COLLABORATION -
A year after announcing its strategy to ensure 100 percent of its branded tuna is sustainably sourced, Thai Union, the company behind brands such as Chicken of the Sea, Bumble Bee, John West and Petit Navire, has embarked on a new partnership with Nestlé to help rebuild its damaged reputation.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Circularity is slowing making its way into the fashion industry, aiming to transform one of the most polluting sectors into a shining example of sustainability, but it still has a long way to go before it can truly shed its bad reputation. Technology has been an important driver of change, allowing brands to improve efficiencies and reduce impacts, but the sharing of resources and best practices is proving to be just as critical in nudging the industry forward towards a circular future.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Between a growing global population — which is estimated to reach 9.5 billion by 2050 — rapid urbanization and climate change, shifting agricultural to a more sustainable model is essential for safeguarding the future of our food system. Startups in the United States and Singapore are ready to rise to the challenge, championing food sustainability through new technologies and infrastructure solutions designed with urban environments in mind.
WASTE NOT -
Single-serve beverage waste is on the fast-track to obsolescence as startups, multinationals and local governments unveil strategies to keep cups, straws and plastic bottles out of landfill.
BUSINESS CASE -
Grim climate change reality: The seas are rising. Terrifying hurricanes regularly raze vast, inhabited areas.
WALKING THE TALK -
Sustainability matters, but why does it matter to your business?
The vinyl industry began our sustainability journey with the recognition that meeting the needs of a fast-growing population will demand much more of the earth’s natural resources, and we wanted to be prepared to address this challenge. As a result, doing more with less is essential to the way we manufacture and market our products.
COLLABORATION -
IBM has announced that it is teaming up with Walmart, JD.com and Tsinghua University National Engineering Laboratory for E-Commerce Technologies to launch a Blockchain Food Safety Alliance to enhance food tracking, traceability and safety in China.
PRESS RELEASE -
BASF’s customer Schaumaplast GmbH & Co.KG, an internationally active manufacturer of molded parts made from particle foams, is now offering packaging made from biomass-balanced Styropor®. The Styropor MB used is the first EPS (expandable polystyrene) on the market to be produced using BASF’s biomass balance approach. Following special balancing, the TÜV SÜD-certified method can be used to replace the fossil resources needed to manufacture Styropor entirely with renewable resources right at the start of the production process. Each biomass balance product thus helps to conserve fossil resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The formulation and quality of Styropor MB is unchanged compared to its fossil counterpart.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Craft beer has taken off over the past five years, with the industry now boasting over 6,000 craft breweries in the US alone, 700 of which opened in the past year. In order to continue this momentum, Anheuser-Busch (A-B) has launched Elevate, a new initiative that aims to take craft brewing to the next level by creating a stronger, safer, more sustainable category and raising awareness of its craft beer and cider brands.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Just one month after the launch of its new natural personal care product line ApotheCARE Essentials, Unilever has rolled out yet another responsible beauty brand: Love Beauty and Planet. And it’s kind of a big deal — unlike ApotheCARE Essentials, which has a limited distribution, LBP is being launched on a large scale.
PRESS RELEASE -
The companies will invest in the construction of a demonstration plant in Denmark.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
An estimated 150 million metric tons of plastic waste are in the ocean today and every year around eight million metric tons more are being added. Earlier this year, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation warned that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans if a more effective system for global plastics is not put into place.
WASTE NOT -
One year after the launch of the Courtauld Commitment 2025, WRAP has published its first Review of work underway in the food and beverage sector as a result of the voluntary agreement.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Approximately 21 million Americans own woodlands in the United States. Collectively, these family-owned forests account for nearly 290 million acres, or more than one-third of U.S. forests — more than the federal government or the forest industry.
What’s more important for supply chain and sustainability managers, is that 50 percent of the wood flowing into your supply chains originates from these family-owned forests.
PRESS RELEASE -
BASF inaugurated a new Rice Knowledge Center at its Agricultural Research Station in Bay, Laguna, Philippines. The new facility centralizes BASF’s global expertise in rice cultivation, and supports the delivery of enhanced agronomic and technical support to farmers seeking to increase productivity more sustainably.
“Rice is the staple food of more than half the world’s population, and farmers have an extraordinary challenge to meet growing demand for rice, while minimizing the impact to the environment,” said Gustavo Palerosi Carneiro, Senior Vice President, Crop Protection, Asia Pacific, BASF. “The new BASF Rice Knowledge Center will enable us to share the latest technologies and best practices with growers, so that we can drive further innovation in rice production.”
PRESS RELEASE -
It’s a scene that plays out thousands of times a day at Amway’s Paper Products plant on the company’s world headquarters campus.
Simple in its function, there’s almost an artistic quality to it. Flipping arcs of paper drop onto a conveyor belt as the rhythmic sound of a die-cutter creates more for the taking. The trim scrap from Glister packaging is headed to its next destination – a recycling plant.
Such is the short lifecycle for the leftovers created by machines that precisely cut out containers for Amway products inside the Ada, Michigan facility.
All of this effort is part of a clear initiative at Amway, Rick Van Dellen, global sustainability program manager, said.
Amway strives for excellence – even in recycling its waste.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Electric vehicles and alternative fuels are key components of the auto industry’s vision for the future, but technology isn’t the only thing driving sustainable mobility.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Thermoplastics resin producer Braskem has been keeping busy, entering into a series of new partnerships to make bio-based packaging the mainstream choice for the personal care and consumer goods industries.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
News Deeply, in partnership with Sustainable Brands, has produced a series of profiles looking at how brands are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges. The goal is to examine trends and gather insights from a new wave of corporate citizenship — in an era when the private sector is increasingly expected to play a positive role in improving our lives and societies. This is the 15th article in the series.