Duke Energy Carolinas, which provides roughly 20,000 megawatts of electricity to approximately 2.4 million customers throughout the Carolinas through a mix of nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas and hydroelectric power generation, announced on Friday the addition of a “Green Source Rider” that will offer its large customers an opportunity to purchase renewable energy, apparently in response to requests from some of said large customers.
Sustainable Brands’ second annual European conference kicked off Monday at the Lancaster Hotel in central London with a rousing round of thought-provoking morning plenary sessions. Up for discussion: the latest tools, trends and models driving the shift toward more sustainable consumption.
Over the past fiscal year, more than 99.35 percent of all materials entering Procter & Gamble’s (P&G) plants were used in products and through recycling, reuse, and conversion of waste to energy, according to the company’s 2013 Sustainability Report.
Additionally, more than 50 of the Company’s global sites now send zero manufacturing waste to landfill, including every site in Germany. Since 2010, P&G says it has reduced manufacturing waste by 56 percent per unit of production — more than double the company’s original goal.
CorporateRegister.com, which hosts and manages the global online directory of corporate responsibility (CR) reports, today released its annual free CR Perspectives report, combining data, insight and opinion to reveal how global CR reporting has developed and where it might be headed.
The Stevia One Perú SAC farm in northern Peru has earned Rainforest Alliance certification, becoming the world’s first stevia farm to earn the distinction, according to an announcement today by Rainforest Alliance. The farm met the rigorous standards of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), conserving natural resources, protecting wildlife and ensuring the well-being of farm families to earn the certification, which marks an important milestone in increasing the sustainability of the industry.
On Monday afternoon at SB London ‘13, breakout sessions featuring a variety of brand and thought leaders explored everything from purposeful brands and European consumer research to engaging in innovation and reprogramming culture.
In response to market demand and the release of LEED v4, LCA software pioneer Sustainable Minds has launched an innovative new way for manufacturers to transparently report the environmental performance of their products. SM Transparency ReportsTM is a new alternative to environmental product declarations (EPD) — with equivalent credibility and superior distillation of technical information for end users. NSF International, industry leader in product certification, is providing the LCA verification and report certification.
Oakland, Calif., start-up Back to the Roots (BTTR), which has made a name for itself with its DIY mushroom kits and new “AquaFarm” home aquaponics system, has taken another step in fulfilling its commitment to “making food personal again.” Through a new joint campaign with healthy school-lunch provider Revolution Foods, the two like-minded organizations are furthering both of their missions to educate and inspire children about healthy food.
For Ben Kneppers and David Stover, the dream was always sun, sand and a great day of skateboarding and surfing. But their passion for sustainability and the environment made them keenly aware of plastic pollution in the oceans — when the two took on beach cleanups as a hobby, all it took was a brief epiphany that this plastic could be put to use, and Bureo Skateboards was born.
In honor of Universal Children’s Day (November 20), Unilever today launches a new long-term initiative, Unilever Project Sunlight, to motivate millions to live sustainably. With the help of pop star and new mom Fergie, Unilever aims to inspire people to help create a brighter future by making donations to help two million children.
In the spirit of the just-wrapped SB London conference, the city has announced just the kind of ingenious, waste-to-resource solution that we love: Excess heat generated by London Underground trains will now be captured and used to help warm homes and cut energy bills in the Islington district.
The project — the first of its kind in Europe — is a partnership between Islington Council, London Mayor Boris Johnson, UK Power Networks and Transport for London.
As anyone who has ever ridden it knows, the Tube generates large amounts of heat; its capture and utilization through a nearby vent off the Northern Line will not only warm local homes, it could very well make the ride more comfortable for the millions of daily commuters.
The morning of day two at SB London was brimming with brands both large (Starbucks, MARS, BASF, Kering) and small (Fairphone, Honest By) sharing their perspectives on and strategies for creating value for all stakeholders, all of which are naturally enhanced by everyone’s favorite facet of corporate responsibility: transparency.
Emcee Rob Cameron, executive director at SustainAbility, set the tone for the day’s plenary presentations by stressing the importance of absorbing learnings from global travels as we get ready to change. He asserted this is no longer an era of change — more a change of era — and despite the challenges we face, it’s never been a better time to be on this planet.
Coca-Cola, Danone, Ford, Heinz, Nestlé, Nike, P&G, Unilever and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have formed a new organization to support the responsible development of plastics made from plant material and promote a more sustainable future for the bioplastics industry.
The Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance (BFA) will focus on guiding the responsible selection and harvesting of feedstocks — such as sugar cane, corn, bulrush and switchgrass — used to make plastics from agricultural materials.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is the first to receive the US Zero Waste Business Council’s platinum certification — the highest possible rating — for successfully diverting 99.8 percent of its waste.
The company says its waste-management efforts also saved some $5,398,470 in avoided disposal costs and $903,308 in 2012 revenue, which we believe is called "proving the business case." By diverting 51,414 tons from landfill and incineration, Sierra Nevada avoided 11,812 tons of carbon dioxide, according to USZWBC.
USZWBC audited the Zero Waste diversion processes at Sierra Nevada’s in Chico, Calif. and found that the facility is successfully reducing, reusing, recycling and composting at an unprecedented rate.
At its 28th General Assembly held November 18-19 in Montreal, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) announced the seven projects shortlisted for its World Design Impact Prize 2013-2014 cycle.
Established by ICSID, the World Design Impact Prize honors and rewards industrial design-driven projects that are making a positive impact on our social, economic, cultural and/or environmental quality of life. It leverages ICSID’s vast global membership network to champion possible solutions to global issues such as poverty and the effects of industrialization and consumerism on sustainability and society.
Extreme weather events cost the United States $100 billion in 2012, most of which went towards federal crop, flood, wildfire and disaster relief, according to a new report by Ceres called Inaction on Climate Change: The Cost to Taxpayers.
What people want was the nub of the most exciting conversations at Sustainable Brands London earlier this week.
Holstee’s mission has always been to encourage more mindful living, whether that meant enabling consumers to proclaim their principles boldly on a graphic poster or to purchase with a purpose. Originally finding its niche in apparel and then in poster design, Holstee has again pivoted, this time landing in fine art with the launch of the Reclaimed Frame project — a subscription service that sends subscribers new prints every month to be rotated in and out of a frame made of wood from Detroit’s 78,000 abandoned structures.
Nestlé has announced a commitment to create 20,000 positions for young people across Europe over the next three years.
The Nestlé needs YOUth Initiative will offer jobs to 10,000 people under the age of 30 and create 10,000 apprentice positions and traineeships by 2016.
"Today, one in four young people in Europe does not have a job," said Laurent Freixe, Nestlé Executive Vice-President and Zone Director for Europe, speaking at the Nestlé needs YOUth launch event in Athens, Greece, where more than half of those under the age of 25 are unemployed.
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and Make It Right have announced four winners of its second annual Innovation Challenge, that have designed building products that have the potential to revolutionize the affordable housing industry, redefine product beauty, and embrace the highest standards of environmental and human safety.
