Bioenergy company Solena Fuels (Solena) has announced that British Airways has committed to purchasing fuel produced at GreenSky London, a "waste-to-biojet fuel, bionaptha and renewable power plant" based in east London, for the next ten years, which will cost the airline approximately US$500 million. According to Solena chief executive officer Robert Do, the agreement is "the largest advanced biofuel commitment ever made by an airline".

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has released Green game-changers - Insights for mainstreaming business innovation (undated), which "features 10 larger businesses that draw from entrepreneurial activity and are taking innovation forward at a grand scale".

The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group of Climate Change (PWCLGCC) has announced that more than 100 global companies, including Shell, Unilever, Cathay Pacific, EDF Energy, Braskem, Statoil, Swiss Re, Ricoh and Skanska, have endorsed the Carbon Price Communiqué, which calls on policy heads "to focus on achieving a clear, transparent and unambiguous global carbon price to underpin the investment needed to deliver substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions".

The United States (US) Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced that electrical generating company Louisiana Generating, owned by NRG Energy Ltd, is to pay US$14 million due to violations of the Clean Air Act. The company has been ordered to reduce air pollution, a task that will cost approximately US$250 million. They have been ordered to install solar panels in various community spaces, restore of affected areas, and contribute in other ways to the preservation of the environment in Louisiana.

DoJ's media release (20 November 2012)
(Source: USDOJ)

The United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has confirmed a US$525 million settlement with BP due to charges of misleading investors after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010. BP made a number of public statements estimating the flow rate was 5,000 barrels of oil per day. According to the SEC, the flow rate was between 52,700 and 62,200 barrels per day. SEC alleged that BP did possess estimates that indicated a higher flow rate and chose not to amend the statements made to investors and the public.

Research firm Verdantix has released a report, What 250 CEOs Really Think About Sustainability (5 November 2012 - login required), which aims to help a company's senior management understand "how a [chief executive officer's (CEO)] perception of sustainability influences organizational structure for sustainability". The report interviewed 250 sustainability decision-makers at firms with revenues of over $250 million.

Sustainability advisor Two Tomorrows has announced that according to its 2012 Tomorrow's Value Research (TVR), which examines the sustainability programmes of the 25 largest companies in the world, companies are "far from delivering solutions to the most pressing sustainability problems and they risk losing sight of the bigger sustainability picture", despite being "increasingly aware of sustainability issues and actively integrat[ing] sustainability into core business strategy and decision-making".

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has announced the launch of The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) for Business Coalition Headquarters. According to the UNEP, the TEEB for Business Coalition "aims to achieve a shift in corporate behaviour to preserve and enhance, rather than deplete, the earth's natural capital".

Reuters reports that a claim for US$775 million in damages has been filed in the United States (US) District Court for Central California against South Korean car manufacturers Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliate Kia Motors Corporation, after the defendants admitted that they had overstated fuel efficiency ratings on over a million vehicles that were recently sold in North America. According to Reuters, the lawsuit, which could obtain class action status, seeks compensation for the reduction in value of the vehicles.

Neste Oil has announced the opening of its first pilot plant for producing microbial oil from waste and residues at its site in Porvoo, Finland. Microbial oil is produced from industrial and agricultural residues, and is "one of the most promising future raw materials for NExBTL renewable diesel". Neste Oil senior vice president of technology Lars Peter Lindfors stated that "[a]griculture in Finland ... produces large quantities of straw, but little of this straw is put to effective use" and that it will now be possible for the company to "process straw into a feedstock for premium-quality renewable diesel in the future". The company aims to develop a technology capable of producing microbial oil on an industrial scale.