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.
This insurance giant is dropping support for coal-dependent clients
Insurance giant Swiss Re has enacted a policy that refuses coverage to any company that either generates 30 percent or more of its revenue from coal power, or uses at least 30 percent coal power to run its operations. While this move reflects a commitment to limiting global warming, it’s also a Read More...
Kenyan farmers swap coffee for avocados to tap into global boom
While a harsh drought has hindered progress for coffee farmers in Kenya and their thirsty crops, many farmers have switched to the avocado business – a crop that's proving to provide better earnings with less maintenance and Read More...
Google set the example, now dozens of big companies buy clean energy
In 2010, Google was the first big company to buy renewable energy from a wind farm in Iowa. It was an innovation approach. Google wanted to be powered by clean energy. It was not possible to generate enough energy on-site. At the same time, regulations in the U.S. made it impossible for Read More...
Ikea tests takeback service for discarded furniture with vouchers for customers
The circular economy is making headway as companies are trying to incorporate an end of life strategy for their products. Now, Ikea is testing in Sydney a take-back service. Customers can send pictures of the items they want to return. They can receive vouchers worth up to 50 percent of the Read More...
This man became a farmer because “feeding people is very satisfying”
The average U.S. farmer is 58 and in the past six years, almost a quarter of the farms in the country have closed. So, this couple with degrees in anthropology and photography and carpentry, are the unusual new owners of a precolonial farm in Pennsylvania. They started farming mushrooms in their Read More...
London is getting its very first dedicated zero waste vegan market
As more and more supermarket chains commit to banning single-use plastics, a new initiative in London is setting the next target: a zero waste market. Not only that, Zero Mkt that will open in the fall will also be a vegan Read More...
So Just Shop: Making fair trade transparent with blockchain
“Hello, I’m your Kusma scarf. I was handmade in Manali, a town in the Indian Himalaya and this is my journey.” Imagine that you could track a product from far away with such precision. The handicrafts industry provides an opportunity to lift many people around the world out of poverty. Read More...
This new solar farm combines clean energy and beehives
At a solar farm surrounded by orchards near Medford, Oregon, native flowers are beginning to bloom between the solar panels, and 48 beehives sit at the edge of the field. The solar farm, called Eagle Point, is now the largest “solar apiary”–a solar energy project designed to benefit Read More...
Why switching jobs every three years is good for you
There are a lot of arguments for jumping ship every few years. The economy isn’t what it used to be—and never will be again. Workers who stay with a company longer than two years are said to get paid 50 percent less, and job hoppers are believed to have a higher learning curve, be higher Read More...
With aging populations, companies rethink opportunities for older workers
One in 4 US workers will be 55 or older by 2024, according to the US Department of Labor. As people work beyond traditional retirement ages, companies are in the process of shifting the ways they treat, support, and think about older Read More...