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☆ Believe it or not, we're spending less time in meetings than we used to
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Tim Paradis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewWe're spending less time in meetings than just a few years ago. And they're taking longer, with the average meeting length at 51.9 minutes, up from 50.6 in 2021. The survey, which focused on tech companies, found that employees spend 37% of their work hours in meetings. There is such a thing as good meetings," Shapiro said. The survey, which was conducted from February through April, found that workers spend about three hours a week booking and rescheduling meetings.

Persons: —, dieter who's, That's, Covid, Henry Shapiro, Reclaim.ai, Shapiro, Ron Hetrick, Hetrick Organizations: Service, Business

☆ 5 ways to add joy into your meals
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Andrea Kane | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

“She would eat this colorless, aroma-less food and she was sad all the time.”That is not Shiue’s style. She wanted to create a place where she could teach her patients to make healthy food taste good. “A lot of people were taught that quote-unquote ‘cultural food’ … is not healthy,” Shiue said. “People are told, ‘Oh no, no: The food that you eat, that’s why you have diabetes. “Nutrition and sustenance — that’s only one small part of food,” Shiue said.

Persons: Sanjay Gupta, it’s, “, dieter, ” Dr, Linda Shiue, Gupta, That’s, ”, Shiue, we’re, ” Shiue, Don’t, —, you’ve, ‘, Bill Weir Organizations: CNN, Kaiser Permanente San Locations: Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, Chew

☆ Opinion: What Oprah gets right about diet culture
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Opinion Adrienne Bitar | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

How could she, the queen of WeightWatchers and doyenne of dieting, be abandoning the equation of diet + exercise = slim? Taking weight-loss drugs, rejecting diet culture or choosing to diet are all valid health decisions. Just look at the tragic history of diet drugs. When considered in this context, semaglutide isn’t the weight loss panacea it may appear to be. Oprah and the millions of other Americans on prescription semaglutide and similar medications should be respected — or at least not ridiculed — for ignoring the insults and choosing what’s right for them, drug or no drug, diet or no diet.

Persons: Adrienne Bitar, ”, Oprah Winfrey, WeightWatchers, Oprah, couldn’t, Cancer, dieters, “, gaunt, Jimmy Kimmel, Atkins “, John Harvey Kellogg, Kellogg, dieter, — Organizations: “, Studies, Cornell University, CNN, ”, Federal Food

☆ Inside Poland Spring’s Hidden Attack on Water Rules It Didn’t Like
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

The BlueTriton bottling plant in Poland Spring, Maine, this month. Water Clashes NationwideBlueTriton finds itself pitted against local water boards, environmentalists and other groups across the country. Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; Continental U.S. aquifer map data from GebreEgziabher, Jasechko and Perrone, Nature Communications (2022) Mira Rojanasakul/The New York TimesIn California, BlueTriton has publicly criticized and vowed to fight a cease-and-desist order issued by the state’s water board to stop diverting millions of gallons of water from a spring in San Bernardino County. Poland Spring water was first packaged as a local elixir in the mid-1800s. The original Poland Spring water source.

Persons: BlueTriton, ”, Elizabeth M, Frazier, haven’t, Christopher Kessler, Bottlers, Ms, Frazier didn’t, Anthony Moffa, Mark Lawrence, Lawrence, Mira Rojanasakul, State Legislature’s, Margaret M, “, John Mullaney, Roger Crouse, Cheryl Dieter, Metropoulos, Nestlé, John McGowan, Natalie DiPentino, DiPentino, Poland Spring, BlueTriton’s Organizations: The New York Times, Times, Democratic, Energy, Utilities, Technology, Maine State House, ”, Industries, University of Maine School of Law ., Democrat, Water, . Geological Survey, Continental, Nature Communications, New York Times, State, Poland, U.S, Geological, Water Science, Industry, Maine Water Utilities Association, United States Geological Survey, Rock Capital Partners, Metropoulos, Moody’s Investors Service Locations: Maine, Poland, Poland Spring , Maine, South Portland, Michigan, Colorado, Augusta, In Colorado, Arkansas, United States, Continental U.S, GebreEgziabher, California, San Bernardino County, In Michigan, Lincoln, Lincoln , Maine, New York, BlueTriton’s Poland, Chaffee County , Colorado

☆ Apollo 17 samples reveal that the moon is 40 million years older than previously thought
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Lunar dust collected by Apollo 17 astronauts in the 1970s has revealed that the moon is 40 million years older than previously believed. After landing on the moon on December 11, 1972, NASA astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt collected rocks and dust from the lunar surface. A new analysis of that sample detected zircon crystals and dated them to 4.46 billion years old. “When the surface was molten like that, zircon crystals couldn’t form and survive. A lunar zircon grain is shown under a microscope.

