News  You Can Use is our monthly update featuring key coverage of impact trends, leadership tips, sustainable business, and Net Impact.…stay educated.

Research and Trends

Top business sustainability trends of 2014

Guardian Sustainable Business, Dec 22

• Governments are slowly putting policy in action to drive low-carbon innovation in rich and poor countries alike.
• Retailers and food companies are pushing sustainability programs down to the farm level.
• Companies are finding ways to take back, refurbish, reuse or recycle products that would otherwise be thrown away, creating a closed-loop, zero-waste circular system of production.

The top 10 GreenBiz stories of 2014

GreenBiz, Dec 31

• Corporate impact stories from McDonalds, General Electric, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and more that might give you holiday warm fuzzies all over again.

10 trends for 2015
SustainAbility, December 2014

• Water risk, worker’s rights, corporate diversity beyond gender, and increased consumer engagement – read more about the issues that will shape the sustainable development agenda in 2015.

Innovation Station

When will design get serious about impact? 
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Dec 8

• To achieve sustained impact, designers should strive to shift the fundamental dynamics of development work by addressing problems such as: a technology-first mindset that assumes adoption and engagement are someone else’s problem; the lack of skills in the development community to test and iterate solutions before committing to expensive pilots; and the lack of funder support for experimentation.

14 innovations that improved the world
Mashable, Nov 29

• From mind-controlled exoskeletons to solar-powered toilets that turn waste into biofuel, here are 14 innovations that address some of the most important issues of our time.

ICYMI: Impactathon
Net Impact Simmons Blog, Oct 26

• Forty undergraduate and graduate students and professionals joined our SAP design thinking challenge in Boston to brainstorm and pitch ideas on how to motivate youth to build the new skills like programming, graphic design, and data analysis. Four teams presented to a panel of judges who chose the winning entry – a platform that allows individuals to connect with and invest in promising students. Six more events like this are happening globally in the coming months! 

Impact Leadership

How to drive change in your company
Net Impact, Dec 30

• Sometimes the most effective thing you can do to move sustainability forward in your company is to listen, adapt, and be flexible rather than approach an assignment with fixed ideas or opinions. 

Not Their Parents’ Activism: How Millennials are Using Digital to Take a Stand on Issues They Care About

CSR Wire, Dec 11

• Millennials are not slacktivists. They view their digital support as a gateway to further engagement both on and offline.

• Millennials are more inclined to volunteer or donate after “liking” or “following” an organization online.

10 steps towards a better, more productive you in 2015
Fast Company, Dec 9

• Map out your dreams. Make small gestures. Be bold. Pay it forward. This is a great read to help you grow as a person and leader in 2015. 

Net Impact: 6 Ways to be  Sustainability Superhero
GreenBiz, Nov 12

• Susan Camberis sums up 6 takeaways she gleaned from NI14 conference speakers including Liz Maw, Paul Polman, Temple Grandin, and Sheryl WuDunn.