World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz has announced plans to merge the bank's departments that deal with infrastructure and environmental projects into a single unit to promote sustainable development.

Initial corporate sponsors for the District of Columbia's municipal eco-improvement program include DaimlerChrysler, CH2MHILL, Alcoa, and BAE Systems, among others.

The world must lay to rest a "myth" that protecting the environment harms economic growth, says the new head of the U.N. Environment Program.

The European Union is about to distil more than six million hectoliters of French and Italian wine into undrinkable industrial alcohol because producers are making more wine than they can sell.

Facing criticism from environmentalists, Japan is now trying to reduce plastic use with a law revision that lets the government issue warnings to retailers that don't do enough to reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The head of Colombia's largest coffee growers' group vowed Wednesday to make sure that 10% of its total coffee output will be certified by social and environmental programs by 2007.

Though it still only accounts for a tiny fraction of California's total vine crop, sustainable wine production is a fast-growing business in the American state.

BASF, the world's largest chemical maker, and Dow Chemical are both exploring alternative raw materials manufacturing methods that include coal, the companies say.