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Novo Nordisk became the world's first pharmaceutical company to publish an environmental profit and loss account, which places a financial value on the company's environmental impacts. The analysis revealed that Novo Nordisk caused over $305 million in environmental damage during 2011, with the company's supply chain accounting for 75% its impact.

The energy sector accounts for around one-third of global CO2 emissions. Thus, countries' urgent need to combat climate change is strongly related to energy companies' ability to change from 'black' to 'green.' A Danish example is DONG Energy. The company says its cut in CO2 emissions from electricity and heat production accounts for more than half of the Denmark's total CO2 reduction from 2006 to 2014. But how can one single company cut more than half of a country's CO2?

In its new position paper, Halting Deforestation and Achieving Sustainability, the Rainforest Alliance addresses the recent surge in deforestation-free pledges. The paper argues the deforestation-free trend is an exciting development, but it needs definition, focus, and accountability to deliver lasting benefits for forests, people and the planet.

Renewables are expected to grow at a faster rate than previously thought and could account for 15% of global generation by 2035, according to BP. The report says wind, biofuels and other renewables are expected grow 6.6% annually. Renewables currently account for 3% of the world's energy mix, but that figure could climb to 9% within two decades. "The rate at which renewables gain share from 2020 to 2035 matches oil's gain over the 15 years of 1908-23," BP said.

The Consumer Goods Forum, UNEP, and the World Resources Institute were among a group of organizations to launch the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard-a set of global definitions and reporting requirements that enable companies and countries to measure food waste, identify its origin, and implement measures to reduce it.

As the Arctic melts, oil companies are moving in to drill for more oil. Next year, the Norwegian owned oil company Statoil will drill further north than ever - unless we stop them. An unprecedented case was filed this morning that could do just that. This case is about holding back the oil industry at this final frontier, it is about protecting the beautiful Arctic, and it is about people stepping up to hold governments to account. If we win, millions of barrels of oil could be kept in the ground. We will argue in court that we must take action to keep the Paris climate agreement on track, and we will invoke Norway's constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for future generations.

Unregulated carbon pollution from aviation is the fastest-growing source of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. In fact, if the entire aviation sector were a country, it would be one of the top 10 carbon-polluting nations on the planet. The good news is that we now have a process in place to curb international aviation's skyrocketing emissions. For the first time ever, the United Nations' civil aviation body agreed last week to put a cap on the emissions for an international sector rather than a country. International aviation already accounts for over 2% of global carbon emissions. But this number will soar as demand for air travel continues to rises. In 2010, the aviation industry carried 2.4 billion passengers; in 2050, the number is forecast to rise to 16 billion.

US energy-related carbon emissions dropped 12 percent last year, compared with 2005 levels, after increasing in 2013 and 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Reduced energy-sector C02 emissions in 2015 are largely due to a decreased use of coal and increased use of natural gas in the electricity mix, the EIA says. Such fuel-use changes have accounted for 68 percent of total energy-related CO2 reductions from 2005 to 2015.

EUROPEN and 35 other associations representing major consumer goods brands, packaging producers, material producers and extended producer responsibility organizations are calling for a long-term, ambitious EU policy framework that enables and facilitates sustainable resource use from a full life-cycle perspective, incentivizes economies of scale and takes into account value chains at all levels, each with their different functional needs, supply and demand realities.

BP, Shell, and other global oil and gas companies created OGCI Climate Investments, a 10-year, $1 billion dollar investment fund to "accelerate the development of innovative technologies that, once commercialized, have the potential to reduce GHG emissions on a significant scale." The combined operations of the OGCI member companies account for more than one-fifth of global oil and gas production and more than 10% of the global energy supply.

Cotton is planted on 2.4 percent of the world's crop land and yet it accounts for 24 percent and 11 percent of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides, respectively. Organic cotton represents less than 1 percent of the global total annual crop, but National Geographic, international clothing brand C&A, and activist and filmmaker Alexandra Cousteau believe that needs to change. A new 60-minute documentary, For the Love of Fashion, emphasizes "the need for a paradigm shift in the cotton value chain."

The EU is considering placing limits on carbon dioxide emissions from commercial trucks, which account for about 25% of the region's road emissions.

The nation's largest electric producers continue to substantially reduce emissions of key air pollutants, the latest comprehensive analysis of U.S. power plant emissions shows. The new report analyzed publicly reported data on carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and mercury emissions from the nation's 100 largest electric power producers, which account for 85 percent of the nation's power production.

Since the "Detox My Fashion" campaign launched in 2011, 76 fashion brands, retailers and suppliers have committed to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020, accounting for a combined 15 percent of global textile production. For its 2016 Detox Catwalk, Greenpeace evaluated 19 of the committed fashion and sportswear companies to see which are on track to follow through.

Food loss and waste costs businesses billions of dollars each year and it generates about 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for the carbon footprint of food produced and not eaten.

Often taking up more than half of a product's unit volume, some studies indicate that product packaging accounts for nearly half of all household waste. Simple, powerful solutions for reducing packaging waste lie in finding more efficient ways to meet consumer demands. The adoption of manufacturing practices that satisfy marketing and quality requirements without over-packaging goods would be a great and necessary shift for more sustainable production standards.

A partnership of leading international public and private organizations launched the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) 2016 Summit today in Copenhagen. The FLW Standard is the first-ever set of global definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and others to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste. The standard comes as a growing number of governments, companies and other entities are making commitments to reduce food loss and waste.

Independent charity Sustainable Shipping Initiative launched its Roadmap to 2040, which outlines 6 criteria that chart a path toward the development of a sustainable shipping industry by 2040. The criteria call on the industry to collectively create financial solutions that accelerate sustainability performance, diversify energy and fuel supply, increase transparency and accountability, and more. 

Global carbon dioxide emissions were flat for the second consecutive year in 2015 due, in part, to renewables, according to the International Energy Agency. The report said that renewables accounted for about 90% new installed capacity last year, and wind represented at least half of that total. Meanwhile, the world's economy jumped about 3% last year, "offering further evidence that the link between economic growth and emissions growth is weakening," said the report.

Forest destruction accounts for nearly the same amount of global greenhouse gas emissions as the entire global transportation sector and deforestation rates are yet again on the rise. In response, 38 investors representing a half trillion dollars from across the globe have joined Green Century Capital Management to demand that companies reaffirm and extend zero-deforestation commitments specific to Latin America.