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.
Dr. Bronner's soap: You don’t have to screw people over to survive
“You don’t have to fuck people over to survive” are wise words I once heard radical comic book artist Seth Tobocman chant, repeatedly. It’s also the title of one of his books. Those words have stayed with me, and I’m a bit surprised more people don’t echo that sentiment. But one Read More...
How Ikea and HP want to help keep plastic out of the ocean: make stuff from it
If you buy an ink cartridge from HP, some of the plastic might have come from bottles collected on streets and canals in Port-au-Prince, Haiti–intercepted before they could end up in the ocean. Since 2017, the company has worked with local collectors to gather more than half a million pounds of Read More...
Google’s new long game: 100 percent clean energy all the time
Our time to move away from dirty energy to green sources is limited. Federal governments can’t be relied upon to push the conversion–especially not the one in the U.S., which is actively working against large-scale adoption of green Read More...
Panera Bread launches new digital video series on food transparency
Panera Bread is boosting transparency about its products this week, starting with its namesake. The fast-casual chain is now disclosing the whole grain content of the breads on its Read More...
Amazon invests in solar power and recycling programs to cut carbon footprint
Amazon announced two new initiatives today that are aimed at reducing its environmental impact. The first is a $10 million investment in the Closed Loop Fund, an effort to pool corporate resources to help the US improve its municipal recycling Read More...
Ocean plastic is a huge problem, blockchain could be part of the solution
The world’s oceans are awash in plastic, and the problem is only getting worse. Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastic debris ends up in the oceans, and that’s on top of the 150 million metric tons already in marine environments. The debris ensnares seabirds, starves whales Read More...
Denmark has the flattest work hierarchy in the world
Denmark may be the birthplace of the Lego tower, but its workplace hierarchy is the flattest in the world. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018, the nation tops an index measuring “willingness to delegate authority” at work, beating 139 other Read More...
Lyft is introducing a U.S. subscription service
The inevitable business model singularity has arrived, which is to say the Netflix for Ubers has arrived via Read More...
New smartphone app can find out whether or not its users are depressed
A startup in California is trying to use our obsession with the technology in our pockets to treat depression. When a patient installs the startup's app, it monitors things like the way the person types, taps, scrolls while using other apps. These seemingly mundane interactions with your phone can Read More...
British billionaire boycotts Saudi Arabia over disappearance of journalist
Richard Branson and his space tourism venture Virgin Galactic have rejected the $1 billion investment it was set to receive from Saudi Arabia as a way of showing solidarity for The Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. The reporter, who was an outspoken Saudi critic and opinion writer, hasn’t Read More...