LEADERSHIP -
“We need to keep that competitive advantage and continue to innovate so that we can really make
sustainable living commonplace. It’s constant innovation; and we want others to come along on the journey with us.” — Niki King
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
In January, Maker’s Mark became the world’s largest distillery to earn B Corp certification — a significant milestone for the broader industry, as well as a sustainability benchmark for Kentucky’s thriving 'Bourbon Country.'
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The future of sustainable packaging and design lies in our ability to do most of the important work in a digital space. Manufacturers will be left behind if they fail to embrace tools such as digital twins, 3D product and packaging
visualization, and consumer packaging buyback.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
While not every company is equipped or positioned to follow its products through their entire lifecycle, there are a few ways companies can think about participating at individual or multiple points in the circular cycle.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
By focusing on a handful of easy target demographics, brands exclude swaths of people — the people who most need to be included in the narrative. The next time you brief your agency or write a brand plan, I hope you’ll rethink assumptions of who the sustainable consumer could be.
WASTE NOT -
Well, maybe not exactly ... But this week, the two food-delivery services detailed how they’re eliminating their operational impacts and continuing to engage consumers in climate-friendlier food practices.
REDEFINING SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD FOR THE FUTURE -
Since January, Bumble Bee has switched to using cardboard, instead of plastic film, to wrap all of its products. It’s just one machine, and one company; but
the impact is significant — the elimination of an estimated 23M pieces of plastic waste per year.
WASTE NOT -
Who knew that overused fry oil represented such an untapped health and sustainability market opportunity? FreshFry CEO Jeremiah Chapman breaks it down.
WASTE NOT -
Reducing plastic waste is a winning issue for consumers. With so many examples of early success and ROI, there’s no better time to join the movement by committing to reduce plastic pollution and limiting the need for virgin plastic.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Without immediate, deep emissions reductions across all sectors, it will be impossible to limit global warming to 1.5°C. We have the tech and know-how to halve emissions by 2030, and the impacts are already being seen — but fossil fuel financing must end.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
The United Way Social Purpose Institute offers a free tool to help companies assess and rate the degree to which their purpose is fully embedded across the company and in its relationships. These are the new techniques that purpose players are expected to demonstrate to stay in the ring …
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Singapore-based Karana and Montreal-based Opalia both have the potential to lead the growing markets for lower-impact, cruelty-free food options.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Thanks to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the British grocery chain has been cut off from its supply of sunflower oil; the company says it must temporarily revert to using palm oil, which it eliminated from its products in 2018.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
While the herb is heralded as a natural solution for pain, anxiety and other ailments, conventional growing practices across the industry are far from earth friendly.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Even when effective collection, messages and messenger are skillfully deployed, there are still factors that complicate consumer recycling behavior.
WALKING THE TALK -
Corporate Knights has developed the world’s first rating system to assess companies’ implementation of their social purpose commitments. Its research finds that the gap between ‘say’ and ‘do’ varies from one company to the next.
WALKING THE TALK -
The reality of living in a capitalist society is that we can't simply cut off the production of products and services; the brands that will succeed in the upcoming decades will be those that function holistically, with sustainable actions built in.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Watch out, consumer products industry: Materials-science company Pangaia could be evolving into a one-stop shopping destination for waste-conscious
consumers.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Bite has reimagined the way consumers can and should use routine personal-care products. It has disrupted the linear approach to a stale industry with a fresh, waste-free format that offers a successful, premium model of circularity.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Through new technologies, data collection and third-party verification, brands and retailers now have the critical assurances they need to show that the cotton fiber in their supply chain is more sustainably grown, with lower environmental and social risk.