Here's Everything We Know About The New Tesla Model X

FREMONT, Calif. -- Amid great fanfare and expectations, Tesla Motors unveiled the Model X, its all-electric SUV, at an event Tuesday night at its Bay Area factory. 

The Model X is the second car available for sale from the electric automaker, which introduced the Model S sedan three years ago. The high-speed Roadster, its first car, was discontinued in 2012.

The all-wheel-drive, seven-passenger X could help Tesla crack into the SUV market. The vehicles experienced a surge in sales over the past year and are popular with female drivers. 

Shoppers can put down $5,000 on Tesla's website to reserve an X when they start rolling out. The base price actually runs up to $132,000 for the Signature Series, which includes add-ons like an autopilot mode and heated steering wheel and seats. 

A less expensive version, the $35,000 Model 3 sedan, is expected to come out in 2017. 

The X boasts a lot of power. It goes from o to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds, and has a range of about 250 miles before the battery needs a recharge.  

Plus, it's stylish. A new feature, the "falcon wing doors," swoop out and up. (It's easy to picture "Silicon Valley" character Russ Hanneman approving of the design.) There are three rows of seats, but the second row holds just two passengers.

The X features a windshield that extends above the driver's head, offering panoramic views and the feel of a helicopter cockpit, Musk said.

Most importantly, though, Musk said that the Model X is safe.

"We've made the safest SUV ever," he said. Sensors can automatically apply the brakes or steer away from cars and dangerous objects, he said during the debut, which was webcast from Tesla's Fremont, California, factory. "There's really nothing that's more important" than safety.

Eyes might be fixed on those back seats, because CEO Elon Musk said in August that they had become a problem during production.  

Tesla experienced success in the luxury market with the Model S, which was the second-highest selling luxury model last year. With the Model X, Tesla is introducing an electric SUV at least a few years before competitors like Mercedes, Porsche and General Motors crack into the field. 

For now, Tesla is niche player. It is forecast to sell almost 29,000 cars this year, according to LMC Automotive. Ford, in contrast, is predicted to move almost 2.5 million vehicles. Analysts see the Model X as a step toward somewhat wider appeal. 

 

“Tesla wants to be a mainstream automaker,” said Doug Gilman, an industry analyst for Frost & Sullivan. “To be a competitive automaker you have to have a whole host of vehicles. You can’t just have one super.”

An SUVs safety and size might attract female drivers with families, analysts said. If the X outsells the S, experts will probably deem the new line a success. 

“The big potential for the Model X is that it’s going to open up a whole new market that they had to fight a little harder for with the Model S. That’s the female market,” said Karl Brauer, a senior director at Kelley Blue Book. “There’s a huge market out there.”

The Fremont factory looked more like a nightclub on Tuesday night as thousands of attendees who had paid at least $5,000 to reserve a Model X sipped wine while listening to remixed versions of hits from Dolly Parton and the Rolling Stones.

Though attendees had yet to see the Model X in person, some people said they had faith in Tesla based on the quality of the Model S.

"I love my Range Rover, but I can't stand going to the gas station," Dana Cappiello, 55, a realtor from San Francisco, told The Huffington Post."It was as simple as that." 

She was peeved by the late start. CEO Elon Musk took the stage in a dark jacket and jeans just before 9 p.m. PST, nearly an hour behind schedule.

The audience erupted with laughter as he touted the environmental benefits of his all-electric vehicles while alluding to Volkswagen's ongoing scandal over software that helped its cars outrageously cheat on diesel emissions tests. Volkswagen is the biggest automaker in the world by sales.

"We designed this car well before recent events," Musk said.

Long lines formed for test rides in the factory parking lot after the presentation ended. 

For the company to become profitable, Tesla needs to increase sales by hundreds of thousands of cars per year, according to John Humphrey, a senior vice president at J.D. Power and Associates. 

“These customers are evangelical about the brand,” Humphrey said. “Going downmarket and not losing the allure of the brand is the challenge. Each rung you go down, you lose a little shine on it.”

