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Loading ...Wal-Mart Mexico to Promote “Green” Products / Wal-Mart de México promoverá productos “verdes”
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009Walmart stores across Mexico and their suppliers* have launched for “Earth Month” (April 16 to May 3) an aggressive environmental awareness campaign in the press, radio and television promoting sustainable products and showing that purchasing them does not hurt the customers’ budgets. “At Wal-Mart de México we work hand-in-hand with our suppliers to encourage them […]
Brazilian Banks Assume Environmental Commitment
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009Brazilian businesses depending on bank financing for their economic activities will have to prove from now on that they are committed to developing socio-environmental policies, such as those regarding respect for human and workers’ rights, conservation of biodiversity, valuing the diversity of local cultures, reduction of poverty and income distribution inequality. This is the intended […]
Eco-Shopping for Cars in Mexico
Sunday, November 23rd, 2008Recently Mexico launched an initiative to promote consumer purchases of vehicles with better fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that is, as far as I can tell, unique to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The Environment Secretariat (SEMARNAT), via the National Ecology Institute (INE), the Office of the Federal Consumer Prosecutor (Profeco) […]
The Green Protocol
Saturday, September 6th, 2008A few weeks ago a press release from Brazil’s National Development Bank (BNDES) came across my desk trumpeting its signing with the Environment Minister of an agreement on supporting sustainable development dubbed “The Green Protocol.” I confess that I didn’t even scan it properly. Instead I filed it away to examine later, guessing (wrongly) that […]
Red de Consumo y Producción Sustentables para América Latina y Caribe
Monday, August 25th, 2008Synopsis in English: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the State Environment Secretary of São Paulo (SMA) and the Environmental Sanitation Technology Company (CETESB) (São Paulo’s technical environment agency) recently signed a cooperation agreement aimed at launching the Network of Information and Training in Sustainable Consumption and Production for Latin America and the Caribbean (Red de […]
LAC Explores Sustainable Consumption and Production Policy
Thursday, September 27th, 2007This past April São Paulo State’s environment agency, CETESB, hosted Brazil’s National Roundtable on Sustainable Sustainable Consumption and Production. At the end of June the top body of the five-nation MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela), the Common Market Council (CMC), adopted a binding Decision calling for an action plan, program and common policy on […]
Consumer Protection in LAC II-A – The Intergovernmental Actors
Friday, April 13th, 2007To make up for missing World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), I promised to give you a five-part overview of consumer protection in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In Part I, I looked at how consumer agencies and consumer NGOs in the region celebrated the Day. Today I’ll provide an overview of and guide […]
Poll on Brazilian Attitudes Regarding Sustainable Consumption
Friday, March 30th, 2007The Foundation for the Defense of the Consumer of São Paulo State (Fundação de Proteção e Defesa do Consumidor – “PROCON-SP“) has just released the results of a recent survey it conducted on the attitudes of Brazilian consumers regarding “sustainable consumption and living.” PROCON is the state consumer protection agency created in 1976, a full […]
Attention Eco-designers! Eco-diseñadores, ¡atención! Eco-desenhistas, atenção!
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007For those interested in eco-design in a developing country context in general, or in sustainable design for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in particular, listen up! The First International Symposium on Sustainable Design (ISSD), slated for Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil 04-06 September 2007, has issued a call for papers and speakers. Those wishing to present […]
An Environmental Agenda for the Andes
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007Another piece I started long ago (at the end of Sept.) and left in the queue. I’ll clear the backlog yet! This is one is not over-ripe, though, because the Andean Community is only now implementing the Agenda. The Lima-based General Secretariat of the four-nation Andean Community* (Comunidad Andina – CAN) has released the Community’s […]