Latest News

Organizational Governance

Hershey Using ‘Cocoa for Good,’ Investing $500M to Support Farming Communities

Published on April 5, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 4 minute read

The Hershey Company has announced a new comprehensive strategy for cocoa sustainability with an emphasis on addressing pressing issues facing cocoa-growing communities such as poverty, poor nutrition, at-risk youth, and vulnerable ecosystems. Cocoa For Good will involve collaborative programs, partnerships, and a half-a-billion dollars in investments by 2030. Read More...

Marketing & Communications Marketing & Communications

3 Approaches to Building Customer Trust Through Transparency

Published on April 5, 2018

Written by Jonathan Hanwit

About a 4 minute read

In February, KFC in the United Kingdom had a bit of an issue — it ran out of chicken. Read More...

Marketing & Communications

icebreaker Aims to Prove Its Apparel Is ‘Made Different’ with New Transparency Report

Published on April 4, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 3 minute read

Touting it as an industry first, the report gives readers a full behind-the-scenes view of the brand’s entire operation. Read More...

Organizational Governance

Corporate Sustainability Practitioners: Roles Have Changed — Has Your Job Description?

Published on March 27, 2018

Written by Coro Strandberg

About a 3 minute read

Once sustainability has matured in an organization, entire teams undergo a similar transition. They become enablers, supporting their colleagues across the organization to foster sustainable innovation. Read More...

Materials & Packaging

As Starbucks Seeks Sustainable Cup Solutions, Shareholders Demand More Ambitious Action

Published on March 20, 2018

About a 5 minute read

Ahead of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders this week, Starbucks has announced it is committing $10M in partnership with Closed Loop Partners and its Center for the Circular Economy to develop a more sustainable coffee cup. Together, the organizations will establish a new consortium to launch the NextGen Cup Challenge, which will award accelerator grants to entrepreneurs working on potential cup solutions and encourage industry collaboration. Read More...

Organizational Governance

A ‘Unicorn’ in Business: Lessons from BrewDog on Truly Authentic Engagement

Published on March 19, 2018

Written by Simon Robinson

About a 7 minute read

Sustainable Brands has recently reported on a range of really interesting, wide-range of initiatives coming out of the beer industry, including innovative packaging solutions, the use of renewable energy and efforts to address climate change and water scarcity. Read More...

Circular Economy

Dell’s ‘Closed-Loop’ Jewellery a Circular Economy Success, But a Drop in the Sustainability Bucket

Published on March 12, 2018

Written by James Payne

About a 5 minute read

Earlier this year, tech giant Dell announced an innovative partnership with actress Nikki Reed’s jewellery company, Bayou with Love, which spawned a new line of fine jewellery made using recycled gold from the motherboards of end-of-life Dell computers. The juxtaposition of fine, intricate jewels with old computers has driven media interest and raised the issue and importance of sustainability within the tech sector. ‘The Circular Collection’ has been positioned as an example of circular economy success, but how deep does this move go? Read More...

Organizational Governance

How to Coach Employees on Purpose

Published on March 7, 2018

Written by John Izzo

About a 8 minute read

This is the fifth in a series of articles examining how business leaders and companies can transform their corporate culture in order to succeed in the midst of the impending Purpose Revolution. Find links to the full series below. Read More...

Organizational Governance Organizational Governance

Going Beyond Less Bad: Redefining Products, Brands for Positive Impact

Published on February 24, 2018

Written by Coro Strandberg

About a 4 minute read

Making products a force for good will put us on a path to a more sustainable planet, economy and society. Because as Marks & Spencer has already pointed out, there is no Plan B. Read More...

Circular Economy Circular Economy

Circular Economy 101: Waste Not, Get More

Published on February 22, 2018

Written by John Hoekstra

About a 4 minute read

Across the globe, about 50 percent of CO2 emissions are tied to materials — goods that often produce a significant amount of physical and financial waste. Read More...