Tesla stock was up nearly 2 percent in pre-market trading on Wednesday morning. 

This story has been updated to include additional comments from analysts.

A previous version of this article stated that the Model X is Tesla's second car. It's actually the second model currently available, because the company had discontinued the Roadster in 2012.

Tax Havens Are Turning The U.S. Into An Unequal Aristocracy

To Gabriel Zucman, protégé of rock star French economist Thomas Piketty, the United States is starting to look a lot like Europe in the late 1800s.

“There’s been this great reversal where, in the 19th century, the U.S. was much more equal than Europe, and thought of Europe as being way too unequal,” Zucman, a native Parisian, told The Huffington Post in an interview on Tuesday. “Now, the U.S. is unequal and many people think Europe is too equal.”

The gaping chasm between the super-rich and the rest keeps widening. Now, the 28-year-old assistant professor at University of California, Berkeley hopes his newly-published 116-page book, The Hidden Wealth of Nations, will jolt lawmakers into tackling a key agent of income inequality: tax havens.

Thanks to a confluence of regulatory and geographic advantages, Switzerland positioned itself as the first major tax haven just after World War I, providing shelter to the wealth of European nobles as France and other allies levied heavy taxes to pay off public debt and compensate war victims. Until then, European governments had hardly taxed income generated from stocks and property.

By the outbreak of World War II, the tiny alpine nation made itself even more attractive by passing bank secrecy laws. The legislation purportedly protected the wealth of persecuted Jews. Instead, according to Zucman, Jews made up just 1.5 percent of those with assets in Swiss banks. 

That set the standard for Bermuda, the Virgin Islands and other secretive wealth refuges.

“The substantial revenue that’s lost has to be made up for by taxing middle class people,” Zucman said. 

But the problem isn’t just about rich individuals stashing their assets in offshore accounts.

Despite increased financial scrutiny following the Great Recession, corporate behemoths such as Apple, Starbucks and Microsoft continue to funnel their profits through subsidiaries in countries with favorable tax policies, outrageously slashing their U.S. tax bills. The result, Zucman argues, is that 8 percent of the world's financial wealth is held offshore, resulting in a tax revenue loss of at least $200 billion.

That, Zucman says, is a problem. But he has solutions.

First, he believes the U.S. and other large economies should impose economic sanctions on tax havens, forcing them to make up the difference in lost revenue through trade tariffs.

“The idea is that we need to change the incentives [that enable] tax havens to facilitate tax avoidance and tax evasion,” Zucman said.

Then, countries such as the U.S. should reform their corporate tax policies to geographically bind taxable profits to the location of the sales that generated them. For example, he said that if Microsoft theoretically makes 50 percent of its sales in the U.S., then 50 percent of its global profits should be taxed in the U.S.

“It’s very easy for firms to move profits to Bermuda,” Zucman said. “But they cannot move their customers to Bermuda.”

Still, Zucman said he recognizes that the political appetite for curbing tax havens is weak. None of the current crop of presidential candidates -- ranging from populists (albeit of opposite political ilks) like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump to establishment candidates like Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush -- has produced any concrete plan to overhaul the tax system, he said.

Zucman fears the risk of inaction.

“There is a tipping point above which inequality becomes detrimental to growth and dangerous to society,” he said. “Nobody knows whether we are far or close from this tipping point, but it is there and it is coming.”

Also on HuffPost:

New Study Decodes When Working From Home Is Actually Productive

Working from home can be pretty great. You can send emails from the comfort of your couch and avoid commuting. Plus, away from the stress of the office, you might actually get more done while also enjoying better work-life balance. 

But remote working can also be ... well, not so productive.  

So far, scientists have reached somewhat mixed conclusions about the merits of WFH. Some studies have pointed to benefits like increased productivity, better performance on tasks, higher job satisfaction, lower work stress and an enhanced work-life balance. Others have found issues with the practice, including possible conflicts with family demands.   

