Group items tagged

The International Tourism Partnership launched the first ever industry-wide global commitment to sustainability, focused on four member company-led goals: carbon, water, youth employment, and human rights. International Tourism Partnership member companies include Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, Wyndham Hotel Group, and more.

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.

Mondelez International exceeded its goal to reduce manufacturing waste by 15 percent per metric ton of production by 2015, according to the company's most recent sustainability report. Through 2014, the snacking company achieved a 57 percent reduction - four times the original goal.

The joint announcements set a powerful precedent for other countries to emulate, and could foster ambitious international action in the near term. Many have their eye on international climate negotiations in Paris next year, where the U.S. and China's bilateral cooperation could lay necessary groundwork for a potential future international climate treaty.

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 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.

World leaders have agreed to double the clean energy research funding they pledged in December as part of an international push to reduce carbon emissions, the White House announced on Thursday.  During the first meeting of the 21 countries involved in the Mission Innovation project this week, international members said they would increase the clean energy research and development funding the project is designed to facilitate.  According to the White House, member countries will now spend $30 billion per year by 2021 on clean energy research. 

Internal carbon prices used range from $6-60 per metric ton, according to the report. In their 2013 CDP filings, the Walt Disney Company notes a price of $10-20, Google $14 and Xcel Energy $20. Other companies included in the report include: Wal-mart Stores Inc, Delta Airlines, Microsoft and PG&E Corporation.

Brazilian airline GOL completed its first international commercial flight using farnesane, a biofuel made from sugarcane that reportedly has an 80% lower carbon footprint than traditional fuels. Farnesane was developed by Total and biofuel company Amyris with support from Boeing.

Cruise Lines International Association's (CLIA) members - including Royal Caribbean International, Carnival and Disney Cruise Line - will no longer participate in Friends of the Earth's environmental survey.

Levi Strauss and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank launched a new program to reward garment suppliers in developing countries based on their environmental, health, safety, and labor performance. The IFC will offer better loan terms to garment manufacturers that score higher on a supplier sustainability assessment developed by Levi Strauss.

Greenpeace International published a new report on Tuesday accusing Mondelēz International of sourcing palm oil from "rainforest destroyers."

After four years of development, the first international standard for sustainable procurement was launched late last week by the International Standards Organisation (ISO). The first standard of its kind in the world, ISO 20400 aims to help companies make better purchasing choices throughout their supply chains by establishing guidelines for companies to judge suppliers on ethical and sustainability issues.

Marriott International launched Serve 360, a sustainability and social impact platform designed to "guide the company's commitment and deliver positive results" across four priority areas: communities, responsible operations, workplace readiness and access to opportunity, and human rights. As part of Serve 360, the company announced new 2025 sustainability and social impact commitments including targets to reduce water use by 15%, carbon by 30%, waste by 45%, food waste by 50%, and more.

Renewable energy projects surpassed all other sources of new electricity added to the global supply last year, says a new report released this week by the International Energy Agency. In 2015, renewables made up more than half of all new installed capacity, with the greatest gains seen in onshore wind and solar. It's a development that speaks to a "transformation of global power markets,"

Governments have delivered the third major international climate change agreement inside 12 months, thanks to a new global deal to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Nearly 200 countries signed off on the deal to amend the existing Montreal Protocol covering ozone layer-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and extend it to apply to the powerful HFC greenhouse gases commonly used in fridges, air conditioning units and aerosol sprays.

Governments have delivered the third major international climate change agreement inside 12 months, thanks to a new global deal to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). Nearly 200 countries signed off on the deal to amend the existing Montreal Protocol covering ozone layer-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and extend it to apply to the powerful HFC greenhouse gases commonly used in fridges, air conditioning units and aerosol sprays.

As the Arctic melts, oil companies are moving in to drill for more oil. Next year, the Norwegian owned oil company Statoil will drill further north than ever - unless we stop them. An unprecedented case was filed this morning that could do just that. This case is about holding back the oil industry at this final frontier, it is about protecting the beautiful Arctic, and it is about people stepping up to hold governments to account. If we win, millions of barrels of oil could be kept in the ground. We will argue in court that we must take action to keep the Paris climate agreement on track, and we will invoke Norway's constitutional right to a healthy and safe environment for future generations.

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.

Conservationists got a mixed bag of news following an international group overseeing the world's species protection initiatives meeting this weekend. On the positive side, officials decided to officially take the giant panda off of the endangered species list, citing steady successes in preserving the bears' natural habitats. But though this is certainly a small victory, pandas are far from out of the woods when it comes to their species' long-term survival.

Agribusiness giant Olam International has for the first time published a list of the firms it buys palm oil from, part of the company's response to allegations that it is driving forest destruction in Southeast Asia and, more dangerously, perhaps, in West Africa. Almost all of the world's palm oil comes from Indonesia and Malaysia, but as those countries run out of available land, companies like Olam are turning to Africa to expand. In defending itself against the NGOs' allegations, Olam points to the "right to develop" of nations like Gabon, where a third of people live below the poverty line and a fifth are unemployed.