EC Environmental Policy

Though efforts in sustainable fashion production continue to expand and evolve, the beauty industry has been slow to follow, particularly when it comes to fragrance.

In yet another announcement about "sustainable apparel," Levi Strauss & Co. has said that it is funding $350,000 toward new approaches and innovations in the apparel supply chain.

Animal protein consumption is rising worldwide. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Association estimates that the raising of livestock for meat and dairy products contributes to 14.5 percent of human-induced GHG emissions.

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.

SC Johnson has begun sourcing 100% of the total electricity used at its Bay City, Mich., manufacturing plant from wind, making it the company's third site completely powered by wind, said the company. "With our third site powered entirely by wind energy, almost one-third of SC Johnson's energy usage globally now comes from renewable sources," said Kelly Semrau.

Vivobarefoot is producing Ultra III, amphibious adventure shoes that contain Bloom's algae-based foam. Each pair of shoes will be composed of 25% algae foam that the company says help protect waterways by recirculating "57 gallons of filtered water back into natural habitats."

Nine of the world's biggest fishing companies have signed up to protect the world's oceans, pledging to help stamp out illegal activities, including the use of slave labour, and prevent overfishing.

Shanghai, with its chic cafes, glitzy shopping malls and organic health food shops, is emblematic of improving quality of life for China's urban middle class. Yet while the city's veil of smog has lifted slightly in recent years, its water pollution crisis continues unabated - 85% of the water in the city's major rivers was undrinkable in 2015, according to official standards, and 56.4% was unfit for any purpose.

Procter & Gamble has set a goal of obtaining environmental certification from the Forest Stewardship Council for all of its paper products and packaging. P&G is pursuing this goal in part by partnering with Domtar, a Canada-based manufacturer of paper and pulp products.

South Korea's newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, has ordered the temporary closure of 10 coal power plants for the entire month of June to help reduce air pollution in the country. President Moon Jae-in reportedly stated that he plans to phase these coal plants out over his five-year term.

The U.S. Department of Energy's Better Building Challenge partners have reduced their cumulative energy use by 240 trillion BTUs and saved $1.9 billion through energy efficiency measures since the launch of the program in 2011, according to the Better Building Challenge's 2017 progress report.

BSR launched the Sustainable Fuel Buyers' Principles, a guiding framework created by the members of BSR's Future of Fuels initiative to "build the market for low-carbon fuels, ensure progress toward a sustainable set of fuel options, and create opportunities for partnership and collaboration." The inaugural corporate signatories include Amazon, HP, IKEA, PepsiCo, UPS, and Walmart.

Brands in Unilever's sustainable living lineup, which include Hellmann's and Ben & Jerry's, fueled 60% of the company's growth last year, and are growing 50% faster than Unilever's other brands. "Our results show that sustainability is good for business, with increasing evidence that our 'sustainable living brands' do better," said CEO Paul Polman.

From its 100 rooftop solar panels to its high-efficiency faucets and its energy-generating elevators, the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., stakes its claim to being America's greenest hotel. The refurbished textile warehouse holds the LEED Platinum rating, which is the US Green Building Council's highest distinction.

Shifting cotton production to a more sustainable model presents a number of opportunities across the value chain, yet only 13% of cotton is grown in a sustainable manner, with only 20% of that actually being sourced by companies for their products. Leading international retailers, cotton standards, industry initiatives and stakeholders are banding together to form Cotton 2040, an initiative that seeks to make sustainable cotton a mainstream commodity rather than a niche market.

Ushering the economy towards a more circular, sustainable model, global brands such as L'Oréal and PepsiCo are striking up new partnerships aimed at initiating change both at home and abroad, proving that there is indeed strength in numbers. L'Oréal and SUEZ have joined forces to improve environmental performance and optimize resource management throughout L'Oréal's value chain, while PepsiCo has developed a new Science-Based Target Initiative-approved target for GHG emissions.

Two Asian nations are on track to exceed their climate goals by 2030, according to the Climate Action Tracker, an analysis produced by a consortium of nonprofits and consulting groups. China and India both have made renewable energy investments and have committed to burning less coal.

State and local leaders announced Monday a bill that would ban polystyrene food containers, such as styrofoam cups, in California by 2020. State Sen. Ben Allen, whose district includes UCLA, introduced Senate Bill 705, or the Ocean Pollution Reduction Act, at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. Allen said he wanted to introduce this bill at UCLA to highlight the fact that a major institution like UCLA could make the change with positive results. UCLA eliminated polystyrene containers from its campus dining facilities in 2009 as part of a plan to have zero waste to landfill by 2020.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Circular Fibres Initiative, a multi-stakeholder effort to build a circular economy for textiles. Nike and H&M have joined the initiative as corporate sponsors. The C&A Foundation, the Danish Fashion Institute, Fashion for Good, Cradle to Cradle, and Mistra Future Fashion will also participate in the initiative.