Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 41 of 53.
Marketing and Comms /
Fifty of the world’s 500 largest companies are responsible for nearly three quarters of the group’s 3.6 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the CDP Global 500 Climate Change Report 2013.Most of the top 50 carbon-polluting companies operate in the energy, materials and utilities sectors, the report says. The carbon dioxide emitted by these companies has risen by 1.65 percent to 2.54 billion metric tons over the past four years — equivalent to adding more than 8.5 million pickup trucks to the streets.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Seven motorsports facilities operated by the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) received the NASCAR Green track operator award during the recent 2013 NASCAR Green Summit.The award recognizes motorsports facilities for ongoing contributions to developing effective and sustainable green policies and practices. Now in its fifth consecutive year, the 2013 NASCAR Green Summit examined the substantive initiatives that have helped NASCAR make notable strides toward reducing the impacts of its sporting events nationwide.These facilities were recognized for their individual efforts:Auto Club Speedway of Southern California
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
A Southern California-based start-up called Evo Eau says it has created a reusable water bottle that filters up to 99 percent of contaminants from municipally supplied tap water.The bottle is engineered for everyday use and does more than many of its mainstream competitors in terms of filtering out contaminants and harmful carcinogens such as Chromium 6 in tap water, Evo Eau claims.The start-up says that many filtering water bottles only conform to NSF42 standards, which only asks for filters to remove 50 percent of chlorine from water. Many do not even conform to these standards and bottled water companies are held to even fewer.
- 10 years ago
Monadnock Paper Mills has announced its membership in the Gift Card Network and its educational committee to raise awareness of the benefits of forest materials as alternatives to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and bioplastics for gift card programs.Monadnock, along with fellow manufacturers of sustainable card materials, say they will contribute educational resources and drive discussions around ecological options for card production.The Gift Card Network is a community of gift card industry members that connect, collaborate and contribute through a highly specialized online platform, events and group discussions. Members identify and create media, information, and services around education, challenges, and potential solutions to help the industry move forward.
- 10 years ago
Alaska Airlines is the most fuel-efficient carrier in the United States, according to a report released yesterday by the International Council on Clean Transportation, a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, D.C.Alaska, along with its regional partner Horizon Air, led all 15 mainline U.S. carriers as the most fuel-efficient airline operating in the United States in 2010, outperforming the least fuel-efficient carrier by 26 percent.
- 10 years ago
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging /
California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) now has significantly expanded oversight regarding chemicals used in products involved in the state’s commerce stream, following the adoption of the Safer Consumer Product (SCP) Regulations that implements the Green Chemistry statute.While other states have adopted or are considering "Green Chemistry" initiatives, California has the only program that extends beyond children's products to any and all consumer products.The new regulations require the DTSC to identify its initial list of candidate chemicals by October 31, 2013.By next April, DTSC will need to identify up to five "priority products" that will be subject to the SCP regulations during the first few years of implementation.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Alaska officials last week lobbied Walmart to continue selling the state's wild-caught salmon, as the retail giant considers dropping some 40 of the state’s salmon processors that stopped pursuing the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label.Reuters reports that the issue emerged last year when processors of wild-caught salmon decided to halt use of the internationally accepted blue ecolabel awarded by MSC, claiming it was too expensive and eroded their brand. The processors argued that their own control systems were adequate, and they would consider the Ireland-based Global Trust Certification (GTC) as an alternative.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Suppliers in Indonesia have saved up to 4,715 tons of carbon dioxide since 2011, thanks to an energy efficiency program initiated by Adidas Group and the German Organization for International Cooperation — ‘Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit’ (GIZ).Launched in 2011, “Greening Global Supply Chains — Focus on Energy in Indonesia” aimed to build internal capacities within factories so that they would be able to monitor energy use consistently and analyze the data, propose cost-saving measures and identify and review energy management options and the impact of actions taken.Adidas undertook a road show with GIZ to meet with four clusters of suppliers in Indonesia, and all of the 16 targeted suppliers joined the project.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
The 20 biggest world economies have agreed to use the resources of the Montreal Protocol to initiate a global phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a significant group of super greenhouse gases (GHGs).According to The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), HFCs are primarily used in refrigeration and air conditioning and are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide. However, climate-friendly alternatives are already widely available.
