Consumer Collaboration Investment: The Communispace Client Index vs. the S&P 500

August 19, 2013, 11:41 am

≫ Next: Is Your Sustainability Pitch Making Enough Sense to Your CFO?

≪ Previous: New Era: Can Profit-Seeking Approaches Protect Natural Capital?

Introducing the Communispace Client Index — an index designed to track the stock market performance of our top 25 clients (i.e., those clients investing the most in consumer collaboration) against the S&P 500. Our nerd-o-licious intent was to see if our clients — companies who are engaged in an ongoing collaborative relationship with their consumers — are doing any better than the rest of the companies out there.

The Index by no means shows causality between our work and the share performance of any given company. However, it does say some pretty interesting things:

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Is Your Sustainability Pitch Making Enough Sense to Your CFO?

August 19, 2013, 6:20 pm

≫ Next: EPA Develops Pesticide Label to Protect Bee Populations

≪ Previous: Consumer Collaboration Investment: The Communispace Client Index vs. the S&P 500

Many experts have been observing in recent months that innovating for sustainability seems to be approaching mainstream attention, particularly at Fortune 500 companies and among forward-looking social entrepreneurs. The growth of the Sustainable Brands community certainly supports that claim, with an audience of over 2,800 boasting more than $4 Trillion in combined annual revenue represented at SB’13 earlier this summer. At the same time, however, in the majority of cases sustainability is still not part of the firm’s core strategy. And we can’t expect to be on the right long-term trajectory if all we do is encourage employees to switch to double-sided printing.

Dimitar Vlahov

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EPA Develops Pesticide Label to Protect Bee Populations

August 19, 2013, 10:50 pm

≫ Next: JTC Corporation Inaugurates ‘CleanTech One’ to Catalyze CleanTech Growth

≪ Previous: Is Your Sustainability Pitch Making Enough Sense to Your CFO?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released new pesticide labels that forbid the use of some neonicotinoid pesticide products where bees are present.

The EPA says the new labels will have a bee advisory box and icon with information on routes of exposure and spray drift precautions. The new policy affects products containing the neonicotinoids imidacloprid, dinotefuran, clothianidin and thiamethoxam. The agency will work with pesticide manufacturers to change labels so that they will meet the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) safety standard.

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JTC Corporation Inaugurates ‘CleanTech One’ to Catalyze CleanTech Growth

August 19, 2013, 10:24 pm

≫ Next: AT&T And The Nature Conservancy Team Up To Help Oregon Customers ‘Skip the Bag’

≪ Previous: EPA Develops Pesticide Label to Protect Bee Populations

JTC Corporation (JTC) recently opened Clean Tech One, a six-story, 400,000 square foot business park, laboratory and office space that gathers different companies and institutions engaged in green research and development under a single roof across CleanTech Park.

Cleantech Park is located next to the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which will promote the cross-fertilization of knowledge and ideas between academia and industry. The co-location of businesses, practitioners and academia seeks to catalyze innovation in cleantech research through the formation of strategic alliances within the CleanTech Park community, JTC says.

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AT&T And The Nature Conservancy Team Up To Help Oregon Customers ‘Skip the Bag’

August 19, 2013, 11:42 pm

≫ Next: Intrinsic Value Exchange: Using Market Forces to Help Heal the Planet

≪ Previous: JTC Corporation Inaugurates ‘CleanTech One’ to Catalyze CleanTech Growth

AT&T has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to encourage AT&T customers to skip the bag when purchasing items from its retail stores in Oregon by donating 10 cents to the Nature Conservancy for each check out bag its customers choose to forego.

AT&T says its “Skip the Bag” campaign, which runs from now through January 31, 2014, is part of an effort to empower customers with sustainable choices, increase efficiency and minimize impact on the environment. The program is designed to support The Nature Conservancy's efforts to protect and restore the lands and waters on which all life depends.

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Intrinsic Value Exchange: Using Market Forces to Help Heal the Planet

August 20, 2013, 9:07 am

≫ Next: IKEA and Kingfisher Pledge Ambitious “Net Positive” Agendas, But Can They Work?

≪ Previous: AT&T And The Nature Conservancy Team Up To Help Oregon Customers ‘Skip the Bag’

Our economy assigns values to just about everything except for the things that matter most. As far as the current economy is concerned, a tree holds value only if it is cut down, an animal only if it is slaughtered and a person only if they contribute to the GDP. When we are given the price of an item, many values and certain costs are often excluded, which results in the destruction of natural resources, decline in human health and an economy that is less productive than it could be.

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IKEA and Kingfisher Pledge Ambitious “Net Positive” Agendas, But Can They Work?

August 20, 2013, 10:54 am

≫ Next: So Crafty: New Belgium Shows How Sustainable Brand Innovation Can Be a Business Driver

≪ Previous: Intrinsic Value Exchange: Using Market Forces to Help Heal the Planet

The world’s most iconic companies and brands are more likely to have a corporate social responsibility agenda than just a few years ago because customers and stakeholders demand they hold themselves accountable for their environmental and social performance. Now more companies are pushing the boundaries, or in reality, talking about going further than merely just becoming more “sustainable” or “responsible.” Zero-waste has become a mantra at more companies, including Procter and Gamble and Unilever.

