Sweeping Changes in Corporate Sustainability? Yes Check Out Sustainable Brands Top 10 While the venerable late night talk show host on CBS Network – David Letterman – is moving on this week, the “Top 10 List” feature he made popular on his program flourishes in many other venues. One that is worth your serious reading is the Sustainable Brands “News & Views” post -- on the 10 critical corporate sustainability trends to watch in 2015 and beyond. The commentary by SB’s Dimitar Viahov focused our attention on such items as Trend #3 – “Transparency Campaigns Gaining Attention but Scrutinized Ever More Closely.” He sees brand champion corporates launching transparency-themed campaigns such as SeaWorld attempting to publicly fight back against serious charges that the company abuses its animal kingdom assets (like the Orcas, or “killer whales”). SeaWorld has been buying the dominant ad space in daily newspaper op-ed pages for what we think are well-presented messages presenting the company’s side of the argument. Or the McDonald’s example, holding forth on “public discussions on foods” as a new CEO takes charge amidst rising consumer concerns about the company’s fast food menu offerings. The key question we think about is: Where does the recognized brand leader take the key messaging when the societal forces seem to be on the other side of the company’s unique selling proposition? Then there’s Trend #8 : “Major Pivots in Favor of Shifting Product Portfolios with Sustainability-Driven Criteria in Mind.” More about customer concerns regarding a company’s product. In a sweeping strategic move, chemical industry leader BASF (Germany) evaluated more than 50,000 product applications in the portfolio (with a sales volume of 56 billion Euros). That resulted in 1,000-plus plans for changing or phasing out products, based on a careful review by 1,500 experts. Other examples are the U.S. drug chain CVS tossing out a significant revenue and profit generator –- eliminating sales of tobacco products in its drug stores. Or the Panera Bread food retailer looking to remove artificial flavors, colors and other ingredients from the menu in its chain of stores. The G&A Institute team sees a wide range of these types of “customer” and “society-friendly” strategies being implemented in a variety of industries, especially by brand leaders seeking to protect and extend the brand influence. Company C-suites “get it” when they carefully appraise the realities of the transparency of their operations, product manufacturing and marketing. In the past 10 years we’ve tracked a sweeping change in the way large companies do business and go to market in both consumer and industrial & business segments. Author Viahov is the Sustainable Brands director of content development. He writes for the SB blog and regularly leverages the numerics in various posts (“10 forces,” “10 firsts,” “Five reasons…”) The very credible Sustainable Brands organization will further explore the 10 trends and other trends over the coming months, beginning at its early June “Sustainable Brands ’15 San Diego” conference. Meantime, get started with the Top Story in our newsletter this week -– you’ll find a few that affect your company in today’s list. Top Story of the Week 10 Critical Corporate Sustainability Trends to Watch in 2015 and Beyond
(Monday - May 11, 2015)
Source: Sustainable Brands - If the global business community is to thrive in the long term — and carry us to that flourishing future we are trying to imagine and help build — it needs to continue to scale up the ambition and influence of its efforts… Special - Is Water the New Oil? From California, to Texas, to India, to Brazil, to the Caribbean and to Iraq, the scarcity of water, pollution threats and the dramatic impact on agriculture, hydro-electric power and everyday living is becoming more and more acute. The fight for water is pitting cities against agriculture, environmentalists against power companies and even countries against countries as the supply of water appears to be decreasing, while the control of use and distribution has increased. What has been occurring around the world as the lack of water is approaching crisis stage? Disappearing Lake Powell underlines drought crisis facing Colorado river
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - As water levels plummet to 45% in America’s second-largest reservoir, new islands appear – and fears grow for a waterway that serves 40 million people.
Weather events taken to extremes by climate change
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Eco-Business - Scientists warn that global warming could greatly increase the likelihood of droughts, floods and heatwaves reaching record levels of frequency and intensity.
Starbucks Is Moving Its Bottled Water Business Out Of Drought-Stricken California
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Think Progress - Last month, Starbucks came under fire for its bottled water business. An investigation by Mother Jones magazine found that Ethos — the Starbucks-owned water brand created “to help fix the global water crisis” — was sucking...
Beyond California: The Worst Droughts In American History
(Thursday - May 14, 2015)
Source: Forbes - senior hydrologist for California says the state’s ongoing drought will become more severe—at least in the San Joaquin River Valley—than any similar-length drought of the past century.
House passes bill to stop EPA water rule
(Wednesday - May 13, 2015)
Source: The Hill - The House voted Tuesday to overturn an Obama administration rule aimed at redefining which streams, ponds, wetlands and other waterways are under its jurisdiction...
