2Sustain

The newly updated Climate Counts scorecard, released earlier this month, reveals that over the past year businesses have made some improvements with regard to sustainability issues. However, huge differences remain between sectors, and it appears that, in general terms, industry as a whole is failing to meet the climate challenge. Taken altogether, Climate Counts Executive Director Wood Turner describes the results as “disappointing.”

Here are a few of the details: (more…)

Earlier this month, the Procter & Gamble Company announced that it will be using renewable, sustainable, sugarcane-derived plastic on selected packaging in its beauty and grooming product line. The company says it will be piloting the new packaging globally over the next two years, with the first products expected to be on store shelves in 2011.

The new sugarcane-derived plastic is made using an innovative process that transforms sugarcane into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) –a plastic commonly used for product packaging. The new packaging   remains 100 percent recyclable in existing municipal recycling facilities, and represents a significant step forward in sustainable packaging because it is made from a renewable resource –unlike traditional plastic, which is made from non-renewable petroleum. (more…)

The French government has launched a major renewable energy investment program targeting emerging clean energy technologies, such as solar, marine and geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects and advanced biofuel development.

The new program will offer €450m ($572m) in subsidies and a further €900m in low-interest loans to cutting-edge technology projects. About €190m ($241m) will be invested before the end of the year 2010, with €290m set aside over the next 4 years up to 2014. All told, the program, called Démonstrateurs et plates-formes technologiques en énergies renouvelables et décarbonées et chimie verte, will provide €1.35bn ($1.7bn) of financial support to the renewable energy sector over the next four years.

According to analysts, this move may signal a shift in strategies for France, which has traditionally favored more established alternative energy technologies, such as nuclear and wind. (more…)

NSK, a manufacturer of motion and control products, released its new corporate environmental policy last week. The policy outlines NSK’s pledge to conduct business in a manner that protects human health, prevents pollution and protects the environment, and it also outlines how employees and suppliers are encouraged to participate in the company’s efforts.

NSK, which is headquartered in Tokyo, has been recognized among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

In the announcement last week, NSK said that in 2009 employees in the United States contributed to environmental savings of: (more…)

Forming a partnership that illustrates the current trend towards non-profit/for-profit sustainability alliances, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has teamed up with The Coca-Cola Company to improve the water quality of the Yangtze River in China.

In many ways, the Yangtze has taken the brunt of China’s colossal economic growth, and even though the river provides China with 35 percent of its fresh water, it now ranks number one on WWF’s list of the ten most-threatened rivers in the world. For Coca-Cola, which operates 39 bottling plants in China, the partnership with WWF represents an opportunity to strengthen its commitment to water stewardship while mitigating its water risks.

A recent post at Knowledge@Wharton explains how non-profit/for-profit partnerships such as this one can be mutually beneficial: (more…)