LEADERSHIP -
I recently visited Tokyo on a business trip and had the chance to meet with a number of Japanese companies. At the end of a three-hour meeting with sustainability professionals from a dozen or so multinationals, the host asked me for my impressions of Japanese organizations and their sustainability efforts. My honest answer: “I’m confused.”
PRESS RELEASE -
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) has committed to building a cogeneration, Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plant, at its Columbia, S.C. fiber production facility. The electric power plant will provide electricity for the plant and utilize the waste (exhaust) heat from a turbine to produce steam. This production will be enough to meet the entire steam demand of the plant and will replace the majority of electricity supplied by a utility company. With construction well underway, the power plant is expected to be operational by Q1 2018.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
SC Johnson, a manufacturer of products such as Windex, Glade, Shout, Raid and Pledge, has signed an agreement to acquire Method and Ecover, two consumer brands from People Against Dirty, a B-Corp and pioneer in ‘planet-friendly’ home, fabric and personal care products. Method and Ecover are well known for their use of naturally derived, biodegradable ingredients and responsible packaging.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Car manufacturers have dominated the news in recent weeks with details emerging about everything from scrappage schemes to big-time commitments to EVs, indicating that a significant industry-wide shift is underway. Now, Volkswagen joins the growing group of mobility giants making the switch to low-carbon vehicles, while Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has launched a new program that will place end-of-life materials into new products.
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.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Packaging has widely been recognized as a pathway to a sustainable future, but opinions around the critical actions needed to deliver circular outcomes in urban areas, particularly megacities (a metropolitan area with a total population over 10 million people), such as management of recycling, littering, waste and support for sustainable behavior and education, largely differ.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Control Union, a global network of inspection operations and dedicated laboratories, in partnership with H&M has created a new tool to help the apparel industry meet its commitments to supply chain transparency and responsible sourcing. A unique supply chain traceability and data service, CONNECTED is designed specifically for apparel industry supply chains that are complex, distributed over several tiers and countries.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The fashion and textile industries continue to make strides towards a more circular future with the emergence of new resources and technologies that make a sustainable shift easier than ever before.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Startups and retail giants alike are looking to bio-based materials and recycled plastics to drive innovation and reduce environmental impacts along the value chain within the fashion and textile industry.
NEW METRICS -
Massachusetts-based Fourstar Connections, founded in 1986 as a cable assembly shop, has evolved into a comprehensive solution provider with an extensive portfolio of services and solutions to tackle a wide range of manufacturing needs. It also differentiates itself with a focus on sustainability — as a value creator and risk mitigator for the company, as well as for its publicly traded customers.
We caught up with Fourstar’s owner and president, Phillip Holman, to learn more about the company’s commitment to sustainability, and why he thinks it’s time for CPAs to lean into discussions and strategy-setting around the issue.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A pioneering new sustainable homeware and accessories brand has emerged on the market and is ready to radically transform the way furniture is made forever. Materials sourcing is where digital furniture startup Pentatonic sets itself apart from its industry counterparts, with its line of contemporary designer homeware fabricated entirely from post-consumer waste.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Ohio-based Buckhorn manufactures different types of heavy-duty, reusable plastic packaging for the food processing, automotive, manufacturing, distribution, bakery and agriculture industries, with a focus on improving companies’ supply chain performance by reducing product waste and material handling costs.
The company is also dedicated to keeping its own impacts in check by buying back end-of-life containers for recycling; the company then incorporates ground-up recycled materials, called ‘regrind,’ into the next generation of containers.
We spoke with president Ken Kozicki to learn more about Buckhorn’s commitment to eliminating waste throughout its value chain.
PRESS RELEASE -
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — General Motors’ Fairfax Assembly plant, home of the Chevrolet Malibu, earned ENERGY STAR® certification from the U.S.
WASTE NOT -
Capturing littered plastic – whether in the oceans, on beaches or from city streets – and transforming it into new products has become something of a creative marketing drive, with brand owners investing in high-profile launches to demonstrate leadership in this space: P&G’s beach plastic shampoo bottle and the
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
There was the agrarian revolution, followed by the industrial revolution and now the digital revolution. With each came efficiency and added value. But with each also came a loss of jobs and painful adjustments.
Currently, the world straddles two distinctly different ways of life: On one side sits the taxi cab and newspaper users among us; on the other, the Uber and Twitter devotees.
These distinctly different worlds lead many businesses to a fork in the road where the path toward survival and long-term growth is often complex and unclear.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The market for sustainable packaging is expected to reach $440.3 billion over the next decade and businesses that hop on the bandwagon early are expected to reap economic benefits as well as increased consumer satisfaction and a lower environmental footprint. Two industry giants are riding the wave of change with the help of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the roll out of new sustainable packaging initiatives.
WALKING THE TALK -
It’s increasingly clear that becoming more sustainable is a business imperative. And it’s not enough to “go green”; companies and industries need to factor in the social and economic impacts of their decisions locally and across their supply chains.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute and MBDC are making it easier than ever for manufacturers and designers to create and certify products according to the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard with the launch of a new guidance program.
WASTE NOT -
A partnership between global customs and logistics company UPS and TerraCycle has reached a major milestone — by transforming hard-to-recycle items such as toothpaste tubes and snack bags into new products, the two organizations have diverted 40 million pounds of waste from landfills since 2012.
NEW METRICS -
With its sights set on reducing the social and environmental impacts of its garment sector, Bangladesh has launched an initiative to map all of its apparel factories.