Dry Heat
(Monday - May 11, 2015)
Source: Slate - Last week, Lake Mead, which sits on the border of Nevada and Arizona, set a new record low—the first time since the construction of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s that the lake’s surface has dipped below 1,080 feet above sea level... Nine things I learned at the 2015 Global Water Summit
(Friday - May 01, 2015) Associated Profiles : World Economic Forum
Source: Global Water Intelligence - 7) There are alternatives to the traditional utility model: We hosted the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Water to work on a new economic model for water access... World faces growing challenge of water security
(Wednesday - April 29, 2015) Associated Profiles : World Water Forum
Source: AsiaOne - The seventh World Water Forum, the world's largest water-related event, will kick off on Sunday in Daegu, offering an opportunity for the public to learn about water-related issues and their solutions... Western drought steals clean energy along with fresh water at power plants
(Monday - April 27, 2015)
Source: Washington Post - INSIDE HOOVER DAM — The floor rumbled under Mark Cook. His legs vibrated as he stood in a tunnel tucked into the thick base of Hoover Dam, 430 feet below the tourists looking out over Lake Mead. Beneath him, water roared through... Water quality rapidly deteriorating in many countries, study shows
(Saturday - April 25, 2015) Associated Profiles : World Water Council
Source: Water World - World Water Forum 2015: World Water Council, K-water announce new 'green' path to sustainability The World Water Council and Korea Water Resources Corporation together with... Sustainability in Focus A new calculator aims to make business sustainability choices simpler
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: The Guardian - For companies trying to amp up their sustainability profiles, there’s no lack of challenges: from material sourcing to water consumption, electricity use to carbon production, every sustainability issue is a moving part, one of... Sustainability Drives Supply Chain Professionals to Learn New Finance and Accounting Concepts
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Forbes - At JDA’s Focus event, Rich Beck, the Sr. Vice President of Global Operations at PepsiCo, gave the keynote on the second day of the conference. Rich said that their supply chain goals included “digitizing the value chain” (JDA... Changing mindsets key for sustainability, PBN panelists say: Slideshow
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Pacific Business Journal - The panel of experts at PBN’s sustainability seminar in Downtown Honolulu on Friday focused on the attitudes people have toward sustainability, and a common theme was that while Hawaii has come a long way, we can do better. A Reason to Be Optimistic: The New Generation of Sustainability Professionals
(Thursday - May 14, 2015)
Source: The Energy Collective - We are approaching the commencement season here at Columbia University and, in fact, at every American university. Graduation is a time to look back at where we've been and look ahead to where we are going. I live in an apartment... “Deforestation-Free” is just one step towards greater sustainability
(Thursday - May 14, 2015)
Source: Treehugger - In 2014, the number of companies committing to ensuring there’s no deforestation in at least some part of their supply chain reached over 300. This year, more big players have piled on, including McDonald's and Archer Daniels... The Power of Sustainability-First Design
(Wednesday - May 13, 2015)
Source: The Atlantic Monthly - As senior director of design for Levi Strauss & Co.’s Dockers brand, he decided to attempt something far from typical: the production of an apparel line that took environmental and social sustainability into account at every... Finding the ROI in Sustainability
(Tuesday - May 12, 2015)
- Just about anyone who has worked in the area of sustainability has had to deal with the question of justifying long-term investments on a financial basis. Some measures, like fixing leaks and making efficiency improvements, pay... Apple Makes Huge Commitment To Sustainability
(Tuesday - May 12, 2015)
Source: Think Progress - On Monday, Apple announced a new initiative with the World Wildlife Fund to help align this forest-driven segment of its global supply chain with its aspirations to be a leader in sustainability and renewable energy production... Why Campus Sustainability Works: An Open Letter to George Will
(Sunday - May 10, 2015)
Source: Huff Post - Growing up, I watched George Will, the Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative pundit, almost every Sunday morning on "This Week: With George Stephanopolous" as he discussed the major sociopolitical issues of the day. I have always... ESG Issues & Players How to instill corporate America with the values of a family-owned business
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: The Week - For publicly owned corporations, we don't have the family dynamic to turn to. But we have other options for getting people to behave themselves... From Optional To Mandatory">How Corporate Social Responsibility Is Moving From Optional To Mandatory
(Monday - May 11, 2015)
Source: Forbes - “Sustainability for a business today is not a nice-to-do thing,” said Arif Naqvi, founder and group chief executive of the Abraaj Group. “It’s a have-to-do thing.” A Sharp Spike in Honeybee Deaths Deepens a Worrisome Trend
(Thursday - May 14, 2015)
Source: New York Times - A prolonged and mysterious die-off of the nation’s honeybees, a trend worrisome both to beekeepers and to farmers who depend on the insects to pollinate their crops, apparently worsened last year... Asset Managers, US Pension Funds,
Sovereign Wealth Funds Wall Street Investment Firms Promote Socially Responsible Investing
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Just Means - Impact investing represents a growing segment where the investors back businesses that combine both financial and social returns. The number of investment funds that incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors... Total Assets Of Sovereign Wealth Funds Doubled Since 2008: Preqin
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Valua Walk - Preqin’s May 2015 Private Equity Spotlight focuses on sovereign wealth funds’ increasing investment in private equity. The article highlights both the growth in sovereign wealth funds and the increasing percentage of their... Normally risk-averse US pension funds are starting to bet big on Africa
(Monday - May 18, 2015)
Source: Quartz - Private equity firms see Africa as the next big thing. But now US public pension funds are starting to look at the continent too... 
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