Now, a comprehensive scientific review of the literature finds that how you work from home can predict whether you and your company will reap the benefits.

The report, recently published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, finds that working from home is most effective if implemented in a way that meets the needs of both the individual and the organization. 

"There are a variety of factors to consider, such as job responsibilities, individual desires and capabilities, and organizational needs and practices," Dr. Tammy Allen, an organizational psychologist at the University of South Florida and co-author of the study, said in a statement. "It is important to recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach."

Positive outcomes were most likely if specific conditions were met. Employees and employers reaped the greatest benefits from telecommuting when it was practiced in moderation and workers still had plenty of face time at the office. 

"Telecommuting appears to work best when it is practiced to a moderate degree," Allen said. "Face-to-face meetings may be especially important during the early stage of new projects."

It also worked better when employees were given the freedom to decide when they wanted to WFH, and when they had more flexible timelines for submitting their work. 

Still, telecommuting isn't without its challenges, as the study's authors note. The report highlighted potential challenges of WFH, including fuzzy boundaries between work and family roles, long hours that may result in overwork, and lack of face-to-face interactions with coworkers. 

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that employers "ensure that remote workers are carefully selected and ... that opportunities for interactions with coworkers are provided."  

The bottom line? All things in moderation, including taking calls with your boss while lounging on the couch in your underwear. 

Here's The Joke Of A Sustainability Report That VW Put Out Last Year

Now that we know Volkswagen purposefully rigged 11 million vehicles to circumvent environmental rules, releasing an enormous amount of pollutants into the atmosphere, the company’s Sustainability Report from 2014 comes off as a horrible joke.

"It's a jaw-dropper. So unbelievable," Linda Greer, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council told The Huffington Post.

In the report, which was reviewed by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, the automaker details its commitment to the customer, its employees and, of course, to the environment. “Environment” is mentioned 335 times over 156-pages -- an average of twice per page. 

“The Volkswagen Group has a long tradition of resolute commitment to environmental protection.” -- page 86.

“We intend to put our creative powers to good use for the benefit of people and the environment." -- page 14.

As we now know, Volkswagen put its creative powers to use in a far less noble way, devising software to purposefully cheat on emissions tests and secretly installing it its diesel vehicles. On Wednesday, chief executive Martin Winterkorn was forced to quit his job at the world’s largest automaker in the wake of the growing scandal and in anticipation of billions in fines, lawsuits and increasing customer rage. More firings are on deck.

VW’s report follows a long tradition of companies using self-reported data -- sometimes certified by well-paid consulting firms -- to make broad declarations of ethical commitment, used to reassure the public that companies aren't just profit-seeking monsters. These are called “corporate social responsibility” reports, "CSR" is the biz lingo. This is a huge movement; most corporations produce these things. Here’s Coca-Cola’s. And Ikea’s. And Exxon-Mobil’s.

And, of course, not all of these efforts are mere publicity ploys. Some companies take this stuff very seriously, even tying environmental goals to executive pay -- an extremely sigficant matter. But in the wake of the VW scandal, it’s going to be harder for anyone to believe a word in these reports.

“[Volkswagen] will probably severely tarnish this entire movement,” writes Greer in a blog post. She’s written before about the key danger of CSR programs: that they end up as merely shiny promotional efforts that allow businesses to sidestep true responsibility for their endeavors.

"There are some companies doing good things," Greer told HuffPost. "Oftentimes they're just doing it and not necessarily putting it in a report."

Yet many efforts are sideshows. Companies give money to philanthropies, for example, but fail to examine the core parts of their businesses that need attention.

Volkswagen will probably severely tarnish this entire movement. Linda Greer, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Greer is working with Target now on cleaning up environmental issues in the retailer's supply chain. She also commends Apple for dealing with pollution issues overseas. "They have a CSR report, but I think they are walking the walk more than just talking the talk," she said of Apple.

