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.
Microsoft is offering up its AI technology to humanitarian groups
Microsoft has launched a third humanitarian program under the company’s AI for Good Initiative. Over the next five years, the program will put $40 million towards initiatives focused on four priorities—disaster response, needs of children, refugees, and displaced people and human rights. The Read More...
Norway's newest ships give a glimpse into the future of sustainable seafaring
Western Norway’s rustic port village of Flåm, a remote goat-farming hamlet and summer escape set deep among the region’s icy fjords and towering, snow-capped peaks seems an unlikely launch site for the future of sustainable nautical Read More...
This company is helping the homeless find jobs that also provide a home
A real estate company based out of Washington DC is helping homeless people find work and a home in one fell swoop. How? By hiring homeless candidates to work as property managers for apartment complexes and allowing them to live on-site for cheap. This not only helps those without a home, but also Read More...
Ten years since Occupy Wall Street, the cooperative movement is surging
Last week marked the seventh anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement and 10 years since the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, which triggered the onset of the global financial crisis. The crisis also sparked massive global anti-capitalist movements, including Occupy Wall Read More...
Co-op is going to replace all of its single-use plastic bags
Co-op, a popular supermarket chain in the UK, has announced plans to replace old single-use plastic bags with compostable shopping bags. The company estimates the new bags will save around 60 million plastic bags from ending up in landfills. The compostable shopping bags, which also double as Read More...
Ikea will make all home deliveries emission-free in these five cities
It seems every few months we see a new environmental pledge from IKEA as it attempts to create a greener image. After announcing it will switch to 100 percent renewable energy by 2020 last year, the Swedish furniture giant pledged this past June to remove all single-use plastics from its stores Read More...
What employers must do to make sure employees can afford a home
Having a job no longer provides the economic security it used to. Whereas a salary used to be enough to be able to own a home, nowadays a job isn’t even enough for some people to afford renting a home. With income not keeping pace with housing costs, it’s time for employers step up and do Read More...
Here’s a first: Rotterdam is creating a floating dairy farm
Having to transport food from farms to cities creates emissions. On top of that, food is less fresh when it’s being delivered from distant farms. A company in the Netherlands is taking a completely innovative approach to solving this problem by creating a floating dairy farm on the river that Read More...
Lego wants to stop making their toys out of petroleum-based plastics by 2030
Lego wants to design blocks that click together yet separate easily, retain bright colors, and survive the rigors of being put through a laundry load, or the weight of an unknowing parent’s foot. In essence, the company wants to continue making the exact same product, but without using the Read More...
Why open hiring is good for people and business
When people have a criminal record, it’s nearly impossible to find a job. A New York-based bakery finds that ridiculous, which is why they use a practice called open hiring. This means they fill positions on a first-come, first-served basis, no questions asked. Open hiring worked brilliantly for Read More...