Above, watch how eco-minded Pearl Jam crafted a sustainable tour with a helping hand from UPS. The partnership, as described the words of the brand:Continue reading...

IKEA today previewed its seventh annual Ikea PS collection, showing at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (Milan Furniture Fair) and arriving in European stores in August. But the bigger buzz was its move into home electronics, with the new Uppleva (Swedish for "uplifting") hybrid HDT/home entertainment center.

Integrating RCA's HDTV system into a flat-pack entertainment unit, the TV-embedded furniture "comes in three designs and will be sold first in Sweden, France, Poland, Germany and Italy in June, with a few more markets due to launch in the second half of the year," according to the Associated Press. "By the first half of next year, it will be available worldwide, with the cheapest costing about 6,500 Swedish kronor ($955)."Continue reading...

Saint Francis is the patron saint of ecology so it makes sense that San Francisco was one of the pioneers to celebrate this annual environmental event. Once a day that the conventional culture thought of as a time for hippies to hug the trees, it has transformed as the culture has continued to turn its collective attention to the damage humans have done to the earth and what can be done to repair it. Earth Day has become so much a part of the landscape that it now ends up being used as a kickoff point for environmental efforts by organizations and businesses of all sizes.

This year, Whole Foods has announced that it will mark Earth Day by beginning its effort to refrain from selling “wild-caught seafood plucked from depleted waters or captured through unsustainable methods.” The Blue Ocean Institute and Monterey Bay Aquarium label seafood “red-rated” if it comes from overfished waters or if the fishermen use methods that harm other sea life. Anything in that category, such as Atlantic halibut, gray sole, and skate, will not be available at Whole Foods after Earth Day.Continue reading...

How important is corporate citizenship? Nearly half of global consumers (46%) are willing to pay extra for products and services from companies that show a commitment to social responsibility through their campaigns and programs according to Nielsen's 2012 Global Corporate Citizenship Survey. Those respondents also prefer to work for these companies (62%) and invest in these companies (59%).

“It’s clear that corporate social responsibility efforts resonate with a specific group of consumers,” said Nic Covey, VP of Nielsen Cares, Nielsen’s global corporate social responsibility program. “Marketers need to know who those consumers are in order to maximize the social and business return of their cause marketing efforts. This understanding allows brands to engage in social impact efforts that appeal to the right consumers with the right causes and through the right channels.”

Nielsen drew on a list of 18 causes that included the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals and prominent corporate social responsibility topics.Continue reading...

Polystyrene may get banned in California since it isn’t such an environmentally friendly material so coffee drinkers in the Golden State may find themselves carrying around their coffee in a different, but very familiar material soon enough: paper.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the fast-food chain is testing gout paper coffee cups and the change would be a nationwide one.
"(Consumers) care about where their food comes from, how people are treated, impacts on the earth," said Bob Langert, VP of sustainability at McDonald's USA, the Trib reports. "And they want to do business with people who care about the same things they care about." 

The test of double-walled paper cups started in January, is lasting into the summer, and is taking place in a whopping 2,000 locations, the paper notes. The claim from the Golden Arches is that the California legislation didn’t lead to the test and that the company has been considering alternatives for “decades.”Continue reading...

Walmart continues to be the low-price leader in the minds of consumers, and it aims to stay that way. As it promotes such tech innovations as UltraViolet, its new digital entertainment offering with VUDU, the retail giant is reportedly pushing suppliers to its grocery operations to cut prices so that Walmart stores can feature lower prices on a permanent basis instead of the previous promotional strategy of price "rollbacks."

Walmart is the largest seller of groceries in the U.S., so when it talks, suppliers listen. As Walmart CFO Charles Holley told reporters in February, "We want to work with vendors on that to see if we can take a price lower and leave it there permanently. The price image for a customer is very important."Continue reading...

If you didn't know that McDonald's has overhauled its iconic Happy Meal in the interests of better nutrition for kids, you soon will.

The chain begins USA-wide exposure on Wednesday of new TV commercials touting the more healthful Happy Meal, introducing a new cast of back-to-the-farm friendly characters (a boy and his goat) that are putting Hamburglar and Mayor McCheese out to pasture, apparently for good.

In response to pressure from First Lady Michelle Obama on down, McDonald's has evolved the Happy Meal into a more healthful repast that includes more better-for-you elements. Last summer, the company announced the changes that it is rolling out nationally in the Happy Meal this spring, including the provision of apple slices and a kid-size portion of fries as standard features.

So now, of course, it is time to market these changes as only McDonald's can — and not just in the US.Continue reading...

In 2010, Range Rover unveiled the Evoque in a splashy event at Kensington Palace co-hosted by Vogue, whose interested was piqued because Victoria Beckham consulted on the car's design.

Today at the Geneva Motor Show, Range Rover unveiled the next generation Evoque: a topless or convertible concept car, with sustainability as top of mind as the premium luxury features. More details after the jump.Continue reading...