The major problems uncovered in Apple's — and the IT industry's — Chinese supply chain in a series of recent exposes go far beyond Apple to the heart of how companies measure their social and environmental impacts.
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The Bigger Picture Behind Apple’s China Problem
A newcomer to the U.S market, the all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV takes the No. 1 spot on the ACEEE's annual list, knocking the Honda Civic Natural Gas vehicle from its eight-year reign as the greenest car.
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Mitsubishi i-MiEV Tops the Greenest Car List for 2012
Cynthia Rosenzweig, a world-renowned urban climate change expert, explains what businesses and cities can do to help each other prepare for the threats posed by the warming planet.
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What Companies Can Learn From Cities on Climate Change
Lots of firms have acknowledged the importance of managing their environmental impacts. Some have taken first steps toward actually reducing those impacts. But the biggest hurdle remains: Managing and measuring eco-data as part of your company's culture.
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Getting Beyond the Basics to Embrace the Science of Sustainability
Christina Pinto: Farmers depend on crops for their livelihood. An infestation of insects or bugs can threaten the stability of their business, often leading to financial ruin. Israeli agriculture scientist, Samule Gan-Mor has created a solution to end farmer’s natural woes. A mixture of readily found household items has produced the perfect pesticide, a combination of edible canola or rapeseed oil, soybean oil, cottonseed oil and the slightly expensive olive oil. Cooking oil – the perfect pesticide The seeds from which the oils are derived contain certain ingredients that cause blockage in the breathing pathways of invertebrates and hinder their mobility. Thus, Gan-Mor was encouraged to develop this oil solution. The government sanctioned Volcani Institute in Beit Dagan for working and improving industrial sprayers to increase their coverage of plant area with lesser pesticide. Israeli companies Raz Spayers and Degania Sprayers are now selling such sprayers worldwide. The product is being marketed as an organic alternative and includes the advanced sprayer, the oil emulsion and emulsifier. The new product can be used swiftly after harvest, unlike chemical pesticides that require a waiting period between application and harvesting. This is to take into account the health risks to the environment and people. Oil based pest control is far superior to chemical pesticides as it has no health hazards, it is easy to produce and is inexpensive, not to mention it is safer and can be stored for specified periods of time. Some pesticides have been known to disrupt hormone balance, cause cancer and perpetuate neurotoxins. Hence, earth friendly products are high in demand. The Volcani Institue, Ministry of Agriculture Research Organization along with a company called Shelef, made plans to test these oil formulations at 20 different farms in Israel. Shelef is investing in more research to create oil based formulations that match specific crops and conditions. Meanwhile, the company has already begun selling the complete oil functioning systems to interested farmers. Via: Israel21c
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Cooking oil designed to be a perfect pesticide
Sonia Renthlei: Daily traffic snarls, expelling pollution is a daily show we witness on city streets. But, despite the sheer volume of private vehicles on the road, many people are still left waiting on sidewalks and flagging down cabs. Effective public transportation systems are the key to addressing the situation and this is where ATS ULTra enters the picture. ATS Ultra Concept Picture Gallery ATS Ultra Concept It is a battery powered vehicle. A form of the personal rapid transit system, ULTra is now plying the streets of London. Conceived by Martin Lowson, the project sees the rubber wheeled pods running on guide ways which consist of concrete barriers. An internal map also guides the pods on their routes so there’s no need to switch between pods. ULTra has been found to be significantly more economical than conventional public transport systems like underground metros. ULTra, costs just about five million pounds per kilometer of track. In modern context the difference is wide, making the futuristic pod system more feasible. ULTra runs on batteries, which means there’s no need to electrify tracks. The system is recharged at the station itself. Each pod can seat four adults and bear a 500 kg payload. This is enough to accommodate wheelchairs, luggage and shopping trolleys. A battery pack of 2kW of power adds about eight percent of weight to the pod. Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow Airport is effectively making use of ULTra, which serves about 2.4 miles of distance. The track extends to the business passenger car park and the service, which uses only half as much energy, has replaced the bus service used in the past. Via: Behance
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ATS ULTra offers a safe and green mode of public transport
A new study suggests that companies that publish press releases on their carbon footprints — and their efforts to shrink those footprints — see a boost in share value in the days after announcements.
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Companies Get a Boost in Stock from Reporting Greenhouse Gas Info
After 10 months as the leader of the group, Nixon is moving on, while the Consortium leans on McKinsey and its board to move the organization forward.
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Bonnie Nixon Steps Down as Head of Sustainability Consortium
The country stepped up its opposition to the controversial Emissions Trading System, the latest move from a large number of countries that are opposed to paying for carbon emissions generated within European airspace.
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China Orders Its Airlines Not to Pay EU Emissions Fee
The first full day of a technology-focused gathering in the run-up to this summer's Rio + 20 conference in Brazil highlighted how Big Data, coupled with innovative ideas for dealing with Big Data, can make big impacts at every level.
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Diversity, Innovation and Sustainability at Rio+2.0