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.
Google, Apple, Coca-Cola and other companies invest $140 billion in projects that reduce carbon footprint
Thirteen of the largest US companies promised this week that they will invest at least $140 billion to lower their carbon emissions. They did this by signing the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, an initiative from the Obama administration. The thirteen companies—among them Goldman Read More...
How the Dalai Lama’s teachings are relevant to the business world
Mindfulness in the workplace is becoming a mainstream concept, as well as an increasing part of prestigious universities’ business programs. It is better known in the corporate world as “emotional intelligence,” a mindset that is being incorporated into the list of desirable qualities in Read More...
Consumers more likely to buy from companies with a conscience, new study finds
Those consumer-facing companies who have no vision beyond growing revenue, no true sense of corporate responsibility and no interest in investing in making a positive impact in the world, ought to think again. Today’s consumers are more likely to spend money on goods and services from Read More...
Average Americans are allowed to become official investors
Anyone in America is now welcome to join the exclusive club of “accredited investors” who have been retaining the privilege of investing in startups, and potentially reaping the benefits. No more need to show a net worth of more than $1 million or income of at least $200,000 for each of the Read More...
“Uber is the largest job creator”, showing the employment power of the sharing economy
Uber adds some 50,000 new jobs a month. Speaking at South by Southwest conference in Austin on Sunday, Uber board member Bill Gurley said that the transport disrupter has 300,000 drivers. These drivers are nu Uber employees. This is a showcase example of the emerging sharing economy where Internet Read More...
KFC introduces a coffee cup you can eat—it’s made of cookies
Could edible cookie cups be the answer to millions of emptied disposable coffee cups that still end up in the trash? KFC restaurants in the UK will try it out this summer. There’s a layer of heat-resistant white chocolate and a sugar wrapper, insulating the cookie cup as someone drinks. Here at Read More...
Apple invests big in solar
Apple has announced an $850 million deal with solar company First Solar to build a massive solar plant that will power all of their California operations—or enough energy to power about 60,000 US homes. The new partnership is the largest solar procurement agreement by a company that is not a Read More...
Airbnb drives down cost of hotels in NYC
Behind the sharing economy is the emergence of citizen power. And corporate world cannot escape listening. Research from Credit Suisse shows that Airbnb is driving down the cost of hotel rooms in New York. Revenue per available room—a metric known as revpar in the hotel industry— is down Read More...
Taxi drivers form co-op to take on Uber, Lyft
Ride sharing is a bit of a double-edged sword: It empowers people to use their own cars to make a couple extra bucks, but the low fares that draw many consumers are causing cabbies to see their ridership dwindle. Now taxi cab drivers in Denver have bound together to form a cooperative where each Read More...
CNBC launches crowdfunding index
From Kickstarter to Indiegogo, crowdfunding is growing in popularity and is a business realm changing rapidly. Now CNBC has partnered with Crowdnetic, a company that tracks and analyses crowdfunding projects, to launch a new crowdfunding index. The new index will give people an inside view at Read More...