Business
Looking for positive and inspiring business stories? From green operations to employee rights, from innovative corporate structures to diversity and inclusion, the Business section at The Optimist Daily has got the latest innovative solutions from the corporate sector.
Google’s new long game: 100 percent clean energy all the time
Our time to move away from dirty energy to green sources is limited. Federal governments can’t be relied upon to push the conversion–especially not the one in the U.S., which is actively working against large-scale adoption of green Read More...
Panera Bread launches new digital video series on food transparency
Panera Bread is boosting transparency about its products this week, starting with its namesake. The fast-casual chain is now disclosing the whole grain content of the breads on its Read More...
Amazon invests in solar power and recycling programs to cut carbon footprint
Amazon announced two new initiatives today that are aimed at reducing its environmental impact. The first is a $10 million investment in the Closed Loop Fund, an effort to pool corporate resources to help the US improve its municipal recycling Read More...
Ocean plastic is a huge problem, blockchain could be part of the solution
The world’s oceans are awash in plastic, and the problem is only getting worse. Each year, 8 million metric tons of plastic debris ends up in the oceans, and that’s on top of the 150 million metric tons already in marine environments. The debris ensnares seabirds, starves whales Read More...
Denmark has the flattest work hierarchy in the world
Denmark may be the birthplace of the Lego tower, but its workplace hierarchy is the flattest in the world. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018, the nation tops an index measuring “willingness to delegate authority” at work, beating 139 other Read More...
Lyft is introducing a U.S. subscription service
The inevitable business model singularity has arrived, which is to say the Netflix for Ubers has arrived via Read More...
New smartphone app can find out whether or not its users are depressed
A startup in California is trying to use our obsession with the technology in our pockets to treat depression. When a patient installs the startup's app, it monitors things like the way the person types, taps, scrolls while using other apps. These seemingly mundane interactions with your phone can Read More...
British billionaire boycotts Saudi Arabia over disappearance of journalist
Richard Branson and his space tourism venture Virgin Galactic have rejected the $1 billion investment it was set to receive from Saudi Arabia as a way of showing solidarity for The Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. The reporter, who was an outspoken Saudi critic and opinion writer, hasn’t Read More...
Zum, an Uber-like service for kids, is expanding—and parents can’t wait
Over the last three years, Zūm has safely driven more than 500,000 children over 3 million miles—no parents required. The Uber-like service ushers kids ages 5 and up to and from school or to after-school activities, making it easier for busy parents to juggle Read More...
Why the cooperative model needs to be at the heart of our new economy
In 1903, an American entrepreneur, Charles Boettcher, founded the Great Western Sugar Company in Colorado and opened two beet sugar refineries outside of Denver. Over the course of the 20th century, the company expanded, adding more facilities in Wyoming, Montana, and Nebraska, and encompassing Read More...