From its 100 rooftop solar panels to its high-efficiency faucets and its energy-generating elevators, the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., stakes its claim to being America's greenest hotel. The refurbished textile warehouse holds the LEED Platinum rating, which is the US Green Building Council's highest distinction.

Shifting cotton production to a more sustainable model presents a number of opportunities across the value chain, yet only 13% of cotton is grown in a sustainable manner, with only 20% of that actually being sourced by companies for their products. Leading international retailers, cotton standards, industry initiatives and stakeholders are banding together to form Cotton 2040, an initiative that seeks to make sustainable cotton a mainstream commodity rather than a niche market.

Ushering the economy towards a more circular, sustainable model, global brands such as L'Oréal and PepsiCo are striking up new partnerships aimed at initiating change both at home and abroad, proving that there is indeed strength in numbers. L'Oréal and SUEZ have joined forces to improve environmental performance and optimize resource management throughout L'Oréal's value chain, while PepsiCo has developed a new Science-Based Target Initiative-approved target for GHG emissions.

Two Asian nations are on track to exceed their climate goals by 2030, according to the Climate Action Tracker, an analysis produced by a consortium of nonprofits and consulting groups. China and India both have made renewable energy investments and have committed to burning less coal.

State and local leaders announced Monday a bill that would ban polystyrene food containers, such as styrofoam cups, in California by 2020. State Sen. Ben Allen, whose district includes UCLA, introduced Senate Bill 705, or the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act, at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. Allen said he wanted to introduce this bill at UCLA to highlight the fact that a major institution like UCLA could make the change with positive results. UCLA eliminated polystyrene containers from its campus dining facilities in 2009 as part of a plan to have zero waste to landfill by 2020.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Circular Fibres Initiative, a multi-stakeholder effort to build a circular economy for textiles. Nike and H&M have joined the initiative as corporate sponsors. The C&A Foundation, the Danish Fashion Institute, Fashion for Good, Cradle to Cradle, and Mistra Future Fashion will also participate in the initiative.

VF Corporation adopted its first Animal Derived Materials Policy, which sets guidelines for the company to eliminate the use of fur, angora, and exotic leather in all VF brand products. The company developed the policy in partnership with The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International.

SAP has committed to achieving carbon neutrality in its operations by 2025. The company is currently purchasing renewable energy certificates to cover 100% of the electricity used in its data centers.

A group of 24 companies - including Apple, Facebook, Google, HPE, Ingersoll Rand, Johnson Controls, Microsoft, Tiffany & Co, Unilever, and VF Corporation - signed a statement urging President Trump to "keep the United States in the Paris Agreement on climate change for the good of the U.S. economy." The statement was featured as a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Post.

The amount of trash produced by K-Cup pods sold for home and office coffee brewing by Dunkin' Donuts may not be worth the revenue, say some of the chain's shareholders. One investor has called on the board of directors to provide a report on the issue by October.

The City of Atlanta has pledged to source 100% of its electricity from renewables citywide by 2035, with plans to power all city government building with renewables by 2025.

Mission Blue, a new initiative launched by National Geographic and Water Aid India, aims to raise awareness about the 76 million people in India who lack access to clean drinking water. The channel and the organization also are working together on MissionBlueMySchool to provide clean drinking water to 2,500 southwest Delhi students, whose school's water supply now depends on tanker trucks

Rainforest Action Network continues to pressure PepsiCo about palm oil sourcing and its links to deforestation and human rights abuses. This time, the NGO culled export data to connect the company to what it calls "conflict palm oil."

Indian Power minister Piyush Goyal reportedly announced that India is considering a target to transition the country to a 100% electric vehicle fleet by 2030, according to The Times of India.

Gap, Inc. pledged to source 100% of its cotton from more sustainable sources by 2021. The company has sourced 11.5 million pounds of sustainable "Better Cotton" since 2016 and will continue its partnership with the Better Cotton Initiative to achieve this new goal.

A group of eight companies - including the Campbell Soup Company, Henkel, PepsiCo, and Unilever -have adopted the How2Recycle labeling system, a standardized labeling system for product packaging that communicates recycling instructions to U.S. consumers. The How2Recycle label is now featured on thousands of products from more than 60 companies.

AkzoNobel has launched the Human Cities Coalition, a multi-stakeholder group that is dedicated to accelerating progress against UN Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. The coalition is comprised of more than 150 stakeholders and 20 partners, including Arcadis, Philips, and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In an effort to dye its clothes without using toxic chemicals, the green-minded apparel company is making its new Clean Color Collection with natural dyes sourced from 96 percent renewable resources.

A year after being suspended from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and dropped by companies such as Unilever, Mars, Nestlé and Kellogg for clearing peatlands in Kalimantan, Indonesia, Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group has announced plans to eliminate deforestation and exploitation throughout its supply chain. In response, Greenpeace has suspended its active campaign to give IOI time to show it is serious about reform.

Researchers from the Environmental Defense Fund, Harvard University and Princeton University have proposed that scientists use different and more precise measurements when predicting global warming trends, particularly by measuring carbon emissions on both 20- and 100-year scales. The researchers believe this dual-measurement system would help organizations and governments see both the short- and long-term benefits of different energy projects.