Persons: Eugene Cernan, Harrison Schmitt, ”, Philipp Heck, Robert A, Heck, Bidong Zhang, Zhang, Audrey Bouvier, Jennika Greer, Greer, they’re, ” Heck, “, ” Greer, Dieter Isheim Organizations: CNN, Apollo, NASA, Polar Studies, Field, Research Center, University of Chicago, University of California, Bayreuth University, University of Glasgow, Northwestern University, Field Museum, Northwestern University Center, Atom Locations: Chicago, Los Angeles, Germany, Evanston , Illinois

☆ Artificial Intelligence Steps In to Lower Carbon Footprint of Buildings
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Artificial intelligence is starting to help buildings go greener. Developers and construction companies have pursued more-efficient energy use in buildings over the past couple of decades. “We want to make every building out there as smart as it can be,” said Ramya Ravichandar, JLL Technologies’s vice president, technology platforms—smart and sustainable buildings. For instance, software and hardware that automatically manages lights, heating and cooling can help buildings cut 20% or more of their yearly energy use. “The main message overall is we’re not going to save the planet with software, and AI is software,” Smithies said.

Persons: JLL, “, ”, Ramya Ravichandar, ” Ravichandar, Thomas Kiessling, ” Kiessling, Greg Smithies, ” Smithies, Dieter Holger Organizations: International Energy Agency, Energy, Environmental, Envio Systems, Royal London Asset Management, JLL, London Asset Management, Siemens Smart Infrastructure, Siemens, Sustainable Business, Venture, Fifth, dieter.holger Locations: Turntide, Sunnyvale, Calif, Berlin, Birmingham, England

☆ Plant-Based Plastics Gain Favor as Companies Pursue Sustainability Goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Plant-based plastic, that is. However, the environmental benefits of plant-based plastics are increasingly appealing to companies promising to use more sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Plants absorb the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide, which cuts the greenhouse-gas emissions from making bioplastics to at least half that of fossil-fuel-based plastics. A Lululemon shirt containing plant-based nylon. Only plant-based plastics that are chemically identical to fossil-fuel–based versions can enter the existing and growing recycling infrastructure.

Persons: Bioplastics haven’t, Michael Carus, “, ” Carus, Eastman, Chris Killian, bioplastics, Warby Parker, ”, Biden, Manav, olefins, Dow, bioethylene, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis, Haley Lowry, Dieter Holger Organizations: Sustainable Business, Kodak, U.S . Defense Department, European, dieter.holger Locations: China, Japan, biomanufacturing, U.S, Iowa

☆ Climate change: Extreme water stress affects a quarter of humanity and it's poised to get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Hafsa Khalil | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The biggest change in water demand will occur in sub-Saharan Africa according to the report, which projects a 163% increase in water demand by 2050. In North America and Europe, water demand has plateaued, helped by investment in water use efficiency measures. In the US, six states experience extremely high water stress, according to the report. People collect drinking water from in Cape Town on January 19, 2018, during a water crisis which saw the city nearly run dry. The report suggests various measures to prevent water stress spilling into a water crisis.

