WASTE NOT -
The statistics on food waste — a top-of-mind issue governments, businesses and NGOs across the globe — are staggering: Every year, U.S. consumers, businesses, and farms spend $218 billion growing, processing, transporting, and disposing food that is never eaten. As a result, up to 52 million tons of food is sent to landfills annually, plus an additional estimated 10 million tons get discarded or go unharvested on farms. Meanwhile, 1 in 7 Americans is food insecure without reliable access to sufficient affordable, nutritious food.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Today, Canadian environmental NGO Canopy welcomes six large Chinese viscose producers to the growing roster of fashion and textile leaders committed to eliminating the world’s ancient and endangered forests from their fabrics. While to date 60 brands and designers, representing more than 85 billion USD in annual revenues, have signed on to the CanopyStyle campaign — triggering the need for deep shifts within the viscose supply chain — the real change will come from producers, who must provide the industry with alternatives.
LEADERSHIP -
Last week, the Government of Canada released the 2015 Progress Report and 2016-2019 draft of the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS).
PRESS RELEASE -
Access to basic health care is critical for the wellbeing of rural West African cocoa communities. To help meet the need, The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) partnered with cocoa suppliers Blommer Chocolate and Olam Cocoa to fund and build a community health center in Cote d’Ivoire in the town of Teapleau on the Western side of the country. Cote d’Ivoire is one of the largest cocoa-producing countries in the world.
CLEANTECH -
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision to delay the enforcement of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan was a victory for the coalition of 27 industry opponents and mostly Republican-led states that believe the regulations are a “power grab.” In response, a bipartisan group of 17 states has announced that they will collaborate to expand clean energy, modernize energy infrastructure, and drive change.
CLEANTECH -
There’s plenty of talk about “smart cities” as the surest route to building strong and resilient urban environments in the face of mounting climate impacts, but what about a “smart country”? While Singapore technically is a city-state — being both a city and sovereign nation — it is embracing many of the same smart city techniques as cities across the world.Globally, cities are experimenting with smart city technologies to tackle issues such as waste collection and traffic light management, but Singapore is focused on two core global challenges: urban density and an aging population.
WASTE NOT -
While waste reduction charity WRAP calls on stakeholders to do their part to help improve recycling consistency and efficiency in England, three companies in France have partnered on a circular economy initiative for small household appliances.
CLEANTECH -
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with conservatives seeking to delay the enforcement of President Obama's Clean Power Plan until legal challenges are resolved. The move is a blow to the administration and a victory for the coalition of 27 mostly Republican-led states and industry opponents that call the regulations "an unprecedented power grab."The temporary stay came from a 5-4 majority of the justices; the high court's four liberal justices said Tuesday they would have denied the request for delay.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The prospects of linear models in Europe are slowly diminishing. European experts have concluded that the current cradle-to-grave way of life – exploiting resources, processing them, using them, and discarding them – has no future.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Could the health and environmental benefits of taxes on sugary drinks and carbon-intensive foods outweigh the out-of-pocket costs? New research from Oxford University and the University of Reading suggests that is indeed the case. A study published in BMC Public Health found that a combination of a sugar tax on soft drinks and a food-based carbon tax in the United Kingdom could raise £3.6 billion in revenue, reduce carbon emissions by 19 million tonnes, and increase life expectancy.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
It has taken the combined and herculean efforts of countless individuals, but this week, the vision of the landmark Great Bear Rainforest Agreements has finally been realized. Local communities have a vibrant future and 85 percent of the rainforest in the region is now protected or off-limits to logging.
WASTE NOT -
Among the key challenges to the burgeoning recycling market are lack of infrastructure, innovation at scale and funding. But a variety of initiatives — in developed and developing areas alike — are attempting to secure these factors to help spur the development of circular economic infrastructure.In Argentina, a new generation of trash pickers is helping to refine recycling at the street level. Buenos Aires has invested in recycling through the city government’s Ciudad Verde (Green City) plan and now more than 5,000 litter pickers (known locally as cartoneros) collect a base salary for emptying the city’s bell-shaped recycling bins.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
A competition that began in October, the CoolCalifornia Challenge, is motivating Californians in 22 participating cities to reduce their water and energy consumption. The cities are competing for a share of $150,000 to put towards local sustainability projects and the coveted title of “Coolest City in California,” and Mayors and city officials are joining in the fun by releasing rallying call videos to encourage their constituents to take part.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Following the adoption of the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package and the announcement of a €24B fund to support circular economy projects and businesses, several organizations have released research reports and tools to aid the transition.
CLEANTECH -
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is funding a project to cultivate microalgae as biomass for fuels and an array of consumer products. The microscopic single-cell organisms could unlock an affordable way to generate energy using only sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2).
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Every five years, the USDA releases updates to its dietary guidelines, aimed at helping improve American eating habits. The latest Iteration, the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), has left some brands hungry for more, and others perfectly satiated.The guidelines stayed pretty much the same, continuing to recommend Americans limit their intake of saturated fats, trans fats, added sugars and sodium, and incorporate a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, fat-free or low-fat dairy, oils and proteins into their diet. The most heated debates surround the language on added sugar intake, red and processed meat consumption, alcohol moderation, and sustainable food sourcing.
LEADERSHIP -
Over the next month, the Manchester Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire’s five video screens will regularly show an animated ad depicting the state’s four leading presidential candidates with tides rising to their waists from climate-induced sea level rise. The 10-second spot asks, “How will you deal with sea level rise in New Hampshire?” and is expected to be seen by the candidates, their teams, and the press as they arrive for the GOP presidential debate on February 6 and primary on February 9.
CLEANTECH -
President Barack Obama highlighted the successes of cleantech investment – for both the economy and the environment – in his final State of the Union address on January 12.
LEADERSHIP -
The Obama administration has announced a moratorium on new coal leases on federal lands, citing concerns regarding pricing and pollution. This followed on the heels of the president’s final State of the Union address, in which he said the United States must improve the way it manages its fossil fuel resources and move towards a clean energy economy.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Whether the European Commission’s Circular Economy Package is ambitious enough is still under debate, but at least it leaves some flexibility for potential partnerships, industry-led and local government-led initiatives to shape the next economy.