EC Environmental Policy

Investors filed 110 shareholder resolutions this proxy season related to sustainability issues and climate change with 94 US companies, according to business nonprofit Ceres, which helped coordinate the shareholder filings.

Smithfield's pledge followed a legal complaint by the Humane Society alleging that the pork supplier claimed to have higher animal welfare and environmental standards than it actually did.

Palm oil production is a big business in Malaysia and Indonesia, but environmental pollution is one of the industry's biggest problems. A Silicon Valley company hopes to turn that problem into a profit by converting wastes from palm oil production into fuel

Marriott decreased landfill waste per occupied room in its Americas region by 4.9% from 2011 to 2012, the company announced in its 2013 sustainability report update

According to Green Biz, 14 environmental and social resolutions earned at least 40 percent shareholder support, with requests for sustainability reporting tha tincludes greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency targts gaining over 40%

The El Paso Zoo launched a free national smartphone application Thursday that scans the product's bar code on the back of the item to help consumers identify which ones use palm oil. The El Paso Zoo Palm Oil Guide and Scanner app is currently available in the iTunes App Store for iPhones. An Android version will be available next month.

Miniwiz Sustainable Development Ltd., a Taiwanese architectural firm, completed a building in Shanghai, China, at the end of July, built with 100% trash. The building, Nike's newest concept store, used 5,500 soda cans, 2,000 PET water bottles and 50,000 old CDs and DVDs, the company says.

Organic food manufacturer Amy's Kitchen, Farm Aid, Clif Bar & Company, The Urban Farm, Organic Seed Alliance and the Center for Food Safety are among more than 150 farm organizations, millers, retailers, bakeries, seed businesses and food processors urging the US Department of Agriculture to improve its oversight of experimental trials of genetically engineered crops.

Based on data released earlier this month by the US Drought Monitor, nine urban areas in the United States are under "exceptional drought" conditions and may experience widespread crop damages, even more severe water restrictions, and water emergencies in coming months.

Google emitted 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2012, a 9 percent decrease from the previous year, according to the search giant's latest carbon footprint data.

Meluha the Fern, a 5-star "Ecotel" hotel operated by the Concept Hospitality Group in Mumbai, announced that it is nearing its 100% solid waste-free goal, with 99.4% of solid waste diverted away from landfills.

Finelite, a manufacturer of high-efficiency lighting systems, cut its waste production by 84 percent between 2005 and 2012 through using reusable packaging, Sustainable Plant reports. Through such innovations as replacing bubble wrap used to protect products with crinkled paper and so-called lean packaging, the company saved about $27,000 a year in garbage disposal costs, the article says.

Environmental questions about Canada's massive tar sands development have long centered on greenhouse gas emissions. Now there are mounting concerns about the huge volumes of water used by the oil industry and the impact on the vast Mackenzie River Basin.

Technology is being developed to reduce water use in dyeing but the use and abuse of water to dye clothing continues

Mercedes-Benz to use Plug Power fro 123 hydrogen-based GenDrive fuel cell units to power forklifts. Fiat selected AeroViroment to provide its home charging stations and installations for the Fiat 500e. Its the 5th auto manufacture to choose Aero for its services.

Precision Castparts, DuPont, Biomet, the Bayer Group and Dow Chemicals are the top five corporate air polluters in the US, say researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

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.

Carnegie has been on a seven-year journey to create the world's first bio-based interior textile that doesn't compromise performance, value or aesthetics.