Mike Hower
Managing Director, Sustainability & Social Impact
Deutsche Bank
Mike Hower is tagged in 1051 stories.
Page 45 of 53.
Collaboration /
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has announced a partnership with the Global Travel & Tourism Partnership (GTTP) to launch an industry philanthropic initiative aimed at promoting sustainable tourism development and educating secondary school students on career opportunities in travel and tourism in more than 5,600 schools across 11 countries.As part of the agreement, GSTC will endorse GTTP curricular materials and GSTC members will have an opportunity to mentor GTTP students about sustainability practices in the travel and tourism industry. GTTP will endorse the mission of the GSTC and reference its Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria in GTTP curricular materials.
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Coca-Cola and Britvic, along with half of the United Kingdom’s foremost soft drink producers and suppliers, have joined the Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap, a supply chain study designed to reduce the environmental footprint of soft drink products.The roadmap claims to be the first to outline the £1.3 billion (nearly $2 billion) UK soft drinks sector’s effect on the environment and offer recommendations on how the impact can be reduced. The report offers infographics that summarize this information across the entire soft drinks supply chain, from raw material production to end of life.
- 10 years ago
Collaboration /
General Motors and Honda have announced a partnership to share expertise, economies of scale and common sourcing strategies to co-develop next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies by 2020.The automotive companies plan to work together with stakeholders to further advance refueling infrastructure, which they claim is critical for the long-term viability and consumer acceptance of fuel cell vehicles.“This collaboration builds upon Honda and GM’s strengths as leaders in hydrogen fuel cell technology,” said Dan Akerson, GM chairman and CEO. “We are convinced this is the best way to develop this important technology, which has the potential to help reduce the dependence on petroleum and establish sustainable mobility.”
- 10 years ago
Supply Chain /
Manufacturers that invest in working conditions can improve their profit margins and increase their competitive advantage, according to recent research by KPMG.Business Case Analysis for Responsible Electronics Manufacturing was commissioned as part of the IDH Electronics program, which focuses on establishing worker-management dialogue as a means to improving working conditions and facilitating operational efficiency.
- 10 years ago
Sales for LG products that attained EPA’s “Energy Star Most Efficient” designation jumped 75 percent in 2012, saving consumers more than $150 million in utility costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by about 930 million pounds over the life of the products, according to a recent announcement by the electronics company.
- 10 years ago
Last year, General Electric invested nearly $2 billion in research and development for sustainability innovation and generated some $25 billion in revenue, according to the company’s 2012 “Our Global Impact” update.The report includes an update on commitments made through ecomagination, GE’s program to develop products and services with significant environmental advantages. These commitments include:
- 10 years ago
Recyclebank, a company that rewards people for taking everyday green actions with discounts and deals, has announced a 27 percent reduction in its corporate carbon emissions, down from 830 metric tons in 2011 to 602 metric tons in 2012.Since 2009, Recyclebank has partnered with NativeEnergy to calculate the company’s greenhouse gas emissions, paving the way for Recyclebank to reduce its operational footprint. Each year, Recyclebank offsets its remaining emissions partnering with NativeEnergy, providing critical funding for GHG reduction projects.
- 10 years ago
Swedish furniture behemoth IKEA, in partnership with the United Nations Refugee Agency and Refugee Housing Unit, is developing a solar-powered, insulated, hard-sided shelter the company claims is a superior alternative to tent-based refugee shelters typically deployed by relief organizations.The shelter is large enough to accommodate taller-than-average people, packs up flat and is expected to cost around $1,000. IKEA says it has sent 56 of these prototypes to refugee camps in Ethiopia, Lebanon and northern Iraq for testing.
- 10 years ago
Institutional investors and their investment managers must integrate the financial risks from climate change, resource scarcity, supply chain failures and tighter water supplies into their investment practices if they are to be successful in the 21st century, according to a new Ceres report.The 21st Century Investor: Ceres Blueprint for Sustainable Investing outlines the urgency and long-term competitive advantages for investors that incorporate sustainability across all aspects of their investment practices. It includes 10 action steps for integrating sustainability into investment beliefs, asset allocation strategies, corporate engagement, proxy voting and other areas.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Mars, Incorporated has been named “Best Private Company” by the 2013 Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards. Ethical Corporation is a UK-based global business publication focused on global ethical business and exploring how large companies are responding to the sustainable business agenda.The Ethical Corporation Responsible Business Awards pay tribute to companies’ commitment to responsible business practices and recognizes global leaders in corporate sustainability, according to the announcement.Other categories included “Best Employee Engagement,” “Best Supplier Engagement” and “Best Sustainability Report,” which were won by Western Union, Natura and The Co-Operative, respectively.
