Not all greenhouse gases warm the planet equally. While carbon dioxide often dominates climate conversations, methane — a short-lived but extremely potent greenhouse gas — is responsible for nearly half of the warming the world has experienced to date. Scientists estimate methane alone has contributed roughly 0.5°C of global temperature rise. Read More...
In the final installment of a three-article series for Sustainable Brands from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2025, Richard Howitt finds that it is possible for companies to assess human rights risk — even in the most difficult circumstances where operations are based amid situations of conflict. Read More...
In the second of three articles for Sustainable Brands from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2025, Richard Howitt finds that the ethics of AI can no longer be treated as a concern only for major technology companies. Read More...
Braskem is working to improve Scope 3 accounting through life cycle assessments, addressing gaps in today’s GHG Protocol and advocating for a shift to the -1/+1 model — an approach it says could better reflect the climate value of biogenic materials. Read More...
The construction industry continues to carry a reputation for harsh and hazardous working conditions. For younger generations and women in particular, it often feels inaccessible as a career path. Combined with labor shortages and new overtime regulations driven by work-style reforms, improving on-site environments has become an urgent priority. Read More...
Circularity demands more than good intentions. It requires reimagining the systems that shape how materials are made, used, and recovered. Read More...
Monarch butterflies inspire awe through migrations that span thousands of miles across North America—a cycle repeated generation after generation. Their long-term survival, however, depends on a network of year-round habitats that support breeding, feeding, and overwintering populations. As these habitats decline, so does the resilience of the species. Across parts of the United States, land degraded by methane-leaking orphan oil and gas wells presents both an environmental challenge and an opportunity. Reclamation and restoration efforts can play a role in addressing emissions while also supporting ecological recovery. Read More...
Corporate sustainability is at a crossroads, and one of the clearest paths forward runs directly through our National Forests. At this year’s Sustainable Brands conference in October, SB’25 San Diego, a consistent theme emerged from conversations with corporate leaders: companies are seeking hope, future-focused investments, and opportunities to build deeper connections with consumers. In our session, “Why Public Lands Belong at the Heart of Brand Purpose,” we explored how America’s public lands — and National Forests in particular — offer a powerful way to meet those needs with tangible, shared outcomes. Read More...
In the first of three articles for Sustainable Brands from the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2025, Richard Howitt reports that companies at the event appear more prepared than ever to push back against the growing backlash toward DEI and other human-rights commitments. Read More...
A quiet but important shift is taking place in how people shop. Consumers aren’t just buying products—they’re increasingly paying attention to the values and practices behind them. From production to packaging, sustainability has become a meaningful factor in purchase decisions. But with labels, claims, and certifications proliferating across categories, many consumers are left wondering which products truly reflect their stated commitments. Read More...
Eighty million. That’s the number of plastic umbrellas used in Japan each year, with most of them used only once. Because plastic umbrellas combine multiple materials, they are difficult to disassemble and rarely recycled. Instead, they are typically incinerated or sent to landfill. This is just one of many plastic waste challenges impacting the global environment. Read More...
Evidence shows that sustainability standards and certification bring positive impacts for people and the environment – but not everywhere, all the time. Read More...
As climate strategies evolve, sustainability leaders are asking new questions about how to make meaningful progress on Scope 3 emissions. One concept gaining momentum is insetting—a strategy that’s changing how companies think about emissions reductions across their value chains. Emily Damon, Chief Growth Officer at ClimeCo and an insetting expert, explains what insetting is, how it differs from offsetting, and why it’s quickly becoming a cornerstone of credible climate action. Read More...
From forests in Indonesia to the Amazonian ingredients behind beauty products, corporate footprints on nature are coming into focus. Leading brands are beginning to restore what they rely on, demonstrating that stewardship can start wherever a company stands today. Read More...
In a world obsessed with scale, it’s easy to forget that transformation begins at the smallest level. Sustainability isn’t about saving the world in one sweeping motion, but about finding meaning—and momentum—in the modest, everyday steps that quietly reshape it. Read More...
For Fukunari Wakabayashi, sake brewing isn’t just a craft — it’s a living expression of harmony between people, nature, and place. Inspired by his grandparents’ rice paddies and the creatures that thrived there, Wakabayashi founded Yamane-Shuzo in Hanno City, Japan, to honor the interconnectedness of rice, forests, and the invisible microorganisms that turn grain into spirit. Through traditional wooden vats, local ingredients, and deep respect for biodiversity, his brewery is reimagining sake as a celebration of all living things. Read More...
Even amid pushback on ESG, expectations for companies to help solve global challenges are rising — not retreating. A new TSX 60 Social Purpose Report Card shows that nearly half of Canada’s biggest firms have now embraced a social purpose, but governance is lagging behind. Without board-level accountability, purpose risks stalling at the level of aspiration rather than action. Read More...
When it comes to living well in this aging modern world, one major challenge is dysphagia, a condition where swallowing becomes difficult due to illness or old age. In Japan, where glutinous rice pounded into a sticky dough called mochi is traditionally eaten in various forms at New Years, choking accidents happen among older people every January. While many would likely accept that they can’t eat mochi because of the dangers, being able to eat what you want is an essential part of living happily. For older people and caregivers confronted with this dilemma, the okayu daifuku made by Kikyoya Orii are major news. Daifuku are confections made of soft mochi, and while they are beloved by young and old, their elastic texture can make them difficult to swallow. Named after okayu rice porridge, this new creation is easy to eat—even for those who have trouble swallowing—and boasts an elegant sweetness that could only be crafted by a time-honored traditional wagashi confectionary maker. How was this delicacy developed? To find out, we spoke with Yoshihide Nakamura, the 18th-generation head of wagashi maker Kikyoya Orii. Read More...
For decades, automotive regulations have been viewed as hurdles to overcome. Today, leading OEMs are flipping the script — seeing evolving end-of-life and circularity standards not as limitations, but as launchpads for innovation. From materials science to seat design, the next wave of mobility growth is emerging from the intersection of compliance and creativity. Read More...
Global demand for palm oil is growing 4% a year, threatening millions of hectares of tropical forest. But what if we could meet that demand with fermentation tanks instead of plantations? Dutch startup NoPalm Ingredients is proving it’s possible — converting food industry side streams into microbial oils that rival palm oil’s versatility while slashing its footprint. It’s not just a new ingredient — it’s a blueprint for a circular, deforestation-free oil economy. Read More...