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.
WALKING THE TALK -
Pinpoint specific local issues. Promote sustainable local development. Pave the way for caring and productive corporate growth. That’s how Japan’s Otsuka group of companies seeks to shape its role as an essential company for society.
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.
CLEANTECH -
Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have developed a technology that could finally make it economically feasible for coal plants to curb their carbon emissions.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
While carbon emissions and water and energy efficiency are top-of-mind concerns for companies keen on reducing the environmental impacts of their products, a sustainable future can’t be achieved without considering chemistry — the foundation upon which countless products are built. We’ve already begun to see progress on this front, with an increasing number of companies embracing better chemicals management practices.
COLLABORATION -
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has released early registration of the Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM), a self-assessment tool that globally standardizes sustainability measurement for apparel, footwear and textile manufacturing facilities. Optimized for use at an industrial scale, Higg FEM enables factories of any size to assess sustainability performance and easily share results with supply chain partners.
CLEANTECH -
Researchers at MIT have developed a new membrane system that could be used to convert power plant CO2 emissions into fuel for cars, trucks and planes, as well as into chemical feedstocks for a variety of products. Funded by Shell Oil and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the breakthrough is the work of MIT postdoc Xiao-Yu Wu and Ahmed Ghoniem, the Ronald C.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Sweden is a leader in waste-to-energy generation and earlier this year, the country began powering its incineration plants with trash purchased from neighboring countries. With less than one percent of Swedish household waste sent to landfill since 2011, the country needed to look outside its borders to keep its incineration plants going. Now, news has emerged that some of this waste is discarded clothing from fast fashion giant H&M.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Chemicals management continues to go mainstream, with sporting goods manufacturer ASICS Corporation and chemical company Stahl joining the growing body of brands, manufacturers and chemical suppliers to achieve bluesign® system partner status.
PRESS RELEASE -
Braskem, the Americas’ leading producer of thermoplastic resins, and Danish-based Haldor Topsoe, a world leader in catalysts and surface science, have signed a technological cooperation agreement to develop a pioneering route to produce monoethylene glycol (MEG) from sugar. The agreement calls for the construction of a demonstration plant in Denmark, with operation slated to begin in 2019.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
CDP, RobecoSAM, EcoVadis — they are all organizations that assess the sustainability performance of companies worldwide. They all have their own agenda and targets, and of course, their own methodology to assess a portfolio of companies.
PRESS RELEASE -
To many consumers, the ubiquitous plastic beverage bottle is an environmental zero. It's made of nonrenewable fossil resources, holds a low-value product, is used only once, and often ends up in a landfill or, worse, as litter fouling our land and oceans. But plastic packaging remains a fact of life. Chemical and material companies, and their big-brand customers, hope to turn this zero into a hero by making plastic resins from renewable ingredients rather than petroleum.
LEADERSHIP -
Trust. It can sound a lot like a buzzword or business jargon, a word or phrase thrown around by leaders when trying to identify, define or solve a problem. Sometimes it’s not even a consideration until it’s lost.
According to the 2017 Edelman Trust Barometer, only about half of the general population trusts business, government, media and nongovernmental organizations to do the right thing. Trust in business fell to 52 percent, and CEO credibility also fell globally.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Sustainable chemical management is a critical component of a healthy and circular future. In its second annual report, the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) revealed encouraging advances across industries towards the use of safer materials and greater transparency.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
DowDuPont Materials Science (Dow) and WE, a global development charity and youth empowerment movement, have rolled out the We Are Innovators campaign to challenge educators and students to harness chemistry and science to create solutions for pressing global issues.
PRESS RELEASE -
More than one million people are killed by water, sanitation and hygiene-related disease each year.1 One of the most effective and affordable ways to prevent the transmission of disease is through handwashing with soap. This is why Dow Home & Personal Care – a business unit of DowDuPont Materials Science Division – has made it a priority to promote healthy handwashing with its innovations and support of Global Handwashing Day, Oct. 15.
PRESS RELEASE -
It’s been nearly a year since Target announced its commitments around responsible sourcing and sustainable products, and since then, we’ve shared a closer look at our goals and progress in several areas, including forest products, chemicals, packaging, and eliminating forced labor.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Despite making progress on climate risks, the chemical industry is failing to meet the goals outlined by the Paris Agreement, says a new report by CDP.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
This week, Walmart updated its sustainable chemistry policy, to eliminate toxic chemicals in thousands of consumable products, such as household cleaners, cosmetics and skincare items, and infant products. This policy includes new goals for the company to restrict over 2,700 harmful chemicals in household products by 2022, increase transparency of ingredients globally, and encourage suppliers to certify their products to credible third-party standards such as EPA Safer Choice. The updated policy applies to 90,000 products from 700 suppliers.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
While eliminating impacts at the design stage is a crucial strategy for putting a stop to plastic pollution, it’s just one small piece of the puzzle. According to new initiatives and research from The Dow Chemical Company and the Closed Loop Foundation, investing in intelligent end-of-life solutions for previously non-recyclable packaging is just as important.