Sustainability

LOS ANGELES — Blake Mycoskie, founder of the Toms shoe brand, has donated 100% of the proceeds from his bestselling book “Start Something That Matters.”

Mycoskie has established the Start Something That Matters Foundation with the book’s proceeds, approximately $300,000, to benefit social entrepreneurs and students around the world. The first three recipient organizations of the new fund are the Dell Social Innovation Challenge, Echoing Green and GOOD.is.

Jeremy Cage was named CEO of the global LED lighting firm Lighting Science Group.

Cage, 48, was selected to lead the company based on his experience in building major brands, his success in developing commercially-appealing technologies and bringing them to market, as well as his distinguished track record of strengthening business models and improving operational efficiencies, according to a statement by Lighting Science Group.

Cage replaces Brad Knight, who served as interim CEO while the board worked with an executive search firm. Knight will continue to serve as COO.

Never ones to let a good disaster go to waste, anti-Walmart forces have alerted the media to an event being held outside Walmart’s Washington, DC office.

Walmart has taken a lot of heat since last month when it was learned that a factory in Bangladesh where 112 people died in fire was being used by a Walmart supplier. Even though the facility was not on Walmart’s list of approved facilities, the incident renewed sentiment that Walmart’s quest for low prices causes its suppliers to cut corners.

What better way to celebrate the holidays than a tour of a CPG company’s headquarter?

The SC Johnson company is proud of its corporate campus designed by legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is offering free tours it contends make for a great activity for families and guests visiting the company’s home town of Racine, WI.

LAKELAND, Fla. — Retired Publix president and director emeritus Mark C. Hollis has passed away at that age of 78.

Starbucks blends tradition with innovation, transforming the vault of the historic Amsterdamsche Bank, a landmark building in Rembrandt Square, into its largest store in Europe. The chain’s first “concept” store in Europe, it spans 4,500 sq. ft. and was conceived as a theatre space with a 57-foot coffee bar as its stage, with multi-level areas that provide stages for local bands, poetry readings and other cultural activities. The store will function as a test space for rare and exclusive coffees, diverse coffee brewing methods, and new food concepts.

New York -- Walmart Canada has retrofitted all of the overhead sales floor lighting at its supercenter in Brampton, Ontario, from conventional fluorescent lighting to high efficiency LED 4-ft. retrofit lamps. The retailer estimates the change could save approximately 283,000 kilo-watt hours (kWh) per year, which will results in a savings of up to $26,000 per year.

Minneapolis -- Sprouts Farmers Market has installed enterprise asset management software from Verisae to support the company’s aggressive growth strategy.

The grocery retailer, which recently acquired Sunflower Farmers Market, recently implemented core modules of the Verisae connected facility platform; enterprise asset management (EAM), enterprise refrigerant management (ERM) and enterprise asset purchasing (EAP) solutions.