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So Crafty: New Belgium Shows How Sustainable Brand Innovation Can Be a Business Driver

August 20, 2013, 10:15 am

≫ Next: Opposites Attract: Five Branding Lessons PrintEco Learned from Our Partnership with Domtar

≪ Previous: IKEA and Kingfisher Pledge Ambitious “Net Positive” Agendas, But Can They Work?

It makes sense that an alliance of craft breweries continues to speak out for the Clean Water Act—you can’t make great beer without great water. But what is it about the culture of craft breweries that makes them see sustainability as an innovation imperative? We asked one of the pioneers in the field, Jenn Vervier, New Belgium Brewing’s Director of Strategic Planning and Sustainability.

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Opposites Attract: Five Branding Lessons PrintEco Learned from Our Partnership with Domtar

August 20, 2013, 2:52 pm

≫ Next: Largest Vertical Farm in the US Becomes Zero Organic Waste Facility

≪ Previous: So Crafty: New Belgium Shows How Sustainable Brand Innovation Can Be a Business Driver

Domtar Corporation is one of the largest and most innovative paper companies in the world. Our company, PrintEco, is a two-year-old software startup with a mission to help save paper and ink and protect the environment. So when we announced our partnership with Domtar at SB ’13 in June, a lot of our friends were like, “Congratulations! Wait ... a paper company?” Admittedly, we’re a bit of an odd couple — but working with Domtar has taught us a lot about branding and about sustainable business in general. Here’s what we’ve learned:

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Largest Vertical Farm in the US Becomes Zero Organic Waste Facility

August 21, 2013, 7:30 am

≫ Next: Customer Behaviour Change: The Holy Grail of Conscious Brands

≪ Previous: Opposites Attract: Five Branding Lessons PrintEco Learned from Our Partnership with Domtar

Chicago land-based vertical farm FarmedHere, has launched a program to convert all of its organic waste into compost used to feed other urban farms across Chicago.

Through a unique soil-free process that utilizes vertical farming technology, FarmedHere grows USDA certified organic greens that the company says are healthier, tastier, and fresher than traditionally farmed produce. Stacked grow beds – up to six high – are used to create vertical growing space. Instead of soil, water from tanks of hormone-free tilapia delivers nutrients to the plants through either an aquaponic or aeroponic system. These systems are combined with controlled water pressure, humidity and atmospheric pressure to create optimal growing conditions.

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Customer Behaviour Change: The Holy Grail of Conscious Brands

August 21, 2013, 2:09 pm

≫ Next: Avila Develops New Metrics for Sustainable Event Management

≪ Previous: Largest Vertical Farm in the US Becomes Zero Organic Waste Facility

“If we can’t get the consumer involved, we will always be behind the curve,” Marks & Spencer CEO Marc Bolland said when he launched the retailer’s ‘Plan A’ sustainability stakeholder consultation.

The logic is compelling. Changing customer behaviour is a natural part of the sustainable business strategies businesses must create to achieve long-term success. And instead of being seen as an extension of CSR strategies they will be seen more as Long-Term Marketing strategies that are creating the company’s preferred future operating environment.

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Avila Develops New Metrics for Sustainable Event Management

August 21, 2013, 6:01 pm

≫ Next: First Stewardship Travel Program in U.S. Launches in CA WineCoastCountry

≪ Previous: Customer Behaviour Change: The Holy Grail of Conscious Brands

When Avila Government Services, Inc. (Avila) decided they wanted to improve the sustainability of their meeting/event planning efforts, they turned to the latest event sustainability guidance. However, as many planners have discovered, the roughly 400 pages of long-awaited guidance can be overwhelming and confusing. The three sets of guidelines fall short of providing the necessary metrics for conducting and evaluating the event planning process. They lack specific policies, goals, measurable objectives and scoring systems for sustainable meeting planning. Instead, they require the organization and its planners to develop their own procedures and metrics for the process.

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First Stewardship Travel Program in U.S. Launches in CA WineCoastCountry

August 21, 2013, 11:37 pm

≫ Next: AT&T, EDF Toolkit Could Save 28 Billion Gallons of Water in U.S. Commercial Buildings

≪ Previous: Avila Develops New Metrics for Sustainable Event Management

San Luis Obispo's County Business Improvement District (SLO CBID) has commenced the country's first Stewardship Travel program to promote appreciation for place and culture, adventure, enjoyment and learning, while also providing clear opportunities to participate in regional conservation and preservation.

SLO CBID says the project has been five years in development, and provides curious, active, and caring travelers with a well-defined road map for fun and meaningful vacations in 10 destinations along Highway 1 of the Central California Coast including Ragged Point/San Simeon, Cambria, Cayucos, unincorporated Morro Bay, Los Osos/Baywood Park, Avila Beach & Valley, Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande Valley, Oceano and Nipomo.

