Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Amazon will soon start forcing third-party sellers to use eco-friendly packaging
Amazon is (finally) doing something to reduce the massive amount of packaging waste that comes from orders off their online store. Starting on September 3, third-party sellers who use excessive packaging for large items will receive a fine from Amazon. Meanwhile, Amazon has been working closely Read More...
Another giant financial institution is saying goodbye to fossil fuel projects
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is turning its back on fossil fuel projects. EIB is the European Union’s lending arm, and it has decided to use its money to help stop the climate crisis by no longer funding fossil fuel projects and to ramp up its investments in clean energy. The only Read More...
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo cut ties with pro-plastics lobbying association
With increasing social awareness about the plastic menace that has befallen upon the world, more and more companies are kneeling down to social pressure and are gradually moving away from single-use plastics. The latest instance comes from soft drink giants Coca-Cola and PepsiCo which have Read More...
This massive hotel group is phasing out mini toiletries to curb plastic waste
The days of stashing mini toiletries in your bag upon leaving a hotel room are nearing the end. InterContinental Hotels Group, which owns more than 5,000 hotels worldwide across several brands including Holiday Inn, has announced it will be phasing these out in order to cut down on plastic waste. Read More...
A new startup is on a quest to remove plastic from online grocery shipping
Single-use plastics are ubiquitous in the world of food. Sure, some supermarkets are starting to eliminate this type of packaging, but what we urgently need is a way to do groceries without all the plastic. That’s where a new online grocery service, Rise Mrkt, comes in. The startup, which says Read More...
Giant UK hospitality business to stop handing out wasteful receipts to its customers
Every year, British retailers hand out 11.2 billion receipts -- that’s 7300 tons of paper -- at a cost of nearly $40 million. Most of these receipts end up in the landfill because they cannot be recycled as a result of them being printed on shiny paper and containing other substances. In a bid Read More...
Fashion giant Zara to produce clothing only using sustainable fabrics by 2025
While it’s fantastic that many niche apparel brands are popping up that make clothes in an eco-friendly manner, the toxic environmental impact that comes with fast fashion won’t be solved if bigger clothing companies don’t agree to clean up their supply chain. That’s why it’s good to Read More...
Papa John’s makes tiny pizza to raise awareness about declining bee populations
Honey bee populations are in decline and we all know how important these insects are in our food chain. A world without bees is literally a world without fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oils. To draw attention to the plight of the pollinators, Papa John’s UK has made what it calls the world’s Read More...
Virgin set to cut ties with attractions that hold whales and dolphins captive
Removing dolphins and whales from their natural environment and confining them in cramped water tanks at amusement parks can seriously affect the physical and psychological well-being of these mammals. In a bid to discourage people from visiting such amusement parks, Virgin Holidays, one of the Read More...
The in’s and out’s of Maersk’s mission to stop emitting carbon by 2050
Maersk — the world's largest container shipping company — has an astonishing goal. By 2050, the company vows to send goods around the world with zero carbon emissions. The environmental logic behind such a promise is straightforward: Shipping contributes substantially to global climate Read More...