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Wilmar International Ltd. , the world's largest palm oil processor, opened its supply chains to outside scrutiny on Thursday in what environmentalists called an unprecedented step to help safeguard tropical forests. Singapore-based Wilmar said it would give outsiders, from customers to environmentalists worried about deforestation, access to online maps showing where it buys palm oil at more than 800 mills in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Finally, the fashion industry realizes we cannot continue this trend in a world where the rising population will have to devote more land to food - or even energy. We cannot continue to grow cotton like mad, nor can we endlessly spin fossil fuels into polyester or other synthetic fabrics. The road toward more sustainable fibers will be a long one with plenty of failures and misses, but it is one we need to take. That is, at least, absent a total rethink of how many clothes we really need in our closets - a discussion the large global clothing chains want to avoid.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has terminated or suspended more than 100 of its members for failing to file annual reports on their sustainability practices. Environmentalists praised the association for holding its members accountable. "The duty to continuously improve performance is central to the founding vision of the RSPO, and this applies not only to the organization as a whole but, more importantly, to its individual members," said Adam Harris of the World Wildlife Fund.

Shell is set to confront the risk that climate change may pose to its future, after backing a resolution from activist shareholders. The move came on the same day it announced $15bn (£10bn) in cost cutting due to plummeting oil prices and said it wanted to resume drilling for oil in the Arctic.

BP and Shell plan to encourage shareholders to back a resolution brought by investor activists, which urges the companies to strengthen their response to the escalating risk of climate change

EU leaders have agreed to a legally binding commitment to reduce the region's greenhouse emissions by 40% by 2030 from 1990 levels. The EU also committed to increase energy efficiency and the share of energy generated from renewables. "We managed to reach a fair decision. It sets Europe on an ambitious yet cost-effective energy path," said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Greenpeace is struggling to make the public impression it once did, in part because companies have realized that fighting back against activists -- by using high-pressure hoses to repel oil-rig invasions, for instance -- tends to backfire. Companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and Procter & Gamble are now taking a nonconfrontational approach to dealing with activists' stunts. "to try and keep people's attention and keep them interested and engaged ... can be very challenging," admits campaigner Laura Kenyon

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.

Renewables are expected to grow at a faster rate than previously thought and could account for 15% of global generation by 2035, according to BP. The report says wind, biofuels and other renewables are expected grow 6.6% annually. Renewables currently account for 3% of the world's energy mix, but that figure could climb to 9% within two decades. "The rate at which renewables gain share from 2020 to 2035 matches oil's gain over the 15 years of 1908-23," BP said.

This 60-second video is intended to amp up fans for Super Bowl 50 "the Bay Area way." In promotion of the "Play Your Part" campaign, the ad encourages fans to take public transit to the big game, bring their own water bottle, conserve energy, reduce waste, and otherwise contribute to a socially- and environmentally-responsible event. The campaign is part of the San Francisco Bay Area Super Bowl 50 Host Committee's larger efforts to make this year's Super Bowl "Net Positive."

Corporate sustainability reporting desperately needs to up its game in order to align company-level sustainability performance with the broader systems-level ambitions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and COP21, the UN climate change conference, according to a new report from the UNEP. For example, while 95% of the 108 companies researched in the report disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, only a mere 8% set GHG emissions reduction goals in the context of the science-based target of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius - the central goal of COP21.

On Thursday, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced changes to EU financial tools to help circular economy projects and businesses secure funding and support the realization of EU climate goals. The changes open €24 billion (~US$26.4B) in funding for businesses looking to transition to a circular economy model.

The Lego Group has set a goal to source 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. In support of the goal, Lego's parent company Kirkbi has acquired a 32% stake in Dong Energy's Borkum Riffgrund 1 wind farm off the coast of Germany. Lego CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said the company would continue to look for opportunities to invest in renewables. In addition, he said, it is working to boost recycling and cut down on packaging in an effort to be more sustainable

Nestlé has committed to achieve zero waste to landfill status in all US factories by 2020 and pledged to expand its use of recycled content to by the end of 2016.

The world's largest canned tuna company, Thai Union Group (TU), has been connected to forced labor, human rights abuses, and environmental devastation. This week, Greenpeace launched a global campaign demanding that TU take urgent and far-reaching steps to clean up its act. to press the issue, Greenpeace's #JustTuna campaign asks consumers to sign a petition to tell brands that they will not buy unsustainable or unjust tuna.

From Thailand to Bali, a huge increase in tourists, many from China and other rapidly developing economies, is straining sensitive ecosystems to the breaking point. Some countries are trying to control the boom, with a few closing popular destinations to allow damaged areas to heal.

After London air pollution levels surpassed allowed limits for 2017 just five days into the new year, new initiatives to improve air quality and draw attention to the city's growing pollution problem have been popping up on the regular. In January, Ford announced that it was teaming up with local government to launch the Ford Transit Custom Plug-In Hybrid Van Pilot Program and the city has begun to roll out ultra-low emissions zones and fleets of hybrid and zero-emission buses to help drive London towards a zero-emission future.

According to these goals, by the year 2022, Target will: source its own brand paper-based packaging from sustainably managed forests, eliminate expanded polystyrene from its brand packaging, add the How2Recycle label to its packaging, and create more demand for recycled packaging. Additionally, Target has partnered with The Recycling Partnership to fund improved recycling operations and education in cities and towns across the country. to date, more than 30 companies are behind The Recycling Partnership's work to improve recycling in more than 250 communities. Target is the organization's first retail partner.

Coca-Cola European Partners will increase the amount of recycled PET in its bottles from 25% to 50% over the next three years as part of a new initiative to boost sustainability. The strategy also includes an effort to encourage recycling by promoting reforms to Great Britain's recycling programs.