WASTE NOT -
It was disappointing to see recent figures from the United Kingdom showing that household food waste is on the rise again (although per capita waste is still roughly constant). The UK became a world leader in curbing food waste when, from 2007 to 2012, its households cut the amount of edible food they threw away by 21 percent. This was the result of a government-funded initiative that combined a consumer-facing campaign and a voluntary agreement involving major retailers and brands to help consumers reduce household food waste. But since 2012, progress has stalled, and it now looks as though waste might start going back up.
PRESS RELEASE -
As part of its ongoing commitment to use real, simple sustainably-sourced ingredients, Hellmann's, a Unilever company, today announced that all Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Mayonnaise Dressings are now made exclusively from Cage-Free Eggs across the U.S. consumer portfolio.
In 2010, America's favorite mayonnaise brand set the goal to use 100% Cage-Free Eggs by 2020, becoming one of the first brands to do so at a time when only 2% of egg-laying hens in the U.S. were Cage-Free. Through a deep commitment to sustainable sourcing, and strong partnerships with suppliers and animal-welfare organizations, Hellmann's was able to achieve the goal three years early in the U.S.
PRESS RELEASE -
Thanks to our Eastman team members - and several community partners and neighbors, we collected a record-setting 25,000 items for the 2016 Supplies for Soldiers campaign! In December, more than 1,000 care packages made their way around the world to 73 U.S. soldiers deployed overseas.
Each soldier received multiple boxes of toiletries, entertainment items such as books and playing cards, non-perishable food/drink mixes, and practical items, including batteries, note pads and much more. Each soldier also received notes and letters from area students sharing their gratitude and sweet wishes.
PRESS RELEASE -
Nestlé is expanding its commitment to U.S. veterans under its Project Opportunity initiative, with two new partnerships aimed at offering career support and workforce transition services to current and former members of the U.S. military.
Nestlé’s partnership with Hiring Our Heroes, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation aimed at helping veterans and their families find employment, kicked off today at a veterans-only job fair at the Quicken Loans arena in Cleveland, Ohio.
PRESS RELEASE -
The rooftop garden next to General Motors’ Renaissance Center world headquarters wrapped up another productive growing season. Now in its third year, the garden – thriving from the landfill-free facility’s compost – resulted in 815 pounds of fresh produce, 150 jars of honey, and $3,546.00 in donations to a community shelter located across the street.
Andiamo Detroit, an Italian restaurant inside the headquarters, made eggplant parmesan, spicy salsa and bruschetta for customers using the garden’s vegetables and herbs. In turn, the restaurant owner made a donation equal to the food’s value to the nearby warming center.
LEADERSHIP -
According to the USDA, demand for organic foods and products have grown significantly every year since the 1990s. But despite increasing popularity, organic acreage hasn’t been able to keep up. Only one percent of US farmland is currently dedicated to organic farming, and those looking to make the transition to organic face real barriers.
WASTE NOT -
According to a new report released by WRAP, retailers and brands across the UK saved over £100 million by reducing food waste.
PRESS RELEASE -
Nestlé Pakistan has signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) that will see it give financial backing to mango growers who employ drip irrigation systems, while also partnering with a leading research institute to help improve farming practices.
The first MoUs signed with the Punjab Agriculture Department involves taking on Mango Research Institute, Multan, as a research partner in its
Chaunsa Project, which aims to improve the livelihood of farmers through what is referred to as “Creating Shared Values (CSV) intervention”.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Two years after it pledged to eliminate artificial additives from its menu by the end of 2016, Panera Bread has released a new campaign in celebration of meeting its goal.
WASTE NOT -
Today, approximately 40% of the food produced in the U.S. goes to waste and 97% ends up in landfills. There it decomposes and produces methane gas — 25 times more harmful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming and the destruction of the ozone layer. A similar story can be told across the globe.
Food waste poses a significant risk to both food security and the planet, but new technologies and creative reuses of waste streams are pushing the food industry towards more sustainable, circular models.
CLEANTECH -
Whether it be turning food scraps into cold-pressed juices or transforming PET waste into raw materials or converting beer waste water into batteries — just a few of the latest examples of the circular economy at work — companies are increasingly finding unique ways to transform and repurpose their waste, byproducts and emissions.
WASTE NOT -
It’s no secret that the food industry struggles to control the vast amount of waste it generates. In the United States alone, 30-40 percent of the national food supply (roughly 52 million tons of food) finds its way into landfills every year — a staggering and shocking statistic considering that 1 in 7 Americans don’t have access to affordable, nutritious food.
COLLABORATION -
A partnership of 12 organization is set to launch an online hub for information and solutions to reduce food waste, “Further With Food: Center for Food Loss and Waste Solutions,” at FurtherWithFood.org. The site is intended to help realize the national goal to halve food waste by 2030, announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and U.S.
NEW METRICS -
For the past year, climate change has returned to the top of the international agenda. While I was attending COP22 in Marrakech last month, the news broke that Trump had been elected President of the United States, with widespread possible implications not just for the U.S. but for the COP21 climate deal reached after such hard bargaining last year in Paris.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In a bid to reposition itself as a producer of convenient natural products, Campbell Soup Company is set to launch Well Yes!, a pivotal “clean” canned soup line, with a corresponding campaign that encourages consumers to make small, healthy daily choices rather than big, unrealistic resolutions. With the New Year only a week away, the launch of the new campaign is timely.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As we indulge in holiday goodies, food waste becomes an inevitable consequence. This holiday season, a projected 50,375 tons of food and drink will be thrown out; Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) is aiming to show citizens how to avoid this – and to save money – simply by shopping smart and avoiding food waste.
According to figures from ZWS, in December alone Scots are expected to throw away over 3.5 million mince pies, more than 240,000 Christmas puddings, and the equivalent of over 100,000 turkeys. Using these items up – or not over-buying them in the first place – could represent a potential saving of over £3 million.
PRESS RELEASE -
Panera Bread today announced its intention to initiate an industry-wide effort to improve the welfare of broiler chickens by 2024. The company is also proud to share its continued progress on animal welfare issues and the reduced use of antibiotics across its U.S. Panera Bread® and St. Louis Bread Co.® bakery-cafe menus.
WASTE NOT -
Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives such as WWF and Sodexo’s sustainable meals program and Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More campaign seeming to crop up almost daily.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
The New Hampshire Liquor Commission (NHLC) and Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey have teamed up to offer tips and techniques to emphasize safe and responsible alcohol consumption for this holiday season. The award-winning Live Free & Host Responsibly campaign offers holiday-themed food and drink recipes, along with videos outlining techniques for responsible entertaining.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Thai Union Group PCL, one of the world’s leading and likely most contentious seafood companies, today announced an ambitious strategy to ensure 100 percent of its branded tuna is sustainably sourced with a commitment of achieving a minimum of 75 percent by 2020.
As part of the new tuna strategy, Thai Union says it will invest $90m in initiatives that will increase the supply of sustainable tuna. This includes establishing 11 new Fishery Improvement Projects (programs to transform fisheries that ensure sustainable fish stocks, minimized environmental impacts, and improved management of the fisheries, or FIPs) around the world.