CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
We’ve seen a rash of textile-recycling schemes emerge of late — in which the textiles in question may become new garments, but for the most part they remain, well, fabrics.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It’s easy for the concepts of Cradle to Cradle design and a circular economy to become shorthand for recycling, but both are much more complex than that.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
On Monday, the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC) announced the completion of a multi-hospital plastics recycling project in Chicago, collaborating with the Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS). Focused on non-infectious plastic packaging and products collected from clinical areas of the hospitals, the project sought to demonstrate a viable business model for recycling healthcare plastics on a regional level.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
There’s growing evidence around the efficacy of a circular economy and the key role it will play in helping companies and nations carry out the commitments outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, maintain competitive economies, and reduce waste and consumption of natural resources. The journey to a circular economy will be a long one, and it will require cooperation between businesses, local governments, investors and individuals around the world.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Ambitions of a circular economy continue to drive decisions around Europe as more circular packaging solutions emerge as a prominent piece to the puzzle.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Circular economy fever continues to sweep through the European Union, with smaller countries north and south recognizing the advantages of setting new standards for business as usual.
According to Jyrki Katainen (NCP), VP for Jobs, Growth and Competitiveness at the European Commission, Finland’s future is looking bright. At a lunch event organized by the Association of Finnish Political Journalists on Monday, Katainen stated that the country should step up to the plate and into the current power vacuum in Europe, distinguishing itself as a leader at a time when countries such as Italy, Germany and France become more and more preoccupied with defense cooperation.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
A new report has found that adopting circular economic principles would put India on a path to positive regenerative and value-creating development with annual benefits of US $624 billion in 2050 compared with the current development — equivalent to 30% of India’s current GDP.
WASTE NOT -
As the ongoing effort to mitigate climate change leads many businesses and governments to create a circular economy, we still face a number of roadblocks – namely in the end of life of certain products that weren’t designed for reuse, recycling or safe disposal. But two initiatives announced this week could represent progress.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) - a partnership between the Mayor of London and London’s Boroughs dedicated to improving waste and resource management within the capital, with the aim of turning London into a circular city - has launched a new program called Advanced London to support SMEs in adopting and scaling up circular business models.
PRESS RELEASE -
Goodwill is partnering with leading retailers to make it easy for online shoppers to reuse, repurpose and recycle textiles and clothing this holiday season.
NEW METRICS -
Drawing on the work of Reporting 3.0 - in particular, its Reporting Blueprint and forthcoming Accounting Blueprint - this panel on the final afternoon of New Metrics ‘16 facilitated an animated discussion on true materiality, exploring the broad range of definitions of materiality, and whether they may coalesce into a more common definition or continue to be disparate for different audiences.
PRESS RELEASE -
Pilot program benefits about 100 Michigan-based community organizations, with a focus on Detroit.
Detroit’s Cody High School among first to participate with furniture and three-room makeover.
PRESS RELEASE -
Avery Dennison has collaborated with partners throughout the supply chain namely Viridor and PET UK, to help Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) reduce waste, costs, and the carbon footprint of Smartwater production in the United Kingdom.
According to Joe Franses, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners, “This example shows how we can turn the crisis of resources into a business opportunity through close collaboration across the value chain. Businesses which can be truly innovative with the products and services they provide, optimising the resources they use and encouraging consumers to do the same, have the potential to transform our economy.”
PRESS RELEASE -
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University
have diverted almost six tons of waste from landfills through an innovative recycling program that turns used lab gloves and garments into shelving, flowerpots and lawn and garden furniture.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The European Commission has approved an investment package of €222.7 million from the EU budget to support Europe's transition to a more sustainable and low-carbon future. The EU funding will spur additional investments leading to a total of €398.6 million, which will be used to finance 144 new projects in 23 member states.
The support comes from the LIFE Programme for the Environment and Climate Action, the EU's funding instrument for the environment and climate action. €323.5 million will go to projects in the field of environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, and environmental governance and information.
WASTE NOT -
This past week saw even yet still more circular economic initiatives sprouting up in the apparel industry.
First, the C&A Foundation granted €250,000 ($276,000) to the social enterprise Circle Economy, which is dedicated to accelerating the practical and scalable implementation of the circular economy. Circle Economy will use the funding to advance its Circle Textiles Program with a mission to close the loop for textiles and create a zero-waste industry.
PRESS RELEASE -
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw), alongside the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, BuildingGreen, Google, and several others, will host a national workshop series entitled
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Apparel company Kering has launched a new curriculum to help fashion students understand the environmental impacts of their designs, just days after the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) partnered to embed systems thinking and circular economy into the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum across Europe.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The relationship between brands and people is being transformed before our very eyes; the old-fashioned, binary model of companies selling and people consuming is dead. Traditional, rigid hierarchies of control are being replaced with more fluid and open peer-to-peer networks. We are rapidly adopting the principles of a sharing economy as the mainstream norm and there is a new world order forming.
You can choose to see this as either a challenge or an opportunity but the brands that will win are the movement brands that are brave enough to let their consumers take an equal stake in setting the agendas and creating content.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Newly formed groups in Europe and Canada are working to deliver a circular economy for packaging materials: PlasticsEurope has created a Plastics Packaging Circular Economy Group to maximize resource efficiency across the plastics value chain; and Ontario’s Circular Economy Innovation Lab is hosting a series of workshops as part of a Printed Paper and Packaging Rapid Lab.