Red meat farming is not typically at the top of the environmental balance sheet. But farmers and policymakers in New Zealand are doing their best to change that.
For the companies developing consumer products, making the needed progress can seem unattainable in an age when plastic has become a reliable and affordable go-to for packaging. It might even feel like a distraction from other priorities.
While many companies today seek to align their operations with the imperatives of strong environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, some firms put the ESG stake in the ground long ago. One of these is renewable energy giant Ørsted.
Thousands of years ago, civilizations leveraged cyclical flooding for irrigation, let the land “rest” (lay fallow) every seventh year, and used terraced farming to produce food sustainably for their people, as well as external trade and philanthropic support of the poor.
The racial wealth gap isn’t closing as it should be. After years of modest gains, it began to widen again in the 1980s and continued at a rate of .01 percent per year through 2020.
In 2022, we joined the United Nations Global Compact, committing to supporting its Ten Principles and to reporting our progress toward the SDGs annually. We are proud of the progress we made toward the six SDGs where we believe our company has the greatest opportunity for impact.
When it comes to providing funding for nonprofits, many funders have let their desire to track impact override the needs of the organizations they support.
Rice is the most commonly eaten food in the world, but conventional rice production has a hefty environmental impact. Growing rice is incredibly water-intensive, and flooded fields are ideal growing conditions for methane-emitting bacteria.
It will take a culture change for consumers to join the food-waste recycling movement; but the good news is, it’s underway. The more we bring the issue to the forefront, the further along we will be.
