The biggest news of the week, so far, has been President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris Agreement. And while politicians’ support or condemnation of the withdrawal is predictably split along party lines, one surprising consensus has emerged: The business world, including the corporations that run basically everything, really wish we would stay in. [More]
sustainability
Google, GE, Apple, Dozens Of Other Companies Denounce Withdrawal From Paris Climate Accord
By 6.2.17
Dunkin’ Donuts Shareholders Want Company To Look Into K-Cup Waste
By 5.9.17
Dunkin’ Donuts has a partnership with Keurig Green Mountain to package the chain’s coffee in plastic K-Cups for brewing in homes and offices. The company makes a lot of money from selling these pods, but some shareholders concerns about the amount of trash that results from K-Cups, and they want Dunkin’ to put some serious thought into this aspect of their business. [More]
Price Of Salmon Spiking Amid Recent Sea Lice Outbreaks
By 1.23.17
The next time you’re looking to add some lox to your bagel or perhaps make salmon en papillote, you may have to fork over a bit more cash than before. Salmon populations are down amid recent “acute” outbreaks of sea lice, driving prices upstream. [More]
Attorney General Who Is Suing The EPA Picked By Trump To Head EPA
By 12.7.16
President-elect Trump’s nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency is Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, who has strong ties to the energy industry, is an outspoken critic of climate change, clean energy efforts, and federal regulation in general, and who is currently involved in multi-state lawsuits against the very agency he may soon be put in charge of. [More]
Amazon Switching Out Wrapping Paper For Reusable Cloth Bags
By 11.14.16
When you hear that your online purchase will be “gift wrapped,” what do you picture? Most people would picture a package wrapped up in paper, maybe with a bow, right? That’s not what Amazon customers are getting in their boxes this holiday season: for the same price, shoppers are getting velvet gift bags of various sizes. [More]
Walmart Encourages Suppliers To Remove 8 Controversial Chemicals From Products
By 7.20.16
Walmart has a huge amount of power over which products end up on the market. The mega-retailer is now encouraging suppliers to remove eight chemicals from their products. The substances aren’t banned, exactly, but suppliers will have to discolose their presence on any products containing them starting in two years. The list consisted of substances which may be harmful to people, to the environment, or to both. [More]
IKEA To Sell Only LED Lighting Starting September 1
By 8.10.15
That lamp you’ve been eyeing at IKEA is getting a bit of a makeover; or at least the light bulb is. The company is moving forward with plans to only sell LED bulbs starting this fall. [More]
“Sustainability Leader” Badges On Walmart Products Don’t Mean Items Are Good For Environment
By 3.6.15
If you see a product tagged with a “sustainability leaders” badge on the Walmart website, you might think this is an indication that this item is more environmentally friendly than others. And you might be correct; but you might also be mistaken. Because the truth is that this badge has virtually nothing to do with the product being advertised. [More]
Researchers Teaming With Oxfam To Develop Toilet That Uses Urine To Generate Electricity
By 3.5.15
In an effort to bring sustainable sources of light to dark places, researchers working with Oxfam are working on a toilet that uses urine to generate electricity, in turn lighting up lavatories in places like refugee camps. [More]
Target Will Double Organic, Sustainable Offerings In 2015
By 2.20.15
Coming off a failed investment with Target Canada, the nation’s second largest retailer is poised to double its stake in the organic and sustainable market when it comes to its grocery business. [More]
Gird Your Stomachs For A World Where Eating Ground-Up Mealworms Could Be The Norm
By 12.21.12
How do you prefer your burgers? Beef, cooked medium rare with a nice slice of cheese and avocado? How about with lettuce, tomato and a patty made from ground-up mealworms? Yeah, we know. But researchers say the global demand for animal protein is rising, even as using 70% of the world’s farmland for livestock is damaging the planet. And getting it from beetle larvae might just be our best, most sustainable bet. [More]
Govt. Unveiling "Superstar" Energy Star Rating
By 2.3.11
The government is updating the Energy Star program and launching a new higher tier of certification called “Superstar,” Marketplace reports. The program currently certifies the top 25% most energy-efficient products in a given category, so the new star might be for the top 5%. Energy Star could certainly use an overhaul; last year the Government Accountability Office found it was able to submit and get certified 15 of 20 phony products, including a gasoline-powered alarm clock. [More]
Greenpeace Says Target Is Most Enviro-Friendly Seafood Seller
By 4.29.10
Greenpeace says Target is the best of all supermarket chains when it comes to selling sustainable seafood, meaning not depleting fish populations or damaging the environment when it comes to harvesting and selling our delectable seafaring friends. [More]
How Walmart Is Going Green
By 1.26.10
Ideally, companies choose to lessen their environmental impact because it makes financial sense, not because it makes them feel good–which is a good thing, since companies don’t have feelings. Today, FastCompany published a slideshow that looks at 12 ways the mega-retailer is trying out various green initiatives. Some of them are more about selling the concept of green to consumers, which is dumb, but the ones that deal with shipping, energy consumption, and market creation are pretty impressive. [More]
Walmart To Rate Product Sustainability
By 8.1.09
Walmart is developing a universal rating system to help consumers determine which products are truly sustainable. The rating system would scrutinize a product’s entire life-cycle by focusing on broad factors, rather than the usual marketing gibberish that extolls isolated virtues. So why is Walmart, of all companies, deciding which products are environmentally sound?
What Can You Get For $5?
By 7.24.08
Here’s an interesting experiment. This website is trying to use Flickr to explore the relative value of $5 around the world. They’re asking you to take pictures of things that cost 5 bucks and submit them to their Flickr pool, (or email them).
Study Shows Shoppers Will Pay More Than Necessary For Fair Trade Goods
By 10.23.07
A new Harvard study shows that shoppers—at least the crazy rich ones who frequent ABC Carpet and Home in New York City (if you’ve ever been inside ABC, you know the sort of people we’re talking about)—will not only gravitate toward products labeled “fair trade” over identical but unlabeled products, but will buy even more of them when the prices are raised.
