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BCG's seventh sustainability report in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management Review found that 75% of senior executives in investment firms see a company's sustainability performance as materially important to their investment decisions-and nearly half would not invest in a company with a poor sustainability track record. However, only 60% of managers in publicly traded companies believe that good sustainability practices influence investment decisions.

The Dow Chemical Company today announced new sustainability goals, to be accomplished by 2025, which include creating products that offset three times more carbon dioxide than they emit throughout their life cycle and delivering $1 billion in cost savings or new cash flow by valuing nature in business decisions.

If the EPA lowers ground-level ozone - a decision it is likely to make this month - some businesses, cities and regions will be affected more than others, HPAC Engineering reports.

Drug manufacturers will be required to fund and manage medication disposal programs, following the US Supreme Court's decision to not hear the pharmaceutical industry's case against a drug take-back law in California.

As an ever-expanding group of U.S. businesses commit to using more renewable energy to power their operations, a new study has found that for many companies, cost savings is the single most important reason for doing so. This is according to results of the first major survey of large electricity users since President Donald Trump announced his decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, conducted by SED Research. The Sept. 13 report, "Post-Paris: the State of Corporate Renewable Energy Sourcing," analyzes responses from executives at 94 companies and institutions, more than 40 of which are in the Fortune 500.

Environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court following a decision to expand its remit.

Waitrose has joined Tesco as the latest UK retailer to take seafood giant John West to task over its fishing practices, threatening to remove its canned tuna from store shelves if it does not follow through on its promise to improve. The decision will pile pressure on the embattled tuna company following last week's announcement by Tesco that John West would be banned if it continued using harmful fishing practices.

Shipowners are increasing pressure on the International Maritime Organization to craft carbon dioxide limits to help curb climate change. Critics contend IMO is moving too slowly, while the IMO says it needs to gather data to make an informed decision.

news broke of a pending decision by the RSPO Complaints Panel to lift the suspension of IOI Group's certification under the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil certification system. If successful this move would do irreparable harm to the RSPO's credibility. Less than five months after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group's certification, that suspension has been lifted - much to the dismay of NGO campaigners. While the RSPO's Complaints Panel has said it is "satisfied that IOI has met the conditions set out in its letter to IOI," Greenpeace Indonesia and the Center for International Policy says they have yet to see any real action on the ground. This was the second time a suspension has been placed on an IOI subsidiary. A coalition of NGOs has rapidly issued an appeal, urging the RSPO to maintain its suspension of IOI Group stating that it is far too premature to lift the suspension given that the company has not come into full compliance with the RSPO Certification Systems nor resolved outstanding complaints. There are fears that any change at this stage would seriously hinder the resolution process between the complainant and the company.

Tourists are increasingly being guided by sustainability when making travel decisions, according to a recent report. "They want to go to a place where they think companies are taking care of their business and the environment," says Barbra Anderson, founding partner of consulting firm Destination Better.

President Barack Obama announced a new ban on offshore oil and natural gas drilling across broad areas of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, using part of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act that would make it hard for his successor to reverse the decision. "They'll be arguing about this for years in the courts," said environmental lawyer Patrick Parenteau.

* We'd be remiss if we didn't mention Patagonia's landmark decision to donate 100 percent of its global Black Friday sales to nonprofits benefiting the planet. The campaign was so popular, the company beat its goal of $2 million dollars in sales by five times that amount - resulting in $10 million in donations to hundreds of grassroots environmental organizations.

India is delaying a decision on asking for a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organisation against domestic content regulations in renewable energy programmes run by eight states in the US as it is hoping to work out a "mutually beneficial'' solution with the new regime under Republican leader Donald Trump. "New Delhi is still hopeful that it could work out a compromise with Washington on the flexible implementation of the WTO verdict against it in the solar power programme dispute. It may decide not to ask for a panel against US renewable energy programmes if it gets an assurance from the Trump administration on leniency in the solar case," a government official told BusinessLine.

North Carolina's Proximity Hotel is the first US hotel to receive the Green Building Council's LEED Platinum status, due in part to elevators that generate power and other features that help the hotel use 40% less energy than comparable competitors. "The only ambition was, let's sincerely consider sustainable practices with each of our decisions," said Dennis Quaintance, CEO of Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels.

Seventh Generation has been an environmentally conscious company from the get-go. Founded in 1988, the company is named after an ancient Iroquois document that declares that "in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." Now, the company is taking its environmental consciousness to a new level. Recently, Seventh Generation released its Corporate Consciousness 2015 Report which revealed the company is establishing an internal tax on its carbon emissions.

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.

On Friday, a group of children suing the government for inaction on climate change scored a major victory, as a judge ruled that the Washington State Department of Ecology must deliver an emissions reduction rule by the end of this year. That decision follows another major win in mid-April, when an Oregon judge ruled that a similar lawsuit could go forward despite opposition from the fossil fuel industry.

Ahmedabad, a rapidly urbanizing city in western India grappling with rising air pollution levels. In an innovative step, the city, along with NRDC and other partners, unveiled the draft Ahmedabad Air Information and Response (AIR) Plan. The first of its kind, the AIR Plan is a decisive step by Ahmedabad to protect local residents from the debilitating effects of bad air.

The beef industry is seeking to spread the word about its sustainability efforts, especially to young, eco-conscious diners, experts say. "Our long-term sustainability is predicated on transparency and providing consumers with the information they need to make the decision to purchase beef," says Tom McDonald of JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding

Carnival, docked in the spotlight when it received the New Economy's Clean Tech Award for Best Marine Solutions Company. The award recognized Carnival's decision to install a new exhaust filtration system on its North American ships, at an estimated cost of $180m