Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

When I speak about our work in soil health, I will often see a head tilt with a questioning look. Why would a food company have any interest in soil? That’s when I take a step back and share that 99 percent of our food comes from the soil. Being a food company, the connection is instantaneously made.

Most of us don’t think too closely about dirt, but perhaps we should. After all, it’s the foundation of all life on Earth.

Beyond sustaining plant life—and the rest of the food chain along with it—soil itself is very much alive. One handful of dirt contains up to 50 billion bacteria and hundreds of thousands of individual fungal cells. As these microorganisms move through the soil, they feast on minerals and dead organic matter and leave nutrients behind, allowing plants to grow and ecosystems to thrive.

According to some U.S. food industry observers, interest in small farms and sustainable agriculture is on the rise among young people. That’s all well and good, but the overwhelming demographic trend is toward older farm owners — and fewer, larger farms. The financial obstacles to starting a new farm are enormous, and so are the challenges involved in running an existing farm.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an award-winning program that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive. Bob Bissen imagines a Solar Decathalon 2.0.

Addressing greenhouse gas emissions continues to be a top priority for Cisco. As of FY2017, our GHG emissions are down more than 40% in absolute terms since 2007 — in spite of our business growing more than 37% over that time. At the Global Climate Action Summit, Cisco joined 20 other companies as part of the Step Up Declaration, a new alliance dedicated to harnessing the power of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

In this article, Tetra Tech’s Catherine Courtney, the University of Connecticut’s Robert Pomeroy, and the U.S. Agency for International Development's Stephen Brooks developed and tested an assessment framework and process to assist national and subnational governments to assess progress in meeting the Voluntary Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).

In December 2018 Tetra Tech’s Catherine Courtney, along with the University of Connecticut’s Robert Pomeroy and the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Stephen Brooks, published a paper in the Marine Policy Journal in which they developed an assessment framework based on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines).

What will happen in 2019 at the intersection of business and society? As our team in the Business & Society Program looked ahead to the new year, we realized the best answers lie in our network of business leaders and academics. From Artificial Intelligence to worker voice to lifelong learning, these diverse predictions impart a powerful sense of possibility, even in facing some of the world’s toughest challenges in the new year.

JetBlue recently announced the winners for the fourth cycle of its BlueBud business mentoring program. Eat Your Coffee, Sustainable Snacks and 9 Miles East Farm will participate in an in-depth business mentorship program with JetBlue, learning what it takes to get their brands off the ground. BlueBud offers innovative and budding food and beverage brands a unique opportunity including access to JetBlue’s leaders and an inside look at the airline’s distinctive product development culture and award-winning onboard experience. The BlueBud program launched in 2015 and originally focused on up-and-coming environmentally and socially responsible food brands based in New York. JetBlue has expanded the program to include small businesses in the greater Boston area.

We are committed to care for people, supply products responsibly and protect the planet with a clear path to the future.