VW’s absurd document follows a long tradition. BP is also notorious for the false promise of its environmental slogans. The oil company won plaudits for acknowledging the reality of global warming and for the slogan “Beyond Petroleum” back in 2000. Then, in 2010, BP caused one of the worst oil spills in history. 

By contrast, Exxon Mobil after the Exxon Valdez disaster became “religious about safety standards,” writes Chrystia Freeland for the Washington Post in 2010. Getting the oil out of the ground and moving it around the world without killing anyone or destroying the ocean is a core social responsibility.

So is adhering to environmental regulations, which VW brazenly decided to forgo.

Companies need to start with those simple goals before moving on to marketing materials.

Volkswagen May Never Recover From This Mess

It took Volkswagen years to build its reputation in the United States as a hip, countercultural brand -- so cool that an ad for the company is used in an episode of "Mad Men" to signal the fast-changing advertising landscape.

That carefully cultivated brand quickly lost its magic after the Environmental Protection Agency charged the automaker with purposefully designing software for Volkswagen diesel vehicles that skirted environmental regulations.  

On Wednesday, chief executive Martin Winterkorn announced he would step down from the company in the wake of the scandal. "As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines," he said in a statement. "Volkswagen needs a fresh start -- also in terms of personnel. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation."

Volkswagen’s brand perception plummeted into negative territory this week -- meaning more people are hearing bad things about the automaker than good things -- for the first time in six years, according to new data from YouGov's BrandIndex, which tracks consumers views on various companies. 

Though automakers have a long history of trying to skirt environmental regulations -- indeed, VW was fined in 1973 for installing cheat devices, notes The New York Times -- the large scale of the issue this time and the brazen failure of the company to live up to its environmentally savvy reputation could be devastating.

"If VW gets its reputation back, it will be clawing up the side of a very high mountain," said Thomas Donaldson, a professor of business ethics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, referring to the scandal as a "corporate Watergate." When a company openly admits to the buying public -- a group it is trying to build trust with -- that it’s been cheating, that’s difficult to come back from.

The costs to the company may far exceed the approximately $7 billion its set aside to pay for its mistake. So far, its stock price has plummeted. But the big issue is future sales. VW just this year surpassed Toyota as the world’s largest automaker by sales -- but this scandal is clearly going to cost them customers.

"I’ll never entertain another Volkswagen again," said Tom Farmer, who lives in the Seattle area and leases a diesel Jetta partly because of its environmental credentials. He’s counting down the months until his lease runs out, he told The Huffington Post, echoing a chorus of betrayed VW owners.

Kevin Foster loved his 2013 Beetle, his first diesel, so much that he named it Beatrice. "I believe in global warming and I thought I was doing my part to help succeeding generations," Foster, an engineer who lives in northern Tennessee, told HuffPost. "And it has all been a lie."

It’s not clear if the automaker will ever recover its good name. A longtime company insider and the highest-paid CEO in Germany, the 68-year-old Winterkorn is known to be extremely attentive to details; his organization was run in a very top-down, centralized manner.

"I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part," Winterkorn said during his statement on Wednesday. 

We don’t know if that's true or if he knew about the cheat devices -- but in the end, it did not matter.

"You may not have known about the iceberg, but you still need to be looking for it," Donaldson said.

VW CEO has stepped down to spend more time with his attorneys.

— Dugald Wilson (@DugaldWilson) September 23, 2015

Winterkorn dutifully delivered his apology the day before he stepped down. "I’m very sorry, I’m utterly sorry," he said in a video statement, a stunning acknowledgement that the automaker had knowingly cheated its customers.  

"Manipulation at VW must never happen again," Winterkorn said on Tuesday. "I am endlessly sorry that we betrayed the trust. I apologize profusely to our clients, to the authorities and the entire public for the wrongdoing."

