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Food, Beverage & Agriculture Sector Updates 
To develop dossiers for Level 1 SMRS work, the sector will be focusing on the top five FB&A products (beef, cotton towels, wheat cereal, strawberry yogurt, coffee). The output for the Level 1 SMRS is a Category Sustainability Profile (CSP). |
Consumer Science Manager to Participate in Sustainability Summit Hosted by FMI and GMA 
Thomas "TC" Redd, manager of the Consumer Science Working Group at The Sustainability Consortium, will be participating in an expert panel on "eco-babble" and consumer-facing communication.
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Electronics Sector Updates 
The Electronics Sector has initiated Level 1 work on Laptops, TVs, and mobiles. The group will be developing dossiers for these products to produce a Category Sustainability Profile (CSP) to contribute to The Sustainability Consortium's Level 1 SMRS work. More updates below.
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BASF: New Magnetic Materials for Efficient Cooling 
The Foundation for Fundamental Research
on Matter (FOM) in the Netherlands and BASF are to start another joint research programme
on magnetocaloric materials. This new class
of materials may help to make today's cooling systems more efficient and quieter. This is the second joint research project between FOM
and BASF and it has a duration of four years.
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Best Buy Launches Online Sustainability Report: "Our World, Connected"
Best Buy Co., Inc. today announced the release of its fiscal 2011 sustainability report, Our World, Connected, an interactive, online experience at sustainability.bby.com.
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Cargill named Soil and Water Conservation Society's Merit Award Recipient of 2011
In recognition of its local environmental efforts in the community, Cargill has been honored with the 2011 Merit Award from the Soil and Water Conservation Society. Read More » |
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Coca-Cola: Grants for Sustainable Community Initiatives
 The philanthropic arm of TheCoca-Cola Company awarded more than $2 million in grants to 20 organizations across the country during the second quarter, with 80 percent of the funds benefitting education and youth development programs. Read More » |
Ecolab and Nalco to Merge
 Ecolab Inc. and Nalco Holding Company announced the board of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Nalco will merge with a subsidiary of Ecolab. |
EPA Announces Top Contenders in Energy Star National Building Competition
 Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star program announced the top contenders at the midpoint of the 2011 National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings. The list of top contenders identifies
the leaders with the greatest percent reduction
of energy use in each of the twelve building categories in the competition. Read More » |
SC Johnson Empowers Families to be a Force
for Change
 SC Johnsonhas taken a new step in empowering families to be a force for change in the world. The company expanded its corporate web site to include a section entitled " Greener Choices," designed to provide families with information to help them make daily changes to help the environment. Read More » |
Tetra Pak CEO Pledges Step-Change in Sustainability Actions in 2011 Sustainability Update
 Tetra Pak today publishes its biennial sustainability update, Mission Possible. Introducing the company's past achievements and future goals, CEO Dennis Jönsson said "we will step up our efforts to reduce our environmental footprint along the value chain and to meet rising demand for safe and nutritious food." Read More » |
Waste Management, LG Electronics Host eCycling
 As part of the Keep America Beautiful and Keep Oklahoma Beautiful programs, Waste Management Recycle America, a subsidiary of Waste Management (WM), and LG Electronics USA (LG) are hosting two free eCycling events in the state of Oklahoma. Download PDF » |
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Upcoming Events
Consumer Science Meeting
September 27-28, 2011
Best Buy Corporate HQ; Richfield, MN
Electronics Sector Meeting
September 28-30, 2011
Best Buy Corporate HQ; Richfield, MN
Food, Beverage & Agriculture Sector Meeting
September 29-30, 2011
Savannah, GA Packaging Meeting
November 2-3, 2011 See all Events |
Research Opportunities
Interviewees Needed for PhD Project on Sustainability Product Labeling A PhD project at the University of Manchester is investigating the effectiveness of sustainability related product labelling and the prospects for an effective implementation of an overarching scheme which communicates the sustainability of products to consumers in a simplified form. The research is based on interviews with small and large scale retailers, manufacturers, primary producers and civil societal organisations who have been involved in either the implementation of an overarching sustainability information scheme or the EU eco-, EU energy, Fair Trade or Marine Stewardship Council label. If you would be willing to support this research through the participation in an interview click here for more information. Three Biodiversity and Land Use Projects (FBA) Christy Slay leads the Biodiversity and Land-use project at the University of Arkansas. She presented three short-term objectives for the Food, Beverage and Agriculture Sector at the January meeting in Washington D.C. The goals include: 1) research on impact assessment methods for land-use impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services 2) identify potential drivers and indicators for land-use impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services 3) develop spatial decision support tools for agricultural land-use and biodiversity to assist with implementing a biodiversity metric into SMRS for agriculture. Slay co- led a discussion session on the data and metrics intersections between TSC, market, and policy efforts for Ecosystem Services at the Corporate and Product Sustainability Conference at Duke University. Over 60 attendees from government, corporations, and academia participated in the session. If anyone is interested in participating in these three projects please contact Dr. Christy Slay
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