Environment

A group of summer interns from Arrow Electronics’ Denver-area global headquarters recently volunteered with the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Colorado’s 14,000–foot mountain peaks or so-called “Fourteeners.”

New models of product design, process engineering, packaging, and local distributed manufacturing are springing daily from bio-inspired minds. A 2010 economic study predicted that Biomimicry could represent $1 trillion of global Gross Domestic Product by 2025, and in 2012, Biomimicry topped the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ annual list of “innovations that could change the way you manufacture.” Fortune provocated: “if you’re not incorporating the most brilliant ideas from the natural world into what you sell, you’re leaving money on the table.”

What if the roads we drove on, instead of being made of carbon-intensive petroleum sludge, were actually solar panels? And what if whenever electric vehicles drove on these solar roads, they were automatically re-charged?

Companies have been creating innovative products out of waste for years; and with each material advancement, the envelope is pushed further with more integrated, holistic communications campaigns. However, many of these previous campaigns skirted away from the gritty aspect of waste. Now, one fashion brand is taking a nontraditional approach to creating beauty out of waste.

The Visionary Dinner raises awareness and funding for Southface’s continued work in high-performance affordable housing, green infrastructure, clean energy, healthy buildings and sustainable communities. The evening brings together more than 400 policy makers, industry leaders, development and construction professionals, interested community citizens and stakeholders to network and celebrate environmental leadership in the region. This year, the Visionary Dinner will include a provocative conversation on the changing landscape for collaboration among cities to create healthy and resilient communities through the eyes of national leaders in philanthropy.

Hess’ sustainability strategy is driven by its unwavering commitment to protect the health and safety of its people, safeguard the environment, and contribute to the sustainability of the communities where it operates, while delivering long-term value to its shareholders.

At Nestlé Waters North America, we recently announced an impact investment into the Closed Loop Fund (CLF). The organization’s mission is to increase the scale of recycling infrastructure to create a more circular economy.

Chelsea Yates, an ambitious 11-year-old, has jump-started a movement to remind people that littering around public storm drains negatively effects the environment -- namely, marine life -- by posting notices on roadside storm drains in Brunswick, Georgia.

In the run up to the COMMIT!Forum, CR Magazine spoke with Michele Bartolini, Marketing Director at Rolland Paper. Bartolini oversees marketing for the premium paper company, which puts reuse at the center of its business model.