Volkswagen said on Tuesday that as many as 11 million vehicles were installed with the cheat software. The program was engineered to sense when emissions were being tested. When there was no testing going on, emissions of nitrogen oxide were 40 times the legal limit. The chemical leads to smog, which is connected with asthma and other respiratory illnesses, as HuffPost's Jo Confino reported Monday.

For much of 2014, VW officials told regulators that the emissions issues with the diesel cars were just a glitch, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A New York Times graphic explains how it worked:

How Volkswagen got away with diesel deception http://t.co/WyWLcS8hs5 pic.twitter.com/usWVRiSuer

— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 22, 2015

The device appears to be relatively simple, but the fallout is going to be exceedingly complex. The New York State attorney general, along with his peers in other states, are investigating; the Federal Trade Commission, too, may begin an inquiry. Customers are looking for payback.  

The German government has also launched an investigation into VW, and YouGov found that the company's perception has suffered even more in its home country. 

A task force led by an external investigator is also prepared to look into the case, VW announced Wednesday.  

Still, automakers have proven to be a resilient group. It took Toyota a little more than a year to recover its brand perception after it faced a huge cover-up scandal over cars that suddenly accelerated, killing passengers, said a representative from YouGov. 

In the end, the VW situation may actually be worse than Toyota's, which didn't intentionally design vehicles to fail, Donaldson said.

But buyers have been through this before, and some won't be put off by this scandal -- sticking by a company with a reputation for making safe, quality cars. 

@EmilyRPeck @HuffingtonPost @HuffPostBiz all car makers haven't been honest, VW still a better car than most

— Ruben Marrero (@RGalaga) September 23, 2015

"When a company says to the people it is trying to build trust with that it's been cheating," that's particularly egregious, Donaldson said. "What takes years to cultivate can be destroyed in the blink of an eye."

Turing Will Roll Back Massive Drug Price Hike After Backlash

Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli said Tuesday he would roll back the massive price increase for lifesaving drug Daraprim after a fierce public backlash that included presidential candidates.

Shkreli, who is part of a criminal investigation involving another company he founded, told NBC News he'll lower the price of the toxoplasmosis-treating drug, which he jacked up overnight from $13.50 per pill to $750 after buying exclusive marketing rights in August. He didn't say how much he'd cut the cost, though he admitted that he made the decision after the drubbing he got from the public.

"Yes it is absolutely a reaction -- there were mistakes made with respect to helping people understand why we took this action, I think that it makes sense to lower the price in response to the anger that was felt by people," Shkreli, a 32-year-old hedge fund manager, told the network.

He said the decision on the new price will be made over the next few weeks.

Shkreli's price hike quickly gained national infamy after a New York Times report. Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, condemned the increase. Clinton called it "price gouging." 

Clinton unveiled a plan Tuesday to cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for specialty drugs like Daraprim. 

Earlier in the day, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industry's main lobbying group, sought to distance itself from Turing's move, posting on Twitter that the drugmaker "does not represent the values of PhRMA member companies."

The group noted that Turing is not one of its members, which include global drug giants Merck, Pfizer and Novartis.

Shkreli had defended the hike as "altruistic," claiming that the company could use the profit to research a new drug for the condition, according to The Washington Post. He said the earlier price of $13.50 just wasn't profitable.

"It's very easy to see a large drug price increase and say, 'Gosh those people must be gouging,' but when you find out the company is not making any money, what does that mean?" Shkreli told NBC News Tuesday. "It's very hard stuff to understand."

The drug is mostly used in the treatment of toxoplasmosis, an infectious parasite considered a "leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the United States," according to the Centers for Disease Control. The condition is especially bad for pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems due to illnesses such as HIV-AIDS or cancer.

A federal prosecutor this year subpoenaed biotechnology company Retrophin Inc., looking for information on its dealings with Shkreli, who founded the company in 2011 and ran it until he was fired last year. The criminal probe also sought information related to Shkreli's hedge fund, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reuters contributed to this report.

