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Signatories of the Indonesia Palm Oil Pledge (IPOP) will disband as a result of "recent ground-breaking policy developments" in Indonesia that have fulfilled the purpose of the IPOP consortium. The signatory companies - including Cargill, Golden Agri Resources, and Wilmar International - plan to continue their sustainability commitments independently.

The Secure E-waste Export and Recycling Act recently introduced in Congress would prohibit exporting electronic waste to other countries. Although 27 states and the District of Columbia have e-waste recycling laws, there are no federal laws governing the practice.

ainforest Action Network (RAN) claims it has found many Japanese companies are either 'systematically misreporting compliance' under Japan's Corporate Governance Code, or have a 'fundamental lack of understanding as to what constitutes meaningful sustainability reporting.' RAN evaluated ten major Japanese companies' Code reports and asserts that none of the companies are sufficiently disclosing their risks. The NGO advises shareholders take heed.

A company created by Stanford University is developing a self-sustaining community in the Netherlands. The 25-home neighborhood will produce its own energy from biogas, solar and geothermal sources and will grow its own food. ReGen Villages describes its focus as "[d]esirable, off-grid-capable neighborhoods comprised of power positive homes, renewable energy, water management, and waste-to-resource systems that are based upon on-going resiliency research -- for thriving families and reduced burdens on local and national governments."

A partnership of leading international public and private organizations launched the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard at the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) 2016 Summit today in Copenhagen. The FLW Standard is the first-ever set of global definitions and reporting requirements for companies, countries and others to consistently and credibly measure, report on and manage food loss and waste. The standard comes as a growing number of governments, companies and other entities are making commitments to reduce food loss and waste.

An ensemble of Global Business Leaders NGO'S and academics has joined forces to call for a, sustainable global economic model to be adopted by Governments and Businesses alike.

The government of Quebec, Canada, has set a goal to export 60.9% of its installed renewable energy capacity to the US -- up from its current level of 46.6% -- by 2030. "With the most developed wind energy supply chain in Canada and the northeastern United States, Quebec's wind industry is in a good position to meet our continent's energy challenges," Canadian Wind Energy Association Vice President Jean-Francois Nolet said.

In the last year, the U.S. government and nonprofits have put a spotlight on the illegal poaching of Africa's elephants and Asia's insatiable demand for ivory. But the media coverage has ignored a dirty secret: The U.S. has its own large ivory trade that has not been adequately regulated.

Columbia, Md.,-based W.R. Grace & Co. under its bankruptcy plan of reorganization, paid over $63 million to the US government to resolve claims for environmental cleanups at approximately 39 sites in 21 states, the US Department of Justice and the EPA announced today

The approval by the government of Chile of the largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in continental Chile is a boost to conservation efforts for blue whales and dolphins

European lawmakers are poised to sign off on a law that would allow airlines to avoid paying carbon fees for long-haul flights terminating in Europe. The move disappointed greens, who said lawmakers had secured little beyond vague promises of future action in exchange for the move. "European governments have conceded again to international pressure without getting anything meaningful in return," said transport activist Bill Hemmings

Remote audits from FirstFuel have already helped the government identify $14.5 million in energy savings. That's just the beginning.

The poor air quality on Dec. 6 also caused the Shanghai government to issue the highest level of public health warning as the Chinese city's pollution index ranged between 23 times and 31 times the recommended levels.

A second Texas city has begun using treated wastewater to boost drinking water supplies as the state struggles with drought. Wichita Falls is now recycling millions of gallons of wastewater, CBS News reports. The toilet-to-tap program ensures the water is purified to meet government drinking standards; the water is then sent to a treatment plan for additional purification.

3M, Cisco, Jackson Family Wines, Kimberly-Clark and other major companies announced new commitments to install solar power as part of a new White House initiative. The Obama administration and local governments also announced a series of new policies to speed the deployment of solar across the nation.

Revised government figures in Japan showed that greenhouse gas emissions were the second-highest on record for the year ended March 2014, with a total of 1.552 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The record emissions level was set in 2007 at 1.556 billion tons. Japan's 48 nuclear reactors provided 26% of the country's electricity in the past, but all have been shut down since September 2013

Mars has supported recommendations that suggest people should limit the consumption of added sugars to no more than 10% of their daily caloric intake. The company also voiced support of a government proposal to include an added sugars declaration in the Nutritional Facts on all applicable food packaging.

Chinese automakers plan to spend almost $8 billion this year on developing all-electric and hybrid automobiles, an analysis shows. The government is setting targets and offering incentives, believing that "developing new-energy vehicles is the Chinese auto industry's only road to grow from being big to being strong," said Xu Heyi, chairman of Beijing Automotive Group. 

The four governments, California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia committed to take action to expand the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles, with a goal of 10 percent of new vehicle purchases by 2016.

The French Government passed legislation to cut the country's energy consumption 50% by 2050, reduce nuclear power production to 50% of the energy mix, and increase renewable energy to 32% of total energy consumption by 2030. The law also requires the country to reduce its carbon emissions 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels.