EC Environmental Policy

Sixty percent of recreational travelers view themselves as "sustainable travelers," according to new research, with young and wealthy travelers especially likely to weigh environmental factors when planning trips. Still, almost two-thirds of eco-travelers say they're skeptical about brands' sustainability claims.

South Korea has been using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and a 'pay-as-you-waste' system to help cut back on food waste. Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Mayor's Zero Waste Challenge as part of the city's plan to send zero waste to landfill by 2030. Thirty-one businesses, including Disney, Anheuser-Busch, Citi Field, Etsy, Whole Foods, and more, have committed to divert at least 50 percent of their waste from landfill and incineration.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The top official at the Environmental Protection Agency said Friday the ongoing legal fight over regulating carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants won't delay the nation's accelerating shift to cleaner sources of energy. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke at Climate Action 2016, a conference in Washington on efforts to curb global warming. Seeking to reassure her international audience, McCarthy said the United States will absolutely meet its obligations to cut carbon emissions as agreed to in the landmark climate treaty signed in Paris last December.

US energy-related carbon emissions dropped 12 percent last year, compared with 2005 levels, after increasing in 2013 and 2014, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Reduced energy-sector C02 emissions in 2015 are largely due to a decreased use of coal and increased use of natural gas in the electricity mix, the EIA says. Such fuel-use changes have accounted for 68 percent of total energy-related CO2 reductions from 2005 to 2015.

New software breaks down the performance of financial investments in environmental conservation.

After new chemistry policies from the like of Target, Walmart and Kaiser Permanente, the economics of green alternatives are increasingly favorable.

L'Oreal's chief sustainability officer, Alexandra Palt, reveals how the global beauty brand is upending corporate norms to drive change across all levels of the business.

Nestlé Waters pledged to source 100% renewable electricity for its UK-based bottling plant in Buxton, England.

Anheuser Busch, the Walt Disney Company's ABC, and Whole Foods Market are among more than 30 New York City businesses that have pledged to halve the amount of waste they send to landfills by June 2016. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio aims to reduce the city's waste output by 90% by 2030.

The New Climate Economy launched the Coalition for Urban Transitions, a global initiative to bolster the economic case for improvements in urban development. The Coalition will work with countries - including China and India - to ensure effective urban infrastructure investment is a central part of their growth strategies.

The Climate Group-led RE100 program has partnered with Rocky Mountain Institute's Business Renewables Center to increase renewable demand, find renewable opportunities, and provide the means to bridge the two through tools and knowledge.

The Science Based Targets initiative announced that 155 companies are now participating in its program to establish emissions goals in line with what scientists say is necessary to keep global warming below the 2 degrees Celsius threshold.

Cotton is planted on 2.4 percent of the world's crop land and yet it accounts for 24 percent and 11 percent of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides, respectively. Organic cotton represents less than 1 percent of the global total annual crop, but National Geographic, international clothing brand C&A, and activist and filmmaker Alexandra Cousteau believe that needs to change. A new 60-minute documentary, For the Love of Fashion, emphasizes "the need for a paradigm shift in the cotton value chain."

The Forest Stewardship Council has demonstrated the power of harnessing brand affinity and the growing awareness of ethical choice. Three recent and inspiring examples in Spain, Italy and Germany illustrate their success in fostering both individual and collective action in each of these markets. 

While national leaders spout optimistic platitudes celebrating the great achievement of the globally unifying Paris Agreement on climate, environmentalists note that there is little in the way of substantial action plans behind the many promises made last December. Meanwhile, the most intense El Niño in history is leaving in its wake a world gripped by 7 months of record high temperatures; drought, water shortages, and famine (especially in India and Africa); wildfires (Fort McMurray, Canada); record coral bleaching; and a fast shrinking Arctic ice cap that set stunning early melt records this winter and spring.

The Rocky Mountain Institute's Business Renewables Center (BRC) is working together with RE100, led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, to accelerate the procurement of renewable energy by some of the world's most influential companies. The partnership aims to increase renewable demand (buyers), find renewable opportunities (developers and intermediaries), and provide the means to bridge the two through tools and knowledge.

Radisson Blu® is one of the world's leading hotel brands under the Carlson Rezidor umbrella, a hotel group that includes 1,400 hotels in 115 countries. As a global leader, Carlson Rezidor has achieved a great deal of progress when it comes to designing and operating sustainable hotels. This article will focus on the sustainable achievements 

The ocean's value has been estimated as high as $24 trillion, yet despite its inherent connections to the health and well-being of wildlife, humans, and the global economy, it continues to be overexploited and polluted. Plastic pollution and shark killing are two major problems that could be - at least in part - alleviated by new materials: a seaweed-based biodegradable plastic packaging, and a sugarcane-based alternative to a widely used moisturizer normally derived from shark liver oil.

When it comes to in-home recycling habits, Unilever and Johnson & Johnson have found the same thing: Not all packaging is treated equally. American households recycle empty bath and beauty bottles far less than their kitchen counterparts. Each company announced they would be reprising, and building upon, behavior change campaigns to encourage families to recycle, with an emphasis on bathroom product packaging.  

Now that the Paris Agreement on climate is becoming a tangible reality, companies need to address a key question: What does the agreement mean for me?