Companies committed to product sustainability enjoy the benefits of manufacturing cost savings, brand enhancement, employee engagement and other important financial and organizational value.

World Food Day is the annual beacon illuminating the need to end world hunger and malnutrition. It reminds us that our current food system is falling short on feeding the population, while it also highlights agriculture’s destructive relationship with the environment on which it depends. We look to this year’s World Food Day with a view to silver linings and the hope emerging sustainability initiatives bring to the future.

Just one year ago, Walmart launched a novel tool that is proving to quickly and effectively align their massive supply chain on sustainability priorities — the Sustainability Index. Dairy suppliers were among the first to be brought into the Index through answering a category-specific survey about their performance in sustainability.

California-based Presidio Graduate School is expanding its executive five-month Certificate Program in Sustainable Management with an east coast offering. Please share this exciting program with colleagues in your network and company. This is a fantastic opportunity to gain sustainability credentials with two-day-per-month sessions in San Francisco or Boston. I am very impressed with Presidio’s targeted, interactive program and encourage you to pass this information on to anyone who may be interested in gaining the tools to tackle a broad range of sustainability challenges.