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Environmental questions about Canada's massive tar sands development have long centered on greenhouse gas emissions. Now there are mounting concerns about the huge volumes of water used by the oil industry and the impact on the vast Mackenzie River Basin.

The World Economic Forum's (WEF) flagship annual report surveyed 750 experts to identify the most significant global concerns. Here are the top five:

President Obama rejected a presidential permit Friday for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, citing concerns about its impact on the climate.

Scientists are still trying to unravel the damaging effects of ground-level ozone on life on earth. But as the world warms, their concerns about the impact of this highly toxic, pollution-caused gas are growing.

The number of standards for green products has grown in recent years due to increasing market demand for environmentally-preferable products, resulting in concerns over greenwashing and a need for an international standard.

Logging emissions is an important step in securing the transparency that China needs to solve its pollution problems, Mr. Ma argues. Among the harmful pollutants are air particles known as PM2.5, which can enter deep into the lungs and even into the bloodstream. In an interview, he talked about the considerable progress he sees in the Chinese government's approach to air pollution, but also how concerns about social unrest continued to constrain discussion of pollution's damage to public health. Before 2013, levels of PM2.5 [the finest and deadliest particulate matter] were not monitored or made public in a single city. Now it's monitored and released in more than 400 cities. China has entered an era when air quality information is released. It's much more transparent. The 11th and 12th Five-Year Plans only referred to "emission reduction targets," so local governments could play games by claiming they had reduced emissions. Now, by saying by what year the PM2.5 must be below a certain amount, it's much harder to fake. The 13th Five-Year Plan is a progressive plan because it says that the public has the right to participate, to monitor, and that it's the public's right to know.

Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives cropping up almost every day. Now, a group of British companies and universities have won access to a £340 million EU innovation program aimed at changing the way we eat, grow and distribute food. The new project, called EIT Food, has ambitious aims to halve food waste in Europe within a decade and reduce diet-related illness diet by 2030. It has received €400 million (£340m) of EU research funding, matched by €1.2 billion (£1 billion) of funding from industry and other sources over seven years.

The growing acidity of the oceans as they absorb ever more carbon dioxide, a factor exacerbated in the winter, raises concerns for the most basic marine life. An Antarctic study of the bottom of the ocean's food chain involves a mooring as tall as the Empire State Building submerged at 1,600 feet and equipped with sensors recording temperature, dissolved carbon dioxide, salinity and pH.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has suspended its certification for Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group amid concerns that the company has failed to live up to its obligation to tackle deforestation. The decision has already had a big impact on IOI, which has lost business with Unilever, Kellogg and Mars. "If IOI wishes to regain its customers, it must take immediate and significant action," says Greenpeace Indonesia campaigner Annisa Rahmawati.

"As long as you have a good message you can create a great movie," Sharp advised, reminding the audience of the power of social media to raise awareness. The young filmmaker is certain that climate change is a matter that interests and concerns youth around the world. He also explained that he filmed 'Three Seconds' in order to create a motivational video focused on the impacts of global warming.

The Humane Eating Project is an app that helps those concerned by animal cruelty to make conscientious choices while eating out.

Wal-Mart, Target and other major retailers have discovered that greener chemicals and concerned citizens create a potent formula for change.

Wal-Mart, Target and other major retailers have discovered that greener chemicals and concerned citizens create a potent formula for change

A coalition of investors concerned about the lack of reported progress in mitigating the risks associated with hydraulic fracturing operations have submitted shareholder resolutions targeting organizations that received failing scores in a recently-released report. Read more: Fracturing and drilling companies "owe" investors disclosure - FierceEnergy http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/fracturing-and-drilling-companies-owe-investors-disclosure/2014-02-11#ixzz2tFdqgahc Subscribe at FierceEnergy

Twenty-four out of 30 top companies in the packaged food, fast food and personal care industries have inadequate commitments or lack commitments altogether for sourcing sustainable palm oil for their products, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Coca-Cola is moving to eliminate an ingredient used in many of its citrus-flavored products after consumers expressed concerns.The company said on Monday that it was replacing brominated vegetable oil, which contains bromine, an element found in flame retardants, in products that contain it.

there's another major consumer of water in California and the United States - one that doesn't receive the same attention as lush lawns or the agricultural industry: power plants. In 2005, power plants across the country withdrew as much water as farms did, according to a 2011 report, Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity's Thirst for a Precious Resource, from the Union of Concerned Scientists and a team of independent water experts.

Scotland is banning GMO crops in a bid to protect its "clean and green brand," angering farmers and scientists who say the ban panders to unwarranted consumer concerns and has no basis in science. "Cultivation of GM crops would harm our environment and our reputation," counters Scottish Green lawmaker Alison Johnstone. The Independent (London) (tiered subscription model) (8/9) 

Each year, Future 500 releases a Top 10 list of what we view are the most pressing and timely stakeholder issues of the year ahead. Check out our video this year to learn more about these key stakeholder concerns that impact both the corporate sector and activist community.

The growing amount of solid waste being added to landfills from product packaging is an environmental concern to Cisco. To address this, we strive to design packages that protect against shipping damage while minimizing material usage. Our employee-led "Pack It Green" Initiative, which promotes optimized packaging and order fulfillment, is a big part of this commitment.