… since 1980. By the 2000s, palm oil had become the 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 …
… 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 … the agreement represented a breakthrough. The events of 2015 suggested otherwise, forcing businesses, NGOs and sympathetic government officials to reconsider their positions and … particular, faced difficult choices. The company was the largest trader of palm oil in the world, selling in Europe, China, and India. Wilmar had been the first trader to adopt a NDPE …
… A global leader in the insurance and asset management business, AXA had risen to the top ranks in terms of corporate responsibility (CR) as well. … CR, and Public Affairs functions together, to further integrate CR into the core of the business. AXA’s business had grown rapidly over the previous decades. The company was formed in the 1980s through the merger of a few mid-sized French insurance firms. From the …
… finally produce a workable, global scheme to reduce greenhouse gasses in the environment. Unfortunately, the conference produced little concrete action and most agreed that the final … scientific assessments - which had their fair share of critics and skeptics - spurred world leaders into action. In 1992, representatives from 178 countries met in Rio de … such as the CCC had positioned the firm's Carbon Funds as the cornerstone of its long-term business strategy, but the firm was also investing in energy-conscious real estate and …
… 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 … as one of the top social entrepreneurs in India and an example for the entire developing world. The road to SELCO’s success, however, has not always been smooth. Hande cofounded … (IFC), Hande was able to restructure the company in 2008. SELCO remained a for-profit business, but Hande was able to seek new investors more aligned with its mission. In …
… In early 2014 Alcoa announced that Ford's F-150 pick-up trucks, the best-selling vehicles in the U.S., would use … planned another $150 million on facilities in Tennessee to meet the demand generated by the Ford contract. The aluminum industry's growing success in the automotive sector reflected … the response of auto manufacturers to the increasingly rigorous fuel economy standards for U.S. vehicles and consumer preferences for high mileage vehicles. To meet those …
… climate change resilience in South Africa. The company claimed over 22% of all insurance business in South Africa and provided over half of the country's crop insurance. Crop … hail insurance, the most common policy in agriculture. In years when crops were damaged before they could be harvested and sold, crop insurance provided resources that allowed … a deep look at the strategy of climate resilience and how it might build its crop insurance business in the rest of Africa. The company faced considerable challenges in this area as …
… Throughout the world, Cummins Inc. meant diesels. The company designed, manufactured, distributed, and serviced diesel and natural gas engines, for transportation, construction, and power generation. In addition to the engines, it … costs over more units, leading it to expansion into global markets. Cummins had found a business advantage in its early entry into China – first meeting China’s need for high …
… to the greenhouse effect was underway and could have potentially devastating consequences for the ecology of the planet. Since automobiles were a substantial contributor of CO2 to the atmosphere, scientists at General Motors, the world’s largest automaker, had started looking at the greenhouse effect in the mid-1980s. … engines (ICE) and to seek an alternative powertrain that did not use fossil fuels. For GM, the search for a new powertrain required a substantial change in mindset, since the …
… 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 … ($44 billion in 2013 according to Bloomberg ) industry that supplies 39% of the world’s vegetable oil. This growth has occurred largely in the last 20 years (see graph …