Persons: ”, Samantha Kuzma, “ I’ve, ” Kuzma, Will Lanzoni, Kuzma, “, Charles, Rodger Bosch, Dieter Gerten, – Organizations: CNN, Ocean Program, UN, Getty, Potsdam Institute, Climate Impact Research Locations: Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Lake Mead, Boulder City , Nevada, East, North Africa, Africa, Saharan Africa, North America, Europe, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Charles Iceland, Cape Town, AFP, Vegas, Singapore

☆ Virtual Healthcare Has Green Benefits
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Cecilia Butini | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

Virtual doctor’s appointments are helping healthcare companies reduce carbon emissions, though sustainability is mostly seen as a side benefit of telehealth rather than its main driver. The healthcare industry is responsible for about 5% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, of which the U.S. healthcare system alone accounts for a quarter. Similarly, in England, medicines, buildings, equipment and other supply-chain items generate most of the National Health Service’s emissions, according to official NHS figures. The company has designed an app for teleconsultations that is able to show patients the carbon emissions avoided through that consultation. In line with national data, the company said its Scope 3 emissions account for 75% of its total emissions.

Persons: telehealth, Cynthia Cox, KFF, ”, Colin Cave, ” Cave, Glyn Richards, Ben Phillips, BUPA, Marijka Grey, Kyle Zebley, — Dieter Holger, Cecilia Butini Organizations: McKinsey, Sustainable Business, Affordable, Energy, U.S . Agency for Healthcare Research, National Health, Kaiser Permanente, Permanente Kaiser Permanente, Spain —, CommonSpirit Health, CommonSpirit, American Telemedicine Association Locations: England, telemedicine, Kaiser, U.S, Northwest, U.K, Spain, Grey, Europe

☆ Sustainable Aviation Fuel Leader Talks Green Premiums and Impact of Tax Incentives
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +11 min

Many airlines, corporate fliers and governments see so-called sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF, as a way to reduce aviation’s contribution to global warming. It recently converted an oil refinery in California and is expanding its refineries in Singapore and Rotterdam. We worked on a former fossil-fuel refinery and converted that into a renewable refinery. The carbon footprint of aviation can be affected today from today’s SAF technology. It will continue to incentivize current SAF production, but it will be difficult to be the impetus for future production.

Persons: P, Chris Cooper, We’ve, we’ve, Neste, Dieter Holger Organizations: Aviation, International Energy Agency, International Council, Clean Transportation, SAF, Sustainable, Neste’s U.S, Airlines, International Air Transport Association, Neste, Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, DHL, Amazon, Marathon Petroleum, Sustainable Business, today’s SAF, Air, dieter.holger Locations: California, Singapore, Rotterdam, U.S, Neste U.S, San Francisco, Dallas, City, Oakland, Air Canada, Alaska, American, Delta, Los Angeles, San Jose, Washington, York, New York, New Jersey, . Oregon

There are also some voluntary credits for mechanically removing CO2 directly from the air, which are currently much more expensive. In June, the CFTC—the federal regulator of derivatives—created an environmental task force focused on rooting out fraud in carbon markets. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS How can we build trust in carbon offsets? A parallel effort by the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative, or VCMI, is setting rules for the buyers of offsets. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has created an environmental task force focused on rooting out fraud in carbon markets and has called on whistleblowers to expose misconduct.

Persons: don’t, Nestlé, ”, Danny Cullenward, John Kerry, Morgan Stanley, Perrier, San, Ian McGinley, hasn’t, Guy Turner, ” Turner, andrew kelly, Mark Kenber, ” Kenber, William McDonnell, ” McDonnell, Dieter Holger Organizations: Futures Trading Commission, Sustainable Business, Institute, Carbon, American University . “, European Union, American University “, Paris Agreement, Council, Voluntary, Initiative, Trove, Futures, Reuters, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, San Pellegrino, Paris

☆ Thames Water: Why Britain's water industry is struggling with sewage spills, huge leaks and crushing debts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The UK water sector is “clearly in a state of multiple crises,” said Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford. Thames Water in troubleThe industry’s long-running problems have been thrust into the spotlight by a looming cash crunch at Thames Water, which serves 15 million people in London and the southeast of England. An aerial view of a Thames Water sewage treatment works in west London. A screen displays real-time notifications of sewage leaks into waterways in the region controlled by Thames Water in January 2023. Will Thames Water be nationalized?