- 10 years ago
Leadership /
The American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), which represents more than 165,000 businesses nationwide and more than 300,000 entrepreneurs, executives, managers and investors, has thrown its support behind President Obama’s recent announcement to introduce new limits to carbon emissions from power plants and other pro-environment measures.ASBC applauded President Obama’s plans to address greenhouse gas emissions and the growing economic uncertainties posed by climate change. The organization says climate change poses a serious threat to American businesses, such as disruptions to supply chains, increasing insurance premiums, structural damage from extreme weather events and rising energy and health care costs.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
The WindMade organization has launched the first global consumer label for products made with wind energy, according to a recent announcement.The WindMade Product Label can be applied to all products using a minimum share of 75 percent of renewable energy in their total electricity consumption, with wind power representing the largest share. The announcement says a cradle-to-gate approach was adopted, which means the label will cover the entire power consumption for all product components, from the extraction of the raw materials all the way to the product leaving the factory gate.
- 10 years ago
Target has introduced a new healthy food collection designed to take make it easier for customers to identify and purchase products free of artificial flavors, colors and preservatives as part of its efforts to increase organic food offerings by 25 percent by end of 2017.The “Simply Balanced” line has committed to refrain from using 105 common food additive ingredients, Target says. Most of the products within the collection are made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and Target says it plans to remove all GMOs from the Simply Balanced collection by the end of 2014.Several items from the line launched on June 9, with the full collection to arrive in stores by October. The line features nearly 250 organic food products, Target says.
- 10 years ago
Tesla Motors has introduced a system that allows battery packs in electric vehicles to be swapped in roughly 90 seconds.At an event last week, the electric car company’s CEO Elon Musk said that the system provides an alternative to charging EVs, helping to convince consumers they are “more convenient than a gasoline car.” Musk gave a demonstration of the new technology on stage, switching out two Model S battery packs in less time than it took for a car on a video screen to fill up with gas, which took about four minutes.
- 10 years ago
Marketing and Comms /
Children's entertainment network Nickelodeon says it will not give in to public pressure to ban advertisements for junk food despite childhood obesity concerns.The Viacom-owned network has no plans to follow in Walt Disney Co.’s footsteps, which last year said it would ban advertisements for “noncompliant” foods from its child-focused cable channels by 2015."As an entertainment company, Nickelodeon's primary mission is to make the highest quality entertainment content in the world for kids," the company wrote in response to four Democratic US senators' call for the network to change its ways, according to the New York Times. "That is our expertise. We believe strongly that we must leave the science of nutrition to the experts."
- 10 years ago
Chipotle Mexican Grill says it plans to serve more than 15 million pounds of locally grown produce in its restaurants this year, up from its 2012 goal of 10 million pounds.As one of the few national restaurant companies with a significant commitment to using local produce on a large scale, Chipotle has steadily increased its locally sourced produce supply since beginning the program in 2008.
- 10 years ago
AT&T has saved over $151 million in annualized energy savings since 2010 after implementing more than 14,300 energy-reducing projects, according to the company’s 2012 Sustainability Report.These projects have saved nearly 1.3 billion kilowatt hours (kWh), equivalent to the electricity use of 136,340 homes in one year, the report says.AT&T highlighted several milestones, including establishing an energy score card program for 1,000 retail stores, achieving 11 megawatts of alternative energy capacity and joining Rocky Mountain Institute's Portfolio Energy RetroFit Challenge — aimed at scaling energy efficiency.
- 10 years ago
Sustainability non-profit GreenBlue’s Advisory Services Group has begun employing a strategic process to help companies walk through a ten-step course of action that strategically links sustainability with innovation.The sustainability-focused adaptation of the value innovation methodology starts by helping companies identify their most important sustainability customer group. It continues with a series of contextual interviews with a representative sampling of the group and leads to an iterative plotting and validation of “as-is” and “to-be” value curves. These value curves serve as a roadmap to sustainability strategies and solutions.
- 10 years ago
Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently announced a long-term commitment to help improve education and workforce readiness through a new global philanthropy program focused on literacy and career development.With a focus on literacy and career readiness, Ready to Thrive will support community organizations and programs, offering a launching point for individuals to learn and develop the critical skills needed to professionally advance. It also will build on the existing foundation of Hyatt Thrive’s four pillars, which include economic development and investment, health and wellness, environmental sustainability, and education and personal advancement.
- 10 years ago
Waste Not /
Sainsbury’s says it has succeeded in diverting all store waste from landfills, reaching its zero-waste goal in just three years — seven years ahead of schedule.As part of its 20x20 Sustainability Plan, the UK supermarket chain said it would put all waste to positive use by 2020.Sainsbury’s says excess food that cannot be used by its charity partners is now processed into animal feed to support local farmers or used to produce energy through anaerobic digestion. The company claims to be the UK’s largest retail user of anaerobic digestion which, along with donating food to charity, helped it reach its zero-waste goal.
- 10 years ago