Group items tagged

A new poll from Bloomberg shows that by nearly a two-to-one margin, 62 percent to 33 percent, Americans are willing to pay more for their energy to achieve reductions in carbon pollution, and a majority who plan to vote are more likely to support candidates who endorse policies to fight climate change.

Unilever has plead guilty to two counts of violating the US Clean Water Act and will pay a $1 million fine under an agreement reached with the EPA and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut (USAO).

Home improvement retailer Lowe's Home Centers will pay $18.1 million to settle claims that more than 100 of its stores in California illegally dumped hazardous waste in landfills.

Serious labour rights violations have taken place at Brazilian farms linked to some of the largest international coffee certification systems, including Rainforest Alliance and UTZ, according to an investigation by Repórter Brasil. Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, with about one-third of all coffee consumed planted in the country. These violations include workers' pay packets being falsely docked resulting in some receiving less than half Brazil's minimum wage, and workers being hired informally and without mandatory medical tests. One farm even promoted its output with a Fairtrade certificate it was not entitled to use.

South Korea has been using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and a 'pay-as-you-waste' system to help cut back on food waste. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Mayor's Zero Waste Challenge as part of the city's plan to send zero waste to landfill by 2030. Thirty-one businesses, including Disney, Anheuser-Busch, Citi Field, Etsy, Whole Foods, and more, have committed to divert at least 50 percent of their waste from landfill and incineration.

the Council of Canadians, one of Canada's most respected social advocacy organizations, did the unthinkable: It called for a boycott of Nestlé Water. The group accused the long-embattled water bottling giant of exploiting its access to Canadian aquifers. In Ontario and British Columbia, the company pays as little as $2.25 per 1 million liters while residents struggle to find safe water supplies.

Walmart has agreed to pay $1 million to settle greenwashing claims that allege the nation's largest retailer sold plastic products that were misleadingly labeled "biodegradable" or "compostable" in violation of California law.

Most cocoa farmers receive less than 5 cents for every dollar that consumers spend on chocolate, according to Oxfam, giving little incentive or funding to invest in more sustainable farming methods, writes Amy Carniol. By paying farmers a higher price, Fair Trade chocolate improves producers' quality of life and helps them ensure long-term viability, Carniol writes.

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

A federal judge ordered Citgo Petroleum to pay more than $2 million for Clean Air Act violations over toxic emissions at its refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas, from 1994 to 2003.

Green cleaning products are no longer a niche interest, with many consumers willing to pay a little extra to pick up chemical-free or otherwise eco-friendly cleaning products, writes Stephen Ashkin. That shift is partly due to the rise of eco-labels and certification programs, which helped cleaning companies slice through the complexities of green chemistry. "With the advent of certification, standards and ecolabels, buyers have been given more tools to choose appropriate products," Ashkin explains.

Panasonic has confirmed that it is planning to provide staff working in Chinese cities a salary premium to compensate them for the effects of the country's escalating smog crisis.

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

Australian regulators are clamping down on egg and pork producers who deliberately misuse terms such as "free range" to describe animals that actually spend much of their lives indoors. "When claims such as 'free range' or 'bred free range' are misused, consumers may be misled into paying more for a product feature that doesn't exist," said Rod Sims of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. "Competitors are also harmed as legitimate free-range producers unfairly lose their competitive advantage." 

Comcast, DirecTV, Cisco, AT&T and other consumer electronics and pay-TV companies, along with the Energy Department and other organizations, have developed standards for cable TV boxes expected to avoid more than 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

Conopco, a Unilever subsidiary and the consumer goods company's US business, has agreed to settle two cases and pay $362,500 for air pollution violations related to the sale of hair styling products in California.

Kenya-based Wildlife Works Carbon employs "wildlife rangers" on about 500,000 acres in and around two national parks to protect elephants from poachers. The company sells carbon credits to raise the funds needed to pay the rangers. The cash raised also goes to compensate landowners for leaving land and resources in their natural condition, and to fund educational and community projects. It's the country's pilot project as part of its belonging to the United Nations' Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation program.

TransCanada wants the US to pay it $15 billion to recoup costs and damages related to President Barack Obama's refusal to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline. In addition to planning the claim under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the company sued the US government in federal court in Texas, claiming Obama's November decision exceeded his constitutional authority.

But for ice cream super brand Ben & Jerry's, carbon pricing is already a reality, allowing the scheme to pay U.S. dairy farmers to invest in onsite renewable energy generation and other clean technologies as it looks to slash its supply chain emissions.

Apple frequently uses debt rather than its flush cash coffers to finance corporate initiatives, such as stock repurchase programs - it makes sense to do so for tax reasons. But, the company's latest appeal to the public debt markets includes another "first" for Apple and the tech industry at large: Apple is issuing $1.5 billion in green bonds to pay for a wide range of environmental initiatives.