Sustainability

Amazon has always had a love-hate relationship with small businesses. For some, it provided a well-needed online platform to sell their products, while for others it created a competition that drove them out of business. Now, with Amazon’s new price comparison app, which was promoted last Saturday with further discounts for anyone who goes to [...]

Read On »

Two years ago, when the concept had just started to really gain traction, we reported the results of a survey conducted by Brighter Planet on engaging employees on sustainability issues. The company just released an update to that study which includes responses from employees at some of the companies leading corporate sustainability efforts including Walmart, UPS, and [...]

Read On »

Managing our image is a big part of our lives as human beings. From our virtual personas on Facebook and Twitter to our physical appearance, we are essentially obsessed with what others think about us. But rest assured; this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Read On »

Cisco is a company that already has a robust CSR program and their focus for 2012 is conflict minerals. This week they released their CSR report for 2011 highlighting some of their achievements and plans for the future. Since the Dodd-Frank act was passed, conflict minerals have become a focus for many electronic companies. Cisco [...]

Read On »

Something has to cancel out the environmental effects of those $399 sofas and $1.49 place mats, so IKEA is investing more and more in solar.

Read On »

Break traditional concepts of “human capital” and achieve business success via employee motivation. And how not to motivate employees based on surprising psychological findings.

Read On »

As we seek to discover new methods of generating and harnessing energy, there is one source that is worth discussing: the human body.

Read On »

The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By Corine Prothero Effective sustainability conversations need to be heard everywhere. Select students, communities, grassroots movements, businesses, and [...]

Read On »

13 key predictions for the corporate responsibility market in 2012.

Read On »

When it comes to holiday shopping, it looks like business as usual with retailers promoting sales and shoppers looking for bargains. But what about sustainability? Unfortunately, this theme is being ignored this year by both the majority of consumers and by retailers. This phenomenon is especially interesting since many retailers spend the rest of the year promoting sustainability and generating value [...]

Read On »

In working with a variety of corporations and organizations one issue is becoming increasingly prominent: the growing need to disclose efforts to act in a more sustainable manner. In that context, the trend towards greater transparency ultimately is headed in one direction – an “Integrated Report” in which financial and nonfinancial performance are tied together and articulated in a single document. Although there is no formal standard to what constitutes an integrated report, there is growing evidence that the financial markets reward those companies that engage in sustainable behavior and disclose those efforts in a comprehensive manner, including impact on bottom line performance.

Read On »

3p is proud to partner with the Presidio Graduate School’s Macroeconomics course on a blogging series about “the economics of sustainability.” This post is part of that series. To follow along, please click here. By Amanda Irene Rohlich In a rare showing of cooperation on Capitol Hill, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public [...]

Read On »

“For an intense week we listened and discussed perspectives on the difficult global context for sustainability,” said Gonen Sagy. Gonen is an alumnus of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, the premier environmental education and research program in the Middle East.

The Institute is preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region’s environmental challenges as bridges of understanding between people. Located at Kibbutz Ketura in the southern Negev region of Israel, it has a student body comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and others from around the world, and a curriculum based on “nature knows no borders.”

The environment is a tool to stimulate, teach, and maintain effective cross-cultural communication and reconciliation. Arava generates capacity-building for conciliation and cooperation in the Middle East, in order to transcend political boundaries and achieve environmental change.

Read On »

Have you ever shared a car ride, lent someone a book, made a mix tape, or traded clothing? Then you’re part of the WEconomy, a new economic model where communities of consumers share, swap or rent goods as opposed to owning them.

Read On »

Woolworths Limited, Australia’s largest retailer, (once upon a time an American icon too) reports that it is making “continued progress” in reducing emissions and in sustainable sourcing policies for palm oil, timber and paper, and seafood. The company issued its 2011 corporate responsibility report in late November with the basic theme that it is getting [...]

Read On »

A strong case can be made for grubbing on bugs, but in the United States and Europe there’s a prevalent cultural bias against insects as a source of edible protein. Find out why entomophagy—the practice of eating insects—has recently started gaining traction as a viable alternative.

