If you or your clients make environmental marketing claims, don’t sleep on three actions the FTC just announced against companies that sell mattresses. What's more, the pleadings in one case offer insights into a course of conduct advertisers should avoid in the use of seals and certifications.
A Canadian coffee company says it has developed a more environmentally friendly alternative to the ever-popular, single-serve K-Cup pods, made a household name in recent years by the ubiquitous Keurig home coffeemakers.
Marriott International recently released its 2013 Sustainability Report update, which claims the company reduced global water usage by 12 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5 percent in 2012.
The international hotel chain also says it is looking to move beyond its current global footprint of more than 3,800 hotels in over 70 countries and focus on providing sustainable economic activity and local employment. In coming years, more than half of its new hotels will be located in emerging markets, where tourism is a major driver of new jobs and economic development.
Shell and BP have diverged from the oil and gas industry’s main trade groups, which are calling for Congress to remove the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a federal mandate that compels gasoline makers to blend in ethanol and other renewable fuels.
Taking a more moderate approach, the companies are instead looking for the eight-year RFS to be modified.
Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) — a nonprofit, grassroots group known for its advocation of electronic waste recycling — has announced a campaign to press battery manufacturer Rayovac to step up its efforts on recycling and waste reduction. The organization asked Rayovac in May to begin taking back its batteries for recycling; now TCE has been joined by 26 other organizations from across the country calling on Rayovac to provide recycling for its batteries in the U.S., as it does in Europe.
Environmental activists (and former Girl Scouts) Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva, along with over 100,000 people in the U.S. and around the world, are calling on Kellogg Company CEO John Bryant to end the food company’s partnership with Wilmar International, the world’s largest palm oil trader, unless it agrees to stop relying on deforestation.
Family-owned paper company Monadnock Paper Mills has been recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a recipient of a 2013 Environmental Merit Award for its significant contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving.
Awarded annually by the EPA since 1970, the Environmental Merit Awards recognize individuals and organizations whose work has protected or improved the environment in distinct ways. A winner in the Business, Industry, Trade or Professional category for the State of New Hampshire, Monadnock has been highlighted for the following achievements:
Mexican-owned baking company Grupo Bimbo, as part of its drive towards a fully sustainable supply chain, has inaugurated the first Ecologic Sales Center in the Historic Center area of Mexico City, with an investment of close to 20 million pesos ($1.5 million USD).
The eco-friendly facility will have 73 distribution vehicles with electric engines completely designed by Grupo Bimbo technicians, the company says. The Ecologic Sales Center is intended to serve as the company’s new sustainable distribution model.
In driving engagement and behavior change, the power is often in the subtleties. So here’s a little thought that just might be a big thought: As we work toward mainstreaming sustainability, we should stop talking in terms of should, and instead we ought to start speaking in terms of ought.
Here’s what I mean. “Should” makes a demand on us that comes from outside us, and often from above us. Authority figures tell us we “should” clean our room, do our homework, be home by eleven, eat less, move more, live with less, choose wisely and recycle. We feel it pressing upon us as one more thing to add to our list of things to do, or to refrain from doing, to win favor and avoid guilt.
Twitter was buzzing with our hashtag during SB ’13. With a total of 8,426 tweets and over 32 million impressions during the conference alone, there was lots of great material being shared with the mighty Twittersphere. In line with our new tradition of hot lists, we now present the top 13 #sb13con trends from the week of SB ’13. Check below to see what got re-tweeted the most!
New Leaf Paper and Plum Organics were among the 17 companies on Thursday that were the first to register as Delaware benefit corporations after the legislation legalizing it was signed on July 17.
Some of the other registering companies included leading fair trade food business Alter Eco, popular home goods brand Method Products and online personal delivery farmers' market Farmigo.
Patagonia has commenced a new remanufacturing program to continuously recycle its flip-flops, which could reduce production waste by nearly a third.
The clothing company has partnered with small upstart firm PLUSfoam to create flip-flops that are 100 percent recyclable and can be upcycled into new flip-flops at the end of their life with no reduction in performance.
Peer-to-peer businesses have a new voice as they go up against traditional industries and, in some cases, government regulations.
Airbnb, Lyft, and TaskRabbit are among the companies that have partnered with Peers, a nonprofit that plans to organize sharing-economy users.The newly formed organization made its debut on Wednesday.
Executive Director Natalie Foster said the goal of the organization is to promote and protect the businesses and groups that allow people to share goods and services. This means holding events to bring together advocates and users for "community-building" and providing a place for them to share stories and talk about related topics, which includes legislation or local regulations.
Seventh Generation, a leading brand of non-toxic bio-based and renewable consumer products, has achieved a 16 percent reduction in virgin plastic use and a 13 percent decrease in normalized greenhouse gas emissions — all despite a 9 percent increase in sales, according to its 2012 Corporate Consciousness Report.
This year's report is organized around an employee-led realignment of the company's mission into four corporate aspirations: Nurturing Nature, Enhancing Health, Transforming Commerce and Building Communities.
Researchers in the United Kingdom say they have created a fuel cell that uses bacteria to break down human liquid waste to generate enough electricity to charge a mobile phone.
Currently, the amount of electricity produced is just enough to make one call on a standard Samsung mobile phone. The researchers say the fuel cell cost around £1 ($1.51) to produce, meaning the devices could provide a new form of cheap power generation. The bacteria used in the fuel cells are the same as those normally found in wastewater treatment plants.
While the fuel cell is not much larger than a car battery, the researchers claim they will eventually be able to craft smaller and more portable ones.
You have probably heard the saying, “You can only pick two out of the three options listed: cheap, fast or good.” What happens when the lesser two of those choices in terms of health (cheap and fast) are applied to all products containing wheat? A population with gastrointestinal discomfort, digestive problems, and in some cases, celiac disease.
Technology is the great hope for those who fear environmental degradation has moved beyond the point of no return. Advancements in clean energy or scalable methods for scrubbing pollutants from the air and water could allow us to turn back the clock.
However, with a growing global population, it won’t be enough just to shift the timeline via breakthroughs in the physical sciences. In order to preserve the natural resources required to sustain future generations, we need to fundamentally change the way we do things in society, and this is the great promise of Information Technology.
The Honduran island of Roatán has become the first tourism destination to complete a comprehensive 360-degree assessment and action plan for destination-level sustainability, according to a recent announcement by Sustainable Travel International (STI).
The Rapid Sustainable Destination Diagnostic was conducted by the Mesoamerican Reef Tourism Initiative in close collaboration with STI, Honduras’ Ministry of Tourism, and Roatán’s local Geotourism Council. The diagnostic process evaluated Roatán’s performance on five key pillars of sustainability, which include sustainable tourism planning and governance, economic linkages, preservation of cultural heritage, social and community issues, and environmental protection.
Apartment Investment and Management Company (Aimco) has released its first interactive corporate citizenship report, which enable visitors to build their own online report or download a complete version.
Aimco is a real estate investment trust headquartered in Denver, Colorado that owns and operates a geographically diversified portfolio of apartment communities. The report offers information about the company’s 2012 accomplishments in the areas of redevelopment, energy conservation, team building, customer service, financial performance and community outreach.
The ongoing battle over the increasing girth of American consumers is heating up — again.
Marketers have joined forces on a $50 million campaign plugging front-of-pack labeling called Facts Up Front, dually motivated by bettering their image among consumers and getting federal regulators off their backs. The Facts Up Front initiative actually began in 2011, displaying stats such as calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar content, but it was promoted lightly and had little effect on consumer sentiment.
