CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
First, Danish brewer The Carlsberg Group has unveiled a series of packaging innovations, including its new Snap Pack, which is set to reduce plastic waste globally by more than 1200 tonnes a year – the equivalent to 60 million plastic bags.
The Snap Pack replaces the plastic wrapping used around Carlsberg’s six packs with a pioneering technology that glues its cans together. A world first for the beer industry, it will reduce the amount of plastic used in traditional multi-packs by up to 76 percent, and save 1,200 tonnes annually – the equivalent of 60 million plastic bags – once all of its 4-, 6- and 8-packs have been converted.
PRESS RELEASE -
The NaturALL Bottle Alliance is a research consortium formed in 2017 by Danone, Nestlé Waters and bio-based materials development company Origin Materials to accelerate the development of innovative packaging solutions made with 100% sustainable and renewable resources. Today it announced that PepsiCo, Inc. has joined the Alliance to advance the shared goal of creating beverage containers with a significantly reduced carbon footprint.
WALKING THE TALK -
London’s Heathrow International Airport has chosen the winners of its inaugural Centre of Excellence Sustainable Innovation Prize, which were judged as the best solutions to some of the sustainability challenges facing airports and the aviation industry more widely.
Launched in January, the competition challenged entrants to focus on three areas as part of Heathrow’s Centre of Excellence for Sustainability work:
PRESS RELEASE -
The Philadelphia Eagles are pleased to announce that Braskem (B3: BRKM3, BRKM5, and BRKM6;NYSE : BAK ; LATIBEX: XBRK), the world's leading biopolymer producer and the largest polypropylene producer in the Americas, will join the organization as a partner in recycling. Braskem enters into a nine-year sustainability-focused partnership with the Eagles, building on the team's long-standing commitment to environmental and community development programs.
Bottle caps being recycled at R.J Evercrest Polymers, Inc.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
VTT — the Technical Research Centre of Finland — is helping to solve the global plastic waste problem with a project called PlastBug, a mobile container unit that removes plastic waste from ocean areas and converts it into material for other uses.
"Our idea is to design a mobile container where microbes degrade plastic waste to valuable products like fuels or chemicals," says Kari Koivuranta, Principal Scientist at VTT.
PRESS RELEASE -
Philadelphia, PA & Boulder, CO – August 29, 2018 - Braskem (BM&FBOVESPA: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest thermoplastics polyolefins producer in the Americas and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world, and Only Natural Pet, America’s leading brand of natural pet supplies, together announced a new sustainable pet food packaging initiative utilizing Braskem’s sugarcane based I’m greenTM biopolymer. Only Natural Pet is integrating at least 30% bioplastic packaging material into every bag of its recently launched line of Mindful Meals dry dog food, directly supporting Only Natural Pet’s ongoing commitments to environmental sustainability and carbon reduction.
WASTE NOT -
The latest plastic product to come under fire is plastic straws. Before that, it was bags; and before that, foam foodservice items. Have you ever stopped to ask, why do we use so much plastic, especially plastic packaging? The answer depends on the type of packaging, but one of the overriding answers is that plastic is more resource efficient than its competing materials. In other words, it takes less energy (a key resource) to do the job.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Kubota tractor parked out front is the first tip-off that Michael Crooke is not your typical executive. While other startup founders might sport a Tesla, Crooke’s home office in Ojai is a far cry from Silicon Valley. Step over the welcome mat with the Pearl Izumi mark, look up at the Patagonia surfboard in the rafters, and you realize this little converted garden shed is like a history lesson in Crooke’s path from Navy SEAL to being a leading figure in sustainable business.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Earlier this month, adidas by Stella McCartney launched its Fall/Winter 2018 sustainable women’s activewear collection, paying tribute to the power of nature. Designed to equip female athletes whatever the weather, the animal-inspired pieces serve as a reminder that everyone can do their part to protect the world around them. The campaign features supermodel Ming Xi as its new global ambassador who is charged with bringing the brand’s continued mission of LESS IMPACT = MORE POWER to life.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
In Nestlé Waters North America's second annual survey of 6,142 US consumers and experts on water-related topics, released this week, respondents ranked clean water higher than getting enough sleep (25 percent of consumers and 22 percent of experts) and eating healthy foods (23 percent of consumers and 25 percent of experts) as factors important to living a healthy life.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
A growing market shift has reached a critical mass this year against disposable plastic packaging. Leading on the regulatory front, the EU announced a goal of making all of its plastic waste recyclable or reusable by 2030. In the private sector, major brands have committed to achieving 100 percent recycling and reuse of materials in the form of sustainable packaging by 2025.
