Stories from Akhila Vijayaraghavan
Energy
Washington Non-Profit Lights Up the World One Village at a Time
Solar energy is one of the most widely available forms of renewable energy, especially in the developing world where plenty […]
February 17, 2012
Energy
Monterey County Bans Harmful Chemicals on Strawberry Farms
Grist reported on Valentine’s Day that one of the biggest farm communities in California – Monterey County – banned the […]
February 16, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Toxins Responsible for that 'New Car Smell'
Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center released its fourth consumer guide to toxic chemicals in cars. Over 200 of the most popular […]
February 16, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Sierra Leone Launches Database to Increase Transparency of its Mining Activities
IPS reports that in January, Sierra Leone became one of the first West-African countries to launch an online mining database. […]
February 14, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Why Valentine's Day is a Fantastic Opportunity for Stakeholder Engagement
Valentine’s Day has had a long history, and for centuries has been celebrated as the day of romantic love. It’s […]
February 14, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Safeway Announces Sustainable Tuna-Sourcing Policy
Safeway recently announced that the Safeway brand Skipjack (chunk-light) canned tuna will be responsibly caught using free-school purse-seine methods. This […]
February 13, 2012
Finance
Reverse Vending Machines Make Recycling Easier
Very often people want to recycle but aren’t sure how. This area of untapped recycling potential is a business opportunity […]
February 10, 2012
Energy
Nike Partners with Dutch Company to Foray Into Waterless Dyeing
I wrote about the innovative, waterless dyeing technique pioneered by a Dutch company, DyeCoo in August last year. It appears that […]
February 10, 2012
Energy
5% of California's Energy Comes From Wind Power
California is probably one of the most environmentally progressive states in the U.S. It is also the country’s most populous […]
February 9, 2012
Voices for Change
We Will be Using Less Resources by 2050 Due to Resource Crunch, UN Says
The ‘natural capital’ of our planet is slowly decreasing and this is something that businesses have to contend with. According […]
February 8, 2012
Energy
Greenpeace Ranks Best Companies in ICT
Following on the heels of the Green Electronics Ranking, today Greenpeace released the fifth version of its Cool IT Leaderboard. […]
February 8, 2012
Energy
Millets Need a Comeback for a More Sustainable Indian Diet
Dietary choices do have planetary impact and this is not something that can be associated only with eating meat. The […]
February 7, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Kraft Uses Stakeholder Engagement to Achieve Zero Waste in 36 Plants
Achieving zero waste seems to be the biggest goal with many food companies. Coca-Cola has done it. Kit Kat has […]
February 6, 2012
Energy
India Leads With $10.3bn in Clean Energy Investments
Bloomberg recently reported that India’s clean tech investments, “reached $10.3bn in 2011, some 52 percent higher than the $6.8bn invested in […]
February 6, 2012
Energy
Samsung Announces £100m Investment in Scotland's Wind Energy Sector
Moving along with Scotland’s ambitious plans to be the European leader in wind energy, Samsung has announced that it will […]
February 2, 2012
Finance
Lessons in Sustainability From Gandhi
January 30th 2012 is Gandhi’s 64th death anniversary and four days ago, India celebrated her Republic Day. It struck me […]
January 31, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Why Biodiversity Loss Deserves as Much Attention as Climate Change
Biodiversity loss is probably a challenge that is often ignored as climate change looms. Currently the world is losing species at […]
January 27, 2012
Energy
India Needs More then the Food Security Bill to Alleviate Hunger
After a lot of debate, the Indian cabinet finally cleared the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) amidst doubts of whether this […]
January 27, 2012
Energy
Sustainable Food Directory Brings Together Over 40,000 Businesses
Farm Plate is a fantastic sustainable food initiative – it is a rather newly launched website which features a searchable […]
January 26, 2012
Technology
Eco-Friendly Fashion on the Red Carpet
Last week many celebrities gathered for the Golden Globe Awards, one woman held the beacon high for eco-fashion. For the […]
January 25, 2012
Energy
Big Three Fast-Food Companies Say NO to Pink Slime
Food Safety Network recently reported that fast-food giants McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Burger King are no longer going to be […]
January 24, 2012
Finance
Spring Back Recycling Builds Up Lives While Breaking Down Mattresses
Getting rid of mattresses is difficult. Most landfills don’t want them as they are bulky and the springs in them damage the […]
January 23, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Kaiser Permanente Greens its Supply Chain by Switching to Safer IV Equipment