9 Companies That Are Changing Their Habits To Save Our Planet

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Ahead of the global climate negotiations in Paris this December, some of the world's largest corporations are finally coming together to take a stand on the importance of combatting climate change.

As of Sept. 18, this so-called We Mean Business coalition of organizations working with nearly 200 businesses and over 100 investors committed to promoting sustainable operating practices and facilitating the transition to a low-carbon global economy. The sentiment here is that climate change is not simply an environmental issue; it's also an important economic opportunity for those willing to step up to the challenge.

Members of the group come from a spectrum of professional fields and industries -- technology, food, automotive, fashion and more -- and operate in countries all over the world. The Huffington Post asked 9 of these companies what sustainability means to them and how they're positioning themselves to become leaders in tomorrow's low-carbon economy.

Here's what they told us: 

• 1
  Hewlett-Packard Company In 2014, the company reduced its carbon footprint by 10 percent compared to 2013 levels, with considerable emission reduction related to its supply chain and product use. 
  
  Investment in renewable energy sources is also key to HP's environmental strategy. The company has increased installed capacity for on-site renewable energy at its facilities by 150 percent.
  
  In 2015, it signed a 12-year purchase agreement for 112 megawatts of wind power with renewable energy company SunEdison. This contract will allow HP to reach its 2020 operational greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals by the end of the 2015 fiscal year, five years ahead of schedule.
  
  "Climate change is one of the most critical environmental, economic and societal challenges facing the world today," said Gabi Zedlmayer, vice president and chief progress officer. "At HP, we are working to reduce our carbon footprint across our entire value chain, fundamentally rethinking the way we do business to help drive a low-carbon economy."
  
  (More about HP's efforts here.)
• 2
  H&M H&M is the world's No. 1 user of organic cotton. 
  
  In 2015, it committed to procuring 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources whenever possible. 
  
  Electricity to power H&M stores represents more than 80 percent of the company's total energy use. But by 2020, the company plans to cut how much electricity it uses per square meter by 20 percent, compared to where it was in 2007.
  
  “We believe that we all have a responsibility to meet climate challenges," the company said in a statement. "So we want to be as climate smart as possible -- for example, by only using renewable energy in our stores, offices and warehouses wherever this is credibly available and feasible.”
  
  (More about H&M's efforts here.)
• 3
  L'Oréal In 2015, L’Oréal USA announced it cut its CO2 emissions by 57 percent from a 2005 baseline, saving nearly 60,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The ultimate goal is to reduce its environmental footprint 60 percent by 2020. 
  
  Aside from cutting CO2 emissions, the company is investing in numerous renewable energy projects, including solar panel use at facilities in Mexico, India, Germany and the U.S. 
  
  L’Oréal pledges that 100 percent of products will have an environmental or social benefit, and that 100 percent of strategic suppliers will be evaluated on their social and environmental performance.
  
  "L'Oréal USA is deeply committed to reducing our carbon footprint and improving our environmental performance through innovative sustainability solutions," said Jonathan Maher, vice president for corporate social responsibility and sustainability.
  
  (More about L'Oréal's efforts here.)
• 4
  IKEA The company has pledged that by 2020 it would generate renewable energy to match 100 percent of its energy needs. In 2014, it generated renewable energy equivalent to 42 percent of its total energy consumption.
  
  In 2015, IKEA Group and IKEA Foundation announced that they would spend $1.13 billion on renewable energy and on communities at risk.
  
  IKEA owns and operates 314 offsite wind turbines and has installed 700,000 solar panels on its buildings.
  
  "Our coworkers, operations and supply chain are already being affected by more frequent extreme weather, and unchecked climate change will affect millions of people in our direct supply chain and beyond," said Steve Howard, the company's chief officer of sustainability. "But the transition to a low-carbon economy offers huge opportunities, bringing new jobs, economic growth and energy security. For IKEA Group, taking action on climate change is a driver of innovation, investment and renewal."
  
