Building the Bioeconomy

EFIB 2011, Amsterdam

The sustainable economy, the biobased economy, the biobased society, the bioeconomy... which label to put on the shift to more renewable products was one theme which came out in the 'Communicating the Bio-based Economy' session at the European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology (EFIB) in Amsterdam last week.

What’s in a brand and does it matter?

That’s the million-dollar question Forbes set out to answer in a recent study to understand consumer’s impressions of 100 top corporate brands in the US.  Showing how important sustainability and CSR is in the business world today, Forbes asked consumers to rank brands based on 12 attributes including “is honest and trustworthy”, “has ethical leadership”, “leverages business success and expertise to make a positive contribution to society” and “upholds transparent communication practices”.

Sustainable Business is Big Business

Image Source: greenmuck.com

DSM is still out front in the chemicals sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) World Index this year. In the metals and mining sector, Xstrata was identified as a ‘supersector’ leader.  A further 41 companies were added to the DJSI World Index when SAM, the Zurich-based investment company focused exclusively on Sustainability Investing and Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, jointly announced last week the results of their 2011 DJSI Corporate Sustainability Assessment.

BioAmber Wins EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Award

BioAmber has won a prestigious 2011 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, presented by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).  

Food vs Fuel: How Sustainable is Palm Oil?

The Sustainability of Palm Oil Production debate held by The Parliament Magazine in association with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council at the European Parliament on 14 June attracted a full house of MEPs, NGOs, policymakers, researchers, journalists and industry representatives to the Parliament Members’ Salon, where participating speakers set out widely divergent views on the issues surrounding palm oil.

No more cheap energy, says Commission

Emmanuel Guerin, Director IDDRI Climate

Bringing together the great and the good from academia, NGOs, policymaking, industry and the media at the French Permanent Representation to the EU, the presentation of the new Climate Strategies/IDDRI report on ‘The Need for a Strengthened Energy and Climate Strategy – for an energy-efficient, competitive and low-carbon Europe’ preceded a lively debate on what is needed to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

Sustainability Consult Launches New Website

The Sustainability Consult Team is delighted to announce the launch of its new website, which coincides with our advertisement in the European Voice newspaper and the European Commission's 2011 Green Week.  We invite you to take a look around and send us your feedback.

www.sustainabilityconsult.com