Kaiser Permanente is perhaps one of the biggest names in the medical industry. Yesterday, the company announced that it is […]
January 20, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Clif Bar Family Foundation Announces Grant for Organic Plant Breeding
The Clif Bar Company has always integrated CSR into its business model. The company only consists of 250 people, but it operates […]
January 19, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Oxfam UK Promotes Second-Hand Haute Couture
Oxfam has always been the front-runner when it comes to second-hand clothing, books, and music shopping in the UK. All […]
January 18, 2012
Energy
US First Country in the World to Impose Catch-Limit for Fisheries
In a rare show of bold bipartisanism, the United States recently made a move “to impose catch limits for every species […]
January 17, 2012
Energy
Scotland's Ambitious 100% Clean Energy Target by 2020
One country that is really galvanizing wind energy to increase its renewable energy profile is Scotland. 2011 was an epic […]
January 13, 2012
Voices for Change
Air Pollution in South Asia Reaches Epic Levels
A country’s air pollution index is a good measure of its recent economic growth. In South Asia, the winter has […]
January 11, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
The Dark, Unsustainable Underbelly of the Cruise Ship Industry
In the days where eco-tourism is gaining fast ground, there are still ways to have a holiday that is highly […]
January 11, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Pepsico Achieves Positive Water Balance in India
Pepsico and its rival Coco-Cola have often been accused of over-exploitation of water in India. Both companies have been engaging in water […]
January 10, 2012
Energy
UK Sandwich Chain Helps Homeless and Ex-Offenders Get a Second Chance
UK sandwich chain Pret a Manger, is a great example of a company that has CSR integrated into its business […]
January 10, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
Amazon's Kindle Reports Biggest Sales Ever, But How Green Is It?
One of those things that still bring a twinge of sadness is the slow death of independent book-stores. As an […]
January 9, 2012
Energy
Google Continues Its Investments in Renewable Energy
Although Google is a tech-company with huge, energy-intensive data-centers, they are also pretty clued in about sustainability. Through the years, they have […]
January 9, 2012
Technology
New Chargers to Tackle Vampire Power
In our increasingly mobile life, the need for technology to make things even easier has become almost mandatory. Our mobile […]
January 7, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
The Costs of Inaction: Cement Company Fined $1.7M for Clean Air Act Violations
Cement manufacture accounts for 5% of greenhouse gas emissions every year. Recently, Essroc Cement, the 8th largest cement producer in […]
January 6, 2012
Technology
Chicago Plans Park 10 Times Bigger than Manhattan
The city of Chicago recently made headlines by becoming one of the most bike-friendly places as well as for promoting […]
January 4, 2012
Corporate Responsibility
How Mumbai's Mangrove Forests Saved the City Millions of Dollars
Six years ago, the Bombay High Court made a monumental decision and passed an order to stop the destruction of […]
December 23, 2011
Energy
China's Organic Food Market Grows Even as Consumer Confidence Wanes
I’m always happy to read about eco-news and especially around the holidays, good news just seems to sound better. You would […]
December 22, 2011
Energy
Russia Spills 5 Million Tons of Oil Every Year in the Arctic
Petroleum is probably one of the most precious commodities we have. It powers every aspect of human life, not just […]
December 22, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
US Postal Service Gears Up For a Busy Season
Yesterday and today were two of the busiest days of the year for the US Postal Service, which acts like […]
December 21, 2011
Voices for Change
Safe Sushi App Helps Consumers Choose a Low Mercury California Roll
Sometimes you’ve got to love technology. For consumers there are numerous apps out there that enable you to shop better, […]
December 15, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Promoting Sustainability in India
CII-ITC Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development is one of the institutions that promotes sustainability in India. The Centre, which is based […]
December 14, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Cisco's New Focus on Conflict Minerals
Cisco is a company that already has a robust CSR program and their focus for 2012 is conflict minerals. This […]
December 13, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Hasbro Pledges to Remove PVC From Its Products
Hasbro was one of the companies to drop Asia Pulp and Paper as their supplier recently. Now with the launch […]
December 13, 2011
Voices for Change
The Environmental Impact of "Too Much Sugar"
Today I read an excellent article by Tom Laksawy in Grist about the amount of sugar in kids’ cereal. The […]
December 9, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Should Congress Slash the Budget For National Parks Conservation?
