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Conducting due diligence on the environmental and social practices of small and growing agricultural businesses yields financial benefits to lenders that partially or fully offset the costs involved, according to nonprofit agriculture lender Root Capital.

Novo Nordisk became the world's first pharmaceutical company to publish an environmental profit and loss account, which places a financial value on the company's environmental impacts. The analysis revealed that Novo Nordisk caused over $305 million in environmental damage during 2011, with the company's supply chain accounting for 75% its impact.

Investors have filed 417 social and environmental shareholder resolutions so far this year at least 50 more than the same time in 2013 and 20 percent more than in February 2012, according to an analysis of proxies.

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.

Nearly two-thirds of corporations worldwide will increase environmental spending this year with about half of that group expanding their budgets by double-digits.

Hershey has exceeded three of its key environmental sustainability goals set in 2012 by two to three years.

Bio-Tec Environmental has patented a method of creating a layered polymeric plastic or composite. The biodegradable-plastics company has been granted US Patent 8,222,316 and foreign equivalents for this process. Products that combine the patented method with Bio-Tec's patent-pending formulations are under development, the company says.

Skanska has turned its Elizabeth River Tunnels project in Virginia into an example of how civil construction can improve its environmental impact while augmenting modern infrastructure. The company has a recycling/reuse rate of 99% for the project, and its creative ways to benefit the surrounding environment include using concrete waste to create oyster habitats. 

This year, the Environmental Leader Product & Project Awards have been opened for corporations to submit projects they have implemented that helped improve sustainability metrics (or for consultants to submit projects they have implemented for corporate partners). Here are a few ideas, examples of successful projects that have come across our desks in recent months. These are the types of projects that would be strong submissions to win a Top Project of the Year Award.

Dell used more than 10 million pounds of post-consumer recycled plastics in its products in FY 2014. For this and other environmental sustainability achievements, Keep America Beautiful has awarded the company with the 2014 Vision for America Award

Hyatt Hotels has committed to reducing water use per guest night by 25 percent by 2020 - one of the hotel chain's new environmental goals announced yesterday

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.

A Brazilian Senate Commission is quickly, and surreptitiously, moving forward a constitutional amendment (PEC 65) that would end the need for environmental assessment approvals for public works projects in Brazil ranging from Amazon dams to roads and canals, and oil infrastructure.

Environmental advocacy organizations Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the EPA to accelerate the completion of an "endangerment finding" that would allow the agency to regulate CO2 emissions from U.S. aircraft. The EPA was expected to finalize a proposal for an endangerment finding in mid-2014. 

President Barack Obama will have a wide-ranging legacy of environmental action, said Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. As for the relationship between EPA and Congress, she said, "It's always been a struggle, but it's always been that Republicans and Democrats care about the health of their kids."

Recycling is paying off for Apple - to the tune of about $43.6 million in gold. According to Apple's environmental responsibility report, the company recovered 2,204 pounds (a little over a ton) of gold from recycled electronic devices last year from its take-back initiatives and other recycling events. The take-back initiatives allow customers to drop off Apple products at stores or mail them in to be recycled.

According to Apple's environmental responsibility report, the company recovered 2,204 pounds (a little over a ton) of gold from recycled electronic devices last year from its take-back initiatives and other recycling events. The take-back initiatives allow customers to drop off Apple products at stores or mail them in to be recycled.

Levi Strauss & Co. has debuted a process for responsible sourcing that the company says combines sustainable design, environmental practices and apparel worker well-being.

Retailers Bed Bath & Beyond, Nordstrom, JC Penney and Backcountry.com have been fined $1.3 million by the Federal Trade Commission for misleading environmental claims.

Environmental risks, which have grown in prominence over the 13-year history of the Global Risks Report, are an area of particular concern. The Global Risks Report 2018 looks at five categories of environmental risks: extreme weather events and temperatures; accelerating biodiversity loss; pollution of air, soil and water; failures of climate change mitigation and adaptation; and risks linked to the transition to low carbon. All of these risks ranked highly on both dimensions of likelihood and impact.

Honda launched its "Green Path" approach-a suite of initiatives to reduce the total life-cycle environmental impact of its products and operations in North America. Notable initiatives include pledging to reduce its total GHG emissions by 50% from 2000 levels by 2050, investing $210 million in a paint facility to cut CO2 emissions in the painting process by 18% and reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 66%, and more.