Whole Foods Market reported that more than 90 percent of household cleaning products it sells have passed the retailer's Eco-Scale sustainability rating system a year after its launch. As part of the rating system, products are evaluated and audited to the retailer's standards by a third-party certifying organization and their ingredients must all be listed on product packaging. The system rates products as red, orange, yellow, or green, based on environmental and sourcing standards the household cleaning products comply with, making it easy for customers to determine products' level of compliance with the sustainability program.

Unilever released its first-year progress report regarding its Sustainable Living Plan objectives. The report shows that sustainably sourced agricultural materials increased from 14 percent in 2010 to 24 percent in 2011, with its two major raw materials leading the way — 64 percent of palm oil and 60 percent of paper and board coming from sustainable sources. Also, Unilever's most popular spreads now have less than one-third saturated fat, while renewable energy accounts for 20 percent of the company's total energy consumption. Unilever, however, was less successful with targets that involve consumer behavior change.

Procter & Gamble is among companies included in China's Top 100 Green Companies, a list of enterprises honored for their sustainable business operations in the country. The list, prepared by the China Entrepreneur Club in partnership with Daonong Center for Enterprise and the Green Herald Magazine, considers how companies "blend  the right values into their business models;" remain true to business ethics and bottom line while "living in harmony with men, society, and nature; and face with resolve problems that impede sustainable development in their industries.

Wal-Mart has failed to live up to its global sustainability objectives — 100 percent renewable energy, zero waste, and stocking only products that are sustainably manufactured and environment-friendly, according to some environmentalists and market analysts. Wal-Mart's lack of control over its suppliers in the Far East has prevented the retailer from improving sustainability of its supply chain. In China, for example, almost four-fifths of Wal-Mart's suppliers source more than 50 percent of their merchandise from shadow factories. Worse, some China suppliers are suspected of doing business with some of the forced labor camps in the country.

Kimberly-Clark Corporation announced its Water for Life initiative as part of its Sustainability 2015 strategy. Made during Earth Week 2012, the announcement focuses on the global importance of fresh water and the environment-friendly management of fresh water resources. Through the program, Kimberly-Clark plans to work in partnership with nongovernment organizations to provide "clean drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene education" to communities worldwide.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia discovered a gene in the balsam fir tree that could help bring about less costly and sustainable production of plant-based fixatives and scents used in the perfume industry. The discovery is also expected to reduce demand for ambergris, a substance derived from sperm whales' vomit that had turned into rock-like objects after reacting with saltwater. 

Leading beauty brands adhering to principles of sustainability and social responsibility are not only using naturally-sourced ingredients in their products, they have successfully adopted eco-friendly packaging, according to market researcher Euromonitor. The trend is perhaps the most significant innovation in personal care and beauty, and is driven by technological advances in packaging. For example, Procter & Gamble is now using a sugarcane-based bottles for its Pantene’s Pro-V Nature Fusion line and CoverGirl and Max Factor brands. Sugar cane replaces petroleum, and is not only sustainable, it's is cheaper. Euromonitor says sustainability, social responsibility and environmental integrity have become major components of the operations of beauty companies, and will remain so.

Procter & Gamble chief purchasing officer Rick Hughes discussed how his company mitigates supply risks. Business continuity plans enable the company to categorize and manage supply risks; adhering to local laws helps P&G to make the most of supply chains, including local suppliers; requiring suppliers to comply with the highest sustainability standards protects the company from possible supply chain disruptions and public-relations disasters.

Johnson & Johnson claimed the company has accomplished 50 percent of its 2015 Healthy Future objective by expanding its portfolio of Earthwards-certified innovative and environment-friendly products. While the company will not use the Earthwards logo as a marketing tool, Johnson & Johnson has adopted the initiative to emphasize sustainability with its product development process.

Andrex said it plans to start a marketing campaign for the launch of its Eco brand of environment-friendly toilet tissue made from bamboo. Claiming that the brand represents the first time a major tissue brand in the UK has used bamboo, Andrex will sell Eco tissue at the same price as its main products and market the tissue as a means for consumers to care for the environment while doing daily ordinary things.

