A Personal Journey: Reflecting on the Evolution of Air Quality and the Eco Fuel Movement
Introduction: As I reflect on my childhood in Los Angeles over four decades ago, memories of smog alerts and limited outdoor activities flood my mind. It was a time when the city’s skyline was often obscured by a thick layer of pollution, and the mountains seemed like a distant dream, even when they were just […]
Three Strategies for Developing Current and Future Sustainability, ESG Leaders
Working Toward Evolving ‘Sustainable Business’ to ‘Business as Usual’ A common challenge for every business committed to sustainability is recruiting, retaining, and developing the right talent. Companies in Southeast Michigan and beyond are faced with the accelerating need to formalize their sustainability efforts, collect and analyze data, respond to government policies, answer to stakeholders, and […]
Are National Standards Around Recyclability Claims on The Way?
Research shows how much, how often, and how well consumers recycle depends on their trust in the recycling system. Most of them – 78 percent –turn to labels to try and determine if a material will actually be recycled. Yet nearly two-thirds of them say they are confused by the label, found a survey of […]
8 Ways to Take Your Hotel’s Plastic Reduction Efforts to the Next Level
Concern about the impact of single-use plastics on biodiversity, communities and greenhouse gas emissions has been at the forefront of sustainability conversations globally for a number of years. While great progress has been made across and beyond the hospitality industry in reducing reliance on items such as plastic straws, cups and bottles, plastic can still […]
From an “Open Sewer” to our Greatest Asset: How Milwaukee Overcame a Legacy of Industrial Water Pollution
It’s a gorgeous sunny evening in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the Milwaukee River, two friends call out to each other as they paddle their kayaks under the Water Street bridge. Milwaukeeans enjoy the riverwalk in the Third Ward neighborhood. Photo courtesy of Visit Milwaukee. A couple enjoying a drink on the patio of their riverfront condo raise […]
Case Study – Procter & Gamble
P&G is an American multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Ohio, founded by William Procter and James Gamble, both from the United Kingdom. Why did you set a science-based target? The company’s mission is to improve the lives of the world’s consumers now and for generations to come. So pursuing goals in line with those […]
Breaking Down the Problem of Microplastics in the Great Lakes
A big challenge to the health of the Great Lakes takes a tiny form: microplastics, pieces of plastic no larger than 5 mm in size, or about the size of a pencil eraser. They have been documented throughout the lakes, in oceans, and even in tap and bottled water, sea salt, and other products we […]
Re-Energizing the Ecosystem Approach in the 21st Century
In 2022, the 50th anniversaries of the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and the U.S. Clean Water Act were celebrated. This landmark Agreement and law, as well as many programs implemented across the Great Lakes region, are grounded in sound principles giving effect to ecosystem-based management. Indeed, the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement […]
Rewarding Recycling
Learnings from the World’s Highest-Performing Deposit Return Systems A series of trends are disrupting recycling and waste management conversations worldwide. The first is a growing awareness that plastic waste is polluting even the far reaches of our planet. Scientists have determined that plastic waste including litter is leaking into the oceans at a rate of […]
Boat Shrink Wrap Recovery Pilot Program Launched in Chicago and Lake County Regions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 21ST, 2023 Effort will advance sustainability mindset with shrink wrap recycling and divert this valuable plastic film from landfills Chicago, IL – Today, the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR), the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW), Charter Next Generation (CNG), Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), Chicago Harbors, […]