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The Rockefeller Foundation will collaborate with the USDA, EPA, and 10 private sector and non-profit organizations to create "Further With Food: Center for Food Loss and Waste Solutions," an online information exchange that aims to provide best practices for preventing, recovering, and recycling food loss and waste. The website will officially launch later this month (January 2017).

Fazenda da Toca, a private enterprise in São Paulo, is demonstrating the viability of large scale organic farming and agroforestry, including on land with highly degraded soils. Toca could effectively end the myth that agroforestry is not viable at a large scale, that it's too expensive and too labor intensive to be attractive to the private sector.

The Natural Capital Coalition launched the Natural Capital Protocol, a framework for harmonizing natural capital valuation across business sectors. The framework was developed over the last two years with input from more than 450 organizations and has been piloted by companies including The Coca-Cola Company, Dow Chemical, Nestlé, and others.

A global initiative called below50 that aims to scale up the development and use of low-carbon fuels launched today with 20-plus organizations and global brands including Audi, DuPont, DSM, Joule, LanzaTech, Novozymes and Yale University.

A group of 20 organizations including Audi, DuPont and Yale University are joining forces to spur the development and rollout of eco-friendly fuels. The Below50 initiative focuses on scaling up fuels associated with an emissions reduction of at least 50% relative to gasoline.

The Roundtable on Responsible Palm Oil (RSPO), despite its success in convincing palm oil suppliers and buyers to commit to a more responsible supply chain, still has much work to do if this sector will truly become one that respects human rights and sustainable development. After NGO investigations suggested that reforms in the industry were not going far enough, the RSPO suspended dozens of companies from the organization last year for alleged non-compliance.

The Minnesota Sustainable Growth Coalition is a business-led public-private partnership harnessing the collective expertise of over 25 companies, including 3M, Aveda, Dow Water, Ecolab, General Mills, the Great Plains Institute, and Target, to advance the next frontier of corporate sustainability - the circular economy - here in the U.S. Environmental Initiative, a local nonprofit organization, is convening and facilitating the coalition

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.

The Consumer Goods Forum, UNEP, and the World Resources Institute were among a group of organizations to launch the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard-a set of global definitions and reporting requirements that enable companies and countries to measure food waste, identify its origin, and implement measures to reduce it.

On Friday, General Mills announced that it will "soon" start labeling its products that contain genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredients nationwide. With the rationale that it is impractical to label its products for just one state, the company plans to disclose GMO ingredients according to the law set to go into effect in Vermont on July 1.

Pollution killed 12.6 million people worldwide in 2012, with environmental risks causing about a quarter of all deaths worldwide, according to new World Health Organization data. "These impacts are being felt today, worldwide, most severely in developing countries but also in this country," says environmental health expert Frederica Perera.

Environmental advocacy organizations Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth filed a lawsuit against the EPA to accelerate the completion of an "endangerment finding" that would allow the agency to regulate CO2 emissions from U.S. aircraft. The EPA was expected to finalize a proposal for an endangerment finding in mid-2014. 

Elsewhere, a number of high-profile companies, including Apple, Disney, Microsoft and PepsiCo, are experimenting with small renewable energy projects fueled by biogas generated through organic waste. General Electric is another vocal advocate - mainly because it provides a line of industrial generators and combined heat and power systems that can operate using this fuel source.   

The events of 2016 have underscored just how volatile, complex and ambiguous the world is today. Drawing on insights that we have collected around the world from thousands of interviews and engagements with stakeholders and consumers, we take a look at the global shifts that will continue to shape the world for leadership organizations in 2017.

H&M, one of the most eco-conscious fashion stores out there, has been battling against just that since 2013, and is hoping to enlist the help if its customers with a powerful new video. Entitled Bring it on, a short film shows what happens to the garments you recycle, from being turned into new fabrics for new clothes to being used as cleaning clothes. In doing this, it hopes to collect 25,000 tonnes of unwanted clothes per year by 2020. 

H&M's "Bring It On" campaign encourages customers to recycle unwanted clothing at local stores, with Londoners getting a gift voucher worth about $6.25 in exchange. The company aims to collect more than 27,500 tons of used clothing and donate the funds from the garments toward textile recycling and human rights organizations.

The EPA announced the winners of its 2017 Climate Leadership Awards, which recognize companies, organizations, and individuals for their leadership in reducing GHG emissions

Some fashion companies are embracing ethical shopping trends, using greener chemicals and more sustainable production methods. Marketing eco-fashion can be tricky, though: Executives say it's important to avoid finger-wagging and to make sure fashion comes first. "It is primarily about fashion. Being 'green' is in the background," says Olaf Schmidt, organizer of the Ethical Fashion Show in Berlin

The North Face announced the completion of its Responsible Down Standard (RDS), a tool that will provide a global standard through which the outdoor-gear retailer says any organization can evaluate and certify its full down supply chain.

Laws, oversight and guidelines are necessary to ensure we provide solutions to pressing environmental issues. From fracking regulations to carbon-pollution rules to a toxic chemicals act, here are three business policy items the American Sustainable Business Council is working on in conjunction with many other organizations - and information on how you can join the cause.

On Wednesday, The North Face announced the completion of its Responsible Down Standard, a tool that will provide a global standard through which the outdoor-gear retailer says any organization can evaluate and certify its full down supply chain.