I asked the question just last week in my post about Verizon’s 2008-09 Sustainability Report: Why can’t cell phone manufacturers agree on a one-size-fits-all charger? Then, just a few days ago, I ran across news that phone makers in Europe have agreed to start manufacturing phones that can be charged using a single, universal device beginning in 2010. How remarkably sensible!
For years now, researchers have been warning about the collapse of our marine ecosystems. In particular, global fish populations are declining, and as startling as it sounds, by some estimates, we’ve already pushed as much as 75% of the world's fisheries beyond the limits of sustainability.
In the U.S., consumers buy half of their seafood at supermarkets –ringing in a total of about $16 billion in annual seafood sales –and so, a few years ago, Greenpeace initiated a scorecard that ranks supermarkets on the sustainability of their seafood operations. The third edition of this seafood sustainability scorecard, titled “Carting Away the Oceans,” was released this week, and it contains a glimmer of good news: more than half of the leading supermarket chains in the U.S. have made at least some progress in helping the oceans and meeting meet consumer demand for sustainable products.
Whether they call it Waxman-Markey, cap-and-trade, or greenhouse gas emission reductions, everyone these days is talking about carbon management –and for good reason. As Stephen Stokes and Kevin O’Marah sum it up in the preface to their excellent article from Monday:
“The Bottom Line: Carbon can be a game changer—positively or negatively. Ignoring this issue is no longer an option. It’s time to develop holistic corporate and supply chain wide strategies that minimize business risk and maximize opportunities associated with carbon.”
Still, if you’re like me, you’re probably wondering, “Is that really what corporate America is doing?” What evidence is there that businesses across the country preparing for emerging themes relating to “green” initiatives, such as sustainability reporting, GHG footprint reduction, and carbon trading?
With news of the Madoff scandal dominating the headlines once again, it’s no surprise I’m thinking about ethics today. Remember my post from April, the one in which Ethisphere Magazine showed us that over the past five years, the world’s most ethical corporations have significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in terms of average stock growth percentile? Ethisphere Magazine made a convincing argument that it pays to be ethical, but why is this? Are employees more productive if they’re working for an ethical company? Maybe ethical companies foster greater loyalty?
PepsiCo opened its first overseas “green” plant in China last week. The state-of-the-art beverage facility, located in the western city of Chongqing, is part of Pepsico’s $1 billion investment effort to grow its manufacturing capacity in the country, particularly in interior and western areas.
According to a press release, the Chongqing plant is the first green beverage facility ever built in China — and the first plant of any kind in the industrial center of Chongqing to be built in compliance with LEED engineering standards. In addition, this new eco-friendly plant
