EC Environmental Policy

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expanding its program to clean up the products it sells, setting a 2022 target for reducing potentially harmful substances and widening the list of chemicals it wants to avoid.

Panera Bread and Chipotle led the fast-food pack by earning A's on the new annual report card from a coalition of public interest groups that annually ranks corporate efforts to remove antibiotics from their poultry, beef and pork supplies. Twelve of the other 25 listed companies also made progress eliminating the drugs, but the report says they need to catch up with the A-listers and pay as much attention to beef and pork as to poultry.

Nike introduced Flyleather, a new material made with at least 50% recycled natural leather fiber. The material requires 90% less water to produce and has an 80% lower carbon footprint, compared to traditional leather manufacturing

The International Tourism Partnership launched the first ever industry-wide global commitment to sustainability, focused on four member company-led goals: carbon, water, youth employment, and human rights. International Tourism Partnership member companies include Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International, Wyndham Hotel Group, and more.

A group of six companies - including Dell and Kimberly-Clark - have signed on to the WRI- and WWF-led Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles. The Buyers' Principles now have 70 corporate signatories, representing over 53 million MWh of annual demand by 2020.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced a new goal to achieve carbon neutrality for global operations by 2022. Underpinning this goal is a long-standing commitment to reducing energy consumption, improving energy efficiency and procuring renewable energy. As part of this goal, Morgan Stanley will source 100 percent of its global energy needs from renewable energy. Since 2006, the Firm has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 36 percent and has achieved its two previous emissions reductions goals ahead of schedule.

General Motors will power all of its Ohio and Indiana manufacturing facilities with renewables through a 200 MW purchase of renewable energy from two wind farms in Ohio and Illinois. The wind farms will provide enough output to meet 20% of the company's global electricity use from 2018.

Naturally alkaline Hawaiian bottled water brand Waiākea says it will be the first beverage brand to utilize PET bottles that degrade in 10-15 years - rather than 1,500 - after teaming up with Florida-based TimePlast.

"Sell by," "Use by," "Display until" and "Best before" food labels intended to inform consumers about food quality and safety frequently come under fire for their lack of clarity and confusing terminology that contributes significantly to the colossal food waste problem - one that costs families up to $29 billion annually in the United States alone. However, little concrete action has been taken to address the problem. Now, the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) - a network of 400 of the biggest consumer goods companies across 70 countries - along with Champions 12.3 has approved a Call to Action to standardize food date labels worldwide by 2020.

Existing buildings in New York will now face higher standards for the emissions of greenhouse gases by upgrading water heaters, boilers and roofs, among other changes. The goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 7% by 2035.

Tyson Foods Inc. has announced that sustainability will play a key role in the company's strategy as it moves into fiscal 2018; the company expects sustainability will be one element that will help the company reach an expected sales growth of about 6% next year.

There are a projected $35 million in cost savings over the initial contract term through 2023. Industrial customers benefit from considerable cost savings using reclaimed water by lowering operating costs of chemicals and labor.

Water is currently one of the biggest risks to the $5 trillion food industry. In fact, the global food sector uses 70% of the world's freshwater. A new report from Ceres ranks the top 42 largest global food and beverage companies, and shows who's doing the best. And the worst.

According to new research by Accenture, CDP and Hermes Investment Management, over 40% of global companies may still not be seeing the forest for the trees: Four in 10 telecomm and consumer goods companies reporting to CDP are failing to capture or report any financial value from strong environmental performance. The largest emitters in the global economy account for a cumulative $447bn opportunity from climate change, yet 42% of these companies have not yet quantified the potential value.

Phasing out unprofitable coal plants could save U.S. consumers $10 billion a year by 2021 and boost the country's competitiveness, according to a new report by Carbon Tracker launched today. No Country for Coal Gen: Below 2°C and Regulatory Risk for U.S. Coal Power Owners is the first study to look at the economics of each U.S. coal power plant and provide investors with a tool to support a rational closure program to keep global warming below 2 C°.

Samsung IT says its subsidiary will not pursue any business with the Korean-Indonesian conglomerate Korindo, a company linked to rainforest destruction practices. A petition, launched by SumOfUs.org and delivered by Mighty Earth directly to Samsung's Corporate Social Responsibility team, was part of an extensive two-month campaign, calling on Samsung to drop the joint venture or any business partnership with Korindo. But Samsung IT still needs to clean up its palm oil practices, the groups say.

The fashion and textile industries continue to make strides towards circular models with the emergence of new resources and technologies that make a sustainable shift easier than ever before. The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute's Fashion Positive Initiative has unveiled a set of online resources designed to rapidly increase environmental and social outcomes in the fashion industry, while the H&M Foundation and The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel have uncovered a new hydrothermal process that fully separates and recycles fabric blends that can then be reused directly without any quality loss.

Timberland and the Smallholder Farmers Alliance have partnered to provide Haitian farmers with a sustainable economy and to reduce deforestation. SFA will give the farmers who plant trees free cotton seeds, training and tools, while Timberland says it will purchase a certain amount of its global cotton supply from Haiti.

A group of high-level government officials from 26 national and subnational governments - including EU Member States, U.S. States, Mexico, Canadian Provinces, and the Republic of Korea - announced their support for "renewed cooperation on carbon markets" to address climate change.

Transportation company Uber announced its Clean Air Plan, which aims to transition its UK-based "uberX" drivers to 100% hybrid or fully electric vehicles by the end of 2022. As part of the plan, Uber has contributed £2 million toward a dedicated fund that allows its UK-based drivers to "access up to £5,000 towards the cost of upgrading their car to a hybrid or fully electric vehicle." The company will also add a fee to every ride taken through the app in London to grow the fund and extend access to more drivers, with plans to add a similar fee in other UK cities over the next year.