- 10 years ago
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging /
Cascadian Farm, makers of more than 75 organic products, yesterday announced that it has introduced its first-ever cereal box liner made from renewable plant sources.The company says its Cinnamon Crunch cereal is now packaged in an inner bag made from up to 57 percent certified plant-based material. Cascadian Farm says this new liner is the latest among its various sustainability initiatives that support its mission of helping to shape a better world."At Cascadian Farm, we know that every choice we make can help shape a better world now and for the future," said Jennifer Jorgenson, marketing director for Cascadian Farm. "A desire to protect our Earth's resources led us to develop this groundbreaking inner bag."
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
There is a major gap between what companies say and do about sustainability, with 65 percent developing policies at the CEO level and only 35 percent taking action, according to a recent survey by the United Nations Global Compact.The Global Corporate Sustainability Report 2013 includes survey responses from 1,712 companies from 113 countries, and reviews the actions taken by companies to integrate responsible practices outlined in the Global Compact Management Model into their strategies, operations and culture. The survey paints a picture of how companies are addressing sustainability issues including human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Honesty skin care, REN face and body care products, Pure Nuff Stuff skincare products and Little Satsuma face and body moisturiser all received perfect scores in the Rainforest Foundation UK (RFUK)'s latest investigation into the sustainability of palm oil content in health and beauty products.In partnership with Ethical Consumer magazine, RFUK's Appetite for Destruction? consumer guide was created in response to the increasing threat that unsustainable palm oil is posing to the world’s rainforests, and consequently, to the people that rely almost entirely on these forests for their livelihoods.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
MillerCoors reduced water use by 6.1 percent to a record low 3.82 barrels needed per barrel of beer in 2012, according to the 2013 MillerCoors Sustainability Report, released yesterday.By comparison, the nation’s second-largest brewer says some U.S. breweries use as much as 6.62 barrels of water to produce a single barrel of beer.
- 10 years ago
Investing at least $1 trillion per year until 2020 could lead from the fossil-fueled industrial era to a technologically advanced solar age based on ethical principles of equity, efficiency, biomimicry and earth systems science, according to the mid-year update to the Green Transition Inflection Point: Green Transition Scoreboard 2013 Report.
- 10 years ago
More than 58 clean energy and transportation projects, launched across the US in the second quarter of 2013, have led to the creation of 38,600 new jobs in the sector, according to a recent report by Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2).The number of jobs is slightly higher for Q2 of 2013 than it was for the same period in 2012 (37,400), according to the report.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz told Reuters this week the company will not cut hours or benefits for employees — referred to as "partners" — in response to Obamacare.While many other large companies in the food service sector have said they will need to shift costs onto their workers in anticipation of upcoming changes under the health law, Starbucks says it will not follow suit.“Other companies have announced that they won’t provide coverage for spouses; others are lobbying for the cut-off to be at 40 hours,” Shultz said. “But Starbucks will continue maintaining benefits for partners and won’t use the new law as an excuse to cut benefits or lower benefits for its workers.”
- 10 years ago
Johnson Controls, Sunpower and 20 other solar companies have been awarded $7 billion in Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOC), according to a recent announcement.Some of the other winning companies include NRG Energy, Borrego Solar, Washington Gas Energy Systems and Energy Matters.The announcement says MATOC is a way for the Department of Defense (DOD) to get multiple similar construction projects done by different companies in different locations quickly and easily by assigning base line prices for specific project tasks.
- 10 years ago
In June, the Tesla Model S outsold several well-established vehicle brands in California — including Porsche, Buick and Lincoln — according to a recent report from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA), using data sourced from Polk.The electric car company also outsold Cadillac and both Jaguar and Land Rover combined. Even Infiniti — a long-established, full-luxury brand — posted only 51 more registrations.
- 10 years ago
CODA Energy has partnered with Energy Vault and Growing Energy Labs (GELI), to deploy the first Eco-Station, a solar integrated electric vehicle (EV) fast-charging station optimized by energy storage, in the San Francisco Bay Area.CODA says the charging station will incorporate a 175 kW solar array, DC fast charging, a 40kWh CODA Core UDP energy storage system, and GELI's intelligent Energy Operating System (EOS) software.DC charging refuels a typical EV battery in 30-60 minutes and improves the usability of EVs by extending their effective range and enabling road trips. However, CODA says these stations require high quantities of power to operate, which is expensive to run during peak hours and can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars per month.
- 10 years ago
Behavior Change /
More than half (56 percent) of diners would pay more for a meal if they knew the restaurant was investing in reducing its environmental impact and taking its social responsibility seriously, according to new research from the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). Some 43 percent of diners would pay up to 10 percent more for a meal in a sustainable restaurant.The Discerning Diner: How consumers’ attitudes to eating out have become more sophisticated is based on the findings of consumer research by the SRA, which was supported by Unilever.
- 10 years ago