Mike Hower, GreenBiz

Mike Hower

GreenBiz

Washington, DC, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • GreenBiz
  • Sustainable Brands

Past articles by Mike:

5 key facets of a strong sustainability strategy

Sustainability strategy can be complicated. Here are five key elements to creating a successful one. → Read More

Tapping into the power of effective ESG storytelling

Our stories are as important as our strategies when it comes to advancing ESG. → Read More

Navigating internal politics to ‘get it done’

Even if united by a common corporate vision or purpose, differing departments, teams and individuals all vie for scarce resources. → Read More

Finding a natural sense of urgency to act

In solving the climate crisis, we must find a way to survive by mimicking nature: changing quickly while establishing firm roots for long-term survival. → Read More

Corporate philanthropy in the era of climate shocks

With companies’ environmental, social and governance initiatives largely focused on mitigation and adaptation, the lines are blurring between corporate sustainability and philanthropy. → Read More

Corporate sustainability leaders share excitements, fears for 2020

Companies across industries put the impetus on ESG action in the New Year. → Read More

Brand advocacy vs. activism: Swinging the pendulum on climate policy

Even seemingly mundane environmental rules on the chopping block under the Trump administration require more businesses to speak out. → Read More

How brands rebuild trust through authentic action

Public trust is at an all-time low, according to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, but business might be the key to rebuilding faith in the system. → Read More

Uncovering Solar Power’s Hidden Environmental Costs

It’s been a good couple of years for the solar industry. In 2015, some 7.5 megawatts were added to the grid in the United States, according to the Solar Industries Association (SIA), which fueled 19 percent in the photovoltaic market over 2014. Much of this has been driven by the precipitous fall of the cost solar, which has dropped by more than 70 percent over the last 10 years, leading the… → Read More

How Framing Sustainability as Strength Can Help Win Male Audiences

Are traditional gender norms of “manliness” slowing the advancement of the sustainable economy? Turns out, they might, according to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research. But while prior research attributes this gender gap in sustainable consumption to personality differences between the sexes, the new study proposes that it may also stem partially from a prevalent association between… → Read More

How Forest Restoration Is Turning the Tide on Deforestation

Each year, the world loses more than 32 million acres of forests, roughly an area the size of Alabama. In addition to being a major cause of climate change, the widespread destruction of the world’s forests also harms the people who live in and rely on them for their livelihoods. Here are some highlights of the discussion at the recent IUCN Conservation Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii, where… → Read More

#BusinessCase: Business Leaders Back Updated California Climate Law

The California State Assembly last week approved sweeping legislation that extends the state’s targets for reducing greenhouse gases from 2020 to 2030. Under SB 32, California would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. The new legislation builds off of the projected success of AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which calls for… → Read More

3 Low-Carbon Transportation Technologies Driving Development in the Global South

Transportation accounts for around one-seventh of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And globally, greenhouse gas emissions are rising faster in transportation than in any other sector, with rapid motorization — more cars and trucks — being the principal cause. Enhanced mobility has many positive effects on economic development and social… → Read More

Waste-Make-Retake: How Interface Is Setting Out to Change Industry with ‘Climate Take Back’

Carpet might not seem like a major player in the climate change fight, but the process of making it actually is quite impactful on the environment. Most carpets are synthetic — nylon, polyester, acrylic — all of which are petroleum-based products. Throw in other petroleum-based adhesives and materials used to back the synthetic fibers, chemical dyes to repel stains and fire, and a lack of… → Read More

California's RPS Generating Thousands of Clean Energy Blue-Collar Jobs

California’s aggressive climate policies — combined with the sheer size of its economy — have helped it create the most clean energy jobs of any state in the country, according to a new study by the UC Berkeley Labor Center. The report says the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) — California’s principal climate policy — has created 25,500 blue-collar job-years — or around 53 million hours of… → Read More

PepsiCo Steps Up to Amp Up Recycling in the U.S.

More than half of the United States isn’t recycling, and PepsiCo has set out to change that through its new recycling initiative. Summed up in a recent ad, this is designed to help motivate people through a series of humorous examples of people doing activities such as dog-grooming, running a race and mowing the lawn halfway. The ad is the latest in a series of efforts by PepsiCo Recycling to… → Read More

Hardware Store-Turned-Solar-Firm Invents Solar Wallpaper

Sometimes innovation comes from unexpected places — a father-son duo in Qingdao, China has transformed a family furniture business into Sunflare, a solar energy company that produced solar “wallpaper,” among other high-efficiency PV products. For more than a decade, Len Gao and his son, Philip Gao, used the furniture business to finance their research on flexible solar panels. After much trial… → Read More

Avery Dennison, Outerknown Partner to Make Care Tags From Fishnets

When Stan Avery founded Avery Dennison in 1935, he set out to create a values-based business admired as much for its ethics and integrity as for its innovation. Eight decades later, the company still strives to adhere to its value-based mandate and is working to ensure that its employees and business partners know, understand and live up to its high ethical standards, according to Helen Sahi,… → Read More

Sustainability Investing Evolving, But Much More Change Needed

“I think we’re upright and we’re walking, but there’s no higher cortex functions yet,” said Gregory Unruh, sustainability editor at MIT Sloan Management Review, discussing where we stand in sustainable business evolution during a Tuesday breakout session at Sustainable Brands 2016. While awareness and valuation of sustainable practices continues to grow overall, investors are demanding more… → Read More

How Tesla's Stationary Energy Storage Is Makin' 'Bacon' for Jackson Family Wines

“Facility managers are at a premium these days and are overtaxed,” said Julien Gervreau, director of Sustainability at Jackson Family Wines. That’s why the winery is benefiting from Tesla’s stationary energy storage system, which currently stores 4.2 MW of electricity. Partnering with Tesla has been helpful because it understands how the winery is trying to be disruptive, Gervreau said.… → Read More