60 percent of its water. It also is expanding the treatment facilities and increasing the amount it reuses while it constructs a $5 billion plant that will make more efficient computer chips.Bloomberg says Intel’s Chandler plants use nine million gallons of water a day, of which five million is reused or reclaimed. - 10 years ago

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Panera and Feeding America CEOs Take SNAP Challenge to Spotlight Food Assistance
Panera and Feeding America CEOs Take SNAP Challenge to Spotlight Food Assistance

Panera founder, chairman and CEO Ron Shaich and Feeding America CEO Bob Aiken have taken part in a nationwide Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Challenge (formerly known as food stamps) this month to help build awareness for the millions of people who struggle to feed their families while receiving federal nutrition benefits.The two CEOs each spent $4.50 a day on food — around the same amount a SNAP recipient receives in benefits. - 10 years ago

UN Global Compact Launches Stock Index
UN Global Compact Launches Stock Index

Marketing and Comms / The UN Global Compact (GC) yesterday launched a new stock index of companies committed to the GC's ten principles, which shows a total investment return of 26.4 percent during the past year.The Global Compact 100 was released in partnership with research firm Sustainalytics and is comprised of a representative group of GC companies selected based on their adherence to the Global Compact’s ten principles, as well as evidence of executive leadership commitment and consistent base-line profitability.The GC 100 tracked the stock market performance of these companies during the past three years, comparing the results against a broad market benchmark, the FTSE All World.The data for total returns is as follows: - 10 years ago

Two-Thirds of Scholastic Books Now Sourced From FSC-Certified Paper
Two-Thirds of Scholastic Books Now Sourced From FSC-Certified Paper

Waste Not / Scholastic, Inc., leading publisher of books for children and young adults, announced on Monday that it now purchases 68.2 percent of its paper from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified sources, surpassing its original goal of increasing the amount of FSC-certified paper purchased for its publications to 30 percent by 2012.The global children's publishing, education and media company says that after making significant gains toward the FSC goal between 2008 and 2011, it increased its goal for 2012 from 30 percent to 35 percent of all paper purchased to be FSC-certified. Scholastic also pledged to by the same date increase its use of recycled paper to 25 percent, of which 75 percent would be post-consumer waste. - 10 years ago

GM Facility Among 5% of Data Centers to Earn LEED Gold Certification
GM Facility Among 5% of Data Centers to Earn LEED Gold Certification

The General Motors Enterprise Data Center in Warren, Michigan recently received Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, putting it among the fewer than 5 percent of data centers in the U.S. to achieve such certification. This marks the company’s fifth LEED-certified facility. - 10 years ago

General Mills Joins Dow Jones Sustainability Index
General Mills Joins Dow Jones Sustainability Index

General Mills has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI) by S&P Dow Jones Indices and investment specialist RobecoSAM after demonstrating best-in-class performance against numerous sustainability metrics, according to a recent announcement.The DJSI provides analysis of financially material economic, environmental and social practices, including innovation or supply chain management, climate strategy and stakeholder engagement, with a special focus on industry-specific risks and opportunities. - 10 years ago

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Sustainable Restaurant Association Inaugurates Accreditation Program for Food Destinations
Sustainable Restaurant Association Inaugurates Accreditation Program for Food Destinations

Marketing and Comms / The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has launched its first sustainability accreditation for food destinations, developed with retail landlord Hammerson.The first initiative of its kind, SRA says the new rating will be rolled out to a variety of destinations, including shopping centers, airports, stadiums and stations.Hammerson’s WestQuay shopping center in Southampton, UK was the first location to achieve the new Sustainable Restaurant Association Food Destination rating, which now allows its 17 million annual shoppers to select from a range of restaurants that source ingredients more responsibly and manage food, water, energy and waste more efficiently. - 10 years ago