Marketing & Communications

Garment Worker Diaries Reveal Working Conditions, Wages in Bangladesh, India, Cambodia

Published on February 22, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 3 minute read

A first-of-its-kind research project led by Microfinance Opportunities (MFO) in partnership with Fashion Revolution and C&A Foundation gives the most comprehensive picture yet of the living and working conditions faced by female garment workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia and India. Read More...

Innovation & Technology

Blockchain Will Revolutionize Marketing — Are You Prepared?

Published on February 22, 2018

Written by Robert Schermers

About a 4 minute read

"We want to create "radical impact", as we like to call it: create access to better quality coffee than the one sold by the leading multinationals and make sure that the people growing our coffee make a better living by bringing value-adding activities back to their countries. But how do we measure and show what we actually do with Moyee?” said Guido van Staveren van Dijk, CEO of Moyee Coffee, describing one of the key challenges his company is facing. Read More...

Circular Economy

Tesco, Nestlé Poised to Benefit Most from Impending Plant-Based Protein Surge

Published on February 19, 2018

About a 3 minute read

A shift in consumer awareness around sustainability is causing a surge in demand for plant-based proteins — an emerging market opportunity that global food companies won’t want to miss. Read More...

Collaboration & Co-Creation Collaboration & Co-Creation

Delta, Duke Team Up to Transform Carbon Credits Into Community Sustainability Projects

Published on February 9, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 3 minute read

Delta Air Lines is expanding its partnership with Duke Athletics and Duke University with a first-of-its-kind sustainability program. Read More...

Marketing & Communications

Winning Over the Purpose-Focused Employee

Published on February 8, 2018

Written by John Izzo

About a 5 minute read

This is the second in a series of articles examining how business leaders and companies can transform their corporate culture in order to succeed in the midst of the impending Purpose Revolution. Find links to the full series below. Read More...

Finance & Investment

450 Business Leaders, Investors Create Roadmap to Low-Carbon Future

Published on February 6, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 4 minute read

More than 450 investor, company and capital market leaders convened at the Investor Summit on Climate Risk last week to map out the next steps for increased action on climate change. Read More...

Innovation & Technology

9 Companies Fighting Climate Change Through Biomimicry

Published on February 6, 2018

Written by Erin Rovalo

About a 3 minute read

We know that carbon emissions, particularly carbon dioxide and methane, are a major contributor to global climate change trends, and that the challenge of mitigating and even reversing this trend is highly complex. We also know that — like so many other sustainability challenges we face — managing carbon is a challenge faced by the natural world and solved through its own adaptive strategies that have evolved over 3.8 billion years. In short: Nature sees carbon as a building block — and we can, too. Read More...

Circular Economy

Circularity, Sustainability Take Hold in Toy Industry

Published on February 2, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 4 minute read

The closed-loop conversation is often one that focuses on e-waste, fashion and single-use plastics, but LEGO Group and Antwerp-based design furniture brand ecoBirdy are aiming to change that by bringing the concept of circularity and sustainability to the toy front. Supported by the EU’s program for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME), ecoBirdy has launched its first collection of design furniture for kids made entirely from recycled plastic toys. The launch follows two years of research exploring how to sustainably recycle plastic toys. Read More...

Innovation & Technology

Nissan Vehicle-to-Grid Project to Accelerate Decarbonization of UK Energy System

Published on February 1, 2018

Written by Sustainable Brands

About a 4 minute read

Nissan is driving the future of mobility forward with a vehicle-to-grid (VG2) demonstrator project that could prove instrumental in helping the UK transition to low-carbon transportation and a smart energy system. The £9.8 million e4Futures project will allow drivers to feed energy back into the electricity grid during peak times. Read More...

Finance & Investment

Forget Bitcoin, Planting Trees Can Offer Amazing Returns

Published on January 31, 2018

Written by Jesse Pyrch

About a 5 minute read

A new report has found that money actually does grow on trees. Businesses are making money from planting trees and growing sales as rapidly as 10 times per year. Read More...