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Increasingly common in Europe, municipal "waste-to-energy" incinerators are being touted as a green trash-disposal alternative. But critics contend that these large-scale incinerators tend to discourage recycling and lead to greater waste.

Nike has opened its first water-free facility, which will end the use of water and process chemicals from fabric dyeing at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Far Eastern New Century. The process, which Nike has dubbed ColorDry, reduces dyeing time by 40 percent, energy use by about 60 percent and the required factory footprint by 25 percent compared to traditional methods, the company says. ColorDry products will be introduced to the marketplace in early 2014

The process, which Nike has dubbed ColorDry, reduces dyeing time by 40 percent, energy use by about 60 percent and the required factory footprint by 25 percent compared to traditional methods, the company says.

Cotton is planted on 2.4 percent of the world's crop land and yet it accounts for 24 percent and 11 percent of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides, respectively. Organic cotton represents less than 1 percent of the global total annual crop, but National Geographic, international clothing brand C&A, and activist and filmmaker Alexandra Cousteau believe that needs to change. A new 60-minute documentary, For the Love of Fashion, emphasizes "the need for a paradigm shift in the cotton value chain."

The number of investment professionals in the US offering fossil fuel-free portfolios to investors jumped by more than 50 percent over the past year - from 22 percent to 36 percent, according to a new survey by First Affirmative Financial Network.

Regularly scheduled United Airlines flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco will be fueled by a blend of 30 percent biofuel and 70 percent traditional fuel, reducing an estimated 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions compared with regular fuel. United says it is "the first U.S. airline to begin use of commercial-scale volumes of sustainable aviation biofuel for regularly scheduled flights."

The small country of Denmark is making a big commitment to renewables. Today Denmark's electric grid is over 40 percent renewably powered, and the country is aiming to reach 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035 and 100 percent renewable energy in all sectors by 2050. 

Leahy-IFP's Space Saver bag-in-a-box beverage packaging uses 50 percent less energy during production, generates 22 percent less post-consumer solid waste and 7 percent less process greenhouse gases, compared to 64-oz. plastic bottles, the company says.

Well-designed corporate social responsibility programs increase revenue by as much as 20 percent, command price premiums up to 20 percent and increase customer commitment by as much as 60 percent, according to a study commissioned by Verizon and Campbell Soup.

Well-designed corporate social responsibility programs increase revenue by as much as 20 percent, command price premiums up to 20 percent and increase customer commitment by as much as 60 percent, according to a study commissioned by Verizon and Campbell Soup.

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.

Knowing how conventional cotton is grown and denim is made, always-a-better-way outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has set out to change the industry. The company has partnered with chemical company Archroma on a new denim collection, launched this week - which is Fair Trade certified and said to use 84 percent less water, 30 percent less energy and 25 percent less CO2 compared to conventional denim dyeing processes - as well as a campaign telling us all about it.

Certified commercial green buildings on average cut greenhouse gas emissions from water consumption by 50 percent, reduced solid waste management-related GHG emissions by 48 percent and lowered transportation-related GHG emissions by 5 percent, when compared to their traditional California counterparts, according to a study.

Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE:TWC) has announced that its "Go Green" initiative has resulted in a 38 percent reduction in the company's carbon intensity over the past two years, far exceeding its goal of a 15 percent reduction set in 2012.

Outdoor product company North Face was previously on track to ensure that it used 30 percent recycled material in its products, but has now announced this will rise to 100 percent for all its polyester fabrics during the next 18 months. As polyester accounts for 80 percent of its fabrics, the company is expecting the switch to have a significant impact on its supply chain, while driving demand for recycled polyester materials.

This week, Levi's announced the Fall 2015 launch of the Levi's Wellthread™ Collection, which touts a holistic, sustainable design approach: The line was made in 100 percent cotton for easier recyclability, by empowered workers - and includes the first garments to feature Levi's Water<Less denim finishes, which use up to 50 percent less water. 

Research published in the American Journal of Primatology earlier this month finds that the overall Western Chimpanzee population declined by six percent annually between 1990 and 2014, a total decline of 80.2 percent. The main threats to the Western Chimpanzee are almost all man-made. Habitat loss and fragmentation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture, industrial agriculture (including deforestation for oil palm plantations as well as eucalyptus, rubber, and sugar cane developments), and extractive industries like logging, mining, and oil top the list. In response to the finding that the Western Chimpanzee population has dropped so precipitously in less than three decades, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) elevated the subspecies' status to Critically Endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species.

NRG Energy announced new long-term sustainability targets, which include slashing carbon-dioxide emissions from 2014 levels 50 percent by 2030 and 90 percent by 2050.

US energy-related carbon emissions dropped 12 percent last year, compared with 2005 levels, after increasing in 2013 and 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Reduced energy-sector C02 emissions in 2015 are largely due to a decreased use of coal and increased use of natural gas in the electricity mix, the EIA says. Such fuel-use changes have accounted for 68 percent of total energy-related CO2 reductions from 2005 to 2015.

A new study reveals that consumers' demand for product transparency is on the rise - overall, they desire more product information and are inclined to be more loyal to brands that provide more detailed insights. About 40 percent say they would switch to a new brand if it offered full product transparency, and 81 percent say they would consider a brand's entire portfolio of products if they switched to that brand as a result of increased transparency.