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Steve Davis is a climate energy scientist at the University of California Irvine. He and his colleagues wanted to see whether outsourcing manufacturing to China--which happens to be good for our wallets--is also good for the planet. Spoiler alert: doesn't look like it.

The Consumer Goods Forum ("CGF") today announced publication of the first-ever 'Sustainable Palm Oil Sourcing Guidelines' (the "Guidelines"). This publicly available document is an important step in helping the consumer goods and retail industries to achieve zero net deforestation by 2020, as outlined in the CGF's Deforestation Resolution. 

Clean energy has become a driving force in the US marketplace as costs have declined and major companies have unveiled investments in wind and other renewables, writes Chris Brown, Vestas' president of sales and service operations in the US and Canada. Wind, in particular, can provide the nation with a winning combination of affordable yet reliable electricity. "Whatever the courts rule on the CPP, there's no turning back or stopping this economic trend. Clean energy makes good sense for business, good sense for consumers, and good sense for the country," he writes.

"Sell by," "Use by," "Display until" and "Best before" food labels intended to inform consumers about food quality and safety frequently come under fire for their lack of clarity and confusing terminology that contributes significantly to the colossal food waste problem - one that costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone. However, little concrete action has been taken to address the problem. Now, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) - a network of 400 of the biggest consumer goods companies across 70 countries - along with Champions 12.3 has approved a Call to Action to standardize food date labels worldwide by 2020.

Adidas launched its "Sports Infinity" research project, which aims to combine components from old sporting goods with excess materials from other industries to create new products. The goal of the research project is to provide soccer players with adhesive-free, recyclable, and zero-waste sporting goods.

General Motors has created revenue streams worth $1 billion through its waste-reduction and recycling programs while also reducing its risk exposure, says Mari Kay Scott, GM's executive director of global environmental compliance and sustainability. "Sustainability is good for the environment -- it's also really good for business," she says.

The Board of The Consumer Goods Forum today called on heads of state across the world to engage and act with determination, leadership and ambition to secure an ambitious and legally binding global climate deal.

Consumer goods maker Unilever (ULVR.L) says its brands that most fully embrace its CEO's passion for sustainability perform the best, adding fuel to its oft-repeated argument that social responsibility is good for business.

The Lego Group is making good on its promise to spend 1 billion Danish Krone ($150.5 million) to develop new sustainable materials for its plastic Lego toys and packaging materials. This includes the establishment of the Lego Sustainable Materials Centre in Billund, Denmark.

According to Kobori, the waterless jeans are as good for the environment as they are for Levi's bottom line - they cost less to produce than a standard pair because they consume less water and energy. In 2014, Levi's saved an estimated $1.6 million in costs of goods sold from the program.

C&A is the world's first retailer to offer jeans that are completely Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM at the Gold level. Designed in partnership with Fashion for Good, a global platform that aims to make all fashion good, the jeans were made with completely sustainable materials and were produced in compliance with the high Cradle to Cradle CertifiedTM Gold level.

A group of organizations - including C&A Foundation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, McDonough Innovation, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition - have launched the Fashion For Good initiative, which aims to help set the apparel industry on a more sustainable path using a Cradle to Cradle-inspired, circular approach to product development. The initiative will engage key players from across the fashion industry and will support the "scale up of technologies, methodologies, and business models with the potential to wholly transform the industry."

Four representatives recently introduced a bill called the Food Donation Act of 2017 (H.R. 952), which addresses some of the greatest barriers that restaurants and food service companies face when they want to give away their excess edible food. This bill clarifies and enhances the coverage areas of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, the legislation that made the donation of excess food from businesses to people in need legally protected.

What must be done and why consumer goods companies must step up their efforts to meet the 2020 goal of zero deforestation

Unregulated carbon pollution from aviation is the fastest-growing source of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. In fact, if the entire aviation sector were a country, it would be one of the top 10 carbon-polluting nations on the planet. The good news is that we now have a process in place to curb international aviation's skyrocketing emissions. For the first time ever, the United Nations' civil aviation body agreed last week to put a cap on the emissions for an international sector rather than a country. International aviation already accounts for over 2% of global carbon emissions. But this number will soar as demand for air travel continues to rises. In 2010, the aviation industry carried 2.4 billion passengers; in 2050, the number is forecast to rise to 16 billion.

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.

Caesars Entertainment and Heinz are among the companies with stellar environmental records, exceeding their sustainability goals. Heinz is consuming 23% less water, creating 23.8% less greenhouse gas emissions and sending 51.2% less solid waste to landfills, while Caesars has reduced greenhouse gases 28 percent, already surpassed its target for reducing water consumption, and achieved LEED certification on every expansion or new building since 2007.

Lesson learned: The power of engaging a supplier or other partner hand-in-hand with an NGO partner is unbelievably impactful. It sends a message to internal and external stakeholders that this is not PR. It is real and sincere. You have to work with NGOs. NGOs are the sustainability thermometer for the consumer. Fortunately, there are lots of good choices for you to make.

EUROPEN and 35 other associations representing major consumer goods brands, packaging producers, material producers and extended producer responsibility organizations are calling for a long-term, ambitious EU policy framework that enables and facilitates sustainable resource use from a full life-cycle perspective, incentivizes economies of scale and takes into account value chains at all levels, each with their different functional needs, supply and demand realities.

The American electorate just picked one of the most powerful climate change deniers on the planet as the steward of U.S. environmental strategy for at least the next four years. The good news is that sustainable business leaders have more clarity about what to expect from the next administration. It's now time to prioritize what comes next.