Environmental Leader's Most Read Stories of 2010

Here is a countdown of Environmental Leader’s top 15 environmental management and sustainable business stories for 2010, based on reader interest:

15: Sustainability Efforts Derailed by Lack of Credible Data
A perceived lack of information and credible resources are holding U.S. businesses back from becoming environmentally responsible, according to a study from Ipsos Public Affairs. However, the survey found that 85 percent of respondents are interested in obtaining knowledge and resources about how their business can be more environmentally responsible.

14: ‘Eco Fees’ Surprises Ontario Consumers
Ontario consumers began seeing a new ‘eco fee’ added on to their supermarket charges at point of sale. The fee is for recycling certain products purchased which include dish soap, batteries, cleaning products, pharmaceuticals, fluorescent tubes, bulbs, fire extinguishers and all aerosol containers.

13: 86% of Employees Not Engaged By Companies’ Sustainability Programs
About 86 percent of respondents to a survey said they were not engaged by their employers on sustainability, even though the same amount – 86 percent – said that their organization promotes employee sustainability in some arena.

12: Whole Foods CEO Raises Eyebrows With Climate Change Doubt
When John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, told the New Yorker that “no scientific consensus exists” about the causes of climate change, he thrust himself – and his chain – negatively into the spotlight among many ec0-minded shoppers.

11: Sustainability Perception of General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft Far Exceeds Actual Records
A new consumer study revealed that there is still a gap between real and perceived sustainability action by top North American brands including Kraft, General Mills, Kellogg, Groupe Danone, Nike, Gap, P&G, L’Oreal, Microsoft and Amazon.com.

10: Push Begins for ‘Building Star’ Incentives for Commercial Properties
First there was Energy Star, the long-established energy ratings system. Then came Home Star, an incentive program supported by President Obama. In March, the Senate introduced a bill that would establish a Building Star program.

9: J&J, Walt Disney, Kraft Foods Top CSR Ranking
Johnson & Johnson, The Walt Disney Company, Kraft Foods, Microsoft, Pepsico and Apple topped the 2010 Corporate Social Responsibility Index, all earning scores above 80 (using a 100 point scale).

8: FTC’s Green Guides Could Nullify Environmental Seals of Approval
The FTC’s updated set of Green Guides were a hot topic. This story about claims that the guidelines could make about 300 environmental seals of approval useless, was especially popular.

7: Green Building Market To Hit $173.5 Billion by 2015
From 2010 to 2015, the total US green building market value is projected to increase from $71.1 billion to $173.5 billion, according to EL Insights.

6: Frito-Lay Yanks SunChips’ Compostable Bag To Fix ‘Noise Level’
While Frito-Lay works to develop a next-generation compostable bag, it transitioned most SunChip flavors back to traditional packaging.

5: Target Goes for Eco-credibility By Adding Recycling Bins to All StoresIn an effort to bring recycling practices out of the back room and into the public eye, Target added customer recycling bins to all its stores.

4: Coke, eBay, Google, Wal-Mart Buy Bloom Fuel Cells A host of major U.S. companies became customers of the new Bloom Energy Server, which was kept from the public eye until its official Feb. 24 launch.

3: USGBC Sued Over False Advertising, Fraud
Henry Gifford, owner of Gifford Fuel Saving and a public critic of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED certification program, filed a class action lawsuit against the organization and its founders on behalf of “consumers, taxpayers, building design and construction professionals.”

2: P&G Launches Supplier Sustainability Scorecard
Procter & Gamble launched a sustainability scorecard and rating process to measure the environmental performance of its key suppliers.

1; BP Oil Spill Clean-Up to Cost Nearly $5 Billion The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the biggest environmental story of the year – not surprisingly, this was the year’s most popular story on Environmental Leader.