PRESS RELEASE -
The UK only recycles 39%¹ of the plastics used which is why Tesco and P&G signed the UK Plastic Pact in April this year, aiming to have all plastic packaging reused, recycled or composted by 2025. However, this is not an easy task to undertake, with one third of supermarket plastic so hard to recycle².
That is why iconic P&G brands Fairy and Head & Shoulders are launching new, bottles, made from up to 100% recycled plastic, including beach plastic which was collected and recycled in partnership with TerraCycle. Fairy dish and Head & Shoulders shampoo bottles will be sold exclusively at Tesco.
PRESS RELEASE -
The 79th annual Wyndham Championship just got a lot greener, thanks to a new partnership with Greensboro-based Unifi, Inc. (NYSE: UFI). The global textile manufacturer, which makes its REPREVE® performance fiber from recycled materials, including plastic bottles, is excited to announce it has signed a multi-year agreement to become an official recycling partner of the PGA TOUR event contested annually at Greensboro's Sedgefield Country Club. It is estimated that tens of thousands of plastic bottles will be recycled through this partnership.
WASTE NOT -
Thread, the Pittsburgh-based startup that's collected over 41 million plastic bottles from landfill communities in Haiti and Honduras and created fabric for some of the world's leading brands, today launched its own product on Kickstarter with a first-of-its-kind bag — the Better Backpack.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It’s estimated that nearly 8 million tons of plastic flow into our oceans every year; even more goes into landfills. While there are many great companies focused on recovering this plastic, there is one developing a plan for what to do with those millions of tons after the cleanup is done.
WASTE NOT -
Litter. It seems like such a ‘60s word, but it’s time to dust it off and rethink it — especially in the context of plastics and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs).
Start with the fact that more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the environment annually, much of it into our oceans. That’s almost 3 percent (and perhaps more) of all plastic produced annually.
PRESS RELEASE -
Loop Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:LOOP), a global leader in sustainable packaging innovation, announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with L’Oréal Group, the global leader in the beauty industry setting the stage for L’Oréal to become the first major cosmetics company in the world to close the loop on their PET plastic packaging by incorporating Loop™ PET.
This collaboration between L’Oréal Group and Loop will further accelerate the transition to the circular plastic economy. Thanks to Loop’s breakthrough technology, waste PET plastic and polyester fiber that once made its way to landfills, incinerators and our shared natural areas, rivers and oceans can now be diverted and converted into Loop™ PET to be endlessly upcycled.
PRESS RELEASE -
For more than 60 years, Disney has maintained a commitment to environmental stewardship that it has acted upon in both big and small ways around the world. Since 1995, the Disney Conservation Fund has directed more than $70 million to reverse the decline of wildlife around the world. In 2017, The Walt Disney Company reduced its net greenhouse gas emissions by 41 percent and diverted nearly 50 percent of waste from landfills and incineration, making significant progress on its long-term goal of attaining a zero state of net greenhouse gas emissions and waste, while conserving water resources.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Can market solutions and innovative technologies help the world solve its growing ocean crisis? That’s what the nonprofit Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) hopes, as it recently launched a new startup incubator program in Silicon Valley, the Ocean Solutions Accelerator, with five companies in the initial cohort.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Amidst the anti-plastic frenzy dominating corporate sustainability news lately, adidas and Neste have announced plans to increase their efforts to utilize more waste plastic.