Friday, May 28, 2010
According to the report, “Action Amid Uncertainty: The Business Response to Climate Change” from Ernst & Young, businesses worldwide are ramping up investments in climate change.
A majority, 70%, of businesses are planning on increasing their spending on climate change initiatives and 25% expect spending to remain the same.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
In the weeks since the April 20th Deepwater Horizon explosion, while millions of gallons of oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico, but stayed largely offshore, polls showed that a majority of US consumers continued to support offshore drilling (see The Spill: Politics, Polls and Public Opinion).
But Suzanne Shelton, CEO of the Shelton Group, predicted once images of “oil-covered dolphins and dead turtles and pelicans” started appearing in the media, attitudes would change. She was right.
A CBS News poll conducted May 20 to 24 found that by a slim margin more Americans now feel the risks of offshore drilling outweigh the positives, 46% to 45%.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Warning to food producers: Be kind to animals.
A survey conducted by Mintel found that animal welfare was more important to UK consumers than foods’ origins or organic certification.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The market for socially responsible, sustainable, ethical and eco-friendly products seems to be “holding its own during the recession,” according to the “‘Green’ Household Cleaning Products in the US: Bathroom Cleaners, Laundry Care and Dish Detergents and Household Cleaners” report, published by Packaged Facts.
Packaged Facts analysts estimate retail sales of green cleaners grew 229% between 2005 and 2009—more than tripling share— to account for 3% of the total household cleaner market. In 2009, sales totaled $557 million, with $339 million coming from green household cleaning products and $218 million from green laundry products.
Monday, May 24, 2010
If smart meters are so smart—why are so many consumers so dumb about them?
According to the “Smart-Meter Opportunity” report, published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), 52% of US electricity customers have never heard of smart meters.
Note: “29% of FTSE Eurofirst300 listed companies have some commitment to linking remuneration to ESG performance—although concerns exists around the extent to which performance targets are set as ’soft targets’ thereby guaranteeing a minimum level of bonus.” Quoted from Eurosif Remuneration theme report press release.
Friday, May 21, 2010
A survey by Gallup Poll found residents of the Middle-East and Northern Africa are most dissatisfied with their air quality.
Overall, consumers living in Asia are the happiest with their air quality.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A debate is currently raging in the food packaging industry over the safety of bisphenol A, known as BPA, an element in the lining of many canned goods.
Chemical manufacturing and packaging companies claim BPA is not only safe, it is necessary to protect food from metal can corrosion and bacterial contamination. On the other hand, health professionals and environmental advocates argue that scientific studies have uncovered health issues associated with BPA exposure.
The “No Silver Lining” report, released by the Michigan-based Ecology Center and the National Work Group for Safe Markets, a coalition of public health and environmental health groups, comes down firmly on the con side of the can debate.
Testing cans of food from 19 US states and one Canadian province, researchers detected BPA in 46, or 92%, of the canned food sampled.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A number of recent reports predict strong growth for solar markets worldwide, though they don’t necessarily agree on exact numbers.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar power could represent from 20% to 25% of global electricity production by 2050.
The IEA predicts that the annual global photovoltaic (PV) market will grow from 7 gigawatts (GW) in 2010 to 141 GW in 2050.
