The tumult that still trails BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, now over a year old, has fueled global concerns over wild fish stocks and the overall sustainability of world fisheries. The bluefin tuna, one the most prized (and absolutely delicious) commodities of the sea, has become a symbol of weak global fishing regulation and there’s […]
Is the Decline of US Wild Fish Becoming Like Peak Oil — Exaggerated? Read More 👉
As corporate marketers and regulators alike evaluate how to communicate environmental commitments and avoid greenwashing, the 2011 Cone Green Gap Trend Tracker (download for free here) tested which of three common marketing approaches was most influential in consumer purchase decisions. Consumers were asked to “purchase” the most environmentally responsible of three generic cleaning products based
Which Green Marketing Approach Is Most Effective? Read More 👉
What are consumers looking for in marketers’ green claims? Honesty, according to the Cone’s 2011 Green Gap Trends Tracker. According to the research, a majority of American consumers are distrustful of companies’ environmental claims (57%) and are overwhelmed by the amount of environmental messages in the marketplace (51%). Given this confusion, it’s understandable that consumers
What Consumers Want in Green Claims Read More 👉
After all the effort marketers are putting into communicating their green claims, a new study shows that consumers — American consumers at least — continue to misunderstand phrases commonly used in environmental marketing and advertising. Often, this gives products a greater “green halo” than they may deserve. At the same time, these same consumers are
Consumers Will Punish Brands for False Environmental Claims Read More 👉
There are two new apps that help environmentally conscious businesses and consumers find and compare the most the most eco-friendly cities and cars. The Clean & Fuel Efficient Cars App and Modes of Transportation to Work App by FindTheBest.com. The Clean & Fuel Efficient Cars App displays air pollution score, greenhouse gas score, SmartWay designation,
Apps Make It Easier to Find Eco-Friendly Cars and Cities Read More 👉
Everyone’s familiar with the news that Steve Jobs has recently stepped away from Apple again (possibly for good this time) due to health concerns. Whether this is permanent or not, the future is not far off when Apple will have to continue without Jobs. I have little doubt in mind that they will not find
On Monday it was announced in various news sources that the 17-year battle between Chevron and the country of Ecuador over environmental damages in the Amazon would result in the payment of about $9 billion in damages by the oil company. While this falls woefully short of the $113 billion that the Ecuadorians were seeking
Is It Possible for an Oil Company to Make the News for Doing Something Positive? Read More 👉
I’ve been covering the greening of print marketing for a long time. I just updated my report “Greening Print Marketing: A Practical Guide,” and here is what really struck me as I was doing so: How critical it is to understand product lifecycles if you really want to do a credible environmental footprint analysis How
Greening Print Marketing: It Can Be Easy If You Let It Read More 👉
As most people are aware these days, Sudan, a country that has undergone so much hardship since it became Africa’s (geographically) largest country on January 1, 1956 is on the cusp of splitting into two. A complex issue anyway one looks at it, with economic and cultural concerns at the forefront. However, for a continent
Sudan: Open for Business? Read More 👉
Clearly there’s a significant, “soft conflict” currently being waged between the US and China. First we had the currency devaluation issue which many feel has led to the US/China trade imbalance. Humanitarian and environmental issues have often been a concern of the US in regards to China (although we could probably use a watchdog in
Rare Earth: The Latest Episode on this Week’s Washington v. Beijing Read More 👉
Nike has come a long way from the PR and labor problems of the early 1990’s. So far in fact that they have spent much of time between that period and now, working on a design tool that shows the environmental impact of raw materials they have chosen for a specific product. However, the most
Nike Creates Environmental Apparel Design Tool Free For Use Read More 👉
Previously, I’ve written about conflict minerals in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and US efforts to curtail their sales (parts I and II), as well as the repercussions of companies doing indirect business in countries where direct business is forbidden by the US government. So, it only make sense that this article takes
