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Net zero energy (NZE) buildings-responsible for the production of as much (or more) clean energy as they use annually-have been gaining global momentum. In our newly released Insight Brief, RMI presents an innovative business model for developing net zero energy or ultra-low energy districts in a way that creates significant business value. Net zero energy business models are financially attractive to investors because the large capital investments in solar PV, district heating and cooling, and energy efficiency are repaid over time on utility bills, generating a steady return that benefits from enhanced credit because of the utility-customer relationship.

"The Elephant in the Boardroom" is a new working paper from the World Resources Institute that can guide discussion within companies about an uncomfortable truth: Many of today's business models are not fit for tomorrow's resource-strained world. Current consumption patterns put the global economy on an impossible trajectory. Yet few companies are fundamentally rethinking the models by which they meet customer needs. Normalizing the conversation will set the groundwork for the pursuit of new business models that allow growth within the planet's limits and generate stakeholder value in new ways.

An ensemble of Global Business Leaders NGO'S and academics has joined forces to call for a, sustainable global economic model to be adopted by Governments and Businesses alike.

A growing number of billion-dollar companies are showing that sustainability can be a real driver of profits, writes Freya Williams. Companies such as Tesla, Chipotle Mexican Grill, IKEA, Nike and Whole Foods Market are making serious money through eco-friendly business models. "The green giants are turning a strategy of sustainability or social good into a billion-dollar business proposition, and profiting in the process," Williams explains

Dell has helped developed an e-waste model for developing countries and opened East Africa's first large-scale e-waste recycling hub.

On Thursday, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced changes to EU financial tools to help circular economy projects and businesses secure funding and support the realization of EU climate goals. The changes open €24 billion (~US$26.4B) in funding for businesses looking to transition to a circular economy model.

Based on the Wikipedia model, MIT started Climate CoLab, a collaborative online community centred around a series of annual contests that seek out promising ideas for fighting climate change. P

Cambodian fashion brand tonlé is revolutionizing the textile industry not only with its ethical business model, but also a creative approach to zero waste, creating unique and delicately woven garments perfect for shoppers who are conscientious about how their clothing is made. We caught up with founder Rachel Faller to learn more about the company's motives and impact.

The Chinese and Israeli governments plan to partner on "Water City" in Shouguang, China, where Israeli-developed water technologies will be implemented to rehabilitate polluted aquifers and provide clean water, sewage treatment, desalination and irrigation. The city could become a model for how to bring such tech to large areas. 

Stella McCartney, long an advocate for ethical fashion, has been busy over the last several months trying to drive the industry away from a take-make-waste model; the luxury label recently announced plans to use Parley for the Oceans' recycled plastic yarn and Aquafil's ECONYL® fiber in its line of shoes, accessories and outerwear. In its latest bid to call attention to the cause, the vegetarian brand has shot its entire Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign on a landfill site on the Eastern Coast of Scotland.

Many groups define the circular economy in terms of the types of activities and concepts associated with it: the use of new business models, such as leasing; collaboration across supply chains, or using waste as a resource. However, these characterizations ultimately don't tell us what the circular economy actually is because they don't describe its end state: what will the world actually look like when it is "circular"?

A group of organizations - including C&A Foundation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, McDonough Innovation, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition - have launched the Fashion For Good initiative, which aims to help set the apparel industry on a more sustainable path using a Cradle to Cradle-inspired, circular approach to product development. The initiative will engage key players from across the fashion industry and will support the "scale up of technologies, methodologies, and business models with the potential to wholly transform the industry."

Packaging remains a considerable challenge for businesses looking to reduce their impacts, but innovators such as food-service supplier Eco-Products and Finnish startup Sulpac are helping to accelerate the transition to lower-impact models through cross-industry partnerships and sustainable packaging solutions.

A report in the journal Nature Climate Change said climate change and rising sea levels could threaten 13.1 million people living along the coastal United States. The study combines population projections with rising sea level models. The areas with the greatest percentage of people at risk are Florida's Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Smaller communities are threatened too and are dealing now with environmental changes.

China has proposed building a $50 trillion global transmission system that would connect the world's wind farms and renewable energy projects. "Global energy interconnection" would solve global energy instability, climate change and environmental pollution, said State Grid Corp. of China Chairman Liu Zhenya. In such a model, clean energy sources would provide about 80% of the world's total electricity.

Dell continues to make headway on its plans to dramatically increase the amount of repurposed and reclaimed content in its supply chain, with a goal of 100 million pounds of reused materials in its products by 2020 (double its original goal of 50 million, which it achieved in 2017). Its model could provide the entire industry with methods, practices and - through collaboration - opportunities to reduce the growing global e-waste problem and shift towards a more circular economy in the electronics sector.

Volvo Cars on Wednesday became the first mainstream automaker to sound the death knell of the internal combustion engine, saying that all the models it introduces starting in 2019 will be either hybrids or powered solely by batteries.