Group items tagged

Two years after Greenpeace launched a campaign demanding Thai Union, the world's largest tuna company, take action to eliminate exploitative and unsustainable practices from its supply chains, the two organizations have finally put their long-running conflict to rest.

Google has partnered with The Common Ground Alliance - a group of the world's largest advertisers - to launch the Common Future Project, a global YouTube-based campaign that aims to engage "Generation Z" (aged 15 to 24) around the Sustainable Development Goals. Google will provide a grant to support and amplify the campaign.

McDonald's is launching a campaign promoting its sustainable fish farming practices in preparation for the increased number of Filet-o-Fish sandwiches the company sells during Lent. Commercials highlight suppliers' fishing processes in the Gulf of Alaska.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Circular Fibres Initiative, a multi-stakeholder effort to build a circular economy for textiles. Nike and H&M have joined the initiative as corporate sponsors. The C&A Foundation, the Danish Fashion Institute, Fashion for Good, Cradle to Cradle, and Mistra Future Fashion will also participate in the initiative.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Challenge partners have reduced their cumulative energy use by 240 trillion BTUs and saved $1.9 billion through energy efficiency measures since the launch of the program in 2011, according to the Better Building Challenge's 2017 progress report.

Since the REFOOD initiative launched a year ago in a bid to offer a platform for companies and organisations in the food and service sector to help reduce food waste, things have really taken off. The initiative now counts 800 Danish restaurants, cafes, food producers and institutions that are taking an active role in bringing down food waste on a daily basis while increasing recycling.

BSR launched the Sustainable Fuel Buyers' Principles, a guiding framework created by the members of BSR's Future of Fuels initiative to "build the market for low-carbon fuels, ensure progress toward a sustainable set of fuel options, and create opportunities for partnership and collaboration." The inaugural corporate signatories include Amazon, HP, IKEA, PepsiCo, UPS, and Walmart.

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.

With 2020 fast approaching, former United Nations Climate Change Chief Christiana Figueres has called on the global community to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. Joined by a group of leading climate and business experts, Figueres has launched a campaign highlighting why 2020 is a critical turning point and how it can be achieved. The campaign draws on findings from the report 2020: The Climate Turning Point, which features the most up-to-date scientific basis for urgent action to reduce emissions, as well as a roadmap of action to 2020.

Molson Coors launched its 2025 sustainability strategy and goals, which include plans to achieve zero waste to landfill across all major manufacturing facilities, cut carbon emissions by 50%, increase water efficiency by 22% across breweries, and more.

The World Wildlife Fund launched a research initiative that aims to identify and address the sources of pre-consumer food waste. The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and the Walmart Foundation are supporting the research initiative through a $1.3 million grant contribution.

When it comes to the private sector's efforts to curb climate change, the rubber hit the road at New York Climate Week. Companies and their nonprofit partners announced numerous milestones and hosted discussions throughout the city to translate lofty goals into action. Meanwhile, new initiatives were launched to deepen collaboration among the private sector, governments and civil society.

In June, C&A, the international Dutch chain of retail clothing stores, launched a line of T-shirts certified to the Cradle to Cradle standard, meaning that they were designed and manufactured in a way that is benign to the environment and human health, and whose materials can be recirculated safely back into industrial materials or composted into the soil.

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.

The Carlsberg Group's brewery in Falkenberg, Sweden, is now using entirely renewable energy. The move comes after Carlsberg announced its goal to reach carbon-neutral status as part of its Together Towards Zero initiative earlier this year.

The World Wildlife Fund released results from the 12-week pilot program it launched to reduce food waste across the hotel industry, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation and the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The results show that participating properties reduced food waste by at least 10% and lowered food costs at least 3% in some cases. Companies participating in the program included Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott International, and others.