The Continuing Saga of Conflict Diamonds and the Kimberley Process Read More 👉
How can you do the right thing for sustainability while inspiring and enabling others to do the same? This free Webinar will discuss the habits of thought and principles of practice for making sustainability-literate decisions. What’s cool is that this Webinar isn’t for the super-initiated. It’s for anyone at any level of an organization and
Free Webinar: Are You a Positive Deviant for Sustainability? Read More 👉
After nine years working the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Duncan Pollard, director, conservation practice and policy, has words of praise for the pulp and paper industry. It’s proof that all industry is not bad and that environmental policies and practices can change, often substantially. He also wants to make sure the industry is aware of
World Wildlife Fund: Industry Kudos and Real Resources for Better Paper Read More 👉
If you have never had the chance to visit Lake Tahoe, please add it to your top 10 of U.S. sites that are a must see. Lucky to have had a reason to visit this summer, I was shocked by just how blue Lake Tahoe really is! But as it turns out, it’s not as
Green ways to keep Lake Tahoe Blue Read More 👉
Whether you are a social enterprise, NGO (non-governmental organization), non-profit, policy-maker or an investor interested in a quantifiable social return on your investment, measuring social value remains an elusive goal. A new article by Geoff Mulgan suggests a new approach in measuring social value that calls for collaboration across sectors. In a recent collaborative project
Measuring Social Value: Can subjectivity guide real decisions? Read More 👉
Today kicks off the American Business Conference’s 4th part of a global series of Sustainable Agricultural Summits. And what better city for this summit to take place, but San Francisco. California is home to 81,500 farms and ranches and tallied revenues of $36.2 billion last year alone. That figure represents 11.2% of the nation’s total.
A Meeting of the Minds: Sustainable Agricultural Summit Begins Read More 👉
So the US government decided to sneak a rider into the Financial Reform Bill in an attempt to address the issue of conflict minerals coming out of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The goal is to dry up revenue that fuels rebel fighting in the region. As I mentioned in Part I last
Conflict Minerals: The Plot Thickens with the Help of Capitol Hill (Part II) Read More 👉
While many companies are still try to figure out what their CSR strategy is (or in some cases, what CSR is period), lumber and paper giant Weyerhaeuser has recently issued its 2009 Sustainability Report. Weyerhaeuser was an early adopter of the voluntary Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report. The company started publishing a report of their
Weyerhaeuser and GRI Reporting Meet Again Read More 👉
Mining in DRC There has been a whole lot of chatter in recent days about a little provision tucked into the newly adopted Financial Reform Bill. That provision is the Conflict Minerals mandate, which basically states that companies using “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite or their derivatives” (and others at the discretion of the Secretary
Conflict Minerals: The Plot Thickens with the Help of Capitol Hill (Part 1) Read More 👉
There were so many great comments and questions on my Green-Savvy Entrepreneurship in One of the United States’ Most Sustainable Cities piece that I wanted to post a follow up. So I did a bit of digging to see where Pittsburgh stands on an automatic bicycle program; and the answer is…
Bike Resources In Pittsburgh Read More 👉
The Fiske Guide to Colleges has been an invaluable resource for college-bound students for the past 25 years. Even USA Today calls it “the best college guide you can buy.” The author, Edward B. Fiske, highlights over 300 of the country’s best and most interesting colleges and universities. Including lists of the strongest majors and
Fiske Guide to Colleges 2011 Names Top 10 Environmental Studies Programs Read More 👉
The bigger question… why do tech companies claim that it is virtually impossible to determine if they are sourcing conflict minerals?
Does Steve Jobs Really Read and Respond to His Own Email? Read More 👉
The Green Economy Post gives us a thorough list of who’s tweeting from the Sustainable Brands ’10 conference. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the Sustainable Brands ’10 (SB’10) conference in Monterey, California this week. But thanks to social media, I was virtually there. Twitter is a great way to get “real time” information
Green Economy Post’s Top SB’10 Tweeters List Read More 👉
