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Protection of the natural world has been an integral part of Indian culture and heritage. The Constitution of India places responsibilities on the State as well as citizens for protection of nature and the living beings therein. The following two Articles of the Indian Constitution are noteworthy: Article 48A: The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country; and Article 51A (g): Fundamental duty of every citizen to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. In the face of rapid industrial development, the environmental effects were not given much importance. However, with environmental impacts becoming detrimental for wildlife, biodiversity and people, the Indian Parliament has passed legislation to keep pace with changing demands. The British had passed the Indian Forest Act, 1927, mainly to regulate timber extraction for construction purposes. From production forestry, protection forestry principles were also considered. Later, wildlife (both flora and fauna) were considered essential for sustainable forest management. The Wildlife Act was passed in 1972. The Environment Protection Act was passed in 1986 as an umbrella act to consider environment in its totality. Since then, biological wealth started to be considered as an asset of the country just as other productive assets.

"Climate Take Back," as the new mission has been named, is the successor to Mission Zero, the name given to a vision articulated in 1997 that, for most outside the company, seemed audacious at the time: "To be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire industrial world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: People, process, product, place and profits - by 2020 - and in doing so we will become restorative through the power of influence."

Finelite, a manufacturer of high-efficiency lighting systems, cut its waste production by 84 percent between 2005 and 2012 through using reusable packaging, Sustainable Plant reports. Through such innovations as replacing bubble wrap used to protect products with crinkled paper and so-called lean packaging, the company saved about $27,000 a year in garbage disposal costs, the article says.

The goal of President Barack Obama's newly signed executive order related to climate change is to improve disaster-management efforts during severe weather events and other disasters, according to these articles. It establishes a task force that will look at how federal funds are allocated for building projects and suggest ways to make infrastructure more resilient

Article from 2007 on Disney's Steamboat Ventures investing in a startup called EdgeCast which leased a facility in Seattle operated by Switch and Data (SDXC).

Radisson Blu® is one of the world's leading hotel brands under the Carlson Rezidor umbrella, a hotel group that includes 1,400 hotels in 115 countries. As a global leader, Carlson Rezidor has achieved a great deal of progress when it comes to designing and operating sustainable hotels. This article will focus on the sustainable achievements 

Since Google declared its 100 percent commitment to renewables back in 2012, it has signed contracts that will help add almost 2.6 gigawatts of wind- and solar-generated electricity to the grid by the time all the projects are completely. While each of those installations has its own timetable for completion, at least 900 megawatts of those projects should come online within the next four to six weeks alone, according to one of Google's energy strategy executives. Over the course of next year, all the clean power that Google is adding to the grid will offset what it's using in aggregate. And moving forward, Google wants to ensure that more of the electricity it actually uses can be traced to renewable generating sources.

As evidence mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet

mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet.

(UN Food and Agriculture Organization) calculates that the world throws out 33% of the food it produces, resulting in 1.3 billion metric tons of food waste per year. This wasted food results in 3.3 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, requires 3.5 billion acres of farmland, and costs the world $750 billion per year (excluding seafood).

The $1.35 billion Quest carbon capture and storage project in Canada being developed by Shell Canada is now half finished. There are 600 workers on the project, scheduled to become operational late next year. When completed, the facility will reduce direct carbon dioxide emissions by 1 million tons per year, "equivalent to taking 175,000 cars off the road," the article notes

Energy storage is the key to the practical development of sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind. Now, it is becoming a hot field in industry and commerce. This article profiles 10 innovative companies that are leading the pack in development of energy-storage technologies

This article points to the latest wave of businesses working collaboratively on the urgent, common ground issues of renewable energy and climate policy. In America's history of westward expansion and exploration, pioneer families came together in wagon trains for mutual support. In the same way, the examples below show that businesses are taking action, together, to ensure a more certain future that's good for all of us and for business.

Canada's CarbonCure Technologies uses carbon dioxide produced during the cement-making process to fill tiny voids in concrete blocks. As a result, the block absorbs less water, is 20% stronger and more sustainable, according to this article. Builders can use the product to help set them apart from competitors and can "reduce the cost of their production by harnessing the material benefits of CO2, such as high early strength, lower water absorption, and other secondary benefits," says Robert Niven, the company's founder

On Friday, the fast-food chain announced in a statement that all of its eggs for its nearly 400 restaurants in 13 states will come from cage-free hens by 2025.

An organic activist group and a subsequent article in The New York Times said testing has shown small amounts of the weed killer glyphosate in some Ben & Jerry's ice cream samples. Traces of the widely used pesticide can be found in many food products, and the company says it is working to determine how amounts from 0 to 1.74 parts per billion got into its supply chain.

This links to several articles in the May issue on plastic waste in the environment.

McDonald's is offering 100% organic beef hamburgers sourced from organic farms for a limited time in Germany. The company's new offering will be available from Oct. 1 to Nov. 18.

Royal Dutch Shell has ceased all offshore drilling in the Arctic after it failed to find sufficient quantities of oil or natural gas that would warrant further exploration.

For a growing number of companies, fighting climate change is a zero-sum game. In late September, several organizations associated with nonprofit sustainability outfit The B Team declared a "net zero by 2050" (PDF) aspiration pertaining to greenhouse gas emissions. Among them: consumer products giant Unilever; apparel company Kering; Chinese construction company Broad Group; African telecommunications carrier Econet; Brazilian cosmetics manufacturer Natura; and British-born investment group Virgin - a geographically diverse group that underscores the global nature of climate challenges.