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`Materiality Is Broken. But It Doesn’t Have to Be.
In formulating strategy, shaping communications and improving their impact in the world, companies, and their sustainability teams, must answer two big questions: "What is important to our business?” and "What is important to our stakeholders?” (Sometimes as a proxy for the larger question: “What is important to the world?") Read More...
10 Burning Questions: PMI on How It Will Create a Smoke-Free Future
Jennifer Motles and her colleagues at Philip Morris International (PMI) are on a crusade to end smoking. They know many of us probably won’t believe them. And they are OK with that; they just want the chance to prove it. Read More...
How AI, Machine Learning Are Solving Global Problems
Although developments in the field of artificial intelligence began around the 1950s, its capacities have significantly increased in the recent years. Owing to factors such as the development of faster computers, availability of open-source software and the access to vast amounts of computational data, AI has now branched into machine learning (ML), probabilistic predictions, chaos theory and evolutionary computation. Investing in artificial intelligence courses, therefore, prepares people to undertake not just one, but many AI applications. Read More...
Global Practitioners Gather to Compare Notes on Redesigning the #GoodLife
Last year, the Sustainable Brands community gathered around the world throughout the year to share insights on how they – and their customers – were “redefining the good life.” This year, the conversation has progressed from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ of designing the sustainable future in which we all want to live. Read More...
Investors Can Now Compare ESG Scores on New ESGHub™ App
Responsible investing has been an overriding theme of the past two weeks, with a proliferation of new initiatives, campaigns and reports joining a growing list of recently released resources for sustainable and impact investors to increase the quality of their investments emerging during last week’s Global Climate Action Summit and this week at Climate Week. Read More...
Seoul Spearheads Global Efforts to Promote Sustainable Urban Tourism
“Tourists, go home.” “Tourists: Your luxury trip, my daily misery.” “Your tourism kills my neighborhood.” These kinds of sentiments have likely been heard in travel destinations that have become victims of their own success and attractiveness. Indeed, for many residents living in popular landmarks, tourism can often be a nightmare rather than a dream. While many cities have been overwhelmed by mass tourism and what is now called “overtourism,” Seoul has been striving to promote alternative forms of tourism that do not put pressure on destinations and offer quality experiences to citizens as well as visitors. Read More...
The Ocean Cleanup, Story of Stuff Set Their Sights on San Francisco's Marine Plastic Pollution
The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit organization that made waves in 2015 with its grand plans and new approach to ridding the oceans of plastic, last weekend launched the world’s first ocean cleanup system from the San Francisco Bay. “System 001” headed to a location 240 nautical miles offshore for a two-week trial before continuing its journey toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1,200 nautical miles offshore, to start the cleanup. System 001 is being towed from the San Francisco Bay by the vessel Maersk Launcher, which has been made available to the project by A.P. Read More...
KPMG, Textile Exchange Develop SDG Roadmap for the Apparel, Retail and Textile Sector
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) offer many business opportunities for companies while addressing critical operational risks, according to a new report produced by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP; in partnership with the non-profit organization, Textile Exchange: Threading the Needle: Weaving the Sustainable Development Goals into the Textile, Retail and Apparel Industry. Read More...
But What Happens If You Use Up All the Plastic?
One of the most frequently asked questions I get when pitching Thread is “what happens if you run out of plastic to recycle?” Read More...
Survey: US Consumers Doubt Their Ability to Impact Climate Change, Look to Companies to Lead
The majority of US citizens (62 percent) say they believe climate change is a problem but feel unempowered to address it, according to the 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Climate Change Snapshot — instead, they are looking to companies to take the lead. Yet, even as individuals may feel personally powerless — less than four-in-10 (38 percent) feel their actions can make a real difference — they do see companies as critical players in progress against climate change. 58 percent say that in the absence of government progress, companies should take the lead. Read More...
Lyft Commits to Full Carbon Neutrality, 100% Renewables
Earlier this year, we announced our Green Cities Initiative, a new business unit dedicating significant resources to tackling climate change. As Lyft continues to grow, we have an increasing responsibility to commit additional resources towards our values in order to maximize the positive impact of the Lyft platform. Read More...
GIIN to Impact Investors: SDGs in Dire Need of Capital Infusion
A new GIIN report reiterates the need for impact investors to raise and direct new capital to help meet the UN SDGs by 2030. Read More...
Life-changing Tech Meets Sustainability
Sustainability isn't just a buzzword — it's an integral part of everything we do. Read More...
Your Stakeholders Are Listening, So What Are You Saying?
Understanding who your business affects and how they affect your business is key to long-term success. If you only focus on customers, you are falling way short. To truly take your business from local to national and on to global levels, you have to consider all the ways your company interacts with the world around it and, most importantly, what stories you are telling. Read More...
Tips from Dr. Bronner’s, Sun World, Wrangler on Advancing Regenerative Ag Supply Chains
The winds are changing. Companies that have operated many steps removed from the farms and people that produce their raw materials are building stronger connections to their agricultural supply chains. This shift stems from interest to replenish soil and water supplies, and boost overall resilience and output through regenerative and thriving agriculture. Pure Strategies’ latest report, Connecting to the Farm, points to the best practices companies are using to get closer to the farm while advancing these critical sustainability aims and gaining valuable business benefits. Read More...
Q&A: DuPont Sorona and the Evolution, and Revolution, of Biomaterials
Over his more than 30 years in the business, Mike Saltzberg has seen firsthand how sustainability has grown to be of equal consideration with technical performance and cost in the development of new biomaterials. Saltzberg is the Global Business Director for Biomaterials at DuPont Industrial Biosciences, the team that ideates and develops products derived from bio-based materials. Among their innovations is DuPont™ Sorona®, a partially plant-based fiber increasingly used in apparel and carpet. Read More...
Study Reveals How Tax Havens Are Subsidizing Environmental Destruction
The release of classified documents such as the so-called Panama and Paradise papers in recent years has provided a glimpse into the opaque world of tax havens and their role in the global economy. Read More...
Global Investors Urge RSPO for Stronger Standards
More than 90 institutional investors, representing more than $6.7T in assets, have voiced their concerns over the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil’s relevance and effectiveness, and the current disconnect between its criteria and corporate policy commitments. Read More...
adidas, Neste Bolstering Markets for Recycled Plastics
Amidst the anti-plastic frenzy dominating corporate sustainability news lately, adidas and Neste have announced plans to increase their efforts to utilize more waste plastic. Read More...
Liverpool Using Blockchain to Become First Climate-Positive City by End of 2020
The Liverpool City Council is committed to becoming the first climate-positive authority in the world by the end of 2018, through a groundbreaking partnership with the nonprofit Poseidon Foundation, in a bid to make Liverpool the world’s first climate-positive city by the end of 2020. Read More...
