2Sustain

Back in January, 62 companies from multiple sectors and 17 countries started road testing two new GHG Protocol standards developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

In June, the companies submitted written feedback on their usability along with final GHG inventory reports, and a summary of the feedback is now posted on the GHG Protocol website.

The two new GHG Protocol standards –the Product Lifecycle Accounting and Reporting Standard and the Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain) Accounting and Reporting Standard – provide methods to account for emissions associated with individual products across their life-cycles and of corporations across their value chains.

Overall, both new standards received high marks from the companies that road tested them. According to the WRI, most agree that the standards help with: (more…)

Last week, the Sunny Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC) released its second sustainability report, which highlights the company’s 2009 sustainability achievements and establishes clear goals for the future.

For instance, with regard to environmental sustainability, SDBC says it wants to: (more…)

Dole Food Company, Inc., the world’s largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and the leading producer of organic bananas, announced that Bananito, a Dole farm located in Costa Rica, has received a ‘Plan A’ farming award from British retailer Marks & Spencer.

Earlier this year, Marks & Spencer announced plans to become the world’s most sustainable retailer by 2015, and the company uses its Plan A farming award to recognize and promote farmers and growers who are taking steps to improve the sustainability of their business. This year, the application process was open for the first time to non-UK farmers.

Bananito is an 850-hectare Company-owned farm that has produced bananas since 1989, and it supplies Marks & Spencer as well as other customers. According to the Dole website, all of the 589 workers at Bananito receive at least the minimum wage, with the average being 92 percent above the minimum. Dole also provides workers with affordable housing, medical programs, education opportunities, training programs and other “social wellbeing” services. (more…)

Last week, The Timberland Company announced plans to expand its “Green Index” across the company’s entire footwear line over the next two years.

First introduced in 2007, the Green Index provides Timberland designers a measure of the environmental impact of the company’s various products and also offers customers visibility into the environmental footprint of the Timberland products they buy. A product’s final score –listed on a product tag –is a compilation of its: (more…)

Last year was another record-breaking year for US wind power additions, and a growing percentage of wind turbine equipment used here is being sourced domestically, according to a new report released earlier this month by the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The “2009 Wind Technologies Market Report,” authored primarily by DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, reveals that: (more…)