CooperVision Celebrates World Cleanup Day With Plastic Neutrality Milestone

By Staff
Thursday, September 26, 2024 8:25 AM ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Showcasing its commitment to sustainability, CooperVision has announced that its net plastic neutral contact lens initiative has resulted in the prevention of the equivalent of more than 360 million plastic bottles from entering the oceans. In addition, the company’s innovative partnership with Plastic Bank has been captured through a new mini-documentary series, with the first episode now available. The news from the company coincided with World Cleanup Day, Sept. 20, which is dedicated to uniting millions of people, organizations and governments to tackle global waste and help create a more sustainable world.

The Association for Enterprise Opportunity Launches Report on Sustainability and Inclusion in Small Businesses

By Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 8:25 AM WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) has unveiled a report, titled “Seizing Opportunities: How Small Businesses Can Lead in Sustainability and Inclusion,” that sheds light on the critical role small businesses, particularly diverse-owned ones, play in driving sustainable and inclusive practices. This new research arrives at a crucial moment, the organization said, as businesses of all sizes face growing pressure to adopt responsible practices, aligning with the rapidly evolving market demands for sustainability and inclusion.

National Vision Releases 2023 Sustainability Report

By Staff
Wednesday, August 28, 2024 8:25 AM DULUTH, Ga.—National Vision, Inc. (NASDAQ: EYE) has announced the release of its 2023 sustainability report, “A World Worth Seeing.” According to the optical retailer, the report reflects continued progress across its Social, Employees, Environment and Governance (SEE+G) framework. “In 2023, National Vision helped nearly 10 million people see better and live better. Our success as a business is deeply intertwined with our commitment to improving lives through accessible and affordable eyecare and eyewear,” said CEO Reade Fahs. “This report reflects our continued strides in our commitment to sustainability and long-term growth as a means to build a better future.”

EPA Celebrates 2024 Winners of the President’s Environmental Youth Award and the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators

By Staff
Thursday, August 15, 2024 8:25 AM WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently celebrated the 2024 President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) and the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) awards ceremony. This ceremony marks an annual recognition of outstanding youth who are dedicated to environmental stewardship and impressive teachers who have contributed significantly to environmental education, according to the EPA.

Is Buying Carbon Offsets to Meet Climate Targets a ‘Green’ Approach?

By Staff
Wednesday, July 31, 2024 8:25 AM The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a corporate climate action organization that enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to combat the climate crisis, said there was not enough scientific support for the organization to lift restrictions on companies using carbon credits to offset their emissions, according to a research paper published this week. According to Reuters, the paper's findings are in line with a preliminary draft and make it more likely that the SBTi will continue to resist pressure from carbon offset advocates to allow their broad use in the accounting of climate targets.

Two-Thirds of 100 Biggest Businesses in U.S. Avoid Greenwashing by Keeping Quiet on ESG, Report Says

By Staff
Thursday, July 18, 2024 8:25 AM AUSTIN, Texas—New research suggests that almost six in 10 (58 percent) of the top 100 largest public and private U.S. companies are responding to greenwashing concerns by keeping quiet on genuine ESG (environmental, social and governance) progress. With global ESG assets surpassing $30 trillion in 2022 and 85 percent of investors reporting that ESG assets lead to better returns, companies that remain quiet may be missing out on potential investment opportunities and consumer demand, according to the Transparency Index 2024 report, published by data insights company Connected Impact and data science consultancy Ringer Sciences.

Renewable Carbon Initiative Publishes a Position Paper Outlining the Importance of Chemical and Physical Recycling

By Staff
Thursday, June 27, 2024 8:25 AM HÜRTH, Germany—Chemical and physical recycling play essential roles in realizing the objectives of the Green Deal and advancing the circular economy, according to the Renewable Carbon Initiative’s (RCI) latest position paper titled, Home - Goals and Vision of the Renewable Carbon Initiative. RCI advocates for a pragmatic approach, emphasizing that while closed-loop recycling is a noble goal for sectors such as packaging, textiles and automobiles, it should not be approached too dogmatically. Flexibility is essential to prevent environmental and economic inefficiencies, RCI said.

