South Korean automobile manufacturer Kia announced today the launch of its corporate vision to become a “Sustainable Mobility Solutions Provider”, unveiling a series of new sustainability commitments, including a target to achieve carbon neutrality throughout its value chain by 2045, along with plans to shift to renewable energy use at all manufacturing sites and electrify its fleet over the coming years.To reach carbon neutrality, Kia aims to reduce 97% of the company’s 2019 level of carbon emissions by 2045, offsetting the remaining emissions. The new pledge is based on three key pillars, including Sustainable Mobility, Sustainable Planet, and Sustainable Energy, which will guide the company in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions from the supply, logistics, vehicle production, a...

Green business is booming, from electric cars to petroleum-free laundry detergent to organic bamboo pajamas. The green economy now accounts for $1.3 trillion a year in revenue and the market for environmentally friendly products is growing at seven times the rate of conventional products. From 2015 to 2019, more than half the growth in consumer packaged goods—a category that includes a wide range of food items, household products, and toiletries—was from products marketed as sustainable. And companies are not solely relying on their own expertise anymore but are soliciting the help of their supply partners in developing sustainable products. The payoff can be significant, yielding not only greater environmental benefits but also economic gain.ADVERTISEMENTWhile...

U.S. insurers are increasingly listening to demands from stakeholders that they use social, environmental and governance factors in their decision-making.According to an AM Best survey, 6 in 10 companies are aware of greater demand from stakeholders to consider ESG factors as they make decisions. While the U.S. is still behind Europe in terms of ESG integration, AM Best said the results are still noteworthy, and that U.S. carriers should consider how to most effectively put ESG factors into practice.“Survey results show that insurers believe there are risks to ignoring stakeholder pressures related to ESG factors, and particularly with regard to diversity and inclusion, carriers generally view corporate governance as key to managing and mitigating reputational risk,” Rosemarie Mirabell...

Indonesia’s environment minister has dismissed as “inappropriate and unfair” a global plan to end deforestation by 2030, days after her country, home to a third of the world’s rainforests, joined 127 other nations in making the deforestation pledge.The agreement late on Monday at the COP26 climate talks was at odds with Indonesia’s development plans and the global goals should be fine-tuned, said minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, who attended the summit in Glasgow.“Forcing Indonesia to (reach) zero deforestation in 2030 is clearly inappropriate and unfair,” she said on Twitter on Wednesday.“The massive development of President Jokowi’s era must not stop in the name of carbon emissions or in the name of deforestation,” she said, referring to Indonesian leader, Joko ...

On Monday, the Cop26 summit will focus on the need for countries around the world to adapt to the effects of the climate crisis. Adaptation has long been an overlooked issue at the annual Cop meetings, with the focus more on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.For many years, there were fears that talking about adaptation would distract from the urgent need to cut emissions, or even that it would be a “cop-out” – by suggesting that countries could adapt their way out of trouble as a cheaper alternative to shifting away from fossil fuels.