Big-box retail and sustainability might sound like mutually exclusive business endeavors, but some major players are going to great lengths to change that perception. In 2009, Walmart set aside initial funding for The Sustainability Consortium, an organization tasked with creating a comprehensive resource for credible information about the sustainability (both environmental and social) of everyday…
President Obama brought the issue of climate change out of exile during his State of the Union by issuing a demand for Congress: if they don’t act swiftly, he will. But as Congress continues to lightly mull a plan of action, urban visionaries John Stoddard and Courtney Hennessey of Higher Ground Farm are cultivating their own…
Many people believe that Hurricane Sandy made the consequences of climate change painfully clear, so it might be tempting to think that stricter emissions standards and renewable-energy investments could lead to a less stormy future. However, while these high-level policy initiatives are very important, changes on the home front matter, too. “Residential housing accounts for…
Good news for corporate social responsibility leaders: there’s a growing body of evidence that sustainability often goes hand in hand with profits. A new report from MIT Sloan Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group adds even more data to the pile: according to a survey of 2,600 executives and managers around the world, the number…
While the country is still reeling from the effects of the housing crash and economic crises, a new trend is taking big cities by storm. Microhousing or aPodments, a brand name for these ultra-compact living spaces, are springing up everywhere from Seattle to Washington D.C. Its not just…
America’s carbon dioxide emissions last year fell to their lowest levels since 1994, according to a new report. Carbon dioxide emissions fell by 13% in the past five years, because of new energy-saving technologies and a doubling in the take-up of renewable energy. The reduction in climate pollution brings America more than halfway towards Barack…
Environmental and Social Conditions That Make Young People Gravitate Towards Gangs Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, has spent the last 25 years working with gang involved and at-risk youth. Through compassion and Homeboy Industries, the nation’s largest gang intervention program, Father Boyle has inspired and led young men and women away from the…
Though it is the largest event held in Balboa Park every year, the future of this year’s Earth Fair is in doubt. About 60,000 people flock to Balboa Park to celebrate Mother Earth during Earth Fair, which is held in late April. Event founder and CEO Carolyn Chase said she was recently told by the…
The U.S. Postal Service and UPS are about to demonstrate how business rivals can combine forces to improve their bottom lines while cutting out waste and pollution. The two have just embarked on a “unique partnership” called Blue and Brown Make Green, which is aimed at reducing the carbon footprints of both the world’s biggest…
International climate talks between some 200 nations, ended last week after closing with a marathon 36 hour session. Nations from around the world met to discuss carbon emissions and global warming. What came out of the talks? First of all, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which places limits on some greenhouse gas emissions of developed countries,…