Sight Sciences Releases Its First Sustainability Report

By Staff
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 8:25 AM MENLO PARK, Calif.—Sight Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGHT), an eyecare technology company focused on developing and commercializing technologies that elevate the standard of care, has announced that it has published its first sustainability report, highlighting the company’s sustainability activities, performance, and results from the last three years. “We are proud to issue our first annual sustainability report, showing our commitment to corporate sustainability initiatives and enhanced disclosures,” stated Paul Badawi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Sight Sciences.

Eyewear Made From Recycled Water Bottles Is Powered By StokedPlastics

By Staff
Thursday, May 23, 2024 8:25 AM LOS ANGELES—StokedPlastics, a leader in environmental and plastic innovation, has announced that it is supplying sustainable eyewear company Opolis Optics with content made from recycled water bottles for its frames, microfibre cleaning cloths and pouches. Each pair of eyewear contains content from 10 recycled water bottles found near the ocean, the company said.

Environmental Protection Agency Recognizes Small Business Champions

By Staff
Thursday, May 9, 2024 8:25 AM WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently hosted the Administrator’s 34th Annual Small Business Programs Award ceremony to honor the outstanding Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 small business championship of EPA programs, employees, and business and state partners from across the country, according to an announcement from the EPA. The awards ceremony was held in celebration of National Small Business Week, which ran from April 28–May 4, 2024. Click here for a list of all the small business honorees.

Can Global Treaty Talks Help Solve Plastic Pollution Issues?

By Staff
Thursday, April 25, 2024 8:25 AM OTTAWA, Canada—Global leaders are gathering here in Canada's capital this week to discuss progress in drafting a first-ever global treaty to rein in plastic pollution by the end of the year, according to a Reuters report. The pending treaty, due to be finalized at the end of this year, could be the most significant deal relating to climate-warming emissions and environmental protection since the 2015 Paris Agreement, which got 195 parties to agree to keep global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5°C.

CooperVision Extends Its Partnership With Plastic Bank

By Staff
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 8:25 AM SAN RAMON, Calif.—CooperVision and Plastic Bank, a Vancouver, British Columbia-based social impact organization, have renewed their net plastic neutrality partnership through 2026. With the extension, the partnership has expanded to include a vision care program to provide vision screenings and vouchers for complimentary eye exams and glasses for eligible Plastic Bank collection members in Indonesia, who are essential to CooperVision’s net plastic neutral partnership with Plastic Bank, the company announced.

Renovation Offers Opportunity to Salvage and Repurpose Building Materials

By Staff
Thursday, March 28, 2024 8:25 AM WASHINGTON, D.C.—One of the main accomplishments of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) recent headquarters renovation was the extensive reuse of materials—approximately 80 percent of the materials were repurposed. The headquarters was certified Platinum under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), TRUE and WELL (WELL Building Standard) standards. The reuse of materials resulted in a 44 percent reduction in carbon emissions, well below the Carbon Leadership Forum baseline for an interior buildout.

Karün Eyewear Unveils Eyewear Frames Made From Cigarette Butts

By Staff
Monday, March 11, 2024 8:25 AM PATAGONIA, Chile—Karün Eyewear has announced the world's first eyewear frames made from Celion, a new material developed from cellulose acetate recovered from cigarette butts. Employing advanced technology from Imeko, a Chilean cleantech company, the cigarette butts are collected, cleaned, and processed to recover the cellulose acetate, the company noted. A distinctive mechanical-chemical process removes the toxicity from the filters and recovers pure cellulose acetate as a new sustainable raw material. The butts are completely transformed and repurposed into Celion, the foundational material of their forthcoming collection.

Greenwashing and Its Impact on Sustainability Efforts

By Staff
Monday, March 4, 2024 8:25 AM One of the biggest issues companies face when on their sustainability journey is remaining authentic. Many companies want to go green, but often fall into the “greenwashing” trap. Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on “whitewash”), also called green sheen, is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization’s products, aims, and policies are environmentally friendly.