Unilever launched a Web site designed to solicit and evaluate innovation ideas from interested parties outside the company. A move that follows similar steps by competitors, such as Procter & Gamble Co., the online forum will focus on ideas promoting sustainability and will target participants from universities, engineering and design firms, and environmental protection organizations worldwide.

Unilever Canada received from the GLOBE Foundation its 2012 GLOBE Corporate Award for Environmental Excellence in recognition of the company's sustainability practices and their positive contribution to its bottom line. The award validates Unilever's Sustainable Living Plan, which aims to help more than 1 billion people enhance their health and well being, cut by half the environmental impact of Unilever products, and get all agricultural raw materials from sustainable sources.

Method launched its new Method Laundry & Dish Refill Pouch (with Spine), which comes in a packaging from Innovative Packaging Solutions, Inc., winner of the Gold prize at the Flexible Packaging Association for Technical Innovation's 2012 Flexible Packaging Achievements Awards. The Refill Spine Pouch was designed by Method's director of packaging Rudi Becker to be convenient to handle and look better on store shelves than conventional refill pouches.

L'Oréal and Colgate were included in the 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies, a list of companies recognized by the Ethisphere Institute for their efforts to promote the highest standards of corporate ethics. The occasion marks the third time of being on the list for L'Oréal, which established in 2000 a code of business ethics and appointed a senior executive in charge of corporate ethics.

Walmart Canada gave its Vendor Sustainability Award to SC Johnson Canada in recognition of the manufacturer's sustainability efforts and support for the retailer's campaign to sell products that sustain both consumers and the environment. SC Johnson has a long list of achievements related to environmental protection and sustainability, such as removing chlorofluorocarbons from its aerosol cans in 1975 and recording a waste diversion rate of 91.3 percent at its Brantford factory.

Kline & Company reported that despite a slower growth pace in 2011, the natural personal care products market posted a 13.9 percent compound annual growth rate for the past five years in Western Europe and North America. With a global CAGR forecast at 10 percent through 2016, driven by the increasing consumer awareness of issues related to health, the environment, and sustainability, the segment is expected to outperform the overall beauty market

Henkel increased its revenue from €15.092 billion in 2010 to €15.605 billion in 2011, while reducing its energy consumption from 2.44 million megawatt hours to 2.22 million megawatt hours and cutting its carbon dioxide emission from 714 thousand metric tons to 652 thousand metric tons, according to its Sustainability Report 2011. As part of the company's commitment to the Vision 2050 of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Henkel's sustainability efforts helped reduced its water consumption from 8.688 million cubic meters to 7.921 million cubic meters and its waste for recycling and disposal from 155,000 metric tons to 145,000 metric tons.

Hindustan Unilever reduced its manufacturing-related carbon emissions in India by installing biomass boilers at several factories in the country. The company installed its first biomass boilers in 2008 when it redesigned the oil-fired boilers at its Chiplun and Puducherry factories, and in 2011 it put in place high-tech biomass boilers, which use coffee waste and factory wastes as fuel, at the Goa, Mysore, and Nashik factories.

Packaging innovations help manufacturers satisfy consumers' evolving perception of value, which has gone beyond how much the product costs to include the product's environmental impact, and the level of convenience and luxury it offers. Advances in packaging design, such as the packaging used by Kimberly-Clark's Kotex for its U by Kotex brand for young female consumers and Jean Paul Gaultier's glass bottle design for its fragrances for men and women, can help manufacturers communicate to consumers the values of innovation and sustainability.

The UK-based Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment released the "Packaging and the Internet: A guide to packaging goods for multi-channel delivery systems," to help manufacturers and ecommerce companies in designing effective and sustainable packaging for products sold online. Packaging, which is costly, offers manufacturers an opportunity for saving; consumers demand products that meet their requirements and come in packaging with minimal environmental impact, according to the guide.

Johnson & Johnson added 19 new products to its portfolio of products under the Earthwards sustainable product development program to reach 30 products, which is half of the company's Healthy Future 2015 goal of 60 products. New Earthwards products include Sundown Sun Care products in Brazil; Surgicel, which comes with 57 percent less packaging; and Neutrogena Naturals skincare products, which use 86–100 percent natural ingredients.

