Environment

A design created to help farmers keep nutrients in the soil won first prize in the first food system-focused Biomimicry Global Design Challenge. This innovation, created by a team of students from the University of Oregon, was based in part on the earthworm’s digestive system and decreases the amount of fertilizer needed while improving soil health over time.

Resilience has become the next mindset supply stop on the road to the future. Whether it’s businesses or communities, this is the thing that is going to be most needed going forward. The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) was founded in 2014 to pursue this idea with a vision of “new solutions for new realities.”

Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland today released “KOMBIT: The Cooperative,” a documentary film chronicling a five-year project to reforest Haiti in partnership with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA), a Haitian nonprofit farmer cooperative dedicated to feeding and reforesting the country.

Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services, in partnership with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), announced its manufacturing plant in Taicang, China, became the first site in the world to be independently certified under the AWS’s global standard for water stewardship in September 2015.

Six major U.S. banks – Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo – have issued a joint statement calling for cooperation among governments in reaching a global climate agreement.

Sustainable work spaces are becoming more prominent. Investing in sustainability benefits business, employees and the environment; it’s a win-win. By recognizing the value in sustainability, innovative companies can improve the health and well-being of their workforce—while supporting business goals.

Forest City Enterprises, Inc., (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today released its 2014 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, Built on Purpose: Reinforcing Our Foundation. The 2014 report is Forest City’s third annual CSR report and includes updates on the company’s strategic management of environmental, social, economic and governance matters.