Green Seal™, a non-profit environmental certification organization, has published a new standard designed specifically to address the life cycle impacts of laundry care products for institutional and industrial settings.

Climate change was the subject of a surprising amount of President Barack Obama’s remarks in his 20- minute Inaugural Address given at 11:55 am EST, January 21, 2013, on the steps of the United States Capitol. According to press reports, the President devoted more words to climate change than any other single issue in his address.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) met with Abu Dhabi Environment, Health and Safety Center officials in the United Arab Emirates recently to assist them in developing the country’s first Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Strategy aimed at reducing work-related injuries and fatalities and building a preventative safety culture.

Sustainability ranks ninth out of ten top corporate priorities for 2013, according to a study released by The Conference Board January 9^th of more than 700 senior executives in businesses around the world.

Chinese workplace safety and health officials last month hosted the first U.S.-China Workplace Safety and Health Dialogue in Beijing. The historic conference brought together officials from China’s State Administration of Work Safety to exchange ideas and information about protecting workers on both sides of the Pacific. Dr. Michaels presented an overview of workplace safety and health standards and compliance assistance in the United States.

While U.S. companies contend with a shortage of EHS professionals and skilled laborers, a global look at current and expected hiring reveals a complex picture. According to ManpowerGroup's first-quarter 2013 Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, the majority of employers in the global labor market are less confident about adding staff than they were at the start of 2012, suggesting a more difficult time ahead for job seekers in some countries.

Words fail at times like this – another garment factory fire in Bangladesh; 112 dead and 150 injured; another round of despair and anguish for the workers and their families; another round of denials by international garment brands that they bear any responsibility; another round of promises by the brands and their contractors that they will “do better” while refusing to acknowledge that it is their “profits first and foremost” production system that has led to fire after fire after fire.

Despite widespread concern about work-related stress and workplace violence, most European companies still don’t have procedures in place for managing psychosocial risks, according to two new reports from the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).

A new report commissioned by the World Bank shows that carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise at alarming rates, and that adapting to a 4 degrees Celcius increase may not be possible -- or enough.