ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Growing consumer demand for apparel and consumer products made in socially and environmentally responsible ways continues to drive companies away from a business-as-usual model. But corporate behavior isn’t the only thing being influenced by shifting consumer attitudes — the concept of the ideal partner is also being shaped by sustainability.
PRESS RELEASE -
BillerudKorsnäs’ mission, to challenge conventional packaging for a sustainable future, is based on the fact that innovative and sustainable packaging solutions have an important role to play in delivering solutions to some of the global challenges that we all face today. Through the communication concept “What If?”, classic product positioning is replaced with open questions that invite reflection and dialogue.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Heineken has unveiled a new sustainability strategy that will see the brewer increase renewable energy production, set science-based targets across distribution, cooling and packaging, and pilot an internal carbon pricing scheme.
WASTE NOT -
The closed-loop conversation is often one that focuses on e-waste, fashion and single-use plastics, but LEGO Group and Antwerp-based design furniture brand ecoBirdy are aiming to change that by bringing the concept of circularity and sustainability to the toy front.
Supported by the EU’s program for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME), ecoBirdy has launched its first collection of design furniture for kids made entirely from recycled plastic toys. The launch follows two years of research exploring how to sustainably recycle plastic toys.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
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 16th article in the series.
WASTE NOT -
Resource scarcity and the rise of the circular economy are inspiring businesses, industry associations and governments to develop new ways to recover precious and critical raw materials (CRMs) from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The Urban Mine Platform, a database of valuable materials for “urban mining,” is the public and private sectors’ latest attempt to take on the challenge.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A new mapping tool created by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and China’s Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE) is ushering in a new era for transparency in China. The IPE Green Supply Chain Map — the only of its kind in the world — openly links multinational corporations to their suppliers’ environmental performance.
WASTE NOT -
For decades, China has been an open door for foreign waste, importing recycled material from around the world to help feed its manufacturing boom. In 2016, the country imported 7.3 million metric tonnes of waste plastics from developed countries. However, this is all about to change. Last year, the country notified the World Trade Organization of its intention to ban the import of 24 types of solid waste material by the end of 2017 — including unsorted paper and plastics.
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.
WASTE NOT -
In today’s digitally dependent world, e-waste management is a critical issue that requires urgent attention from both the public and private sector.
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.
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 -
The cocoa industry is undoubtedly changing for the better, but the road to a sustainable sector is a long one. According to industry experts, long-term, sustainable change can’t be made without paying farmers a premium.
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 -
BillerudKorsnäs is since 2011 a participant in WWF’s Environmental Paper Company Index (EPCI) and has during this period demonstrated transparency and continuous improvement. This year, in the product category Packaging, 73.9 percent (70,6)* was achieved, an improvement of 3.3 percentage points. In the subcategories Responsible Fibre Sourcing and Clean Manufacturing, 74 percent (69) respectively 70 percent (65) were achieved, corresponding to an improvement of five percentage points each. As in the 2015 index, BillerudKorsnäs scores high in terms of transparency with 78 percent (78) in the subcategory Reporting & EMS.
PRESS RELEASE -
“Drive Sustainability”, a partnership between ten leading automotive companies (BMW Group, Daimler AG, Ford, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Scania CV AB, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars and Volvo Group), will set up a Raw Materials Observatory to identify and address ethical, environmental and labour rights issues in the sourcing of raw materials.
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.