Latest News
PulpWorks Set To Revolutionize Blister Packaging, Rid the World of PVC
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - PulpWorks, based in San Rafael, CA, designs and manufactures sustainable packaging, molded from 100% post-consumer waste paper, for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The company has created a compostable and biodegradable alternative to toxic and harmful plastic (PVC) blister packaging.
Sustainable Brands Expands Corporate Member Group with Addition of Disney, Del Monte, SAP, Mattel, L’Oréal, BASF as Newest Members
PRESS RELEASE - SAN FRANCISCO – Sustainable Brands® announces the addition of six new members to its Corporate Member Group. Disney, Del Monte, SAP, Mattel, L’Oréal and BASF join over two dozen companies already committed to leveraging their unique role in business and society by aligning multiple stakeholders along a path towards a sustainable future.
UN Global Compact Renews Drive for Responsible Business in Africa
COLLABORATION - The United Nations Global Compact has announced it is redoubling its efforts to scale up corporate sustainability in Africa and emphasize the private sector’s role in contributing to the continent’s full economic and social renaissance.
Report: Companies Increasingly Viewing Sustainability Reporting as Core Business Practice
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - Firms around the world are increasingly treating sustainability reporting as a core business practice because it can provide advantages over competitors, according to a recent joint report by Ernst & Young and Boston College. Other motivations include transparency, risk management and stakeholder pressure, the report says.Value of Sustainability Reporting offers insights on the benefits of sustainability reporting, assuring sustainability reports and the risks of not reporting. The study claims there is strong evidence that transparency offers a number of financial and social advantages that make sustainability reporting more than worth its costs.
The Two Deficits, Part Three: The Root of the Conflict
MARKETING AND COMMS - This is the third in a series of posts that comprise Future 500 founder Bill Shireman's insightful essay, The Two Deficits, from the book Towards a New Agenda for America:
Investment in Women is the Key to Global Food Security
FINANCE & INVESTMENT - Women, particularly in developing countries, face numerous challenges, including sexual violence, limited access to health resources, barriers to education and economic opportunities.
GSK Building Better Business from the Inside Out by Bringing Low-Cost Diagnostics to Africa
WALKING THE TALK - Last month, Ashoka Changemakers announced four winners of its League of Intrapreneurs: Building Better Business from the Inside Out competition, honoring initiatives within organizations that are pioneering game-changing models for business and society.
BMW i Poised to Redefine Sustainable Mobility
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - The BMW brand arguably defines automobile performance, engineering and technology.
Efficiency Exchange Leading 'Charge' To Improve Supply Chain Sustainability from the Ground Up
SUPPLY CHAIN - In the final 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 daily articles introducing our semi-finalists. Today, meet Efficiency Exchange.
Report: CSR No Longer Optional, Now a Reputational Imperative
MARKETING AND COMMS - Consumers now expect companies to be an active participant — if not a driving force — in solving the most pressing social and environmental issues, according to the 2013 Cone Communications/Echo Global CSR Study.
Kaiser Permanente To Pursue LEED Gold For All New Major Building Projects
CLEANTECH - Kaiser Permanente has announced it now will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for all new construction of hospitals, large medical offices and other major projects.
Starbucks Is in a Unique Position To Push Consumers To Waste Less. Will It?
WASTE NOT - Starbucks is one of America’s most iconic brands for many reasons. The company transformed coffee culture and taught U.S. consumers to appreciate better coffee beans and traditional coffee beverages long on the menu in Europe.
G4 Revamps Materiality While Staying True to Its Roots
NEW METRICS - If the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) created a semantic “heat map” of the most-used terms at its Global Conference on Sustainability and Reporting this week, Materiality would win hands-down.
How Plastics Packaging Can Exemplify Sustainability
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - The rapid adoption of plastics in innumerable applications over the years stems from their overall benefits versus other materials; in particular, their reliability, ease of manufacturing, lighter weight and affordability.
The Power of Brands To Change the World, Part Two
BEHAVIOR CHANGE - This is the second in a three-part series by Fruitful Strategy's Jennifer Rice, in which she explores sustainable, world-changing brands. She will delve further into the topic in the workshop "Sustainable Brands 101: Integrating Sustainability at the Brand Level" at SB '13 on June 3.
Alcoa Facility Saves 50% of Energy Used To Recycle Aluminum for Forged Wheels
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Alcoa yesterday announced a major expansion to the Wheel and Transportation Products casthouse at its Barberton, Ohio plant that is expected to cut in half the total amount of energy used to recycle aluminum for forged wheels, reducing greenhouse gases and increasing the overall efficiency and sustainability of the company's manufacturing process.
Kroger Converting Food Waste to Clean Energy To Power Compton Distribution Center
WASTE NOT - The Kroger Co. this month unveiled a clean energy production system that will convert food that cannot be sold or donated into energy to help power its Ralphs/Food 4 Less distribution center in Compton.
New Research Finds UK Consumers Earning and Saving £4.6 Billion Through the Sharing Economy
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - New research commissioned by The People Who Share shows that 65% of adults in the UK are already part of the sharing economy, and a further 28% would consider taking part, if they don’t already. Conducted by Opinium, The State of the Sharing Economy polled 2,005 adults in the UK to demonstrate the growing consumer appetite for the sharing economy, just in time for Global Sharing Day 2013 on Sunday, June 2nd.
Run Up to SB '13: Nick Miller on Startups in the Sharing Economy
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Nick Miller is the CEO of Parking Panda — a service that enables parking space owners (both individuals and commercial lots) to capitalize on underutilized parking spaces by renting them to a community of drivers. On the flip side, drivers can save time and money by reserving a spot in advance and paying online.
Sustainable Packaging Innovation Case Study: Pfeiffer Lab Wine Packaging
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Today there are three ways to ship wine in the mail: cardboard, molded pulp or expanded polystyrene (EPS). Pfeiffer Lab, a Bay Area design firm, has been working on a design strategy project to re-envision wine packaging using new bio-based materials developed by Malama C
