Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 44 of 53.
Marketing and Comms /
Marriott International recently released its 2013 Sustainability Report update, which claims the company reduced global water usage by 12 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5 percent in 2012.The international hotel chain also says it is looking to move beyond its current global footprint of more than 3,800 hotels in over 70 countries and focus on providing sustainable economic activity and local employment. In coming years, more than half of its new hotels will be located in emerging markets, where tourism is a major driver of new jobs and economic development.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Intel recently topped the Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power list of partner organizations utilizing renewable energy. The technology and telecom company uses renewables such as biogas, biomass, small-hydro, solar and wind to generate more than 3.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean energy each year.Microsoft came in second, producing just under 2 billion kWh, and Kohl's a close third, generating over 1.5 billion kWh.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
Four female executives at the top of their respective fields will come together next month for a “Presidents panel” at the Women’s Leadership Conference in Las Vegas.The panel will include Carol Evans, President of Working Mother Magazine; Kathleen (K.C.) Ciaramello, President of National Foodservice & On-Premise at Coca-Cola Refreshments; Cindy Kiser Murphey, President and COO of New York-New York Hotel & Casino; and Gail Becker, Chair of Canada, Latin America and U.S. Western Region, Edelman Communications.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
PepsiCo has announced that it will no longer label its Naked juices as being ‘‘all natural,’’ after paying $9 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed the drinks contain artificial ingredients.The company said in an email statement that it uses an ‘‘added boost of vitamins’’ in some of the drinks. However, a lawsuit filed against the company said the vitamins are actually synthetic ingredients, which includes a fiber made by Archer Daniels Midland. While PepsiCo did not confirm or deny that these synthetic fibers are included in the juices, the company is dropping the use of the word ‘‘natural’’ until more solid regulatory guidance emerges.
- 10 years ago
LG Electronics has cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 61,348 metric tons, while saving close to $1 million in operating expenses since December 2012, according to a recent Environmental Protection Agency assessment.At the end of 2012, the electronics company signed a memorandum of understanding with the EPA, promising to implement several sustainability initiatives to help reduce its carbon footprint.Within the first six months of the partnership, LG has cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, solid waste production and energy use across its US operations, according to the EPA’s first assessment report on the company’s efforts.Some of LG’s sustainability initiatives include:· Energy efficiency and GHG reductions in manufacturing and the supply chain.
- 10 years ago
The U.S. could dramatically lower the power industry’s draw on strained water supplies by replacing aging power plants with water-smart options such as renewable energy and efficiency, according to a study recently released by the Union of Concerned Scientists-led "Energy and Water in a Warming World" Initiative.Water-Smart Power: Strengthening the U.S. Electricity System in a Warming World claims the choices the industry makes now will decide how much the energy sector will tax the nation’s threatened water supplies and contribute to climate change in the decades to come.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Investors have achieved notable victories during this year’s shareholder proxy season, with a near record 110 shareholder resolutions filed with 94 U.S. companies on hydraulic fracturing, flaring, fossil fuel reserve risks and other climate- and sustainability-related risks and opportunities.The majority of resolutions filed within the energy sector focused on strategies recently promoted by the International Energy Agency in its report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, to reduce sector-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at no net economic cost, and in some cases, economic gain.Some of these strategies include:
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Bean and rice tortilla chip maker Beanfields Snacks has achieved its certification as a B Corporation.The family-owned company joins Ben and Jerry’s, Etsy, Patagonia and hundreds of others companies worldwide using the power of business to tackle social and environmental problems.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Bayer CropScience has launched its new e3 sustainable cotton program, which the company says provides stringent guidelines for farmers in the United States who grow Certified FiberMax or authentic Stoneville cotton.Bayer’s Certified FiberMax and Stoneville programs make it possible for buyers to identify where their cotton was grown using a certification database maintained by the company.Bayer says the e3 program will benefit mills and brands in three key ways:
- 10 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation /
Billionaire chairman and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX visionary Elon Musk says he will release designs next month for a system capable of rapidly transporting people from Los Angeles to San Francisco via a tube in under 30 minutes.In several recent Twitter posts, the real-life Tony Stark has stated he will be “happy to work with the right partners” on the project, called Hyperloop, as long as they share his vision of developing the technology “fast and without wasting money.”Musk says he is welcoming “critical feedback” on the system and will publish his plans by August 12 as open source.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Global supply chain sustainability site Ecodesk has launched a monitoring tool for businesses to track conflict mineral use in supply chains.The company says the aim of the monitor is to help businesses track the materials using a standard EICC declaration form and the Ecodesk digital supply chain dashboard.As each supplier completes a declaration on their Ecodesk sustainability profile, data is automatically connected to a customer dashboard, which enables businesses to analyze in one simple view, conflict mineral use by geography, industry and by individual smelters.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
Food waste is probably the least sexy of all sustainability subjects. After all, it has to do with what we eat — after we’ve already eaten it. As long as we scarf down grass-fed beef, sustainable seafood and organic fruits and vegetables, we are good to go, right?
