SUPPLY CHAIN -
The number of standards for green products has grown in recent years due to increasing market demand for environmentally-preferable products, resulting in concerns over greenwashing and a need for an international standard. ISO has been working on such a standard since 2014, to help organizations make their procurement processes more sustainable.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
A decade ago something remarkable happened: Business leaders watched Al Gore present An Inconvenient Truth, and accepted that man-made climate change was real and catastrophic.
CEOs said that something must be done and embraced carbon pricing and emissions trading. These same captains of industry were further encouraged when the UK Stern Review explained that early investment in low-carbon solutions would outweigh its costs and boost economic growth.
PRESS RELEASE -
Blueair, a world leader in air purifying solutions with acclaimed leading-edge filtration technologies and design, announced today it has been acquired by Unilever. Blueair founder Bengt Rittri said the acquisition will enable even more people to protect their health by using Blueair air purifiers to remove indoor airborne contaminants such as hazardous PM2.5 sooty particles, allergens, chemicals and viruses.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
How many packages have you relied on today? Responsible and innovative packaging is critical to delivering shippable, shelve-able, sellable, product value. Consumers, retailers, and brands count on packaging. And then what?
The best way to retain investment value and mitigate risks is to recycle these materials.
“Municipal recycling programs are the hubs of the reverse logistics needed to return valuable packaging to the supply chain,” says Jeff Meyers, The Recycling Partnership’s Director of Corporate Partnerships.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
San Francisco-based technology startup Molekule recently introduced the world’s first molecular air purifier, bringing a patented technology to the category that eliminates a full spectrum of indoor pollutants by breaking them down on a molecular level.
According to the EPA, a backer of the new product, air indoors can be up to five times more polluted than outdoor air and since on average, people spend 90 percent of their time indoors, that exposure is harmful to health and well-being.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
All around today’s business world, there’s a lot of talk about “innovation.” Supply chains, service delivery, formulation, marketing, and countless other areas of business are undergoing rapid change from a variety of angles. Innovation is the new go-to for both entering a market and maintaining a competitive lead. Where “differentiation” may have been the buzzword not too long ago, innovation requires us to actually be different, not just look different.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Today, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute announced the winners of the third Cradle to Cradle Product Design Challenge. The series of six global design challenges running from 2015 through 2017 are presented by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and Autodesk, and made possible by the Alcoa Foundation.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
As a creative guy sitting between the manager of recycling for a major retailer and a supply chain expert for a large clothing brand, I certainly feel like I am bringing the knife to the metrics gunfight in this session.
But the sheer corporate heft The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) carries makes learning more about its systems and metrics pretty important for anyone working in the field.
TSC CEO Sheila Bonini starts us off with an introduction to the staggering impacts of consumer goods: they are linked to more than 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, some two thirds of deforestation and 75 percent of forced and child labor issues.
PRESS RELEASE -
Sealed Air Corporation has launched the initiative 'Soap for Hope™', in association with Doctors for You, an NGO in Mumbai. Sealed Air aims to recycle used hotel soaps into fresh soap for distribution to local communities. In Mumbai, the joint workshop held by Sealed Air and Doctors For You provided a step-by-step demonstration of the soap-recycling process.
The soap that will be distributed to slum dwellers and lower middle class families aims to promote hand-washing as an effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and respiratory diseases in developing countries.
CLEANTECH -
Since the introduction of the first ecolabels and standards for organic products in the late 1980s and '90s, sustainability standards and certifications have proliferated across myriad industries. From food to manufactured goods, standards and certifications are helping consumers and businesses alike make better purchasing decisions to ensure they respect the triple bottom line.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) has demonstrated the power of harnessing brand affinity and the growing awareness of ethical choice. Three recent and inspiring examples in Spain, Italy and Germany illustrate their success in fostering both individual and collective action in each of these markets.
NEW METRICS -
Luxury goods and responsible consumption need not be contradictory terms — that was the core takeaway from a livestream Q & A session held earlier this week by Kering, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of luxury apparel and home to brands such as Gucci, PUMA, Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen.
BUSINESS CASE -
It's time once again for the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) — our annual competition for startups that positively impact people, planet and profit, sponsored by Target — and we’re excited about our 11 semi-finalists in what has been our most competitive selection process yet. This year, we have startups poised to revolutionize several industries, from natural body care products to responsible mineral mining, to repurposing previously wasted food and clothing.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Price remains one of the biggest draws for American consumers. Results from a recent Associated Press-GfK poll show that the vast majority of Americans say they prefer lower prices instead of paying a premium for items labeled “Made in the U.S.A.,” even if it means those cheaper items are made abroad.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
It would seem we can’t go a week these days without seeing a new brand campaign using social purpose to help sell a product. Whether it’s Honey Nut Cheerios saving the bees, Always promoting the power of girls or Whole Foods selling ugly fruits and vegetables to combat food waste, social purpose has become the fifth “P” in the marketing arsenal.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Products that can be positioned as ‘natural,’ ‘organic,’ and/or ‘free from additives/preservatives,’ are part of a movement that is here to stay, according to global ingredients solutions company Ingredion. Research commissioned by the company reveals that European customers are paying more attention to food packaging and ingredients, with a preference for clean label positioning – a short, simple ingredient list that features minimally processed ingredients.
“Our research tells us that consumers are actively looking for products with clean label claims,” said Mona Schmitz-Hübsch, European Marketing Manager at Ingredion.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Made to Matter — Handpicked by Target just got an upgrade: Since its inception in 2014, Target has built strong partnerships with purpose-driven brands in the wellness space to make natural, organic and sustainable products more accessible. The retail giant just announced that it has raised its standards for inclusion in the collection this year.
Each brand must now meet one or more new criteria:
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
According to the UN’s Global E-Waste Monitor, roughly 46 million tons of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2014. Of that, just 7.1 tons were recycled or reused, and those numbers are expected to rise five percent annually for the foreseeable future.
The recently launched Nascent Objects platform offers an alternative via a customizable system of interchangeable electronic modules that can be used to assemble a variety of consumer products.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Last month, IKEA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Steve Howard, raised eyebrows at a panel debate by suggesting that in some parts of the world we have reached the point of ‘peak stuff’, a comment that was interpreted by some as a warning that consumer appetite for home furnishings had reached a crucial turning point.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
“It’s kind of cool to have people look different,” a young girl says, with two dolls in her hands. One is blonde and blue-eyed, the other has darker tones – and both are Barbie.In a bold move from Mattel, Barbie will now be available in 7 different skin tones and 22 eye colors. The most startling change, though, is that she will also have 4 body types: original, petite, tall, and curvy.