According to the latest 2016 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) rankings, Cisco Systems, Shell, and Adobe have overtaken Intel, Samsung Electronics, and British American Tobacco to become new additions to the list of top-performing sustainability companies this year. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index, launched in 1999 by Dow Jones Industrial Average and Switzerland's SAM Sustainability Asset Management, is the first index to track the social responsibility of global companies. RobecoSAM, the Swiss-based sustainable asset management company based in Zurich, invited 3,400 companies from 57 industries to participate in a questionnaire survey as subjects of sustainability performance evaluation. Based on economic, social, and environmental criteria, and considering factors such as corporate strategy, management policies, and different industry characteristics, the top 10% of companies in terms of sustainability performance were selected. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index is therefore considered one of the most internationally credible tools for evaluating corporate sustainability and an important reference indicator for global investors. Among the 24 industry clusters participating in the evaluation, Unilever,

A recent report by SustainAbility, an international strategy consultancy chaired by John Elkington, the father of the Triple Baseline methodology, reveals that while most companies claim to have integrated sustainability into their business operations, very few actually implement it effectively. Integrating sustainability strategies into business models is a crucial issue that companies must now address. When making every decision, companies should consider environmental and social issues, particularly resource scarcity and climate change, as proactively addressing these issues will help manage future risks and increase competitiveness. To promote the integration of sustainability strategies into business operations, SustainAbility's report provides five steps to help companies more effectively implement sustainability policies: 1. Practice Business Model Thinking – Establish a consensus on how the business operating model generates corporate value; 2. Identify and Apply Substantive Issues – Address issues that the company must address.

The four major U.S. home improvement and building materials retailers, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Lumber Liquidators, and Menards, announced that they will phase out toxic phthalates from PVC flooring by the end of this year (2015). Phthalate chemicals are used to make PVC plastic soft and elastic. According to research reports, more than 58% of PVC flooring products currently sold in the U.S. contain phthalates, and more than 50% contain multiple plasticizers. Under normal use, phthalates in flooring can leach into the air and enter the human body through inhalation or contact. Numerous studies have confirmed that the presence of phthalates threatens human health, causing asthma and harming male reproductive organs, brain development, and the immune system. Moreover, the U.S. federal government has banned the addition of phthalates to children's products since 2009. Therefore, after a year of effort, Home Depot has collaborated with environmental groups and actively communicated with its PVC flooring supply chain to reach a consensus and promote a comprehensive ban on phthalates in PVC flooring. Home Depot is not only the number one home furnishings and building materials retailer in the United States, but also one of the world's largest brands, with annual sales of flooring in the US alone exceeding $6 billion. In light of this, Lowe's, another US building materials retailer...

China sent many positive signals regarding environmental protection in 2015, but implementing these measures remains crucial. Looking back at China's environmental record this year, we can see that while well-intentioned policies are not always just empty words, translating them into tangible progress requires strategy and methods. On January 1, 2015, China's new Environmental Protection Law officially came into effect amidst great anticipation. Observers both inside and outside China, after reading the legal text, could clearly feel the Chinese government's urgent desire to solve environmental problems. There will be no upper limit on fines for polluting enterprises, the government encourages NGOs to file public interest lawsuits, and local governments will be held accountable for the quality of their local environment. Another major event in China's environmental work this year was the further refinement of greenhouse gas emission reduction plans and increased national participation. Last November, China issued a historic announcement declaring its commitment to achieving carbon emission reduction targets by 2030. This year, the Chinese government further elaborated on this goal, proposing ambitious carbon intensity targets and setting a timeline for establishing a nationwide carbon trading system. These commitments from China were key factors in the Paris Agreement reached by various countries on December 12. On the issue of climate change, the intentions of China's top leaders are highly aligned with reality. Firstly, the Chinese economy is undergoing significant transformations, including reducing reliance on heavy industries such as steel and cement, and improving energy efficiency. As China's largest primary energy source, coal demand is therefore facing downward pressure.

Mainland China has recently been shrouded in smog, with many provinces besides Beijing also suffering from the "smog siege." A Canadian company selling bottled fresh air says that due to the smog in China, the number of Chinese customers has increased recently, with a bottle of fresh air priced between $15 and $46. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), two Canadian men have partnered to start a startup that packages fresh air from the Rocky Mountains and sells it to customers in countries with poor air quality, such as China. The company collects fresh air from the Banff Mountains and Lake Louise, and prices range from $15 to $46 depending on the bottle size. A $15 bottle of air can provide about 150 breaths, with a maximum of 200 breaths. Parker previously stated that when he and his co-founder Moses started selling the air, it was somewhat of a joke; they filled Ziploc plastic bags with air and sold them on eBay. Lin said that after sealing the air, they would then label it. A month later, the first bag of air sold for 99 cents, and the second bag immediately went for $168. Company co-founder Moses told CBC that collecting fresh air is a long and tedious process. "We spend about ten hours collecting air in Banff, and then bring back large quantities of air..."

