CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A report released today by six non-profit organizations found that 67 percent of nearly 200 tested food can linings contained Bisphenol A (BPA). The report also identified the replacement materials and to what extent their safety has been studied. Ahead of the report’s release, both Campbell Soup Co. and Del Monte Foods announced plans to switch to BPA-free packaging.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
As a packaging designer and nature lover, I dream of the day when material science and manufacturing can deliver on the promise of zero environmental impact, high performance, premium finish and low costs. Many breakthroughs have begun to deliver on the promise - PaperFoam, recycled PET (rPET), and polylactic acid (PLA), to name a few. But many of these materials still cannot compete on performance, and especially not on price. On the opposite end of the spectrum, commodity materials markets have been flooded with new eastern manufacturers, increasing the global supply and significantly lowering commodity materials costs. Add to that the light-weighting movement in plastics bottling and single-stream recycling.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The latest data and in-depth information about UK plastics recycling and reprocessing has been released in an updated Plastics Market Situation Report from resource efficiency experts WRAP.
The report includes detailed analysis of recovered plastic flows, prices and the sustainability of end markets, including the risks and opportunities. It reviews trends past and present, and updates on data reported by the organization since the previous Plastic Market Situation Report was published in 2011.
The three key themes covered in the report:
PRESS RELEASE -
Ford Motor Company will provide a briefing at a forum of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, highlighting its Partnership for A Cleaner Environment. PACE is a program that aims to help the company’s suppliers minimize their impact on the environment by sharing details of Ford’s best practices for water, energy and carbon dioxide reduction.
COLLABORATION -
Tomorrow, at a forum of the G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency in Washington, D.C., Ford Motor Company will highlight its new Partnership for A Cleaner Environment (PACE), a program that aims to help the automaker’s suppliers minimize their impact on the environment by sharing details of Ford’s best practices for water, energy and carbon dioxide reduction.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
With the opportunity to curb over $80 billion in annual industry losses, a circular economy for plastics seems pretty appealing. Several projects in Europe are working to make this happen: Earlier this month, Sustainable Brands covered a collaborative effort between the cities of London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen to improve plastics capture, but companies, non-profits and research centres are also working together to improve traceability and create new materials to help facilitate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
WASTE NOT -
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is transforming both consumers’ shopping carts and companies’ supply chains by allowing intelligent barcodes to talk to a networked system that tracks products from Point A to Point Z.
A technology once limited to tracking cattle, RFID tags are now tracking consumer products worldwide. Many manufacturers use the tags to monitor the location of each product they make from the time it's made until it's pulled off the shelf and tossed in a shopping cart.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
From “competitors” to collaborators – several European cities in a race to be capitals of the next economy are joining forces to develop practical projects to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen have announced they will work together to design a project that will improve the capture of plastics.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The annual competition from the Biomimicry Insititute is spreading its wings: The Biomimicry Global Design Challenge (BGDC) is expanding to include the Living Product Prize.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Novelis, world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, has partnered with Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) to supply aluminum sheet for the recently launched Jaguar XE — “Jaguar’s most advanced sports saloon.”The REALCAR (REcycled ALuminium CAR) project, aimed at creating a closed-loop value chain to recycle vehicles at the end of their useful lives, was launched by JLR in 2008 and funded by Innovate UK.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
In one of the highlights of the SB’16 Copenhagen preview event in Denmark last week, Simon Hoffmeyer Boas, Sustainability Director at Carlsberg, introduced the beer giant’s pioneering new packaging solution, The Green Fibre Bottle. Away from the stage, Boas took a moment to discuss the challenges of sustainable packaging and the importance of consumer engagement to the development and success of eco-friendly products.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
To maintain longevity and customer loyalty in today’s fast-changing world, classic brands must strike a careful balance between embracing innovation and staying true to their roots.
NEW METRICS -
It's easy to use 'common sense' and make assumptions in sustainability, but does that get you the results you want? As a science-based method, LCA is an excellent tool to bust the myths that surround sustainability. In this series, we look at some common sustainability ideas to see if they are myth or truth. In today’s episode: the drive towards zero emissions.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
On Thursday, Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) released a progress report on its Forest Conservation Policy (FCP), which involves four main corporate commitments that have regulated the company’s resource development since 2013. APP claims to have accelerated progress in its peatland restoration work and strengthened fire prevention measures, in addition to promises to provide funding for additional conservation projects this year.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) approach is a game-changing initiative in LCA, with effects and ramifications that we are only just beginning to understand. Today in PRé’s PEF series: What is a European representative product? And how do these products play a crucial role in the development of specific rules for product environmental footprinting of the various product groups?
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.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Consumer Goods Forum (CGF), a group of about 400 retailers, manufacturers, service providers and other global industry stakeholders, sent out two calls to action this month. The CGF is rallying the industry to fight forced labor – which affects 21 million people globally – in support of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The CGF also plans to ramp up its implementation of low-carbon refrigeration equipment among its members’ stores.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Plastic packaging is not only an environmental problem, it is economically wasteful, too. Most plastic packaging is only used once, leading to 95 percent of the value of plastic packaging – worth $80-120 billion annually – being tossed and lost to the economy.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The winners of the second Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Product Design Challenge were announced this morning – each solution was carefully designed to maximize the use of materials that can be perpetually cycled for reuse.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Aluminum rolling and recycling leader Novelis released its sustainability report for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) on December 22. The company doubled its recycling capacity over the past five years, among other achievements.