  (More about IKEA's efforts here.)
• 5
  Xerox Corporation In 2003, Xerox was an early adopter of greenhouse gas reduction targets across its worldwide operations. The company successfully achieved more than a 39 percent reduction since then. 
  
  Xerox has also been minimizing its environmental impact through recycling efforts. In 2009, it pledged a 50 percent reduction in waste to landfills by 2015. The company reached this target three years early and, in 2013, surpassed it. 
  
  One hundred percent of Xerox's new eligible products have met current Energy Star requirements, the international benchmark for energy-efficient consumer products.
  
  "Our commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of our workplaces and those of our customers is grounded in our core values established over 50 years ago," said Diane O’Connor, vice president for environment, health, safety and sustainability.
  
  "We market our services and products using the tag lines of 'printing can work better,' 'transportation can work better' and 'healthcare can work better.' Better is from the perspective of cost, productivity and environmental benefits and it applies across all the sectors we service," she added.
  
  (More about Xerox's efforts here.)
• 6
  Kellogg Company For its 2020 goals, the firm has pledged to increase the number of plants using low-carbon energy by 50 percent and to implement water reuse projects in 25 percent of its sites. It is also committed to achieving zero net deforestation in high-risk supply chains such as soy, palm oil, timber and fiber.
  
  In 2014, the company achieved a 25 percent reduction of waste to landfills since its baseline year of 2009. 
  
  "The body of science behind climate change has grown clearer and more focused," Diane Holdorf, chief sustainability officer, said in a statement. "Failure to address climate change will make it difficult for our children's generation to have a higher quality of life. For companies like Kellogg, we understand the risks for our security of supply as well as food security to feed the world's population."
  
  "However," she went on to say, "we recognize that we cannot do it alone. We Mean Business brings together like-minded companies and organizations to bring about an economy that is less harmful to the environment."
  
  (More about Kellogg's efforts here.)
• 7
  Nissan Electric vehicles are at the heart of Nissan's environmental efforts. The company has sold more than 185,000 Nissan Leaf electric cars around the world -- 83,000 in the U.S. alone. 
  
  Nissan was named the No. 1 full-line manufacturer in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual “Trends” report. Its fleet-wide fuel economy rating of 26.2 combined mpg exceeds the industry average of 23.3.
  
  Two full-time workers in each of Nissan’s factories are dedicated to identifying and repairing air leaks in manufacturing equipment. In the team’s first year, they located and repaired more than 3,500 energy-wasting leaks.
  
  "Nissan's commitment to sustainability incorporates a variety of activities, from delivering the world's first electric vehicle (EV) designed for the mass market to becoming the most fuel-efficient full-line manufacturer in the Environmental Protection Agency's annual fuel economy review and reducing energy consumption within our manufacturing operations," said Paige Presley, EV and technology communications.
  
  (More about Nissan's efforts here.)
• 8
  Unilever Across its manufacturing network, Unilever has reduced its energy consumption by 20 percent, saving 1 million metric tons of CO2 since 2008. Its low-carbon practices have also saved it $278 million.
  
  The company has achieved its target of sending zero non-hazardous manufacturing waste to landfills.
  
  Unilever is a member of the RE100, a group of companies moving toward 100 percent renewable energy.
  
  “The effects of climate change threaten us all, impacting both consumers and the supply chain and often hitting the poorest communities the hardest. Businesses and governments need to take urgent action, as these climate-induced extreme weather events will only become more frequent in the future," the company told HuffPost, adding, "If we don’t all tackle climate change in a constructive way, global growth will be stifled."
  
  (More about Unilever's efforts here.)
• 9
  Mars Between 2007 and 2014, Mars reduced its fossil fuel-based energy use by 9 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent.
  
  It has partnered with global trading company Sumitomo Corporation of Americas and the developer BNB Renewable Energy Holdings to build the Mesquite Creek Wind Farm in Lamesa, Texas. The farm is now producing the equivalent of 100 percent of the company's U.S. power needs, or 12 percent of its global energy requirements. 
  
