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Australian regulators are clamping down on egg and pork producers who deliberately misuse terms such as "free range" to describe animals that actually spend much of their lives indoors. "When claims such as 'free range' or 'bred free range' are misused, consumers may be misled into paying more for a product feature that doesn't exist," said Rod Sims of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. "Competitors are also harmed as legitimate free-range producers unfairly lose their competitive advantage." 

Offshore wind has the potential to become cost-competitive with coal and gas in Europe by 2025, according to a letter released by General Electric, E.ON, Siemens and eight other energy firms. "This commitment is only possible with a stable, long-term market for renewables in Europe. If the offshore industry is to realize its cost reduction goals, a strong pipeline of projects is needed," they wrote.

nability programs are producing cost savings, revenue growth, competitive advantage and environmental benefits across corporate America, writes Harold L. Sirkin, a senior partner of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), in a Businessweek management blog.

Canadian architect Michael Green wants to build a 35-story wooden skyscraper in Paris that would be carbon neutral. He and some partners have submitted the proposal as part of the Reinvent Paris competition, a revitalization project in the city. Green said constructing the building would highlight the advantages of wood in the construction of tall buildings

Toyota is serious about hydrogen fuel cell technology. It's so serious that it's not only welcoming competition, it's helping it. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, the automaker announced that it will open more than 5,500 fuel cell patents and provide royalty-free licenses to other automakers and entities.

Here are the clean energy trends that will matter in 2015:  - Moves toward 100 percent renewables will expand - Energy storage will carve out a competitive advantage - Low-cost oil could affect clean transportation, but not clean electricity - Other regions will follow New York's fracking ban 

Cascades, which produces packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibers, has invested $26 million in a new chemical-free technology at its Norampac - Cabano facility

Under a new order from the state's Public Service Commission, utility companies will soon be barred from owning "distributed" power systems-that means rooftop solar, small wind turbines, and basically anything else that isn't a big power plant. "By restricting utilities from owning local power generation and other energy resources, customers will benefit from a more competitive market, with utilities working and partnering with other companies and service providers," the commission said in a statement.

Corporate sustainability is evolving. In its early days, sustainability was tantamount to reducing harm by making products and processes "less bad." With a glimpse of the competitive advantage that could be achieved, companies began to embed sustainability principles at the core of decision-making. Sustainability today goes beyond the walls of the organization - it's now about using brand, purchasing and political power to influence stakeholders and create positive change.

This UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study report reveals that the UN climate summit (COP21) is critical to supporting private sector investment and that executives see climate change action as an opportunity for growth and innovation. Among the world's largest companies, those with annual revenues in excess of US$1 billion, 70 percent see opportunities for growth within the next 5 years and 69 percent see investment in climate solutions as essential to competitive advantage.

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)

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.

Phasing out unprofitable coal plants could save U.S. consumers $10 billion a year by 2021 and boost the country's competitiveness, according to a new report by Carbon Tracker launched today. No Country for Coal Gen: Below 2°C and Regulatory Risk for U.S. Coal Power Owners is the first study to look at the economics of each U.S. coal power plant and provide investors with a tool to support a rational closure program to keep global warming below 2 C°.

Unilever has worked hard to be a sustainable, environmentally conscious business, but whether the $170 billion conglomerate can turn that into profits in today's competitive market remains to be seen, according to this analysis. "Too many companies are running their business into the ground, I would argue, by being myopically short-term focused on the shareholder," said CEO Paul Polman.

Los Angeles County approves the start of the Newhall Ranch master-planned community north of the city of Los Angeles. The state has never seen a community quite like Newhall Ranch, proposed by California developer FivePoint. It will be a carbon-neutral development in the Santa Clarita Valley that tackles such critical challenges as climate change, water conservation, and the dire housing shortage that is severely threatening our economic competitiveness.

The Department of Defense is clear-eyed about the challenges climate change poses. "The pressures caused by climate change will influence resource competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and governance institutions around the world," the most recent Quadrennial Defense Review, issued in 2014, states. "These effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, and social tensions-conditions that can enable terrorist activity and other forms of violence."

Procter & Gamble has set a goal of obtaining environmental certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for all of its paper products and packaging. P&G is pursuing this goal in part by partnering with Domtar, a Canada-based manufacturer of paper and pulp products.

Unprecedented momentum is being delivered by over 600 companies committed to bold climate action, through the We Mean Business coalition's Take Action campaign. The campaign brings together strategic climate commitments, facilitated by the We Mean Business coalition partners, which are collectively helping these companies tackle some 2.31 gigatons of Scope 1+2 emissions - equivalent to the total annual emissions of Russia. These initiatives are also helping companies to harness climate action as a driver of innovation, competitiveness, risk management and growth.