Category: Green business

How Global Value Chains Push and Pull U.S. Companies on Climate Action

Read the full story at BSR.

In the United States, companies are engaging in climate action as a result of different domestic business drivers: Investing in renewables, innovating to create climate-compatible products, and attracting new talent through environmental values are most often driven by local or regional imperatives.

But for most companies operating within global value chains, the pull and push of climate action also comes from abroad, and many U.S. companies now understand the potential to demonstrate global leadership through climate action.

Is greenwashing silencing the sustainability revolution?

Read the full story in GreenBiz.

Businesses that trumpet their environmental credentials are often accused of greenwash. Rightly, organizations such as WWF have to show that when we collaborate with a company that isn’t getting everything right, it’s because we believe we can change how it works to become better. But there may be another phenomenon too, maybe a backlash to greenwash: that of “green hush.” If a company fears the accusation of greenwash or thinks customers won’t care about its attitude to climate change or the natural environment, then why would it shout about it?

Retailers Lead the Charge toward Bio-Based Packaging

Read the full story in Environmental Leader.

Retailers, with their increased use of sustainable packaging, are playing a leading role in encouraging consumers to adopt bio-based packaging materials; manufacturers and retailers that adopt biodegradable packaging materials will benefit through cost cuts and tax reductions, according to a Technavio market research analysis.

2017 ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry Awards

ACEEE is proud to announce that the nomination process is open for the 2017 ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency Awards to be presented at the 2017 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Industry in Denver, Colorado, August 15 – 18, 2017.

Champion awards recognize leadership and accomplishment in the energy efficiency field. Winners will be selected based on demonstrated excellence and lasting impact. Nominees’ work may be centered in areas such as: research and development (R&D), implementation and deployment, energy policy, industrial leadership, and lifetime achievement. Thank you for taking the time to nominate outstanding individuals in the field of energy efficiency.

Nomination(s) must be received by ACEEE no later than June 9, 2017.

Ikea’s solution to peak stuff? Invest in plastics recycling plant

Read the full story in The Guardian.

Furniture giant commits to reducing use of virgin raw materials but experts raise concerns about supply chain domination.

Dell Says the Circular Economy Is Good for Business: Q&A with Michael Murphy

Read the full story in Environmental Leader.

At Dell, obsolete electronics are viewed as a resource rather than waste. In North America, the Dell Reconnect program with Goodwill Industries accepts computer equipment of any brand for refurbishment or recycling. Since 2008, the company reports that it has collected 1.6 billion pounds of electronics from its global take-back programs.

Scaling up is essential, especially to meet aggressive goals for incorporating post-consumer recycled content (PCR) into products, according to Michael Murphy, vice president of global product compliance engineering and environmental affairs at Dell Technologies. Murphy will be talking about the circular economy at the 2017 Environmental Leader Conference in June. Recently we caught up with him to find out how the world’s largest technology recycler is closing the loop.

Walmart’s plan to lift a gigaton of carbon from its supply chain

Read the full story in GreenBiz.

Walmart is doubling down on its climate commitment.

Today, the retail giant announced Project Gigaton, a goal to remove 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from its supply chain by 2030, equivalent to taking more than 211 million passenger vehicles off the road for a year, the company said.

The focus is on Scope 3 emissions — those that are a consequence of business operations but over which it doesn’t have direct control. It is launching an online toolkit for suppliers seeking to better manage energy, agriculture, waste, packaging and deforestation, and to design consumer products with a lower impact — for example, LED light bulbs and apparel that’s washable in cold water.