EC Environmental Policy

Bamboo appears to have less impact than fiber from northern softwood trees, particularly when it comes to land use because it regenerates in three years as opposed to 70 years for the trees, according to a life cycle assessment commissioned by Kimberly-Clark, the company behind Kleenex, Scott and Huggies.

General Electric did not mention environmental harm it caused by dumping chemicals into New York's Hudson River, according to federal officials.

The West Virginia chemical spill last month cost businesses $61 million, according to a preliminary economic impact study by the Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research.

Facilities' total releases of toxic chemicals decreased 12 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to the EPA's annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) report. The decrease includes an 8 percent decline in total toxic air releases, primarily due to reductions in hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions.

America's energy economy is growing cleaner, but the country's embrace of gas and renewables is driving conventional energy giants to ship fossil fuels to buyers overseas. That might limit the climate impact of the greener U.S. energy economy, experts say. "The Obama administration wants to be seen as a climate leader, but there is no source of fossil fuel that it is prepared to leave in the ground," said Lorne Stockman of Oil Change International

What used to be a one-way route from the utility to your building is becoming a two-way street.

Walmart, Disney and General Motors are among the powerful companies putting a price tag on environmental impacts

National Geographic has long been in the business of creating what environmental economists call 'existence value' - getting people to care about the survival of places they know they will never visit in their lifetimes. Now, they're using carbon offsets as part of their strategy to reduce operational emissions while investing in some of the gorgeous landscapes that appear in their pages.

Carnival, Kimberly-Clark, Intel, PG&E and Xerox are among 34 companies named to the Natural Capital Leaders Index, which recognizes companies that have grown their revenue between 2008 and 2012 while reducing their environmental impacts during that same period.

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.

Coca-Cola, MillerCoors, H&M and others are finding new ways to mitigate water issues. But their actions are just a drop in the bucket.

Three out of 10 top global risks are also related to water, according to a WEC study.

Shareholders withdraw resolution after world's largest meat processor asks contract farmers to improve housing standards for pigs

Conducting due diligence on the environmental and social practices of small and growing agricultural businesses yields financial benefits to lenders that partially or fully offset the costs involved, according to nonprofit agriculture lender Root Capital.

Some 40 industry groups, led by the National Association of Manufacturers and the US Chamber of Commerce have partnered to oppose the EPA's carbon emissions rules for power plants and other "poorly crafted GHG regulations."

A movement is afoot to help cosmopolitan species thrive, with help from surveys and tools like i-Tree and eBird.

L'Oréal has committed to zero deforestation and says it will source 100 percent renewable raw materials from sustainable sources by 2020.

McDonald's and 24 other retailers committed to a new set of 2020 sustainability targets within their UK operations. The companies pledged to collectively reduce absolute carbon emissions associated with retail operations 25% from 2005 levels, account for 100% of their water usage, and divert over 99% of their waste from landfills.

Ben & Jerry's, Stonyfield Farm, and over 200 other companies and organizations signed a letter urging President Obama to institute a national labeling system for genetically engineered foods.