Environment

More people have access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food around the world today than ten years ago. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the number of undernourished people has fallen by approximately 167 million during that period. This improvement is cause for celebration but there is still much to be done: almost 800 million – just over one in nine people on the planet – still remain hungry. Issues like climate change, population growth, political instability, inadequate infrastructure and R&D investment, and global economic uncertainty also exist, threatening to undo the hard won progress that has been made on global food security.

Across the U.S., smart city programs are moving beyond press releases, pilot programs and demonstrations. Municipalities are collaborating with industry and utilities to create roadmaps defining their approach to regional integrated smart infrastructure. Water utilities, however, are lagging in the planning process, and risk losing their seat at the table with electric and gas utility peer companies as the smart city programs advance.

Collaboration between a variety of research partners and the water industry is a crucial factor in helping to advance the sustainability and efficiency of the water sector. Investment in research and development (R&D) is necessary in order to find workable, sustainable solutions to global water challenges and ensure the preservation of water, a precious and finite resource.

Bracing for the scorching July heat in Pakistan, thirty-five-year-old Tehmina stands barefoot for eight to twelve hours a day transplanting rice seedlings in the paddies of Punjab Province. Her two daughters, ages fourteen and twelve, work at her side in the humid conditions while her three younger children, ages five, seven, and ten, linger on the field’s periphery under the supervision of her mother-in-law.

"Everyone is always so curious about millennials,” says Audrey Choi, chief executive officer of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing. “Especially in this space.”

Fossil fuel is sort of a dirty word in environmental circles, but it still comprises over 80% of the world’s energy consumption. This week on Sea Change Radio, oil expert Daniel Dicker explains the complex role that oil and gas plays in the world’s economy. First, we take a look at the recent OPEC meetings and the effect that they’ll have on oil prices moving forward, then we get a snapshot of the challenges that the major oil producing countries face today. Lastly, we get a glimpse into how oil markets are reacting to the inevitable transition to renewable energy.

The Harvard Business Review (HBR) recently published its 2016 list of the world’s top 100 CEOs. As in the past, HBR’s staff looked at the financial and ESG (environment, social, governance) performance of the CEOs of 1,200 large companies. They used a measure of financial performance developed by a team of Harvard academics for 80% of their score. The remaining 20% came from averaging two overall measures of corporate sustainability performance, including CSRHub.

It may come as a surprise, but we go batty over bats at our Auburn Hills Complex – and it’s not just during Halloween. Scattered across the grounds are 10 bat houses with each having the potential to shelter 100 - 300 bats and their young that need nurturing. Over the past three years, FCA US has supported bat conservation efforts across our 504-acre wetlands site that sits roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. Our employees build or donate bat houses and install them in ideal bat habitat areas.

Center for Resource Solutions (CRS) recognized six organizations and three individuals today for their role in building and shaping the market for renewable energy over the past year.