cracks are beginning to appear in the shareholder value edifice and are leading to a renewed examination of the factors that should shape investor decisions. Three factors are driving this re-assessment.

Today, the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) launched LEED Proven Provider, a new designation that streamlines the LEED project review process for experienced organizations that demonstrate consistent excellence in administering LEED projects. "LEED Proven Provider makes the LEED review process faster and more seamless," said Doug Gatlin, vice president of program delivery, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and GBCI. "It allows GBCI to deliver faster reviews of LEED projects while still maintaining the integrity of the LEED certification process."

Walmart and Target have teamed up to improve sustainability in the personal care and beauty industry.

An Apple supplier in China making iPhone and iPad parts violated a number of health and safety, environmental and human rights laws, according to a report released by China Labor Watch and Green America.

Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are among the technology companies still using hazardous chemicals such as polyvinylchloride and brominated flame retardants in their products, according to a report by Greenpeace. While there has been some progress in recent years, the report shows that a number of leading consumer electronics companies are still continuing to use toxic chemicals in smartphones, televisions, tablets, computers and cables.

Eighty-one percent of mainstream chemical producers say it's very or moderately important to be a front runner in sustainable chemicals, according to a survey by Genomatica and ICIS.

The growing amount of solid waste being added to landfills from product packaging is an environmental concern to Cisco. To address this, we strive to design packages that protect against shipping damage while minimizing material usage. Our employee-led "Pack It Green" Initiative, which promotes optimized packaging and order fulfillment, is a big part of this commitment.

Unilever and the World Resources Institute are partnering to increase transparency in agricultural commodity supply chains with the goal of ending tropical deforestation. The partnership will enable Unilever and its suppliers to use the Global Forest Watch Commodities platform to monitor forest cover change around commodity supply areas and processing facilities such as palm oil mills.

This new scenario modeling system helps planners in Latin America and the Caribbean make more informed infrastructure investments.

Water that used to hold down land masses in California is now being lost, so some parts of the state's mountains are being uplifted by a surprising amount

It says that Apple is leading the consumer electronics sector in addressing its environmental footprint, leaping ahead of rivals Samsung, who are "failing to match Apple's leadership".

NASA research shows Earth's atmosphere contains an unexpectedly large amount of an ozone-depleting compound from an unknown source decades after the compound was banned worldwide.

Large investors withdraw a shareowner resolution after the packaged food giant agrees to remove tree-cutting palm oil suppliers from its supply chain.

Greenpeace is launching a new ClickClean ad campaign aimed at persuading tech companies such as Amazon and Twitter to buy more of their energy from renewable sources. A previous campaign persuaded Google, Facebook and Apple to boost their green-energy purchases

The International Union of Architects (UIA), representing about 1.3 million architects worldwide, has pledged to phase out carbon emissions by buildings by 2050.

the Closed Loop Fund, a budding $100 million effort by a group of large companies to invest in recycling infrastructure and, in the process, put more recycled materials into manufacturing supply chains. Along the way, it aims to give a boost to recycling in the United States at a time when rates are leveling off but the demand for recycled feedstocks is picking up.

Up to 14 percent of the world's cocoa and tea supply is grown sustainably. We are no longer "niche" but we are nowhere near there yet, says Tensie Whelan.

Carbon markets are working, but challenges remain for making carbon markets work to support forest owners and businesses.

General Motors began composting food scraps at its global headquarters, working with a local company to transform the waste into gardening soil. The company expects to collect 51,000 tons of food scraps by the end of 2014.

Ford's world headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., will be fitted with a 68,000-square-foot solar array as part of the automaker's broader efforts to boost its credibility as a sustainable company. The project will include 30 charging stations for electric vehicles and will generate more than a megawatt of electricity.