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.
Building your creative capacity will make you an asset in the age of automation
If you want to survive the onslaught of jobs that will come about through automation, the CEO of IDEO says you should build your creative capacity. Creativity is one of the few things that automation will struggle to wrestle from us, making it a vital asset to have in the future. Want to become Read More...
Online platform connects smallholder farmers with marketplace
Cutting out the exploitative middleman was the goal for this new agritech startup that is revolutionizing farming for Ghana’s Read More...
This venture capital group is investing $36 million in black female founders
Despite reportedly being the fasted growing group of entrepreneurs, black women still get little funding from venture capital firms. Backstage Capital, a VC fund that has supported more than 80 companies led by underrepresented founders, wants to change that with a new fund that’s been dubbed Read More...
Uber's diversity officer has a suggestion for developing a more inclusive mindset
Most people think that becoming more inclusive means first learning about others, according to Bo Young Lee, Uber’s new chief diversity Read More...
This startup invented a vending machine that sells raw salad
Typically when you think of vending machine food, you think of colorfully packaged sweets that are full of sugar. A Montreal-based startup is challenging that idea with the creation of a new vending machine that sells raw salad instead. The salad is conveniently packaged in sustainable glass Read More...
Wrangler puts its corporate weight behind soil health
In his excellent book Growing a Revolution, David R. Montgomery suggests that for far too long we've been arguing over organic versus conventional agriculture. Instead, he says, we really should have been focused on soil health. You see, there are big organic farms that are losing soil hand over Read More...
This is how Starbucks is responding to its recent racial-profiling controversy
Starbucks is taking the racial-profiling incident that happened in one of its stores in Philadelphia very seriously. In response to the incident, in which two black men were asked to leave the store for no actual reason, Starbucks has announced that it will close more than 8,000 company-owned US Read More...
REI rolls out tough sustainability standards for all its brands
Those who love to recreate outdoors make for staunch environmental advocates. Last week, consumer co-op REI announced plans that should make it easier for its adventurer members to find products that support their values. By the fall of 2020, REI will sever its business relationships with any of Read More...
This circular-economy service could help eliminate single-use coffee cups
To reduce the waste that comes with single-use cups, a startup has created a service similar to that of a bikeshare program, where you don’t pay to own a bike, but pay per ride. The idea is simple; When you order a coffee, you receive it in a special cup with a chip built into it. Then when Read More...
Nestle has become the latest company to vow to reduce plastic waste
More and more major companies are committing to making all of their plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable within the next decade. After Unilever and Starbucks, Nestlé has announced it will make all its plastic packaging reusable by 2025. The world’s biggest packaged food company Read More...