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ust 18 months after its launch, the Science Based Targets initiative announced that 200 companies have committed to set emissions reduction targets consistent with the global effort to keep temperatures well below the 2-degree threshold. In the past year, the initiative has seen a growth rate of over 2 companies per week committing to set science-based targets, far exceeding the project's timeline and signaling that climate action has gained tremendous momentum in the private sector.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has adopted a science-based goal to cut its operational GHG emissions by 25% by 2025 from 2015 baseline levels. The goal has been verified and approved by the Science Based Target initiative. MORE »

Kering has committed to a science-based goal to cut its direct and indirect emissions by 50% by 2025, becoming the first luxury company to do so. The goal has been verified and approved by the Science Based Target initiative.

Tetra Pak has launched what it says is the industry's first carton made entirely from plant based, renewable packaging materials. Read more: http://www.environmentalleader.com/2014/10/20/tetra-pak-carton-uses-100-plant-based-materials/#ixzz3GjhXCo1m

The Science Based Targets initiative is celebrating a major milestone: over 100 companies have turned their commitments into targets and are now working towards emission reductions in line with what climate science says is necessary to limit warming to below 2°C.

The Science Based Targets initiative announced that 155 companies are now participating in its program to establish emissions goals in line with what scientists say is necessary to keep global warming below the 2 degrees Celsius threshold.

Carnegie has been on a seven-year journey to create the world's first bio-based interior textile that doesn't compromise performance, value or aesthetics.

In an announcement at the United Nations COP21 global climate talks in Paris, a total of 114 companies have joined a Science Based Targets initiative orchestrated in partnership with CDP, the World Wildlife Fund and the U.N. Global Compact.

As the annual Climate Week NYC launches today, more companies are announcing their commitment to carbon emissions reduction targets. And they are doing so through using the guidelines set by the Science Based Targets initiative, which provides a framework that its supporters say can help companies stay competitive while doing their part to mitigate climate change.

The ocean's value has been estimated as high as $24 trillion, yet despite its inherent connections to the health and well-being of wildlife, humans, and the global economy, it continues to be overexploited and polluted. Plastic pollution and shark killing are two major problems that could be - at least in part - alleviated by new materials: a seaweed-based biodegradable plastic packaging, and a sugarcane-based alternative to a widely used moisturizer normally derived from shark liver oil.

Virginia-based pork producer Smithfield Foods announced plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 25% during the next eight years. This is the largest planned cut by any US-based meat packer, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

the Chicago-based aviation giant reported that it is stepping up efforts to expand the use of sustainable aviation biofuel by seeking U.S. Federal Aviation Administration approval for its aircraft to fly on "green diesel." The proposed new source of aviation biofuel emits at least half the lifecycle carbon dioxide as traditional petroleum-based jet fuel, according to Boeing.

sustainable building ratings based on creating "good" buidlings not just less harmful. Ratings are also based on performance of a buidling as opposed to construction elements.

The U.S. will have to use a variety of renewable energy technologies, like offshore wind, to transition from a carbon-based energy economy to a renewable energy-based economy, according to Andrew Myers, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University. In the U.S., "offshore wind energy is a vast, largely untapped resource of renewable energy with enormous potential," said Myers. "[T]he potential resource is estimated to have a capacity close to the existing electricity capacity of the entire nation." CleanTechnica (8/5) 

Whole Foods launched the Responsibly Grown rating system, which evaluates produce based on environmental and health impacts. Products will carry a "good," "better," or "best" label based on their rating.

Ocean Conservancy on Wednesday released a report that proposes a four-point solution to cutting ocean plastic waste by 45 percent by 2025 with the ultimate goal of eradicating the issue by 2035. Stemming the Tide: Land-based strategies for a plastic-free ocean is a first-of-its-kind, solutions-oriented report in partnership with the McKinsey Center for Business and Environment that outlines specific land-based solutions for plastic waste in the ocean.

Palm Oil Free Certification programme launches in UK and Australia A new certification programme has launched to validate consumer products that make no use of palm oil, which has been blamed for fuelling deforestation in Asia. Set up by a group of women experts, the Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP) is now in operation in Australia and the UK following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, IP Australia, and IPO UK. Fourteen other nations have applied to introduce the label. Australia-based eco cleaning products company Clean Conscience is the first to carry the label, and the group is working with a host of other companies on certification. Despite improvements to tackle deforestation, POFCAP said "only 17% of all palm oil used can be classed as 'non-conflict'". The scheme is based on extensive research and trusted methods to trace all potential palm oil and palm oil derivative ingredients of a product back to their source. (Business Green)

Transportation company Uber announced its Clean Air Plan, which aims to transition its UK-based "uberX" drivers to 100% hybrid or fully electric vehicles by the end of 2022. As part of the plan, Uber has contributed £2 million toward a dedicated fund that allows its UK-based drivers to "access up to £5,000 towards the cost of upgrading their car to a hybrid or fully electric vehicle." The company will also add a fee to every ride taken through the app in London to grow the fund and extend access to more drivers, with plans to add a similar fee in other UK cities over the next year.

Representatives from across the apparel industry recently came together at the Fiber and Biopolymer Research Institute of Texas Tech University, where Wrangler, Lee, the Walmart Foundation and Indigo Mill Designs unveiled a disruptive new dyeing process for producing denim. In a radical departure from water-based dyeing, IndigoZERO™ uses a foam-based process to reduce water and energy use by more than 90 percent

The problem of ocean waste, particularly the plastic variety, is a big one, and many creative people are working on ways to clean it up. Finding ways to repurpose the plastic debris collected from the ocean is one component of that, and the U.S.-based startup ByFusion has responded with technology that recycles ocean plastic into durable construction blocks. This way, the plastic waste can be repurposed permanently, rather than being used to create another disposable plastic item that might wind up right back in our precious waterways.

Technology that compresses plastic waste items turns them into blocks suitable for construction, providing a permanent way to remove discarded plastic from the environment. The RePlast system developed by New Zealand-based inventor Peter Lewis is said to be nearly 100% carbon neutral and doesn't require the plastic to be sorted or washed.