The new dedicated US site will, say the publishers, become a core part of the Guardian US, and will engage readers with thought-provoking commentary & blogging, in-depth analysis and cutting-edge interactive storytelling to provide a comprehensive look at how US companies are rising to meet today's unprecendented sustainability challenges. The site will also act as a community hub to the many thousands of professionals who are working to embed sustainability into the heart of their organizations.
Nike, Procter & Gamble and the United Nations Global Compact have signed-on as official launch partners to demonstrate how sustainability can be a driver of innovation and profitability in the US and globally.
Recent hires include Jennifer Kho, who has been brought on as Editor to help oversee GSB's editorial coverage in the US. She was formerly digital strategy editor at GreenBiz.com. Additionally, Marc Gunther, a leading author and commentator on sustainability and business in the US, joins as editor-at-large. Jo Confino, executive editor of The Guardian, and chairman and editorial director of Guardian Sustainable Business, will provide overall direction.
"Sustainable business practices are beginning to move from the periphery to the mainstream in the US, with many businesses recognizing the increasingly systemic pressures that climate change, resource scarcity, biodiversity loss and human rights abuses are exerting on society," says Confino. "The Guardian's global, open and collaborative approach to journalism allows us to broaden and deepen our coverage in the US and help play a role in helping to foster this change," he added.
Contributors over the coming weeks will include noted authors Andrew Winston and Amy Larkin, World Wildlife Fund's Jason Clay, Ceres's Mindy Lubber, BSR's Aron Cramer and leaders from civil society such as the Rainforest Alliance's Tensie Whelan. There will also be interviews with entertainer and innovator will.i.am as well as chief sustainability officers of some of America's largest companies.
The Guardian opened its US office in 2011, along with a US homepage. The US office now has a total of 57 employees, 29 of them editorial staff. Guardian US traffic is up nearly 55% year-on-year, with US traffic now representing a third of the Guardian's total digital audience. Nearly a quarter of GSB's online readers already come from the US, with nearly one million page views from the US alone, reflecting growing demand from US readers for the Guardian's unique style of online journalism and coverage of how American companies are rising to the sustainability challenges of our age, says the Guardian.
