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Palm Oil Free Certification programme launches in UK and Australia A new certification programme has launched to validate consumer products that make no use of palm oil, which has been blamed for fuelling deforestation in Asia. Set up by a group of women experts, the Palm Oil Free Certification Accreditation Programme (POFCAP) is now in operation in Australia and the UK following approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, IP Australia, and IPO UK. Fourteen other nations have applied to introduce the label. Australia-based eco cleaning products company Clean Conscience is the first to carry the label, and the group is working with a host of other companies on certification. Despite improvements to tackle deforestation, POFCAP said "only 17% of all palm oil used can be classed as 'non-conflict'". The scheme is based on extensive research and trusted methods to trace all potential palm oil and palm oil derivative ingredients of a product back to their source. (Business Green)

According to new research by Accenture, CDP and Hermes Investment Management, over 40% of global companies may still not be seeing the forest for the trees: Four in 10 telecomm and consumer goods companies reporting to CDP are failing to capture or report any financial value from strong environmental performance. The largest emitters in the global economy account for a cumulative $447bn opportunity from climate change, yet 42% of these companies have not yet quantified the potential value.

California Governor Jerry Brown and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon have signed a joint agreement to work together to tackle climate change and "capitalise on the huge potential of the Under2 MoU, the ambitious commitment to bold and decisive climate action covering over one billion people and over a third of the global economy to which both jurisdictions are signatories."

A group of organizations - including C&A Foundation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, McDonough Innovation, and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition - have launched the Fashion For Good initiative, which aims to help set the apparel industry on a more sustainable path using a Cradle to Cradle-inspired, circular approach to product development. The initiative will engage key players from across the fashion industry and will support the "scale up of technologies, methodologies, and business models with the potential to wholly transform the industry."

Climate change and other hurdles mean it will take more water - and potentially more taxpayer money - to save the Everglades, according to new scientific findings released Thursday. The report to Congress warns that rising seas and warming temperatures are threatening to worsen damage already done by decades of drainage and pollution, caused by development and farming overtaking the Everglades. A recent report showed that climate change, pollution and other factors could increase the cost to restore the Florida Everglades. So far, restoration costs are pegged at $16 billion, but additional efforts, such as proposed reservoirs, could add to that cost.

As evidence mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet

mounts that excessive use of light is harming wildlife and adversely affecting human health, new initiatives in France and elsewhere are seeking to turn down the lights that flood an ever-growing part of the planet.

The new year has only just begun, but we've already recorded our first days with average carbon dioxide levels above 400 parts per million, potentially leading to many months in a row above this threshold, experts say.

The year is young, but the planet has already had several days during which atmospheric carbon dioxide averaged more than 400 parts per million. The coming year will likely see several entire months, possibly including January, with average carbon levels above 400 ppm, researchers say. ScientificAmerican.com (1/12)

Wastewater treatment and renewable energy production can be costly endeavors. However, if valuable chemicals could be extracted from wastewater, or if algae could more easily be used to turn carbon dioxide from the air into biofuel, companies could profitably pursue such projects. Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) and the Chinese Academy of Science & Technology are working to make this possible.