2Sustain

For years now, consumers, investors, advocacy groups and other stakeholders have been pressing for improved transparency in business practices, and in line with appeals like these, California legislators passed the Transparency in Supply Chain Act (SB 657), effective as of January 1, 2012.

Simply put, The Transparency in Supply Chain Act requires retailers and manufacturers to publicly disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains. The law applies to all corporations doing business in California with more than $100 million in worldwide gross receipts, and as a result, it’s estimated to affect some 3,200 companies.

Not surprisingly, the new regulations have been the subject of much debate. (more…)

The nonprofit advocacy group Mercy for Animals launched an undercover investigation into McDonald’s egg supplier Sparboe Egg Farms and found cruel conditions. Hidden-camera video from the investigation showed a number of abuses, including:

• the use of battery cages, which are banned in California, Michigan and throughout the entire European Union,
• workers burning off the beaks of young chicks and callously throwing them into cages, some missing the cage doors and hitting the floor and
• rotted hens, decomposed beyond recognition as birds, left in cages with hens still laying eggs for human consumption.

In a statement, McDonald’s described the behavior on the video as “disturbing and completely unacceptable.” (more…)

Last month, the athletic apparel company PUMA announced its first “environmental profit and loss statement.” PUMA’s CEO Jochen Zeitz explained the decision by insisting that, in order to remain profitable, companies must integrate into their business models the true costs of relying on nature.

PUMA’s move is an example of “corporate ecosystem valuation,” the process of businesses making strategic decisions by assigning a financial price to both ecosystem degradation and the services that ecosystems provide. For example, clean water and forests provide services like erosion control, CO2 absorption, and food.

But, why would companies consider adding a value to resources like water or timber? After all, these are not line items an analyst typically finds on a balance sheet. Data from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) tells part of the story: (more…)

Consumers are increasingly focused on corporations’ sustainability practices. But, how well do public perceptions align with firms’ actual performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues?

New research suggests that there isn’t much alignment, at all, and that, unfortunately, many companies are facing reputational risk if they don’t better coordinate their branding, communications, reporting and stakeholder engagement processes around emerging ESG priorities.

The new study, Sustainability Research Report: Measuring Perception vs. Reality, provides a quantitative analysis of sustainability and corporate citizenship performance of 100 leading multinationals.

Conducted by the brand consulting firm Brandlogic and CRD Analytics, the study surveyed 2400 supply chain managers, investment professionals and graduating college students from the US and abroad about their perceptions of the multinationals’ ESG efforts. Then, researchers compared those perceptions against the performance data from 175 performance metrics and five key ESG performance indicators.

Data from the study showed that: (more…)

Mattel’s recent progress report on a variety sustainability issues was counterbalanced with a global campaign by Greenpeace targeting the toy company’s paper packaging allegedly derived from Indonesian rain forests.

According to the Greenpeace website, Mattel’s packaging includes paper from Indonesia’s most notorious rainforest destroyer Asia Pulp and Paper (APP). As a result, “Critical wildlife habitat and carbon-rich rainforests and peatlands are being wrecked for cheap, throw-away toy packaging,” Greenpeace says.

Other toy companies are implicated in the Greenpeace campaign, as well. In fact, Greenpeace reports that its forensic testing shows regular use of rainforest fiber (MTH) in the packaging of major toy brands manufactured in China or Indonesia. In addition, chain-of-custody evidence in China and Indonesia shows that APP is an important supplier of packaging materials for major toy brands.

Mattel, which according to the LA Times is “under siege” by environmental critics responding to the Greenpeace report, announced that it will develop a new policy to make its packaging suppliers “commit to sustainable forestry management practices.”

In addition to addressing current concerns about packaging sourcing, Mattel’s policy will also cover other wood-based products in its toy lines, such as paper, books and accessories. The company says it is focused on minimizing its footprint throughout the value chain and across the organization. (more…)