EC Environmental Policy

The Minnesota Sustainable Growth Coalition is a business-led public-private partnership harnessing the collective expertise of over 25 companies, including 3M, Aveda, Dow Water, Ecolab, General Mills, the Great Plains Institute, and Target, to advance the next frontier of corporate sustainability - the circular economy - here in the U.S. Environmental Initiative, a local nonprofit organization, is convening and facilitating the coalition

The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute has announced the winners of the third Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge. 138 design professionals and students in 19 countries worked to submit 79 entries for this third round of the contest, which challenges design students and professionals to apply Cradle to Cradle principles to conceptualize and develop product solutions that can help drive the circular economy. More than 230 designers from 30 countries have participated in the Challenges to date.

Developing nations invested $37.6 billion on renewable energy development in 2015, according to the World Bank. That renewables expenditure added up to 63% of all energy infrastructure spending in such countries last year, up from a five-year average of 44% and a 10-year average of 37%.

Allowing US employees to telecommute has saved Dell $39.5 million and avoided an estimated 25 million kWh of energy and 13,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since fiscal year 2014.

Heineken achieved carbon neutral operations at its Göss Brewery in Austria through the use of 100% renewable energy.

Scotland surpassed its goal to cut GHG emissions by 42% six years ahead of schedule, according to figures published by the Scottish government. As a result, the Scottish government plans to set a new 2020 goal to further reduce GHG emissions.

The Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge, a group of the world's biggest palm oil companies committed to building an industry free of deforestation and labour exploitation, has disbanded less than two years after it was launched.

Researchers in Iceland found a new way of tackling climate change by pumping carbon dioxide underground and turning it into stone.

Norway became the first country to commit to zero deforestation. Norway also reportedly plans to move its carbon neutrality target year from 2050 to 2030.

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi announced that India would work towards ratifying the Paris Agreement by the end of this year, following a meeting with President Obama. The state leaders also launched two initiatives to deploy $20 million to provide clean and renewable electricity to as many as 1 million households by 2020 and deploy $40 million to support small-scale renewable energy projects in India.

The World Wildlife Fund released its Soy Scorecard, which uses cultivation, land use, and workers' rights data to score the practices of 133 European companies in the soy industry.

Researchers from Harvard University published a study that analyzes the economic and public health benefits of implementing a U.S. power plant carbon standard similar to the Clean Power Plan. The study estimates that a U.S. power plant carbon standard could bring net benefits close to $38 billion annually.

The Consumer Goods Forum, UNEP, and the World Resources Institute were among a group of organizations to launch the Food Loss and Waste Accounting and Reporting Standard-a set of global definitions and reporting requirements that enable companies and countries to measure food waste, identify its origin, and implement measures to reduce it.

BSR and Forum for the Future launched the Net Positive Project, a coalition to clearly define what it means to be net positive and build a framework on how to scope, measure, and communicate net positive outcomes. Founding company members include Dell, The Dow Chemical Company, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Kimberly-Clark, and others.

Most recently, social responsibility has become an issue as reports of labor abuses and unethical manufacturing practices have come to light. With growing consumer awareness of all of these issues, finding a path to sustainability is becoming increasingly important.

But climate change is making it harder for resort owners and tour operators to make good on this promise. Climate change is having more of an impact on tourist destinations by eroding beaches and bleaching coral reefs. Mountain destinations are not immune either, as a warming climate melts glaciers and snow pack. The latest bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef has again brought to the forefront the growing impact of climate change on tourist destinations. According to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, warmer than usual waters have caused bleaching (PDF) along much of the reef, and have killed nearly a quarter of its coral.

Now, a company called HyperSolar claims to have developed a commercially-scalable method of producing hydrogen using only sunlight and water.

Often taking up more than half of a product's unit volume, some studies indicate that product packaging accounts for nearly half of all household waste. Simple, powerful solutions for reducing packaging waste lie in finding more efficient ways to meet consumer demands. The adoption of manufacturing practices that satisfy marketing and quality requirements without over-packaging goods would be a great and necessary shift for more sustainable production standards.

BREEAM, the leading UK green-building rating system, has crossed the pond and is looking to take on its US counterpart LEED.

Offshore wind is slowly taking off in the US, according to this analysis. Observers say that this trend can be seen in Massachusetts' proposed offshore wind bill, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's plan to hold an offshore wind auction for a tract of space off the coast of New York and Maryland's continued work on the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act. Some say these advances and several others could help the nation's fledging offshore wind industry reach critical mass.