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Spanish multinational clothing company Inditex says that in 2012 it conducted nearly 1.5 million tests on its clothing worldwide to ensure health and safety standards, as well as carrying out more than 3,500 audits on suppliers under its Code of Conduct.Inditex chairman Pablo Isla made the announcements this week at the company’s Annual General Meeting at its headquarters in Arteixo, La Coruña, Spain.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
A recent independent study by the Colombian organization CRECE, which assessed the social, environmental and economic impacts among 1,000 farmers has found that farmers in the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program have a net income 87.4 percent higher than those not involved with the program.The AAA program, which was co-developed over the last ten years by the Rainforest Alliance and Nespresso, encourages farmers to adopt best practices such as protecting water sources and preventing soil erosion from their land.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
The Co-operative Group, Unilever and Molson Coors are among the winners of the 2degrees 2013 Sustainability Champions Awards, which each year recognizes success in the execution of sustainability initiatives.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
ESPN has announced that its annual awards show, the ESPYs, will be carbon neutral and achieve zero waste-to-landfill for the fifth and sixth consecutive years, respectively.To achieve carbon neutrality, the sports network says it will apply energy conservation strategies to minimize the use of fossil fuels and prevent pollution. After reducing energy consumption wherever possible through special applications, the remaining greenhouse gas emissions will be mitigated through carbon offsets.Some carbon reduction strategies include:· Solar power to be used on red carpet, press center, golf course.· Multi-passenger vehicles instead of individual limos to reduce vehicle miles driven.· Hybrid and flex fuel vehicles used for other transfers.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
Dell has announced key corporate responsibility achievements, such as collecting one billion pounds of electronic waste a year earlier than planned, with the release of its Fiscal Year 2013 (FY13) Corporate Responsibility Summary Report.The report outlines Dell’s environmental progress and efforts to support communities globally to achieve its sustainability goals, which are based on its Powering the Possible platform, a commitment to put technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet.The strategy focuses on four primary areas: Environment
- 10 years ago
Collaboration /
Coca-Cola has announced a new set of environmental goals, including returning 100 percent of the water from its manufacturing facilities back to the environment at a level that supports aquatic life by 2020.Coca-Cola says it is extending its nearly decade-long partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to achieve these new conservation and performance targets, promoting the integration of nature’s value into decision-making processes and convening influential partners to help solve shared global environmental challenges.Under the renewed and expanded partnership, Coca-Cola and WWF jointly developed new sustainability goals for the Coca-Cola system — the Company and its nearly 300 bottling partners in more than 200 countries.These goals include:
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Paper giant Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) has withdrawn from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which Greenpeace, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and WWF claim is an attempt to dodge an independent inquiry into the paper company’s deforestation practices in Indonesia.Prior to APRIL’s withdrawal, the three environmental organizations lodged a complaint that the company was in violation of FSC’s Policy for Association through its continued large-scale conversion of natural forests in Indonesia to plantations, including the destruction of high conservation value (HCV) forests. The organizations also claim the company has persistent social conflicts in its operations.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Global food and beverage giant Mondelez International has unveiled a new training facility for coffee farmers to promote sustainability and entrepreneurship in Vietnam. The company says this is a major step toward implementing its "Coffee Made Happy" sustainability program, which commits to investing at least $200 million to help one million coffee farming entrepreneurs by 2020.
- 10 years ago