SUPPLY CHAIN -
Applied DNA Sciences, a provider of DNA-based supply chain, anti-counterfeiting and anti-theft technology, has introduced a new supply chain platform known as CertainT that certifies authenticity and origin of products and brands.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
This is the second in a three-part series from The Recycling Partnership on collaborating to drive effective engagement – and action – around recycling. Read part one.
Intent vs. action. It’s the difference between buying those new running shoes vs. completing a race. Same with setting 2020 sustainability goals vs. delivering a new version of the future. And when it comes to a circular economy, here’s a great example: designing for recyclability vs. ensuring the successful recovery of valuable materials.
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More and more, circular economic models are providing ways for governments and businesses to increase efficiency, reduce waste and create new jobs. Two new initiatives in the UK reinforce that adopting circular principles presents significant economic opportunities for businesses.
The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has approved a new £50 million business plan for the period of 2017–2020 to help reinvigorate London’s recycling efforts and accelerate the development of the circular economy in the capital.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Global fresh water demand is expected to grow by 2 percent yearly over the next several decades. Based on the assumption that water supply will remain relatively stable, demand growth is expected to lead to serious water stress. This is largely the result of a linear model of water usage, in which the resource becomes more polluted and increasingly wasted as it travels through the system, shortening the water cycle.
PRESS RELEASE -
Arrowhead® Mountain Spring Water announced today that it has dramatically increased the amount of recycled plastic used in its bottle production. Thanks to the high recycling rate of California residents, and with help from its strategic partner CarbonLITE, Arrowhead now ensures that 9 out of 10 of its Arrowhead bottles made in California incorporate 50% post-consumer recycled plastic content.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Food industry giants Danone, Nestlé and Kroger are the latest companies to harness design and circular principles to move the food and beverage industry towards zero waste.
Danone and Nestlé Waters, two of the world’s largest bottled water companies, have partnered with California-based startup Origin Materials to form the NaturALL Bottle Alliance. Together, they aim to develop and launch at commercial scale a PET plastic bottle made entirely from bio-based materials.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Policymakers must limit chemicals entering the material cycle and adapt existing legislation in order to protect human health and the environment from toxic substances in a circular economy, say ClientEarth and the European Environmental Bureau (EEB) in a new report.
The NGOs indicate that the current legal framework has failed to ensure information about dangerous chemicals is diffused throughout the whole material cycle and potential subsequent lifecycles.
PRESS RELEASE -
A "firm belief" that business growth and sustainability go hand-in-hand has seen Heineken publish its latest sustainability report alongside a financial report for the first time, with the report highlighting rapid business expansion alongside a decrease in emissions.
Heineken’s latest sustainability report, released on Wednesday (22 February), reveals a 37% reduction in carbon emissions in production against 2008 levels, just short of the 40% target for 2020. When looking at absolute carbon reductions, a 5% reduction has been recorded in the same timeframe, despite Heineken growing its business volumes by 52%.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
While recycling most certainly plays an important role in the shift to the development of a more circular, sustainable economy, it largely focuses on a product or material’s end of life. But recent initiatives and technological breakthroughs are helping more companies design impacts out of their products’ life cycles.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Even more brands are making moves towards a more circular economy through textile innovation and consumer engagement. Recently, H&M debuted its new “Bring It” garment recycling campaign, as well as a new BIONIC-based Conscious Exclusive collection, while Kering announced the next stage of its ambitious sustainability plan.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
More than two million people in six countries subscribe to HP’s “Instant Ink.” When a customer is running low on ink, an Internet-connected printer notifies HP and a replacement cartridge is automatically delivered, with a return envelope for the used cartridges, which HP recycles. Compared with conventional business models, printers using this service generate up to 67 percent less materials consumption per printed page.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Less than a week after its release, the European Commission’s new Roadmap for the EU Strategy on Plastics in a Circular Economy is already coming under fire. According to the Break Free From Plastic Movement, the roadmap fails to get to the root of the plastic problem, and threatens to divert Europe down a less direct — and significantly slower — pathway towards attaining its sustainability goals.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Finding new post-consumer uses and solutions for products is critical for making the shift towards a more circular economy, but more and more companies are turning their focus to the early stages of product production and development, effectively addressing the sustainability question before it becomes a problem.
PRESS RELEASE -
We are delighted to announce that global food company, Danone, has become the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's ninth Global Partner, embarking on a three-year partnership to further embed circular economy principles both inside and outside the organisation. The move marks an important step in Danone’s ambition to produce quality products that preserve natural resource cycles, while also enabling future growth for the business.
Through this partnership, Danone’s teams will work with the Foundation to generate widespread understanding of the circular economy and to drive behavioral change in an effort to transition its brands toward a circular economy.
LEADERSHIP -
One year after adopting an ambitious Circular Economy Package, the European Commission has partnered with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to establish the Circular Economy Finance Support Platform, to help bring investors and innovators together and keep up the momentum in the transition to a circular economy.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
New programs, initiatives and innovations that drive forward the transition to a circular company seem to be popping up almost daily. The latest to pick up the banner for the circular cause? Coors Light and the City of London Corporation.
Coors Light, a MillerCoors brand, is shining light on its sustainability achievements and goals with a new twist on its ongoing “Climb On” campaign and the roll out of “Every One Can,” a summer promotional campaign, which includes the conversion of its billboards into beer coolers and its kegs into barbeque grills, as well as a large-scale push to get drinkers to recycle beer cans.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Ambitions to reduce waste and move away from a linear economic model are driving companies across the globe to create breakthrough technologies and unique solutions to drive forward the circular economy.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The business case for sustainability, particularly the circular economy, is a strong one, and more and more researching is backing it up. A recent report by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission pointed to sustainable business models as the key to unlocking trillions of dollars in economic opportunities, and WRAP revealed that brands across the UK saved over £100 million simply by reducing food waste.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The World Economic Forum’s Community of Young Global Leaders, in collaboration with Accenture Strategy, yesterday announced the winners of the 2017 Circulars at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters.
The third annual Circulars awards showcased advances from the private sector, public sector and civil society that drive innovation and growth while reducing dependence on scarce natural resources.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Two recent bits of news from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) point to continued groundwork being laid toward a circular economy in the U.S. and beyond.