… most heavily traded edible oil in the world. Golden Agri Resources (GAR) has been in the forefront of this palm oil boom in Indonesia. Founded in 1996 by the influential Widjaja family (operators of the Sinar Mas business group), GAR became the holding company for the family’s agribusinesses, including its Indonesian subsidiary PT SMART. The company … had not significantly altered the way the company did business, since the company "had sustainability in its blood." GAR also downplayed the importance of the differences among …
… In 2014, the four largest palm oil trading companies signed an agreement to end deforestation, development of peat lands and exploitation of locals not only with their own operations, but also from all of their suppliers. For environmental NGOs, the Indonesian Palm Oil Pledge (as the agreement was named) represented a dramatic advance in their decades-long efforts to protect the Indonesian rainforest from further destruction. One year later the …
… financial backing, buy and erect the turbines, and begin generating electricity by 2010. For Walmart de México, becoming the wind farm’s off-taker accomplished a number of important … electricity at below the rates charged by Mexico’s state-controlled utility, shaving costs for the famously thrifty retailer. In addition, the project allowed Walmart de México to get closer to some of its sustainability goals. The wind farm would supply electricity to 348 Walmart de México …
… Harish Hande and the company he founded, SELCO, provide solar electricity for lighting and power to India's poor. For the work of his company, Hande has received numerous recognitions; he is frequently cited as one of the top social entrepreneurs in India and an example for the entire developing world. The road to SELCO’s …
… products we buy. However, it is not something that consumers can easily spot or screen for. When, in June 2015, France’s Ecology minister, Segolene Royal, called on her country to … highlighted the hidden role it plays in the global economy. And, as fires set to clear land for palm oil plantations blazed in Indonesia throughout the fall of 2015, covering the … is complex. In 2015, this is a dynamic landscape, with companies signing on to palm oil sustainability and “deforestation-free” pledges at record rates, while on-the ground …
… on Climate Change (GC3), a group charged with creating a comprehensive climate strategy for the State of Connecticut. As of September 2016, Garcia remained undecided about a key … and opponents of nuclear energy on the GC3 and Garcia was weighing each side’s arguments before announcing his own position. Connecticut had a long history of considering climate … 2050. The GC3 had been tasked to develop interim statewide greenhouse gas reduction targets for years between 2020 and 2050 and identify short- and long-term statewide strategies to …
… oil company PEMEX had to find ways to implement this policy. Nevertheless, in spite of efforts by various government agencies as well as PEMEX, by mid-2014 no ethanol had been … makers looked at the country's energy supply, they expected that substituting bioethanol for some portion of gasoline fuel would meet a number of the country’s needs. First, it could help extend the country’s supply of crude oil. The country's demand for gasoline was growing, but the production of crude oil from the country's shallow-water …
… taste, its beauty. Illy also has a dream that someday soon the coffee market might be transformed into something approaching the market for wine. Where connoisseurs discuss the fine points of various origin coffees and blends, where customers are willing to pay a premium for the finest examples of the coffee-making art, and the growers, roasters and baristas …
… had to decide how it was going to respond and how much it was willing to invest in its efforts to grow in the U.S. In Europe, the supply-constrained market during 2007-10 had … with some of the continent’s leading developers of solar projects. Trina supplied modules for a number of large, signature projects, developing a strong track record. Now, the … Japanese module maker Sharp had bought Recurrent Energies and its pipeline of projects. Before that, the world’s largest module maker, First Solar, had bought a large developer. …
… named Sealed signed a $5-million loan-financing agreement as a way to broaden the market for home energy-efficiency upgrades. In New York State, those upgrades face two key barriers … adoption. The first barrier is that a whole-home upgrade is a high out-of-pocket investment for a homeowner. Homeowners who make upgrades often have to pay cash outright or take out … use energy savings in their underwriting criteria. So the cost per project can be too low for significant resources to be dedicated to vetting each one. Plus, the methods of …