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Hyundai's Controversial Ad: Communicating Sustainability the Wrong Way?
MARKETING AND COMMS - Suicide may be painless in the song but it's a theme that's causing all sorts of grief for automaker Hyundai.
The Amplification Project: Translating Policy Research Into Action
MARKETING AND COMMS - Each week leading up to the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) finals on June 5th, where the runner-up will be decided via live online public vote, we will feature articles introducing our semi-finalists. This week, meet The Amplification Project.“Advocacy is about persuasion, and connecting with the people that you’re trying to persuade,” says Richard Greenberg, founder of The Amplification Project, a socially and environmentally conscious company whose mission is to “translate policy research into action.”
White Paper: Sprint Improved Packaging Sustainability 55 Percent in Three Years
PRESS RELEASE - According to a recently published white paper, Sprint [NYSE: S] has made drastic improvements in the environmental impact of its device packaging. The paper, The Evolution of Greener Device Packaging at Sprint, closely examines the impacts of Sprint-branded device packaging from 2009 to 2012.
Coca-Cola Announces Global Commitments To Help Fight Obesity
MARKETING AND COMMS - Coca-Cola today announced four global business commitments it claims will contribute to healthier, happier and more active communities in the more than 200 countries where it does business.
BASF, DuPont Commit to Increased Product Safety Standards
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - BASF, DuPont, Honeywell, Dow and other members of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) this week launched a new Responsible Care Product Safety Code to increase chemical safety standards beyond regulatory requirements.
M&S, B&Q, Eden Project and More Helping UK Consumers 'Be the Start' of More Resourceful Living
MARKETING AND COMMS - Researchers tell us that by 2030 we will need 30% more water, 50% more energy and 50% more food to be fit for our growing population. Statistics from WWF echo this — if we continue our current rate of consumption in the United Kingdom, we will need three planets' worth of natural resources to continue this lifestyle, and five planets to continue the consumption lifestyle in the USA.
Run Up to SB '13: John Havens Crowdsourcing Happiness To Save the World
NEW METRICS - John C. Havens is founder of the H(app)athon Project, a contributing writer for Mashable and
The Sustainable Value of "Brand Disney": Strategic Implications of Its Withdrawal from Bangladesh
SUPPLY CHAIN - I do not speak Bangla. But I do know that if I walk up to an eight-year-old kid in the streets of Dhaka or Kolkata and show him a picture of Mickey Mouse, he will bond with me instantly. Such is the global power and influence of love, joy and friendship that beloved Mickey has been exercising for decades.
Dell's Cube, Content, Curb Approach to Packaging
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - If you’re a long-time Dell customer, you’ve probably noticed that our packaging looks far different than it did just a few years ago. It’s smaller, easier to recycle, and may even contain some materials you’re more likely to associate with your garden than your computer.
What Is the Role of Packaging in a Sustainable Product System?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - What is the appropriate role for packaging in a product system? As a product designer, I ask myself this question often. As a design professor, I ask my students what role packaging should play in a particular product system ... now, in the future, within compromised systems and within idyllic systems. What would an ideal product system even look like?
Thread: Reducing Waste and Creating Jobs for Those Who Need It Most
WASTE NOT - Each week leading up to the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) finals on June 5th, where the runner-up will be decided via live online public vote, we will feature articles introducing our semi-finalists. This week, meet Thread. If you purchase a product from Thread, chances are that it started off as a plastic bottle in the slums of Haiti.
Waitrose To Cut Packaging in Half By 2016
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Waitrose last week pledged to slash its packaging in half by 2016, announcing three major changes to its product ranges that will help achieve this target and altogether save nearly 100 tons of packaging each year.
Timberland Leading the Charge on Improving Lives Throughout Its Supply Chain
SUPPLY CHAIN - Corporate social responsibility has become more mainstream and developed a deeper sense of purpose in the past few years, and we should acknowledge the progress companies and their brands have achieved in this area.
Sustainable Packaging: A Call for Better Design
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - One of the things I love about the Sustainable Brands community is its diverse mix of sustainability experts, designers, innovators and entrepreneurs coupled with brand and marketing specialists. It makes for a heady mix of often differing views on related sustainability challenges.
BASF receives European Water Stewardship certificate
PRESS RELEASE - BASF receives European Water Stewardship certificate -- First chemical site with certification for sustainable water management -- BASF has ambitious water goals
Report: Major Global Companies Failing To Report on GHG
MARKETING AND COMMS - The level of public disclosure of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among the world's 800 largest companies is “unacceptably poor,” according to research published this week by the Environmental Investment Organization (EIO).
Consumers Rank Ingredient Transparency Among Most Important Issues for Brands
MARKETING AND COMMS - Horsemeat found in five percent of beef tested in the European Union. One in three fish commonly mislabeled in the United States. Up to 30 states now considering GMO labeling laws. Ingredient transparency is trending for brands looking to restore consumer trust. But how much do consumers care about what they put in, on and around their bodies?
Startup Crowdfunding to Sell Superfood Bars in US to Aid West African Farmers
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Oakland-based social enterprise Kuli Kuli is launching an Indiegogo campaign to leverage its “superfood” nutrition bar to help alleviate poverty in West Africa.Kuli Kuli Bars are gluten-free, raw and made with just a few simple all-natural ingredients, the company says. The bars also are low in calories but contain high amounts of fiber, protein and vitamins. The bars are made from moringa oleifera, a tree that has been widely documented for its vast nutritional properties and ability to grow in poor soil with little water.
Speaking AND Listening: The Key to Effective Stakeholder Communications
MARKETING AND COMMS - Fostering a two-way, inclusive dialogue with stakeholders is key to the success of corporate sustainability programs. But developing a communications strategy that delivers the transparency stakeholders demand, in an engaging, enriching way, is challenging.
Spotlight on Five Tales of Sustainability Storytelling Success
MARKETING AND COMMS - Businesses worldwide are exploring the growing potential of storytelling to engage their audiences with complex social and environmental issues, inspire behaviour change and enhance brand reputation.
