Packaging and paper products manufacturer Boise has cut CO2 emissions by 60 percent by switching from road to rail and packing its products more efficiently in rail containers, says a case study from Environmental Defense Fund.
The disposal of computers and other electronic and electrical goods, e-waste, is a growing global problem, with much of the often dangerous junk winding up in emerging countries.
The counterfeiting of electronics (as well as the exporting of e-waste, which has been demonstrated to directly enable this type of counterfeiting) is currently seen as only a minor crime, even though it has been extensively proven to cause financial loss, injury, and death. That may be changing.
The investigative arm of Congress is going to look into how the Obama administration developed its increased monetary estimate for the amount of damage caused by carbon pollution.
Sea and inland navigation ports and freight terminals in Europe are faced with growing energy costs and major political and societal pressure in terms of their environmental performance.
Companies are increasingly connecting the dots between risk management and sustainability by making sustainability issues more prominent on corporate agendas, says a study by Ernst & Young LLP and GreenBiz. Driven by trends such as extreme weather events and risks to natural resources, among other factors, the shift is evidenced by the increasing involvement in sustainability-related issues of shareholders and the C-suite. At the same time, the study finds, companies are not adequately aligning risk response to the scale of sustainability challenges.
While most executives recognize the importance of supply chain sustainability, cost is still a major factor and trumps environmental impact as a driver of behavior, according to a survey of 150 C-level and senior leaders at U.S. and European companies, according to AlixPartners, a global business-advisory firm. However, those that can implement cost-effective sustainability strategies and effectively market them to customers will have a competitive advantage.
UPS released its annual Sustainability Report announcing that while the total number of packages UPS shipped in 2012 increased, the company reduced its total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the carrier's annual sustainability report.
More and more companies are choosing to invest in green building practices, enjoying quick returns on investments that pay off in profit and public opinion. And the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Certification Program is allowing companies to make their newer, greener policies official.
Half of the UK's leading soft drink producers and suppliers,including Coca-Cola and Britvic, have signed onto the Soft Drinks Sustainability Roadmap, a supply chain study that aims to reduce the environment footprint of the industry's products.