Dive Brief:
- Today, several major food companies are heading to Capitol Hill with other Fortune 500s to send a message to Congress that now is the time to enact legislation to handle climate change. The companies include Kellogg Co., Unilever, PepsiCo, Starbucks, Nestle, and Mars. Many also signed a letter supporting the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
- The bottled water industry is using Earth Day to promote its measures in ensuring the environment and natural resources are better protected. This includes managing water sources, investing in LEED certified facilities, using less PET plastic and more recyclable PET to manufacture bottle packaging, and reinforcing the importance of recycling.
- The agriculture industry, sometimes criticized for its environmental impact, is also joining in on conservation efforts. For example, 1.9 million acres of wetlands have been restored by U.S. farm owners, and pork production reduced its carbon footprint by 35% and its water usage by 41% between 1959 and 2009.
Dive Insight:
People who say the climate change is man-made point to the severe California drought as evidence that awareness, conservation, and sustainability practices need to happen on a large scale. With large companies making a push toward government action, further discussion will result and change may happen.