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In the first initiative of its kind to publicly benchmark corporate chemicals management, the Chemical Footprint Project (#ChemicalFootprint) today published its inaugural report. The results provide valuable insights into how leading companies manage chemicals in their products and supply chains, and how all companies might manage these issues in the future.

In the Delhi region alone, Indian project partners of the Sustainable Water Resources Management project implemented 85 different "low-hanging fruit" recommendations resulting in a 765 percent return on investment in one year and an average payback time of 11 days per project, SIWI says.

Organic dairy producer Stonyfield Farm, Inc. announced this week that it will utilize a new tool to manage its supply chain: SupplyShift™ - a new, cloud-based, supply chain management platform focused on sustainability, but flexible enough to assess any procurement need or supply chain risks.

Stricter regulations, the explosive growth of new hydraulic fracturing shale oil and gas wells and limited available water resources are driving the popularity of centralized wastewater management in North America, according to Pollution Engineering magazine

Apple is advetising a env program manager in China to make srue the company aheres to regional and national regulations

Asia Pulp and Paper Group, one of the largest paper producers in the world, is serious about its pledge to end the clearing of natural forests, according to a progress review of the company's Forest Conservation Policy.Greenpeace International, a long-time critic of APP and the organization that conducted the progress review, is cautiously optimistic and warns that the company's commitments are likely to stand or fall by the quality of conservation and management recommendations to the company's senior management.

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.

Global investment in water management solutions is projected to reach nearly $3 billion in 2025-up from $2 billion in 2016, according to a Navigant Research report.

Water and waste giant Veolia has saved the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, millions while improving efficiencies throughout the city's wastewater system and facilities over the course of a 35-year environmental contract.

Threatened with expulsion from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Indonesian pulp and paper company Asia Pacific Resources International re-committed to an earlier pledge to stop clearing forests for new plantations by the end of 2014. The company also pledged to double its forest restoration program to 40,000 hectares and use 100% plantation fiber by the end of 2019.

Chipotle is under pressure from shareholder activists who want the company to publish an annual report on its food sourcing, energy use, waste and labor standards. The proposal, due for a vote at Chipotle's shareholder meeting in May, is important given the brand's focus on green marketing, explains Adam Kanzer, managing director at Domini Social Investments. "They've really put their brand behind this message of sustainability and better farming techniques and cleaner agriculture," he says. "We want to understand: Is it true? How is it done? How do you manage it?"

"Water is the ultimate shared resource," according to WWF's Lindsay Bass, and collaborative solutions to its depletion are crucial. WWF is working with companies to manage their water use through its Water Risk Filter tool and its strategic alliances with the private sector. I spoke with Bass about the opportunities for companies to improve their water management and become "positive actors" in shared watersheds. 

Drug manufacturers will be required to fund and manage medication disposal programs, following the US Supreme Court's decision to not hear the pharmaceutical industry's case against a drug take-back law in California.

The solar-powered compactor packs 16 yards of loose trash into just 4 yards, reducing waste pick-up at the busy property to just once per week, thus slashing hauling costs by 50 percent, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 14 tons annually, and importantly limiting garbage truck noise to guests and neighboring residents.

Weber State University has saved $1.4 million by reducing energy consumption since 2013, following the purchase of a system enabling real-time data at the sub-meter level for its entire portfolio of energy systems and using Lucid's BuildingOS to make performance data instantly accessible.

Forest product company Asia Pacific Resources International Limited (APRIL) hired KPMG to audit the company's performance on its Sustainable Forest Management Policy. The policy calls for APRIL to conserve over 450,000 hectares of forests and to stop producing pulp from areas where conservation assessments have not been completed.

Institutional investors representing over half a trillion dollars in assets under management are calling on four major palm oil producers to adopt an immediate moratorium on deforestation and join the growing effort within the industry to establish traceable, deforestation-free palm oil supply chains. Led by Green Century Capital Management, investors called on the companies to cease their efforts to weaken the existing threshold for no-deforestation.

Another resolution, filed with J.M. Smucker, was withdrawn this week by co-filers Clean Yield Asset Management and Green Century Capital Management when the company agreed to stringent guidelines on the sourcing of palm oil.

TiE Silicon Valley, a not for profit organization dedicated to "fostering entrepreneurship in the Bay Area and globally," has announced an upcoming hackathon event focused on tackling three real-world issues within the "smart city" space: smart parking, waste disposal management and water access management. The event will begin in January 2016 and will last for two weeks. Winners will be invited to attend TiECon 2016, TiE's largest annual conference, and will also have an opportunity to win prizes and publicity.