Read On »

A farm fresh fried egg is a beautiful thing. Featured on Neapolitan thin-crust pizzas, juicy high-stacked burgers, and now, here before me, this vivid orange crown jewel is served over a perfectly braised pork belly and gleaming steamed rice. I have the recent culinary trend of “would you like an egg with that?” to thank for this extra pop of color, protein, and pure delectable ooze.

Read On »

A visit by Leon Kaye to a RFID trade show in Korea gave a lesson on how RFID can play a role in reducing waste and encouraging more sustainable business practices.

Read On »

Both Nike and Puma adopted a strategy of creating a movement around reframing the word “sustainability”. Although both movements were targeted towards demographically similar markets, the respective target customers have diverging sensibilities. What will be most interesting to see is how the PR of 2011 develops into the actions of 2012.

Read On »

As a long term, lifetime thrift store shopper, I have always taken great satisfaction in my ability to build wardrobes without paying retail prices. With a little patience and the thrill of the hunt spurring me on, I have spent many hours rifling through second-hand clothing racks looking for that something special for just $3.99.

Read On »

Releasing a profit and loss statement on the environmental and social impact of a company’s performance is a bold move. First of all, quantifying these parameters can be daunting. How can you quantify the social and environmental impact of the number of liters you use in your manufacturing process, for example? It’s not to say [...]

Read On »

Social enterprises are picking up the where the system is leaving off, investing in human beings and equipping them with the tools to create a new world built around compassion, respect, innovation and imagination.

Read On »

The following is a guest post by our friends at Saybrook University’s Organizational Systems Program (a 3p sponsor) – designed for students who want to understand the nature of organizations, collaborative practices, and transformative change. By Nancy Southern, Ed.D. I have noticed an increasing tension residing in sustainability conversations as to whether the primary focus [...]

Read On »

British supermarket chain, ASDA has learned a lot from its parent company, Walmart, to boost its sustainability ratings. Their CSR initiatives saw some serious financial pay-offs for the company. The company saved £70 million ($110 million) in 2010 because of its sustainability plans. By 2020, it hopes that its new goals will see a total [...]

Read On »

For the most part, the goal of convincing mainstream businesses of the value of engaging in corporate social responsibility efforts has been achieved. The problem is, its not enough. And the clock is ticking. In order to accelerate sustainable solutions at a rate that will make a meaningful impact, we need to start addressing problems on a system-wide level and executing them on a larger scale. This was the theme of a thought provoking keynote presentation given by Hannah Jones, VP of Sustainable Business and Innovation for Nike.

Read On »

Coca-Cola made headlines earlier this month after announcing a plan to collect and recycle all the 60 million plastic bottles that are expected to be consumed during the London 2012 Olympics. Another positive mention came from the UK-based NGO Carbon Trust, which announced that Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) earned the highest score ever recorded for carbon [...]

Read On »

>by Derrick Mains One thing is certain. The economy sucks and neither side seems to be offering any real long term (place tongue in cheek and say “shovel ready”) solutions. So the question arises – are our economic challenges a result of big business greed, big government spending, lax regulations or could it be that [...]

Read On »

Police can break up the various “Occupy” encampments across the country but can they halt the movement? Probably not. As disorganized, disparate and disheveled as some would like to believe Occupy Wall Street and its regional allies are, the barn door is open and the horse is romping freely in the field. Or in this [...]

Read On »

Ford is emerging as an automotive sustainability frontrunner as they step up their strategy, efforts, and product line. One of their new offerings is the redesigned 2013 Ford Escape which has a new look, a new, green engine, and an array of recycled, reused and reduced impact materials. Earlier this year, sustainability expert Andrew Winston lauded Ford’s [...]

Read On »

This post outlines key considerations for property owners to evaluate when leasing their land for renewable energy development. There are pros and cons to leasing your property to a renewable energy developer and/or owner to earn revenue. It is important to understand how to navigate the complexities of benefits and risks when dealing with newly emerging renewable energy development land leases.

Read On »