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AT&T, EDF Toolkit Could Save 28 Billion Gallons of Water in U.S. Commercial Buildings

August 22, 2013, 12:12 am

≫ Next: Advancing Sustainability: From Revolution to Evolution

≪ Previous: First Stewardship Travel Program in U.S. Launches in CA WineCoastCountry

U.S. commercial buildings can collectively save up to 28 billion gallons of water annually using a new suite of tools co-developed by AT&T and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the organizations claim.

The Building Water Efficiency toolkit is the result of data and lessons from pilot projects that ran across the U.S. during the summer and fall of 2012, the AT&T and EDF say. The toolkit gives organizations simple, cost-effective resources to build their own water efficiency programs and includes both technical and management tools to design, implement and document water savings. The combination of tools can be used to create the business case for investments in efficient water management.

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Advancing Sustainability: From Revolution to Evolution

August 22, 2013, 2:52 pm

≫ Next: Walmart, Gap Detail Bangladeshi Worker Safety Coalition Plan

≪ Previous: AT&T, EDF Toolkit Could Save 28 Billion Gallons of Water in U.S. Commercial Buildings

Sustainability, like brands, must not be a fight against or a vision outside society, but part of it. It is time to drop the proselytism, quit the “sacrifice for a better world” argument and above all stop trying to change people’s behaviours. In order to fully go mainstream, sustainability shouldn’t attempt to influence behaviour and, instead, make ‘the greener option’ desirable for everyone. Moreover, historically, experiments of standardization have often resulted from totalitarian regimes to dull aesthetics.

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Walmart, Gap Detail Bangladeshi Worker Safety Coalition Plan

August 22, 2013, 9:13 pm

≫ Next: Colorado Startup Taps Crowd Funding to Develop ‘Leakless’ Hose Washer

≪ Previous: Advancing Sustainability: From Revolution to Evolution

Walmart, Gap and several other US retailers met this week in Chicago to implement their independent Bangladesh factory safety plan, which was developed after multiple factory accidents, most notably the Rana Plaza collapse in April that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured hundreds.

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety includes 20 North American apparel companies and retailers, industry associations, and non-governmental organizations, such as Macy’s and Target, as well as new signatories Costco, Intradeco Apparel and Jordache Enterprises. The organization has pledged to have safety standards in place by September 10, and claims to have already dispersed $45 million to hire safety inspection staff in Bangladesh.

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Colorado Startup Taps Crowd Funding to Develop ‘Leakless’ Hose Washer

August 22, 2013, 10:47 pm

≫ Next: Sustainability Innovations Could Generate $156 Billion for UK Firms

≪ Previous: Walmart, Gap Detail Bangladeshi Worker Safety Coalition Plan

Colorado startup Seal Genie has launched a garden hose washer via crowd funding site IndieGoGo that minimizes leakage and could save over 10,000 gallons of water per household each year - enough to fill a standard swimming pool.

The Seal Genie hose washer is designed to last for years and never leak, which saves consumers' water, money and energy while reducing pollution through wasted resources. The company says its aspires to become the new world standard for hose washers, which also includes washing machines, RV and marine water hookups and many others that all use the same basic washer size.

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Sustainability Innovations Could Generate $156 Billion for UK Firms

August 22, 2013, 10:04 pm

≫ Next: Big Data: The Ultimate Sustainability Job Aid at U.S. Postal Service

≪ Previous: Colorado Startup Taps Crowd Funding to Develop ‘Leakless’ Hose Washer

UK businesses could secure £100 billion pounds (nearly $156 billion USD) in annual productivity gains generated by innovations designed to address environmental and social challenges, according to a new report by Accenture, Business in the Community and Marks & Spencer.

Fortune Favors the Brave, argues that companies must go beyond conventional corporate and social responsibility programs and place sustainability at the heart of business strategies and operations to unlock the full commercial potential and sustainability benefits.

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Big Data: The Ultimate Sustainability Job Aid at U.S. Postal Service

August 23, 2013, 2:45 pm

≫ Next: Three Freshly Sprouted Startups on the NYC Local Food Scene

≪ Previous: Sustainability Innovations Could Generate $156 Billion for UK Firms

Advancement in big data and analytical technologies has opened up many new opportunities to support sustainability advancement in large, complex organizations. The high volume of performance data from facilities, buildings, supply chains, operations and logistics subsystems can be gathered to trace the impact of sustainability initiatives at a very granular level. This information can be rolled up into a series of “green dashboards” allowing managers and employees to track costs savings and monitor performance enhancements across the organization.

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Three Freshly Sprouted Startups on the NYC Local Food Scene

August 26, 2013, 10:04 am

≫ Next: Australian Startup to Close the Loop on CO2 Emissions

≪ Previous: Big Data: The Ultimate Sustainability Job Aid at U.S. Postal Service

While the most hospitable territory for food startups is certainly California, New York is host to its own burgeoning food movement. We spoke with three startups, in different stages of warming up to the New York food scene, that combine their expertise in the digital space with a passion for food. Striving to make local and nutritious food more accessible, they are sparking consumer demand for local food in ways not seen in a century.

Collectively, Good Eggs, Farmigo and Urbavour aim to disrupt certain themes in American food production and consumption. In place of the current system, these startups propose:

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