Unadulterated

Climate change presents the critical challenge for our time. The measure of our response will determine the quality of life for generations to come. All of us — individuals, business and government leaders, scientists and educators — must make addressing climate change a priority.

Several billion dollars were earned in 2015 from the sustainability efforts of 153 survey respondents. Signaling a new way of defining the source of business value, these notable gains were uncovered in a new Pure Strategies’ study.

Nestlé and Unilever are helping set the standard for sustainable agriculture, according to a survey of over 150 global sustainability heads conducted by Pure Strategies.

CDP and CSR reporting season has barely passed before over-worked sustainability managers must turn their attention to customer sustainability surveys. While these can be resource-intensive, they also present opportunities to further your sustainability initiatives internally, elevate your brand’s standing with key customers, and stand out in the marketplace.

Does your business embrace the disruptive forces of a low-carbon world as Ford and Ben & Jerry’s are? Over the next 10 years, climate change will drive industrial disruption at rates that previously seemed unimaginable. In response, policy makers must come to terms with the need to keep the mean global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

Sustainability is being driven by large forces at play. Consider that we have a global population of more than 7 billion people who all want to live like we do here in the U.S. That puts incredible strain on our natural resources. Add to that the fact that the climate is warming at an unprecedented rate.

Radio Flyer and Beautycounter stand among leading companies taking proactive steps to manage chemicals in their products and supply chains. These and just over twenty other firms benchmarked their programs and performance in the newly launched Chemical Footprint Project.

The inaugural Chemical Footprint Project report released this week highlights the financial risks that companies face due to chemicals of high concern (CoHCs) to human health and the environment in their products and supply chains.

At the corporate level, pricing carbon allows companies to redirect funds toward sustainability investments, such as renewables, energy efficiency and energy storage, which can drive further cost savings in the long run.To get a better understanding of pricing carbon in the corporate world, we spoke with Tim Greiner, co-founder and managing director at sustainability consulting firm Pure Strategies.

The Guardian featured Pure Strategies’ report, Advancing on the Path to Product Sustainability, in an examination of the financial benefits of sustainability. Our research found the top business value gained was employee engagement, with 33% of survey respondents realizing $5m or more.

A critical step in developing an effective restricted chemicals list is considering what will be used instead, because replacements may be just as much of a concern as the original substance.Many companies include additional materials that are similar to a primary chemical of concern and carefully evaluate alternatives in order to avoid a regrettable substitution. However, companies may determine that a material does not have a safer or effective alternative and should not be replaced yet.

Tim Greiner presented and facilitated a lively panel discussion at the Sustainable Brands New Metrics conference with speakers from Colgate-Palmolive, Campbell's, AB InBev, and Cornell University.