Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

IBM is leveraging its technology, expertise and commitment to global service and sustainability to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Those dishes prepared on board a ship that have not been served to guests now have a new life. Banc dels Aliments of Barcelona and Costa Cruises start a collaboration agreement whereby these dishes will be distributed, thanks to the Banc dels Aliments, between NGOs in the Barcelona area to help the people in need.

For most flights, the industry is beginning to turn to new fuels. In September, JetBlue made its first flight using a renewable blend fuel. Though chemically identical to regular jet fuel, 15.5% of it came from used cooking oil from restaurants, which otherwise would have been wasted. Next year, the airline will begin buying around 33 million gallons of biofuel a year, or about 20% of the fuel it uses annually at JFK.

Each fall, thousands of communities across the country participate in America Recycles Day (ARD), a Keep America Beautiful national initiative, which takes place on and surrounding Nov. 15. Through ARD, Keep America Beautiful, along with its community-based affiliates, ARD sponsors and partner organizations, inspires communities to directly engage their residents to recognize the economic, environmental and social benefits of recycling, and provide an educational platform to raise awareness about the value of reducing, reusing and recycling – every day – throughout the year.

Getting SMEs to participate in sustainability reporting is a challenge. The Global Reporting Initiative and the Swiss government embarked on an experiment to addresses this challenge in Ghana. By helping SMEs in Ghana to report for the first time, the experience showed that sustainability reporting can lead to clear business benefits for smaller companies in developing countries.

The International Living Future Institute is hosting its 13th annual Living Future unConference in Seattle, Washington, on April 30-May 3, 2019, at the new Hyatt Regency. Architects, engineers, manufacturers, CSR professionals, and more will gather for the leading regenerative design event of the year.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks are now regularly evaluated an integrated into the business plans of leadership companies across industries, according to the latest report by the National Association for Environmental Management (NAEM).

For the world’s largest food and beverage companies, the push for a more responsible and sustainable supply chain is as much about long-term survival as it is about addressing current concerns expressed by investors and other key stakeholders.

Air pollution in the Asia Pacific region is not only a major health risk, it also has damaging impacts on the environment and agricultural crop yields. A new report by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and United Nations Environment Programme – titled Air Pollution in Asia and the Pacific: Science-based solutions – discusses how these impacts have significant economic consequences, affecting economic growth as well as welfare.

This recent report also calls attention to the relevancy of the recent breakthroughs by a unique partnership between Dell and Chakr Innovation, an India based start-up founded by three young engineers who believed that our quality of life depended on the quality of air we breathe.

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