EC Environmental Policy

McDonald's purchases 2.5% of all the beef produced in the European Union alone-is a key player in the launch of two sustainable beef pilot programs in the U.S. One will attempt to measure beef sustainability through the entire supply chain in a research initiative conducted by the Noble Foundation. The other is a $4.5 million matching grant program run by a group of researchers to test grazing practices that can lead to a negative carbon impact.

Apple has reached an agreement with Nevada utility NV Power to build 200 MW of new solar power capacity in Nevada by 2019, supporting Apple's renewable energy needs for its Reno data center.

A Oregon Global Warming Commission report reveals that the state likely will not meet its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 2020 or 2050. Committee members said the increase in carbon emissions is largely due to more Oregon residents driving longer distances and in bigger vehicles.

Walmart has agreed to pay $1 million to settle greenwashing claims that allege the nation's largest retailer sold plastic products that were misleadingly labeled "biodegradable" or "compostable" in violation of California law.

The Paris Agreement and the global divestment campaign has secured one of its biggest victories to date, after banking giant Deutsche Bank announced it would halt investment in new coal projects in line with its commitment to the international climate change treaty.

H&M, one of the most eco-conscious fashion stores out there, has been battling against just that since 2013, and is hoping to enlist the help if its customers with a powerful new video. Entitled Bring it on, a short film shows what happens to the garments you recycle, from being turned into new fabrics for new clothes to being used as cleaning clothes. In doing this, it hopes to collect 25,000 tonnes of unwanted clothes per year by 2020. 

H&M's "Bring It On" campaign encourages customers to recycle unwanted clothing at local stores, with Londoners getting a gift voucher worth about $6.25 in exchange. The company aims to collect more than 27,500 tons of used clothing and donate the funds from the garments toward textile recycling and human rights organizations.

Sweden has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. The country plans to achieve this goal by cutting 85% of its GHG emissions from 1990 levels, and offsetting the remaining emissions.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has released its 2016 RSPO Impact Report, which highlights the following accomplishments for 2016: * Increased membership by 29% over the previous year. * Achieved 83 million hectares (10,900 square miles) of certified palm oil producing lands across 14 nations. * 40 RSPO growers have phased out the toxic herbicide paraquat, with another 33 firms saying they are on track to ban the use of this chemical. * Doubled the number of certified independent smallholders. * Closed two-thirds of the labor grievances filed since 2009.

Companies that switch to green buildings save 14% in operational costs over five years, according to the World Green Building Trends 2016 SmartMarket report. The report found that companies that either build green offices or renovate to be more sustainable add 7% in asset value to the company.

Retail giant Target has announced its commitment to reducing harmful chemicals from its products and investing in green chemistry with the release of a new chemical strategy that covers its entire value chain, operations and products.

The clothing company will now take your old clothes back and give you store credit. But they won't throw them away-they'll be fixed up and then resold.

Sky broadcasting company in the UK released a campaign to reduce plastic waste in oceans and along beaches. The #OceanRescue campaign features celebrity-led educational segments that give viewers tips for reducing plastic waste.

World Wildlife Fund is encouraging Climate Saver companies to help reduce global carbon emissions by 1.2 gigatons by 2020. WWF created the Climate Savers program in 1999 to give companies a way to partner to achieve environmental and sustainability goals.

The outdoor gear retailer REI-the nation's largest consumer co-op-not only makes clothes and gear for the outdoors, it also donates millions of dollars each year to support conservation efforts nationwide. But it recently brought its commitment to caring for the long-term health of the outdoors home by looking at the infrastructure that supports its operation-and building a net-zero-energy distribution center.

The State of Green Business, 2017 Here are the 10 trends defining sustainable business, with data for a deep dive about how corporations are taking action on energy, emissions and more.

In its proposal to host the 2024 Olympic games, the Paris bid committee proposed a plan that would cut the event's carbon emissions by more than 50% compared with the last two Olympic games. It involves providing public or shared transportation for all game spectators and housing most athletes less than 30 minutes from their events.

The European Commission's newly released Roadmap for the EU Strategy on Plastics in a Circular Economy outlines the problems Europe is facing with plastics and four areas on which the Plastics Strategy will focus later this year, including improving the economics, quality and uptake of plastic recycling and reuse. But the Break Free From Plastic Movement says the Commission's plan fails to get to the root of the plastics problem.

According to a recent United Nations University report, e-waste generation is growing fast in both total volume and per capita measures throughout East and South-East Asia between 2010 and 2015. Driven by rising incomes and high demand for new gadgets and appliances, the average increase in e-waste across all 12 countries and areas analysed was 63% in the five years ending in 2015 and totalled 12.3 million tonnes. China's more than doubled to 6.7 million tonnes, up 107%.

Future 500's Report on the Top 10 Stakeholder Engagement Trends of 2017. This is our sixth annual report. Each year, our team pools their expertise and perspective to identify ten social, environmental or economic trends that will shape engagement between corporations and external stakeholders in the coming year and beyond.

"Just 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling globally, one third ends up in the natural environment and if current trends continue, by 2050 our oceans could contain more plastics than fish, by weight," says Rob Opsomer, lead of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's new plastics economy initiative. "We need to fundamentally rethink the way we produce, use and recover plastics, redesign plastic packaging and adopt common standards."