Persons: ”, Dieter Helm, “, ” Helm, Ofwat, Abu Dhabi, David Black, Ben Stansall, Iain Coucher, they’ve, ” Black, Margaret Thatcher’s, David Hall, Leon Neal, ” Hall, Sarah Bentley “, Maureen McLean, Helm Organizations: London CNN —, University of Oxford, CNN, Thames, Getty, Yorkshire Water, Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative, Public Services International Research Unit, University of Greenwich, Thames Water, Ontario, BBC Locations: England, Wales, London, China, Abu, AFP, Yorkshire, Windsor, UK

☆ America’s Green Skills Gap Raises Concerns About Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

But recent data shows strong growth in demand for green skills exacerbating an already tight market where demand outstrips supply. The online professional network defines green skills as those that make economic activities more environmentally sustainable, such as carbon accounting, hydrogen engineering and battery manufacturing. It considers green jobs to be ones which include climate action objectives such as removing pollution and preserving natural resources. Likewise, more than 114,000 U.S. clean energy jobs were created in 2022, according to last week’s annual employment report from the U.S. Department of Energy. As of 2023, nearly 11% of U.S. transport workers, such as employees of carmakers, have green skills, according to LinkedIn.

Persons: ”, Sue Duke, Kenneth Gillingham, ” Gillingham, Tim Gruber, Gillingham, Sara Smiley Smith, Steven Cohen, Cohen, Todd Anderson, Rochelle Toplensky, Dieter Holger Organizations: U.S, LinkedIn, Wall Street, U.S . Department of Energy, Political Economy Research, University of Massachusetts Amherst, American Clean Power Association, Sustainable Business, Yale School of, Workers, Nobles, Environment, Yale, Columbia, Science, Sustainability Management, The Wall, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, Reading, Minn, Woodbine , Georgia

☆ How to Start Accounting for Carbon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Start with the easier stuffBegin with the more straightforward direct emissions from operations and energy purchases—so-called Scope 1 and 2 emissions. On its website, the company provides emissions data for computers and its sustainability-linked sales rose to $3.5 billion in 2021, about 5% of total sales. For HP and Nestlé, more than 95% of their carbon footprint is Scope 3 emissions. To make Scope 3 accounting more accurate, companies can add data that comes directly from their suppliers, if it is available. Businesses can also work together with their suppliers and customers to provide some training and resources to help them get their own carbon accounting in order.

Persons: James McCall, Benjamin Ware, Holcim, Magali Anderson, HP’s McCall, ” McCall, Nestlé’s Ware, “, McCall, GaBi, Nestlé, ” Ware, Don’t, Holcim’s Anderson, Elisabeth Real “, ”, Dieter Holger Organizations: Sustainable Business, HP, World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund, Nestlé, Schneider, Engineers, Finance, WWF, Schneider Electric, Food, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, Europe, Texas

☆ U.S. Companies Face EU Deforestation Rules on Coffee, Wood and Other Everyday Goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

The nonprofit estimates at least 37 big U.S.-based companies, including Starbucks and Kellogg, will be covered by the new rules. Trees absorb carbon dioxide, and forest loss and damage has caused around 10% of global warming, according to nonprofit World Wildlife Fund. The EU rules apply to companies meeting the bloc’s broad definition of an “operator,” which includes a business importing into the EU, exporting from it, or putting products on the bloc’s market. The EU rules are expected to become stricter over time. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat who is spearheading the effort, said the U.S. needs to follow the EU in enacting deforestation regulations on trade.

Persons: haven’t, “, Starling, —, Kellogg, ” Frans Timmermans, Guillaume Croisant, Sen, Brian Schatz, ”, Dieter Holger Organizations: European Union, EU, Global, Starbucks, Kellogg, Labs, Airbus, Companies, World Resources Institute, Consumer Goods, New, World Wildlife Fund, Cargill, Bunge, Sustainable Business, Barclays, Hawaii Democrat, dieter.holger Locations: European, Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia, New York, Brussels, Linklaters, U.S, Hawaii, Europe

☆ One Change Could Help U.S. Drugmakers Save 11 Million Trees a Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

That equals more than 3.8 million metric tons of emissions from the production and disposal of the paper, or about 10.9 million trees. The company aims to have a plan by 2025 for all its medical information to go electronic by the end of the decade. PREVIEWOther countries have digitized drug information, with Japan leading the way. Singapore has been in the process of switching to digital information or so-called e-labeling for consumers and medical professionals since 2020. And since 2009, Australia has required digitized instructions for medical professionals and patients, although some drugs such as injectables may contain a hard copy.

