Sustainable business 2014: countdown of our top stories from 20-11

Palm oil plantations in Riau province, Indonesia. According to Greenpeace, palm oil cultivation is one of the driving forces behind deforestation. Photograph: EPA

Food was a key theme in the 20 most read sustainable business stories of 2014, with stories on coffee flour, baby formula and “zero deforestation” food production making the list. Another was technology, with articles about new battery tech and solar-powered water tech featuring in the first tranche of our top stories list.

The rest, though, made up a mixed bag. There were concerning stories about an extinct snail, and another about female exploitation; hopeful stories about the role of emotion in fighting climate change, and US businesses that support bicycling; and a reality check about when sustainability isn’t good for business.

What do you think of the first half of our top 20 stories? Tell us about your favorite GSB articles from 2014. Was there a piece that gave you a fresh perspective or that was particularly useful professionally? Share your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @GuardianSustBiz.

20. An ex-Starbucks entrepreneur wants you to eat your coffee

Coffee flour could dispose of millions of pounds of food waste and create a new food source.

By making it possible to eat coffee cherries, startup Coffee Flour aims to reduce waste and create a new food source.

19. Baby formula has no place in a sustainable future

Parents spend about $11.5bn a year on baby formula, an expensive, less healthy and less sustainable substitute to breast milk.

Baby formula isn’t the best option for babies or the world they enter. Do we need a new global treaty to phase out its use?

18. Cement company blows up limestone hill and renders snail extinct

Humble snails are no match for the might and indifference of the global cement industry.

The Malaysian snail is among hundreds of species to become extinct as a result of fishing, logging, mining, agriculture and other activities to satisfy our growing appetite for resources.

17. The feminist T-shirt scandal exposes an entire system of exploitation

The descriptions of the living and working conditions endured by migrant women working in a Mauritian sweatshop are harrowing – long hours, meagre pay and prison-like living conditions.

With allegations of low worker wages and poor conditions for the women who made the feminist T-shirt, is the scandal a lesson in the perils of “commodity feminism”?

16. Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh: only love can save us from climate change

Thich Nhat Hanh: we must look beyond our seperate selves to save Mother Earth from climate change.

A leading spiritual teacher warns that if people cannot save themselves from their own suffering, they cannot be expected to worry about the plight of Mother Earth.

15. Wilmar’s ‘no deforestation’ goal could revolutionize food production

According to Greenpeace, palm oil cultivation from plantations (like this one in Riau province, Indonesia) is one of the driving forces behind deforestation.

After years of lobbying, the world’s largest palm oil company has promised to end deforestation and exploitation – will it set a new threshold for responsible food production?

14. Lithium sulphur graphene – a battery breakthrough?

This development is one of many that show the unique ability of graphene to revolutionize some well-known device applications.

A new battery under development promises to store twice as much energy and power an electric vehicle for more than 300 miles.

13. Four reasons US business leaders want to import Danish-style cycling

Cities are driving the US economic recovery, and as they do, Americans are getting on their bikes.

At long last, cycling is being supported by American business – not out of environmentalism, but because it’s delivering profit.

12. Let’s be honest: real sustainability may not make business sense

Unfortunately, nine times out of ten, the interests of profit blatantly conflict with the interests of people and planet, at least according to any reasonable calculation, writes Charles Eisenstein.

Considerations such as “what do you really care about” and “who do you serve” – not profit – should be drivers of sustainability.

11. Is solar-powered desalination the answer to water independence for California?

The problem is in large part caused by farm irrigation, which picks up the salt that naturally occurs in the rocks and soils of the Central Valley and transfers it through drainage.

From the Isle of Man to Saudi Arabia, renewable desalination is gaining interest around the world as a solution to water scarcity and food crisis.