As corporations look to cut their environmental costs, evaluating total cost of ownership - or the total direct and indirect costs of owning a product or service - may provide a way to achieve greater environmental accountability, better resource management and financial savings, according to a report by the Carbon Disclosure Project.

News out of the European Union these days seems to be all about divisiveness and imminent economic chaos. So it's easy to overlook the latest reforms that promise to make life easier for traders doing business in the region.

A range of shipping organizations are putting pressure on the International Maritime Organization to act on air emissions ahead of the marine environmental committee meeting (MEPC 70) in late October. The meeting is scheduled to discuss policy measures for the shipping sector in terms of CO2 reduction and whether or not to postpone the global 0.5 percent sulfur cap planned for 2020.

Global companies today live or die by the effectiveness of their social compliance programs.

The Obama administration has used a flurry of tough-sounding trade enforcement announcements in recent weeks to counter complaints from the left and right that free trade is not fair trade - and to assist President Obama in the struggle to win approval of his trade pact with 11 Pacific Rim nations.

Federal regulators are mandating drastic reductions in emissions from heavy-duty trucks over the next 10 years. And truck manufacturers and big shippers alike are applauding the move.