L'Oreal Italia launched its L'Oreal Italy: Zero Emissions project, which aims to achieve zero levels of carbon dioxide emissions at its Settimo Torinese facility by using renewable sources only. The project, a partnership between L'Oreal, the city government of Settimo Torinese, and energy conservation company Pianeta, will help L'Oreal achieve its environmental protection plan, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2015.

SJ Johnson expanded its Mini line of concentrated cleaning products to include the fantastic, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, Shout, and Windex brands. The product line allows consumers to help protect the environment by reducing plastic packaging materials that end up in landfills. While 320 million conventional cleaning products are bought by Americans each year, using concentrated refills means reduced packaging and environmental impact from shipping and wastes.

Tesco and Unilever recently announced initiatives seeking to protect rainforests and reinforce sustainability of supply chains worldwide. Tesco partnered with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to raise more than £1 million for rainforest protection projects, while Unilever pledge to source 100 percent of cocoa for its Magnum ice cream brand from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms by 2015.

Unilever vice president for sustainability Karen Hamilton said her company is putting a lot of emphasis on sustainability as it seeks to double its 2009 €39.8 billion revenue to €80 billion.  In addition to using sustainable ingredients Unilever is seeing new product opportunities, such as its Pureit in-home water purifier and hygiene education programs for consumers in developing countries, both of which target the growing ranks of middle-class consumers worldwide.

SC Johnson plans to install three wind turbines at its sales office in Lowell, Arkansas, as part of its renewable energy initiative. Expected to be installed by April 1, 2012, and fully operational about a month later, the turbines will generate as much as 3,600kWh of electricity each year, joining the company's growing list of environment-friendly power-generating facilities; the company already sources 40% of its global electricity needs from renewable energy. 

Unilever CEO Paul Polman said that his company established the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to double the company's size while reducing its impact on the environment. In a related measure Polman said Unilever plans to link 500,000 small-holder farmers and small-scale distributors into its supply chain  to improve productivity as well as help alleviate poverty.

Environment-friendly household products manufacturer Seventh Generation announced an educational alliance with Universal Pictures to highlight the movie-screen debut of "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax." The partners hope the three-dimensional, computer-generated movie and its ecology-focused message will inspire children and their parents to support efforts to protect the environment.

Procter & Gamble Company announced an agreement with nonprofit organization Alliance to Save Energy to jointly push efficient energy use worldwide by means of advocacy and research and education. P&G's Future Friendly natural resource education campaign will work with the nonprofit group to publicize and promote the benefits of washing laundry in cold water.

As an increasing number of countries are requiring sustainable packaging for beauty and personal care products, manufacturers are drawing on a range of environment-friendly packaging options. These include the use of packaging materials that are biodegradable, compostable, recyclable, or reusable, all of which companies present their brands as visibly pro-ecology and supportive of consumers' efforts to protect the environment.

A company’s reputation for being environmentally friendly may more to do with what it says it’s doing than what it is actually doing, a Kansas State University study has found. The more information companies disclose about their sustainable practice, the more they are viewed as being green, even if their actual environmental performance is not that strong. For their study, researchers looked at annual reports, corporate social responsibility reports and 10-K financial reports of companies listed in Newsweek magazine's 2009 green rankings of large U.S. companies. The companies with the worst environmental performance had the best environmental reputation, including companies from environmentally sensitive industries like utilities, oil and gas.

Kraft Foods announced results of a sustainability and environmental survey that measured the company’s impact on climate change, land and water use. Most of the company’s environmental footprint – about 90 percent – originates on non-company farms that grow ingredients for its products. The survey supports the work of sustainable agriculture efforts on key commodities to improve crop yields, reduce environmental impacts and improve the lives of farm workers and their families. The company said it also continues to build upon previous success around energy, carbon dioxide, water, waste and packaging reductions.  The multi-year footprinting project was conducted with Quantis Inc. and reviewed by World Wildlife Fund and the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment.