What is going on in Congress? First, it talks about giving pizza sauce the status of a vegetable, now it wants […]
November 28, 2011
Energy
WEEE Systems Works Towards a Closed-Loop E-Waste Recycling System
E-waste is a serious problem in all parts of the world. A UK-based start-up WEEE Systems has ambitious plans to […]
November 28, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Asia Pulp & Paper Lashes Back at Greenpeace
Asia Pulp & Papers (APP) has been accused repeatedly by Greenpeace of causing deforestation in Indonesia over the past few years. It is […]
November 28, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Fox News Viewers the Most Uninformed About Current Events, Including Climate Change
Recently, the Fairleigh Dickinson University came out with a poll confirming something that many of us have probably suspected all along. […]
November 24, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Puma Updates Environmental Profit & Loss Statement
Releasing a profit and loss statement on the environmental and social impact of a company’s performance is a bold move. […]
November 23, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Walmart's UK Arm Saves $110 million Through CSR Initiatives
British supermarket chain, ASDA has learned a lot from its parent company, Walmart, to boost its sustainability ratings. Their CSR […]
November 22, 2011
Energy
Recycling Can Create 2.3 Million Jobs According to NRDC Report
Every major project creates jobs – indeed the Keystone pipeline would have created many jobs and in this economy, who […]
November 21, 2011
Energy
Verlasso Brings "Harmoniously Raised" Salmon to Portland
The world of sustainable seafood has seen a great many innovations to supply product that is both healthy and eco-friendly. […]
November 18, 2011
Energy
Puma Plans to Produce Compostable Clothing
Puma has been making some serious changes to its sustainability initiatives and has come out the front-runner in many areas. […]
November 17, 2011
Energy
Honey! It isn't Real!
Honey is supposed to be one of the purest natural foods there is. It shows a perfect balance of ecosystem […]
November 17, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Tiffany & Co Launches Sustainability Website
In the past twenty years, the jewellery industry has faced numerous issues including blood diamonds, conflict gems and dirty gold. The industry and […]
November 16, 2011
Finance
OLPC Plans to Air-Drop Laptops Into Villages
The One Laptop Per Child initiative run by the NGO of the same name has done great work in distributing […]
November 16, 2011
Finance
Spanish Company Pioneers Traffic Monitoring Using Bluetooth
Efficient roads and traffic systems are one of the most important components of urban infrastructure. The study of traffic flows […]
November 11, 2011
Energy
UN Report Says Developing Countries Will See Reverse Economic Growth by 2050
The United Nations recently released a Human Development Report that brings to light the global challenges of sustainability and equity. The […]
November 10, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Greenpeace Releases Green Electronics Guide
Greenpeace released the seventeenth version of its Guide to Greener Electronics today. It has seen many changes over the years. Greenpeace didn’t […]
November 9, 2011
Energy
Facebook Invests in Cogeneration for New Menlo Park Campus
Facebook‘s Menlo Park Campus is all set to have a cogeneration system (aka combined heat and power system or CHP) […]
November 8, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Levi's to Reduce its Water Footprint With Better Cotton Initiative
Jeans from Levi Strauss & Co. just got greener. The company has had its eye on the CSR ball for several […]
November 7, 2011
Energy
Plan to Recycle $300 Billion Worth of Space Debris
Its hard enough to tackle pollution on Earth, let alone in space. However, the recent NASA UARS spacecraft fall has put […]
November 5, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Trendwatch: Luxury Brands Improve Sustainability of Packaging
One of the visual clues that attracts a customer to a product is the packaging. It is also packaging that […]
November 4, 2011
Voices for Change
Population Growth Must Be Addressed to Achieve Sustainable Development
The 7 billionth baby was born on 31st October in Lucknow, India and by the time you read this, the world will have […]
November 3, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Leading Sustainability Consultancy Emphasizes the Importance of Value Chain Management
The Tomorrow’s Value Ratings (TVR) is out with some surprising findings about the state of sustainable business. TVR is an annual assessment […]
October 31, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
NGO Collaboration Required For Strong Corporate CSR
Environmental NGOs have often been perceived as anti-business, anti-growth, tree-loving, bunny-huggers. However, they have evolved to become organized, structured and […]
October 20, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
GRI to Ensure Sustainability Reporting in Listed Companies
GRI recently released a report on why sustainability reporting is important for listed companies. At a recent event hosted by […]
October 19, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Justmeans Launches a Comparative Sustainability Performance Platform
Justmeans is launching a new ESG data visualization platform for measuring, managing and comparing sustainability performance platform called Insights. Justmeans is a subsidiary […]
October 18, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Newsweek Releases its Green Rankings Featuring America's Top 500 Companies
Newsweek magazine released its list of the greenest companies called Green Rankings list today. The list is in its third […]
October 17, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Clorox Embraces Integrated Reporting and Why You Should Care
The concept of integrated reporting (IR) has been around for awhile but only recently are companies beginning to embrace it. […]
October 17, 2011
Energy
Scotland Could Lead the Way in Sustainable Fishing
Scotland is known for its fisheries which yield high quality salmon, trout, mackerel, cod and other species. Scotland has just […]
October 17, 2011
Energy
No Action on FDA Draft Guidelines on Antibiotic Usage – Why?
