SUPPLY CHAIN -
Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management, has announced that it has teamed with the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) to develop and implement a dynamic web-based solution for the SAC’s sustainability assessment tool, the Higg Index 2.0. Utilizing Schneider Electric’s sustainability and energy management software platform, StruxureWare™ Resource Advisor, the platform will be a groundbreaking tool for the apparel and footwear industries.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
New York-based startup Bombas Socks is poised to revolutionize the sock industry while spreading its message of pushing yourself to “Bee Better.”Two years ago, after learning that socks are the more requested clothing item at homeless shelters, founders David Heath and Randy Goldberg decided to create a company based on the TOMS shoes plan: One for One.Not only did Heath and Goldberg plan that for every pair of socks sold, they would donate one to a person in need, they knew that they needed to create the perfect sock. With all the new designs in the apparel industry in the past couple of decades, socks have pretty much stayed the same; they are more or less an afterthought. Heath and Goldberg worked to create a sock to “look better, feel better and perform better.”
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Chipotle keeps sticking its neck out for "sustainable," locally produced food — now with an animated short-film attack on "Big Food" and with the promise of more expansive and aggressive efforts to come."The Scarecrow" is a 3-1/2-minute film that Chipotle Mexican Grill released online last week that depicts what the brand calls "a dystopian fantasy world" in which "all food production is controlled by fictional industrial giant Crow Foods. Scarecrows have been displaced from their traditional role of protecting food, and are now servants to the crows and their evil plans to dominate the food system."
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Beginning this month, Sustainable Brands will launch a new Issues in Focus editorial channel examining sustainable supply chain management.The SB editorial team — with the help of guest editors Dave Meyer of EORM, Tara Norton of BSR and Sam Hummel of the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council — are seeking articles, interviews and case studies for publication throughout the year.
ICT AND BIG DATA -
Kraft Foods, General Mills and Monsanto are among the first to join the World Food LCA Database (WFLDB), which aims to develop a comprehensive database for food and beverage life cycle assessments (LCAs).
Launched last week by the Swiss Federal Research Station Agroscope and consulting firm Quantis, the project is expected to be completed by 2015.
A slew of funding partners have already come on board, including Mars, Nestlé, Mondelez International, Bayer, Syngenta and Yara. The French Environment and Energy Management and Swiss Federal Office for the Environment have also committed to the program. Agroscope and Quantis say they hope to continue to recruit additional companies and government agencies to join the project.
WASTE NOT -
Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) — a nonprofit, grassroots group known for its advocation of electronic waste recycling — has announced a campaign to press battery manufacturer Rayovac to step up its efforts on recycling and waste reduction. The organization asked Rayovac in May to begin taking back its batteries for recycling; now TCE has been joined by 26 other organizations from across the country calling on Rayovac to provide recycling for its batteries in the U.S., as it does in Europe.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Dow Microbial Control, a unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today introduced its Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) Certified technology for whole-room sanitization, which will provide food and beverage producers with an effective, chemical-free system for controlling surface and airborne pathogens. AOS Certified systems fill a need in the global food processing industry for a whole-room sanitization technology that quickly and safely reduces dangerous bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and Salmonella, which pose serious health risks to consumers and a great financial risk for food manufacturers.
More than a year after pledging to reformulate its products to eliminate a cancer-causing chemical, Pepsi purchased from ten states still contains high levels of carcinogenic caramel coloring, according to independent testing commissioned by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) released last week.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Nike, Levi Strauss, H&M and several other members of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group have committed to publishing a list of chemicals targeted for phase out or research by 2015 as part of a plan to eliminate hazardous chemicals from their supply chains by 2020.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
DuPont Refrigerants and EOS Climate have announced a new buyback program to incentivize the return of recovered chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants by paying contractors and business owners for the safe disposal of polluting substances.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
With three billion new middle-class consumers projected to enter the global marketplace in the coming decades[1], it is now widely acknowledged that the global economy of tomorrow will face material scarcity and supply chain insecurity at an unprecedented scale — an inevitable consequence of an industrial era based on a make/use/dispose model. These new realities have galvanized an international community of academia, NGOs, governments and corporate interests to promote new principles to guide future economic decision-making.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Dunkin’ Donuts will set a target date to source all of its palm oil from sustainable sources or purchase offset certificated covering its sourced palm oil, according to a recent announcement by New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Starbucks will begin sourcing 100 percent of its palm oil from certified sustainable suppliers by 2015, according to a recent announcement.The coffee company made the change in response to a shareholder resolution filed by the Green Century Balanced Fund, a mutual fund concerned with environmental responsibility.
WASTE NOT -
Product Reuse is the exchange of secondhand or surplus products between individuals and/or organizations. This exchange is often performed by social service agencies looking to distribute goods to their clients or to raise funds for their operations.
WASTE NOT -
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is gaining notoriety as a smart production and marketing strategy, as product take-back programs emerge as a major consumer trend.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In an effort to increase customer adoption of reusable cups, Starbucks is rolling out a new low-cost reusable tumbler this week, according to reports.The plastic cups will be roughly the same size and appearance as the company’s paper cups and will cost $1. Starbucks will give a 10 cents discount to customers using the cups, so the cost is recouped after 10 uses.
Cascades Tissue Group, North America’s fourth largest producer of towel and tissue paper, launched a 100-percent-recycled, unbleached bathroom tissue for use in public restrooms.
Safco Dental Supply Company is the first U.S. company to complete the certification process for UPS’s Eco Responsible Packaging Program.
Levi Strauss & Company has revamped its forest products purchasing policy to ensure it does not source materials from the world’s endangered forests.
Advances in mobile technology could do away with some eco-labels as an increasing number of consumer products are given smart barcodes, says consultant group Organic Monitor.