Consumer Reports has introduced an app for smartphones and other mobile devices that tells consumers which green product labels are verifiably meaningful and truthful. The new Eco-Label app, available on iTunes, provides reviews of label terms like “hypoallergenic,” “natural,” and “organic”. The Eco-Label App lets consumers search for information by alphabetical label index or by product, including foods, cleaners, and personal care products. The app also provides a label "report card," which offers clear guidance on which labels make truthful and meaningful claims, and which do not. The app costs $.99 and is located under the Utilities category in the App Store, according to Consumer Reports.

Annual krill oil sales are growing at a rate of 20 percent, despite concerns about the sustainability of krill harvesting. Whole Foods and other natural foods stores have banned the sale of krill products because of environmental concerns. However, consumers are increasingly aware of the health benefits of krill oil, which has more omega-3s than other fish and contains a potent carotenoid known as astaxanthin. The increasing consumer awareness of the benefits of krill oil should drive sales – and probably prices – higher in the future, according to industry observers. However, environmental conservation groups are relentless in their opposition to krill harvesting.

Whole Foods Market reported 4th quarter profit of $75.5 million, an increase of 31 percent over a year ago, on sales of $2.4 billion. Sales for the quarter increased 12 percent, with comparable store sales up 8.7 percent and identical store sales up 8.4 percent. Diluted earnings per share increased 26 percent to $0.42. For the year ended September 25, sales increased 12 percent to $10.1 billion, and earnings per share increased 35 percent to $1.93. Co-CEO John Mackey said the company was continuing to produce “quality results” and he expected “the lessons we learned during the recession will drive even higher levels of operating performance and returns on invested capital over time.” The company finished the year with total cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments of $799.1 million, and total debt of $17.9 million.

Though sustainability has grown steadily over the past five years as a driver of innovation in packaging, momentum appears to have slowed, according to a study by Packaging Digest. “Slippage on key questions,” editorial director John Kalkowski says, doesn’t mean packagers no longer feel sustainability is important. The emphasis is growing, but at a slower pace. Respondents who say they are moderately familiar with sustainability issues slipped to 80 percent from 83 percent last year. But that’s much higher than the 52 percent at the same level in 2007. Forty-one percent said the emphasis on sustainability remained the same, and 55 percent said it had grown in their companies. Respondents cited economic conditions as a major reason why some businesses had scaled back their activities in sustainable packaging.

Farmers in southwest Georgia (U.S.) are looking for more information about how to participate in, and benefit from,  Walmart’s new Heritage Agricultural Program, an initiative supporting consumers’ interest in local and sustainable farming. Various organizations, including the USDA, have been meeting with Georgia farmers to tell them what they need to do – like having the proper infrastructure in place – to supply produce to Walmart. The company wants to reduce the number of miles perishable fruits and vegetables travel from farm to market by purchasing locally-grown produce for stores, and is encouraging farmers to grow crops traditionally produced in their regions.

Several leading brands and retailers have agreed to implement a new package recycling label developed by sustainability nonprofit GreenBlue to show customers how to recycle after package use. Participating in the voluntary labeling program beginning in 2012 are ConAgra Foods, Costco Wholesale, Microsoft, REI and Seventh Generation. According to GreenBlue, customers have to deal with a “confusing landscape” of misleading and inconsistent recycling messages. The new labels provide a “harmonized system” designed to reduced confusion for consumers by providing clear instructions on how to recycle a package after use. The labels adhere to U.S. Federal Trade Commission guidelines on recycling, GreenBlue said.

Henkel appears for the first time on Newsweek's Green Rankings, ranked at 65 and scoring 61.7 percent on the Global 500 list of leading companies. Henkel ranked fifth among consumer goods companies. Newsweek's Green Rankings assess the environmental performance of the world's largest publicly traded companies. The rankings are based on a company's actual environmental footprint, management of that footprint, and sustainability communications. The rankings, which provide a cross-industry framework for comparing environmental commitment and performance, were developed with the help of two environmental research organizations, Trucost and Sustainalytics.