Category: Green business

Amazon, Yum and RBI shareholders vote against proposals about plastic packaging use

Read the full story at Packaging Dive.

Shareholders at Amazon, Yum Brands and Restaurant Brands International recently rejected proposals that requested the companies report on their plastic packaging use and reduction plans.

At Amazon’s May 24 meeting, 32.3% of votes (excluding abstentions and broker non-votes) backed a resolution supported by shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow that said the e-commerce giant was “falling behind” plastic reduction targets set by other major companies such as Unilever, Walmart, Target and Ikea. A related shareholder resolution also didn’t pass at the company’s annual meeting last year.

Moving from corporate responsibility to impact

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

ESG and the impact economy are changing corporate responsibility forever. Here’s how.

Mars completes $2.5bn sustainability bond offering

Read the full story from FoodBev.

Mars Incorporated has completed a $2.5 billion bond offering as part of its efforts to tackle global environmental issues.

The bond offering consists of a new $500 million sustainability bond that will fund projects for its ‘Sustainable in a Generation Plan’ (SiGP).

H&M beats lawsuit accusing it of greenwashing its fast fashion wares

Read the full story from The Fashion Law.

H&M has beaten a proposed class action lawsuit over its alleged scheme of greenwashing its fast fashion wares. By marketing its Conscious collection products as “sustainable” or “environmentally friendly” when they are not, the plaintiffs argued in the suit they filed last year that H&M was running afoul of California and Missouri state laws. In an order on May 12, Judge Rodney Sippel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri disagreed and sided with the Swedish fast fashion giant, dismissing Mark Doten’s claims due to a lack of personal jurisdiction, and fellow Plaintiff Abraham Lizama’s causes of action for failure to adequately allege his claims against H&M. 

Bee certification program enhances sustainable agriculture with 3rd-party verification

Read the full story at Environment + Energy Leader.

The Pollinator Partnership is expanding its bee certification program by adding a third-party verification option designed to encourage farmers and growers to create safe habitats for bees and other essential pollinators, which will improve sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

The program is being offered in collaboration with Where Food Comes From. Silk Canada, a product from Danone, and KIND Snacks have taken a step toward sustainable almond production by beta-testing a portion of their almond volume under the Bee Friendly Farming Certified third-party verified program. Two almond suppliers in California – Harris Woolf Almonds and Treehouse Almonds – are also participating in the beta test of the program.

FTC’s Green Guides review brings packaging recyclability debates to the fore

Read the full story at Packaging Dive.

A Federal Trade Commission workshop in Washington, D.C., about updating guidance regarding environmental marketing claims — including those often made on packaging — highlighted a lack of consensus on hot-button topics such as the role of chemical recycling and whether to pursue rulemaking to provide more nationalized policy.

Tuesday’s “Talking Trash” workshop featured panels with experts from industry associations, NGOs, states and municipalities. The half-day event covered the current landscape of the recycling market and recycling-related advertising claims, consumer perception of such claims and the future of the Green Guides — specifically the need for any updates or changes related to such claims. “We want to be influenced,” the FTC’s associate director of the enforcement division, Jim Kohm, said at the outset.

Why CSOs have ‘influence with authority’

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

What kind of authority does a chief sustainability officer actually have? More than you’d imagine.

Why the recycling symbol could end up in the trash bin

Read the full story from the Washington Post.

For decades, three arrows pointing in a triangular loop have been the iconic symbol for recycling, but that could change. The Environmental Protection Agency — along with thousands of environmentalists and individuals — are urging the Federal Trade Commission to drop the symbol from plastics that aren’t actually recyclable.

Misleading labels and false claims about “green” products confuse the public about what can and cannot be recycled or composted, according to the EPA. Environmentalists are urging the FTC to update its Green Guides — designed to help marketers avoid misleading consumers with environmental claims — to combat the problem.

The link between business value creation and ESG

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

A new report from Bain & Co. and EcoVadis connects sound ESG management across supply chains with better margins.

Webinar: A Just Transition Approach Powered by a Responsible Energy Industry

May 30, 2023, 11-noon CDT
Register here.

Urgent action is required to decarbonize the power sector in order to minimize global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Decarbonization within the supply chains play a critical role in realizing this ambitions. As a result, efforts are being made to have the power sector reach net-zero by 2040, as decarbonizing the power sector will enable other sectors to do the same.

The Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy is working toward achieving the Paris Accord’s ambition to avoid the harshest impacts of climate change on both people and planet.

In this webcast, learn how the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy aims to accelerate a just transition to net-zero. In this 1-hour long webcast, you’ll further learn:

  • A view of how key players within the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy are working towards enabling the transition to fully sustainable energy across the entire value chain;
  • The findings and commitments of the industrial members of the Alliance detailed in their recently published Net-Zero position paper and pledge;
  • How utilities and suppliers can work together to decarbonize the entire energy sector;
  • Among other themes related to Circular Design Criteria.

Moderator:

  • Sarah Golden, VP, Energy, GreenBiz Group

Speakers:

  • Salvatore Bernabei, Enel Green Power CEO and Chairman of the Global Alliance for Sustainable Energy (“The Alliance”).
  • Monica Oviedo, Iberdrola Head of Sustainability Management Iberdrola and Chair of Net Zero/Decarbonization Working Group of the Alliance.
  • Oluwadabira Abiola-Awe, Student Energy’s Ventures and Capital Campaign Associate, Advisory member of the Alliance.

If you can’t tune in live, please register and GreenBiz will email you a link to access the webcast recording and resources, available to you on-demand after the live webcast.