PRESS RELEASE -
The 100% recyclable biopolymer will be used in the packaging of the new line of loaves with germinated grains that follow the Clean Label movement
Braskem, the largest producer of biopolymers in the world, is now supplying the Green Plastic I'm greenTM to Nutrella, a brand of special loaves from the Bimbo Group - a world leader in bread making. The raw material is used in the Nutrella Viva loaves line, produced with germinated grain flours and following the Clean Label concept.
PRESS RELEASE -
Sustainable Brands kicks off its largest community gathering today with Sustainable Brands '18 Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia. Over 2,000 business executives along with their teams from 33+ countries are attending the conference and Activation Hub.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
TD Bank Group recently launched its corporate citizenship strategy to center on a new multi-year program, The Ready Commitment. Guided by the bank’s purpose, focus on creating shared value and desire to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), TD is targeting CDN $1 billion (US $775 million) toward community giving by 2030 in The Ready Commitment’s four focus areas:
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The buyer-supplier relationship is changing in more ways than you might imagine. Consumers and retailers are increasingly demanding that suppliers demonstrate their sustainability: How are buyers and suppliers collectively adapting to changes in the market, as well as labor and environmental pressures?
My conversation with Kelley Bell, VP of social and environmental impact at Driscoll’s, provided insight into how large food brands are approaching these challenges and what the conversation is like among leading businesses as they work to create shared value with and for their suppliers.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Questions — and asking the right ones — are at the heart of Patricia Wang’s role as design researcher in WorkSpace Futures for Steelcase Inc. These days, the biggest question Wang faces is just as complicated and ambiguous as it is important: How can Steelcase encourage employees to get to a future state that is better both for them and for the planet?
WALKING THE TALK -
In recent conversation with Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer at P&G, we spent our time talking about shifting out from old paradigms and models, to create new frameworks for building brands and advancing sustainability. Here are Pritchard’s top five paradigms to shift:
PRESS RELEASE -
For the most part, company sustainability reports never get read. The fact is, companies keep packaging their diligent, necessary and informative sustainability reporting in dense corporate documents that nobody cares to read.
We’re proud of our progress and didn’t want our accomplishments to go unnoticed. That’s why HEINEKEN USA set out to create a new way for consumers to engage with and understand our 2016 Annual Report – a blend of our annual performance and sustainability reports. The objective was to communicate our sustainability performance in an extraordinary way – the HEINEKEN way - authentic, clear, enjoyable and noteworthy. Thus, “You’re not gonna read this…” was born.
CLEANTECH -
Mars Australia has signed 20 year power-purchase agreements (PPA) with Total Eren to generate the equivalent of 100 percent of Mars’ electricity from renewable energy by 2020. In addition to its latest agreement in Australia, Mars is already using or purchasing renewable electricity to cover 100 percent of its operations in Belgium, Brazil, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the United States.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Purpose-driven brands can build stronger emotional connections with consumers that go far beyond a transactional relationship, according to the newly released 2018 Cone/Porter Novelli Purpose Study. Nearly eight in ten (79 percent) say they are more loyal to purpose-driven companies and would tell others to buy products from those companies (78 percent), while two-thirds (66 percent) say they would switch brands and over half (57 percent) would pay more.
WASTE NOT -
Like many large companies, Hilton has been steadily improving its sustainability performance one step at a time.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Just days after sharing that it is partnering with a Chicago-based incubator to help scale food and beverage startups, PepsiCo has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bare Foods Co, as Bare Snacks, the U.S.-based fruit and vegetable snack company has grown from farmers’ markets in Washington to a nationall
PRESS RELEASE -
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) has completed the construction of a cogeneration Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plant at its Columbia, S.C. fiber production facility. The CHP, which began operating in May 2018, will reduce the plant’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 26,000 metric tonnes; that’s an impact equal to removing almost 5,500 passenger vehicles from the road each year.
This is the latest in ongoing investments Shaw is making to minimize its environmental footprint. The company recently announced it has achieved carbon neutrality in its commercial carpet manufacturing operations. Companywide, Shaw has made significant investments to help reduce its energy and greenhouse gas impact.
COLLABORATION -
PepsiCo North America Nutrition (NAN) and food and beverage incubator The Hatchery Chicago have announced a partnership aimed at helping food industry entrepreneurs grow and scale their businesses.
WALKING THE TALK -
Published during the first industrial revolution, Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations used the metaphor of “the invisible hand of the market” to describe how the decisions of self-interested individuals in a free market economy could promote the general betterment of the society as a whole. To this day, free market proponents use Smith’s metaphor to argue for elimination of regulations for a more efficient economy. But the “invisible hand” only makes societally beneficial decisions to the extent that it has good information.
WALKING THE TALK -
It’s hard to believe that a fast-food burger chain would actively set a target to reduce red meat consumption by its customers. After all, that generous meat patty smacked in the middle of two fresh buns is the reason why such restaurants exist, right? But Sweden’s beloved Max Burgers is doing just that, and sales across its 120 stores have never been better.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
WAP Sustainability Consulting works with manufacturers and brands to help them meet customers’ expectations on sustainability – specifically around life cycle assessment (LCA), carbon management and product ingredient transparency, particularly in regards to chemicals management.
We spoke with founder William Paddock to learn more about these current hot spots in the ongoing quest for supply chain transparency.
What are some of the key issues or buzzwords of concern for companies right now?
William Paddock: I tend to see organizations struggling with three things:
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
In the sustainability world, the conversation around beef mostly involves reducing the environmental impacts of its production (deforestation, methane emissions, etc). But Cassidy Johnston can offer a perspective we don’t often get to hear in the Sustainable Brands conversation — a New Mexico-based cattle rancher and newly appointed Sustainability Officer for the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), Johnston is eager to share ranchers’ side of the story with the public and help dispel what she says are common misconceptions behind beef and its role in a sustainable food future.
LEADERSHIP -
European home improvement company Kingfisher has set out ambitious sustainability targets for the next seven years – the latest stage of its journey to become a net positive business by 2050.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT -
Kelley Bell, vice president of social and environmental impact at Driscoll’s, discusses how the company works closely with local farming communities and how she’d like to collaborate with other Members on the issue of a living wage.
Keep reading to understand how Driscoll’s social work supports the longevity and success of the business, which skill makes Kelley uniquely qualified for her role, and how her team finds value in attending SB conferences.