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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.
Groundbreaking Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - The multitude of social and environmental challenges we face — both locally and globally — presents countless opportunities for new approaches and business models to rise to the fore. All over the world, mission-driven entrepreneurs are bringing fresh, disruptive innovations to market in response to some of these challenges. Here are some of our favorites, each of which represents a different game-changing idea that has the potential to dramatically shift the market, and the world, in which they operate.
What Is Sustainable Packaging?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Welcome to Sustainable Brands' Issue in Focus on sustainable packaging!
Monadnock Develops Eco-Friendly Label for Craft Beers
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Monadnock Paper Mills, which manufactures technical and specialty printing and packaging papers, recently announced the availability of an uncoated product designed specifically for craft beer made from 100 percent FSC-certified, post-consumer waste fibers.Made in New England, home to many iconic craft brews, Monadnock says its Envi Label offers American brewers a home-grown source for label stock that upholds brewers’ commitments to quality and sustainability with no compromises in performance or aesthetics.
Communicating Sustainability at Maersk Line: Striking a Balance Between Silence and Greenwashing
MARKETING AND COMMS - Maersk Line has traditionally not been known for its sustainability efforts. Why? Well, because the company used to have a habit of hardly communicating anything externally. Previously, there had been little perceived need for communicating — and this combined with a strong value around humbleness kept the company quiet.
The Upcycle: Beyond Cradle to Cradle
WASTE NOT - William McDonough & Michael Braungart’s newest book, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability — Designing for Abundance, is an updated version of their manifesto Cradle to Cradle, published over a decade ago. The Upcycle goes one step beyond the t
Back to the Roots Growing Food Education, Reducing Waste Thanks to Smart Design
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 at SB '13, we will feature an article on one of our SBIO semi-finalists. This week, we re-introduce you to local innovators Back to the Roots. There’s nothing like attractive design for turning people on to something new and unusual.
The Next Big Leap: Keys to a More Proactive, Creative and Brand-Branding Sustainability Strategy
MARKETING AND COMMS - No matter how often it happens, when a new idea or insight opens up entirely new pathways and possibilities in our minds, there’s always a sense of exhilaration.
BASF joins Habitat for Humanity for Earth Day
PRESS RELEASE - BASF joins Habitat for Humanity for Earth Day FLORHAM PARK, NJ, April 26, 2013 -- BASF employee volunteers joined Morris Habitat for Humanity today to build homes for three families in Madison, New Jersey. More than 30 BASF employees worked on various aspects of construction, installing roofs, exterior walls and exterior frames for the homes.
Rennovia Develops Process To Produce 100% Bio-Based Nylon
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Rennovia last week announced that it has created a process to make bio-based nylon materials that are nearly 25 percent cheaper to produce and emit half as much greenhouse gas emissions as conventional petroleum-derived substances.
Mosaic Crowdsourcing $100 Million in New Solar Projects
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Mosaic, an online marketplace that connects investors to solar energy projects, is tackling more and more ambitious projects. Recently, it started the Golden State Series, a string of solar investments that will total $100 million. The first project, seeking a investment $153,000 in a solar charity in San Diego, sold out in just six hours.
What Chief Sustainability Officers Can Learn from Screenwriting
MARKETING AND COMMS - If all the world’s a stage, according to Bill Shakespeare, then one needs to look no further than the c-suite for some of its highest drama. A new, fairly misunderstood protagonist has entered this mercurial world where survival typically goes to the fittest Machiavellian mind.
GreenBlue Launches Guidelines for Sustainable Paper Products
SUPPLY CHAIN - Non-profit design and strategy group GreenBlue has released a set of guidelines aimed at protecting forests by taking a holistic approach to the life cycle management of paper products.
