We’ve seen the direction that the new Administration in the United States wants to take. Now the question is, what direction will your company take? It’s clear that the Administration intends to follow through on its promises. Even without Congressional action, it will move to gut environmental regulation, reverse climate change policy, and prioritize jobs
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Two different views of corporate sustainability collided in my inbox last week. One email said that Freya Williams will speak at the US Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD)/World BCSD/Yale meeting next month. Freya Williams’ Green Giants book argues persuasively that business sustainability and business strategy have to be one and the same, not two
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“We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.” As this line from the classic New Year’s Eve song suggests, now is the time to toast goodwill and celebrate achievements. It’s also time for businesses to think about the future. For leading companies, the season presents a timely opportunity to evaluate their corporate
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In the past few decades or so there has been a revolution in third-party programs and standards certifying, recognizing, or accrediting companies’ environmental, health and safety and sustainability performance. This has included numerous International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards and guidelines such as those for Environmental Management (ISO14000), Occupational Health and Safety (ISO45001), and
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The USEPA has published a simple infographic providing interesting facts and figures associated with clean water. The infographic could be used for annual environmental training, Earth Day events, etc. to stimulate a discussion about the importance of clean water. http://www2.epa.gov/cleanwaterrule/why-clean-water-rules   Photograph: Trippy by James Farmer, Soka, Saitama, Japan. Return to the EHS Journal
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The environmental, health, safety, and sustainability (EHS&S) profession is in the doldrums. Just when we thought we’d survived the recession and sustainability could be embraced, we’re back in the world of cuts and delays. It feels like a return to the 1980s or early 1990s, when a CEO would tell a corporate environmental officer: “I
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  There was a time when corporations treated sustainability as nothing more than the topic du jour of environmental activists, or an issue they recognized only because the law required it. But today’s corporate sustainability practices have undergone a remarkable shift. Now, sustainability is being integrated into the bottom-line of businesses. Leading global companies have
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Some sustainability professionals are lucky. They work for CEOs who, for one reason or another, “get” sustainability. Their CEOs may have been exposed to sustainability issues by their customers, by their predecessors or even by their grandchildren. Some may have made the pilgrimage to Bentonville and taken the oath (though they may not be sure
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Take a break and watch this 2-minute video on sustainability investing from RobecoSAM, the people who publish the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices.

“Jewelry represents a commitment between two people, and it should be a symbol of not just your love, but your values as well,” said Beth Gerstein, co-founder of Brilliant Earth, a designer of “ethically sourced” diamonds and jewelry. She urges consumers to consider human rights issues associated with their jewelry’s supply chain when making buying
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