Persons: Pam Cheng, Alyssa Schukar, ”, Cheng, Johnson, Joshina Kapoor, Eli Lilly, Avery Dennison, JP Gould, WestRock, Diana Harshbarger of, Diana Harshbarger, Richard Scholz, Jeremy Kahn, AstraZeneca’s Cheng, Joshua Martin, Dieter Holger Organizations: Alliance, AstraZeneca, Wall, pharma, Johnson, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Pfizer, Pharmaceutical, Literature Association, Republican U.S . Rep, . House, REUTERS Rep, FDA, Senate, Association, Sustainable Business, Environmental, “, dieter.holger Locations: U.S, Japan, Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, Tenn, American, Maihara, Singapore, Australia, North America

☆ Recycling and Regulation Are Hot Issues in Likely Update to U.S. Sustainable Marketing Guides
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +8 min

The FTC last updated its guides in 2012 after a review that it launched in late 2007. “For the average consumer, it’s impossible to verify these claims,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in December when the review was launched. “It therefore is critical for the FTC’s framework on environmental claims to stay flexible and nimble,” Nestlé said in its public comment. Published comments from Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal and Unilever support keeping the current 60% threshold and say recyclable claims shouldn’t be based on how much of their products get recycled. Its CEO also said he hopes the Green Guides will be updated more regularly given the rapidly changing landscape of environmental marketing.

Persons: “, Lina Khan, Nestlé, PIERRE ALBOUY, REUTERS Nestlé, Perrier, Johnson, Fisk Johnson, ” Johnson, ”, Sarah Dearman, Ting Shen, L’Oréal, Unilever didn’t, Keith Srakocic, S.C, Dieter Holger Organizations: U.S . Federal Trade, FTC, Green Guides, Justice Department, REUTERS, ” SC Johnson, Sustainable Business, Green, Recycling, Bloomberg, The Recycling, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, Greenpeace, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal, Unilever, ” Unilever, Guides, dieter.holger Locations: North America, Virginia, U.S

☆ Here's everything you need to know about Lidl, the German discount chain that's struggling to keep up with Aldi's rapid US growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Lidl opened 450 stores in Germany in just 15 yearsA Lidl store in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1998. Shortly after, it opened stores elsewhere in Europe, including Italy in 1992 and the UK in 1994. In 2006, the retailer launched Lidl Asia, a sourcing arm for the company which has more than 1,000 employees across Hong Kong, China, and Bangladesh. Lidl launched its online store in 2009. Lidl is part of the Schwarz Group, alongside sister company Kaufland, a hypermarket chain launched by Schwarz in the 1980s.

Persons: Lidl, Claus Felix, Josef Schwarz, Dieter Schwarz, Schwarz, Josef, Kaufland Organizations: Getty, Lidl, Bloomberg, Schwarz Locations: Germany, Nuremberg, Ludwigshafen, Mundenheim, France, Europe, Italy, Asia, Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, Lidl Northern Ireland, Neckarsulm

☆ Perovskite Solar Cells Push Bounds of Efficiency. Tapping Their Potential Will Be Challenging.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Higher efficiency, measured by how many of the Sun’s photons are turned into watts, lowers the cost of generating solar energy. The factory is small, with a 100-megawatt yearly capacity, but can be expanded and Oxford PV has ambitions to increase production in 2024. Perovskite solar panels may reach commercialization this decade thanks to an expansion of solar investment spurred by government aid from the U.S. and Europe, solar analysts say. China dominates more than 80% of the world’s manufacturing of solar panels, according to the International Energy Agency. “The conversation about degradation is an old one, dating to the early days of perovskite solar technology,” Case said.

