2Sustain

Brooks Sports, Inc. released its first corporate responsibility (CR) report earlier this month.

Brooks Sports, parent of leading running brand Brooks and women’s active lifestyle brand Moving Comfort, aptly titled the report Running Responsibly and is using it to:

• highlight the company’s environmental and social performance in 2009 and 2010 and
• outline challenges and key focus areas for the future.

Among the sustainability achievements, Brooks has:

• modified materials used in the manufacture of the vast majority of Brooks shoes. For example, virtually every component of the Cascadia 6 has an environmentally-friendlier feature, such as materials made of recycled content, soy-based foams and water-based inks and adhesives.
• reduced packaging materials needed and waste generated in the manufacture of its shoe boxes.
• reduced the use of hazardous substances in the manufacturing process. I n 2010, Brooks listed 193 chemicals on its restricted substance list and actively tracked 67 of the highest risk substances. All 49 of Brooks’ footwear component and material suppliers, and contract factories have enlisted in its Restricted Substances program to help make Brooks products as safe as possible.

With regard to factory and supplier performance, Brooks: (more…)

The new Ford Focus Electric features seat fabric made from REPREVE^®, a polyester fiber derived from a hybrid blend of recycled materials, including used plastic water bottles and post-industrial waste.

REPREVE is manufactured by Unifi, Inc, a global leader in sustainable textile solutions, and Ford is the first automakers to use this branded fiber for its seats. According to Ford, the seat fabric on each Focus Electric now includes the equivalent of more than 20 plastic bottles per car.

For years, Ford has been committed to finding a sustainable solution for textiles used in car production.

In 2009, the company mandated that fabric suppliers use a minimum of 25 percent recycled content for all 2009 and beyond model year vehicles. Since then, 37 different fabrics meeting the requirements have been developed and incorporated into Ford vehicles.

Now, Ford is taking it a step further by mandating that fabric be 100 percent sustainable in vehicles with eco-conscious powertrains like Focus Electric.

REPREVE fits the bill. Unifi officials report that all told, 22 plastic, 16-ounce water bottles are used in the seat fabric of a single Focus Electric. (more…)

Late last month, Hilton Worldwide announced an extraordinary partnership with Good360 to connect hotels donating high-quality used goods with charitable organizations that can then repurpose the items and use them to serve needs within their communities.

By utilizing LightStay, Hilton Worldwide’s proprietary sustainability performance management platform, all of the more than 3,750 Hilton Worldwide hotels globally will be able to enter goods available for donation into a tracking system. This tracking system will link to Good360′s online product donation marketplace, enabling more than 22,000 participating charities to claim items as needed.

Additionally, Hilton Worldwide’s group meeting clients can track donations entered by Hilton Worldwide-branded properties in the event a donation opportunity is available through LightStay’s Meeting Calculator.

“Our partnership with Good360 is the critical link we’ve been looking for,” said Jennifer Silberman, vice president, corporate responsibility for Hilton Worldwide. “Many of our hotels have been donating for some time, and we are excited to watch how this partnership will enable more donations by connecting hotels with a greater number of organizations to support communities in need and providing resources to facilitate their donations.”

Traditionally, hotels have trouble building effective relationships with existing charitable partners on a consistent basis due to time, resource or legal constraints. (more…)

It’s a familiar debate in the month of December. Eco-minded consumers want to know which is more sustainable: a fresh cut Christmas tree or an artificial one?

This year, an ISO-compliant third-party peer reviewed Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) gives us some insight and helps clear up common misperceptions about the environmental impacts of Christmas trees.

The study, conducted by the international research firm PE International, found that ultimately, consumers need to consider a number of different factors before deciding which type of tree is more environmentally friendly. For instance, the findings show that length of ownership, disposal method and “tree miles” can make a difference regarding which tree is more “green.”

The ISO-compliant third-party peer reviewed LCA was sponsored by the American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA), a non-profit organization representing artificial Christmas tree retailers and real Christmas tree retailers.  Based on the results of the study, the ACTA recommends that consumers demonstrate responsible consumerism by following these steps: (more…)

WhiteWave Foods, the Colorado-based company that makes Silk^®, Horizon Organic^®, International Delight^® and Land O Lakes^®, released ambitious new sustainability targets last week.

Most notably, by 2013, WhiteWave plans to:

• reduce GHG emissions by 25 percent, working from a 2006 baseline.
• reduce non-ingredient water use by 15 percent, compared to a 2008 baseline.

The company had previously set several sustainability goals in 2006 and 2007, and the results to date are impressive. For example, WhiteWave already has: (more…)