Hot Spots

Interview with Joe Aldy who was special assistant to President Barack Obama for energy and environment, and represented the White House during climate negotiations in Copenhagen in 2009 and in Cancún, Mexico, in 2010. He stepped down last December and now teaches public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School.

Q: Kyoto Protocol commitments by industrialized nations will run out next year. Does Kyoto have a future?

A: Kyoto doesn't necessarily disappear, but the idea of splitting the world into developed and developing economies on this issue seems destined to disappear. More than half of emissions are coming from the developing world. If we don't adjust to that, then everything we are negotiating and all of the actions that will be driven by these negotiations will be inadequate to the challenge of climate change.

The solipsism of business and the Théâtre de l'Absurde of governments are exacerbating this divide. Both business and governments need to be held accountable for their actions. This means commending the progress of leaders and calling out laggards who disrespect nature and disadvantage people. Adjusting to the changing environment means that every decision must be a mindful one because the planet cannot sustain ignorance and we cannot suffer fools.

The Subway sandwich chain has surpassed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain in terms of units.

"We're continually looking at just about any opportunity for someone to buy a sandwich, wherever that might be. The closer we can get to the customer, the better," Mr. Fertman says, explaining that it now has almost 8,000 Subways in unusual locations. "The non-traditional is becoming traditional."

Energy efficiency represents a vital path towards becoming renewably powered, as it reduces the amount of energy required to be 100 percent renewable.

But how do you get there? The road to 100 percent renewable begins with establishing the goal for your organization, measuring your current mix of electricity sources (e.g., coal, oil, natural gas, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric), and assessing the potential for generating renewable energy on-site or nearby. The next steps include implementing energy efficiency projects and investing the financial savings to develop your renewable energy program. Along the way, consider purchasing Green-e certified RECs to mitigate your existing carbon footprint and continuously monitor for new local or remote opportunities for directly harnessing renewable energy.

Twenty US companies have agreed to take more account of environmental issues, such as water use and greenhouse gas emissions, as a result of investor resolutions, in a sign of increased pressure on industries such as power generation and oil and gas production.

Of those resolutions - which included calls for actions such as investigating the threat of the loss of water supplies or aligning executive pay to environmental performance - 20 have now been withdrawn because the companies satisfied the investors' demands.

This week marks the close of the third and final public consultation period for the review of the International Finance Corporation's (IFC) Sustainability Framework. The policies, standards, and guidance notes in the Framework set expectations on social and environmental performance for the financial institutions and companies who receive funds from the IFC (the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group).

Alok Industries Ltd. , an Indian supplier of textiles to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. , cut the length of its sales contracts to about three months from one year after volatility surged in the cotton market.

Mumbai-based Alok is selling its textiles to clients with contracts based on cotton prices in the range of $1.80 to $1.90, Agarwal said. The retail price of a towel may rise by as much as 40 percent because of cotton jumping to above $2 from $1 in September, he said.

Higher cotton prices are also prompting several companies to use more man-made fabrics, Agarwal said. The commodity's share of the global textile market will shrink to 20 percent by 2020 as mills switch to polyester and other chemical fibers to remain profitable, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee.

The News Corporation, the media conglomerate and parent company of Fox News Channel, has gone carbon-neutral, fulfilling a goal set four years ago, Rupert Murdoch, the company's chairman, announced this week in a companywide memo.

"We have become carbon-neutral across all of our global operations, and we are the first company of our kind to do so," Mr. Murdoch wrote. "We made a bold commitment in 2007 to embed the values of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability into all of our businesses - for the benefit of our communities and our bottom line."

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Food prices worldwide continued to rise in February, and the recent spike in oil prices could push food costs even higher in the months ahead, according to a report from the United Nations.

The food price index, which measures prices for a basket of food commodities, rose 2.2% last month, according to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. The index has increased for the last eight months in a row, and is at the highest level since it was created in 1990.

GENEVA - The 81st Geneva Motor Show, which is billed as a window into the future of a more environmentally responsible and sustainable auto industry, is sending something of a mixed message to the consumer.

Is a greener future just around the corner for the automobile? Or is it last call - and while you're pouring, let's make it a double - at the horsepower party?