Persons: hasn’t, Chris Case, ”, Martin Green, Green, Oxford PV’s Case, ” Case, Diego Diaz, ” Diaz, Dieter Holger Organizations: U.S, Oxford, Oxford University, Saule Technologies, Sustainable Business, International Energy Agency, Oxford PV’s, University of New, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, dieter.holger Locations: Oxford, Brandenburg, Germany, U.S, Europe, China, Oxford PV’s Brandenburg, University of New South Wales, company’s Brandenburg

☆ Gucci-Owner Kering, Drugmaker GSK and Others Are Developing Global Targets on Nature Loss
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Luxury group Kering and biopharma company GSK are among more than a dozen companies preparing targets to develop a gold standard for how businesses can protect nature. Yet the issues surrounding nature loss are complex and many companies are unsure how to measure it or what to do. The Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures, a business-backed effort to protect biodiversity, is working on a reporting framework, and SBTN is developing standards to evaluate companies’ nature targets. “We expect that the landscapes will be similar [to the ones under the SBTN targets], ” Gonçalves Krebsbach said. In 2020, GSK started to map out stressed water basins in its supply chain.

☆ Vodafone and Nestlé Created Panels to Avoid ‘Greenwashing’ Allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Vodafone Group and Nestlé have set up panels of experts to double check environmental claims before they appear on products and marketing, a move by the multinationals to avoid allegations of so-called greenwashing. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is updating its environmental marketing guidelines and the EU has proposed that businesses need to offer scientific evidence. The panels at Nestlé and Vodafone are examples of how companies are stepping up their due diligence of green claims in response to mounting scrutiny, tighter regulation, shifting consumer preferences and the threat of lawsuits. So far, that hasn’t happened, Mr. Reiter said. The packaged-foods company’s panels are staffed by employees from marketing, regulatory, scientific affairs, sustainability, legal and communications.

☆ Carbon Accounting Changes Could Lift Corporate Greenhouse-Gas Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Changes to emissions accounting rules are being considered that could significantly increase carbon footprints for companies claiming to use 100% renewable power in their efforts to decarbonize. How companies tally greenhouse-gas emissions from their electricity purchases—so-called Scope 2 emissions—was the most popular issue in a recent consultation on updating widely used GHG Protocol carbon accounting rules. A recent review by carbon management firm FlexiDAO of 22 multinationals that bought renewable electricity across 27 countries found that they could be underestimating their electricity emissions by close to 50% under the current system. The GHG Protocol secretariat is reviewing the more than 1,400 survey responses, around 400 of which mentioned Scope 2. Other areas of focus were emissions in the value chain, or so-called Scope 3 emissions, market-based accounting approaches, and corporate accounting and reporting standards.

☆ Coca-Cola Trials Turning Hard-to-Recycle Plastic Into Bottles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Coca-Cola is trialing technology in Europe that turns hard-to-recycle plastic into new bottles, as part of its effort to meet its sustainability goals. “We simply do not have the necessary levels [of recycled plastic],” said Joe Franses, vice president of sustainability at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Packaging represents around 40% of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ carbon footprint, largely because of its use of oil-based virgin plastic. It aims to stop using oil to produce plastic bottles by 2030. He hopes recycled plastic supplied by CuRe’s method to be on par or not significantly more expensive than current recycled plastic, which can be 50% more costly than plastic made from oil.

☆ A protestor threw a cake-like pastry at a board member's head during a Volkswagen meeting that descended into chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About a dozen protestors reportedly created chaos at Volkswagen Groups annual meeting on Wednesday. One protestor threw what appeared to be a cake at a board member's head. The Associated Press reported that the pastry was thrown in the direction of Wolfgang Porsche, the chairman of Volkswagen Group's majority shareholder, Porsche SE. But recordings of the moment, uploaded to YouTube from news outlets including The Guardian, show VW Group chairman Hans Dieter Poetsch dodging remnants of the pastry that flew in his direction. A Reuters video from the event shows the protestors being led out of the meeting by security.

[1/3] Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG and Dr. Ing. He did not mention the company's Xinjiang plant in China, a joint venture with SAIC Motor (600104.SS), which has become a sore point for human rights activists as well as some shareholders, including top-20 investors Deka Investment and Union Investment. "Volkswagen must be certain that its supply chains are clean," said Ingo Speich, head of sustainability and corporate governance at Deka. Volkswagen's China chief visited the plant in Xinjiang earlier this year and said he saw no evidence of forced labour. Shareholders flagged rising competition from Chinese EV competitors in China, with BYD (002594.SZ) outselling Volkswagen as the top passenger car brand earlier this year.

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