  By the end of 2015, the renewable energy Mars uses will be almost 300 times what it was in 2007.
  
  "Society is faced with immense challenges, including climate change, water scarcity and deforestation," said Barry Parkin, chief sustainability and health and wellbeing officer. "We can recognize our ability to help make a difference in tackling them and the positive difference big business can have. As a family business, we have the freedom to take a long-term view and to invest in innovative and sustainable practices that will allow us to achieve this, while continuing to grow as a successful business."
  
  (More about Mars's efforts here.)

U.S. Economy Adds 173,000 Jobs; Unemployment Falls To 5.1 Percent

* Nonfarm payrolls increase 173,000 in August

* Seasonal quirk likely behind below-forecast number

* Jobless rate falls to 5.1 percent from 5.3 percent

* Average hourly earnings increase eight cents

By Lucia Mutikani

WASHINGTON, Sept 4 (Reuters) - U.S. job growth rose less than expected in August, which could dim prospects of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this month, even as the unemployment rate dropped to a near 7-1/2- year low of 5.1 percent and wages accelerated.

Nonfarm payrolls increased 173,000 last month as the manufacturing sector lost the most jobs since July 2013, after an upwardly revised 245,000 rise in July, the Labor Department said on Friday. It was the smallest gain in employment in five months.

The report, however, may have been tarnished by a statistical fluke that in recent years has frequently led to sharp upward revisions to payroll figures for August after initial weak readings.

A Reuters survey of economists had forecast nonfarm payrolls increasing by 220,000 last month, but economists warned that the model the government uses to smooth the data for seasonal fluctuations might not adequately account for the start of a new school year.

They said the data could be further muddied because of a typically low response rate from employers to the government's August payrolls survey. A Labor Department official confirmed that the first payrolls estimate in August typically was revised higher.

Indicating that the slowdown in job growth was likely not reflective of the economy's true health, payrolls data for June and July were revised to show 44,000 more jobs created than previously reported. In addition, average hourly earnings increased 8 cents and the workweek rose to 34.6 hours.

While the report may not change views that the U.S. economy remains vibrant amid volatile global financial markets and slowing Chinese growth, it could make Fed officials hesitant to push borrowing costs higher at a policy meeting on Sept. 16-17.

In the wake of a recent global equities sell-off, financial markets significantly scaled back bets on a September rate hike over the past month. But Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer told CNBC last week it was too early to decide whether the stock market rout had made an increase less compelling.

Still, the labor market is improving and adds to a string of upbeat data, including figures on automobile sales and housing, that has suggested the economy was moving ahead with strong momentum early in the third quarter after growing at a robust 3.7 percent annual rate in the April-through-June period.

The jobless rate's two-tenths of a percentage point drop took it to its lowest level since April 2008 and brought it into the range that most Fed officials think is consistent with a low but steady rate of inflation.

A broad measure of joblessness that includes people who want to work but have given up searching and those working part-time because they cannot find full-time employment fell to 10.3 percent, the lowest since June 2008, from 10.4 percent in July.

Jobs gains were spread across nearly all sectors of the economy in August. The energy and manufacturing sector, which are grappling with last year's sharp drop in crude oil prices and a strong dollar, were the exception.

Construction payrolls rose 3,000 last month on top of the 7,000 jobs added in July. Mining and logging employment fell by 10,000 jobs last month. Manufacturing payrolls fell 17,000, despite robust demand for autos.

The increase in hourly earnings left them 2.2 percent above their year-ago level, still well below the 3.5 percent growth rate economists consider healthy. Some analysts think earnings are being held back by falling wages in oil field services.

But a tightening labor market and decisions by several state and local governments to raise the minimum wage should eventually translate into faster earnings growth and give the Fed confidence that inflation, which collapsed with oil prices, will move closer to its 2 percent target.

A number of retailers, including Walmart, Target and TJX Cos, have increased pay for hourly workers. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)