The European Union has proposed restricting textiles from containing 286 carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic (CMR) chemicals. Several trade organizations, including EuroCommerce and the Foreign Trade Association, oppose the proposal, arguing that it would force EU textiles to withdraw from the market if the industry cannot find safe alternatives to CMR chemicals in time. However, H&M, the world's second-largest fashion retailer, has publicly supported the proposal, overcoming opposition. H&M's sustainability expert, Ylva Weissbach, points out that the EU proposal provides the textile industry with a more comprehensive and clearer guideline for chemical substance management. Furthermore, the proposal prioritizes chemicals that come into contact with the skin, a clear consideration. Weissbach states that the proposal will allow textile manufacturers to better understand the number of potentially harmful substances in textiles and, by restricting their use, move the industry and products towards sustainability. The international environmental organization Greenpeace also agrees with H&M's viewpoint, stating that this proposal will accelerate its goal of detoxifying the textile industry by 2020. (Source: [Original Source Information Missing])

The Swedish Chemicals Agency (KEMI) recently conducted an inspection of commercially available plastic products for hazardous substances, finding that at least 10% of the sampled products contained harmful chemicals. KEMI tested 160 plastic products from 52 companies for the following hazardous substances: These products included household items such as bathroom supplies, garden tools, work gloves, bags/purses, and sporting goods, mostly made of soft plastics. The results showed that almost all PVC plastic products contained the aforementioned hazardous substances. KEMI released the following results: After KEMI notified the 52 manufacturers of the test results, some companies voluntarily removed products exceeding the limits from shelves. KEMI also took action, issuing sales bans on two products and filing complaints against 20 companies. KEMI auditor Marcus Hagberg pointed out that although the levels of hazardous substances in most products were below legal limits, the wide reach and sales volume of these plastic products mean that the cumulative impact of hazardous substances on human health and environmental safety is relatively alarming. Therefore, in publishing these findings, KEMI reiterated that businesses must strictly control and require upstream suppliers to provide accurate data to minimize the levels of harmful substances in final consumer products, jointly safeguarding consumer health and environmental safety. Source: Chemical Watch

According to a research report by Waste Dive, a US e-waste recycling organization, establishing "Right to Repair" laws for electronic products, requiring manufacturers to provide product repair manuals and spare parts, would be the biggest driver of reducing e-waste generation. Since 2014, five US states – South Dakota, New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Nebraska – have proposed similar "Right to Repair" laws, but these bills have all failed. Furthermore, e-waste brands including Apple, Cisco, and Xerox actively lobbied against these bills during the proposal stage. Gay Gordon-Byrne, general manager of the Repair Association, pointed out in the report that without market competition from repair shops, manufacturers would set repair prices higher than buying new devices to ensure profitability. Globally, over 20 million tons of e-waste are produced annually, with the US alone producing approximately 3.4 million tons. The US EPA estimates that e-waste growth is 2-3 times that of other regulated waste. The Repair Association has long been committed to advocating and promoting the right to repair electronic products, aiming not only to reduce electronic waste generation but also to secure employment rights for electronic product repair technicians. Electronic product repair company iFixit estimates that if the right to repair legislation is formally implemented, it will not only effectively reduce the amount of electronic waste but also...

近日，中國循環經濟協會可再生能源專委會 (CREIA) 委託益普索市場諮詢有限公司 (Ipsos) 對中國十座主要城市的3000名消費者進行訪問，發現中國消費者對於購買“綠色電力”的意願空前地強烈。 “綠色電力”是指來自風能，太陽能和生物質能等可再生能源產生的電力。中國可再生能源近年來發展迅猛，風電和太陽能光伏發電的累計裝機容量都居世界第一。但火電仍是中國電力結構中的大宗，2015年佔中國全國發電量的74%，其中大部分是煤電。隨之而來的空氣污染與碳排放問題成為中國社會之痛。該調查結果顯示，中國民眾高度關注空氣污染問題，認為“綠色電力”有助於減少污染，並願意為之付出更高的電費。但消費者的意願能否改變中國電力格局，目前並不明朗。 在所有城市中，受訪者表現出對環境污染問題的高度關切。超過四成的受訪者表示“非常關心”目前中國國內的環境狀況。空氣污染所受到的關注程度最高，遠遠超過氣候變化問題所受到的關切。民眾對於“綠色電力”的態度似乎與他們對空氣污染的深惡痛絕有關。超過九成的受訪者認為綠色電力能夠在一定程度上降低空氣污染。 該調查顯示，受訪者對於購買“綠色