Last June the FDA released a report entitled The Judicious Use of Medically Important Antimicrobial Drugs in Food-Producing Animals, which was […]
October 16, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
RIM's Lack of Response to Blackberry Outage is Bad CSR
It’s coming up on the fourth day of outages and Research in Motion (RIM) still has not managed to sort […]
October 12, 2011
Energy
London Chefs Campaign to Reduce Food Waste
Three years ago, a survey among UK restaurants revealed that eating out produces 100 times more CO2 emissions than eating […]
October 12, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
General Motors Makes the Business Case for Recycling
General Motors has become a great example of the business benefits for recycling. The company announced that last year, they […]
October 11, 2011
Energy
London Plans on World's Biggest Solar Bridge
City officials have long been working to ‘green’ London, and the effort is gathering speed in the lead up to […]
October 11, 2011
Energy
Global Warming Will Make Chocolate a Luxury Item
The latest victim of climate change could well be something we all take for granted. It is delicious, ubiquitous, and […]
October 10, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Patagonia Asks Its Customers to 'Buy Less' and Boosts Customer Base
Asking your customers to buy less of your product isn’t typically considered a good sales strategy but that is exactly what Patagonia […]
October 10, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
The Impact of Bird-Death on Sustainable Fishing Practices
According to a recent study presented at the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, sea-birds are in severe peril of becoming […]
October 5, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Delhi Metro is First in the World to Earn Carbon Credits
India has always boasted the longest rail network in the world. That network is also the fourth most heavily used […]
October 3, 2011
Energy
Clinton: World Needs Better Immigration Laws for Climate Change Refugees
As part of the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Bill Clinton voiced his thoughts about global warming and climate refugees in […]
September 28, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Hershey's Needs to 'Raise the Bar' to Meet Fair Labor Practices
The Hershey Company has been accused of using child labor before. It’s rather ironic for a candy company but after […]
September 28, 2011
Energy
Red Lobster, Olive Garden Pledge to Improve World Fisheries
It is always heartening to read about companies trying to improve the state of the world’s fisheries and thereby ocean […]
September 27, 2011
Finance
Aspen Institute Releases List of Top Green MBA Degrees
The Aspen Institute recently released their annual list of top business schools that offer sustainable MBAs. According to Beyond Grey […]
September 26, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Haute-Couture CSR: The True Cost of Luxury is Not on the Price Tag
London Fashion week kicked off last Friday and the New York Fashion week is going on this week. Every designer […]
September 23, 2011
Finance
Denim Industry Set to Revive Old Welsh Town
In western Wales, a small town charmingly called Cardigan with a population of 4000 once churned out 35,000 pairs of […]
September 23, 2011
Energy
UK Company Turns Used Diapers Into Roofing Material
UK-based company Knowaste claims that they are “world’s first provider of a recycling solution for nappies, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene (AHP) […]
September 22, 2011
Technology
Somalian Famine Highlights the Need for Urgent Sustainable Development
In 1984, when the world was assaulted with terrible pictures of famine coming out of Ethiopia, several original charity singles […]
September 21, 2011
Corporate Responsibility
Scottish NGO Maps Urban Greenspaces
People living in cities so often get ‘concrete fatigue’ that the need for urban greenspaces is growing. Locating an ideal […]
September 20, 2011