2Sustain

Last month, Kraft Foods shared results of a pioneering survey that measured the company’s impact on climate change, land and water use.

The multi-year footprinting project—in partnership with Quantis Inc. and reviewed by World Wildlife Fund and academics at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment—showed Kraft that its environmental impact goes far beyond the company’s walls.

For example, based on the results of the analysis, Kraft, learned that more than 90 percent of its carbon footprint is outside its plants and offices. Nearly 60 percent is from farm commodities.

The company doesn’t own farms, but the survey certainly supports the work of Kraft’s sustainable agriculture efforts on key commodities to improve crop yields, reduce environmental impacts and improve the lives of farm workers and their families.

In addition, the footprinting work revealed that: (more…)

McDonald’s Corporation has released its 2011Sustainability Scorecard, which underscores the company’s progress in five priority areas: sustainable supply chain, environmental responsibility, community, employee experience and nutrition and well-being. Highlight in this year’s report include significant advancements related to sustainable sourcing and what McDonald’s calls “menu evolution.”

With regard to sustainable sourcing:

• McDonald’s can now report measurable progress in its five initial focus areas:  beef, poultry, coffee, palm oil and fiber. Earlier this year, the company announced its Sustainable Land Management Commitment, and then expanded that initiative by joining the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).
• All fish for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich is wild caught, and currently 99 percent is sourced from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fisheries.

McDonald’s says it will also be making changes to its menu: (more…)

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…)