INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Mars Australia has signed 20 year power-purchase agreements (PPA) with Total Eren to generate the equivalent of 100 percent of Mars’ electricity from renewable energy by 2020. In addition to its latest agreement in Australia, Mars is already using or purchasing renewable electricity to cover 100 percent of its operations in Belgium, Brazil, Lithuania, the United Kingdom and the United States.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Shaw Industries, the world’s largest carpet manufacturer and a leading floorcovering provider, has also become a leader in sustainability — in August, Shaw announced that 85 percent of its products are now Cradle to Cradle Certified™; and earlier this month, it achieved carbon neutrality in its commercial carpet manufacturing operations.
We spoke with Troy Virgo, Director of Sustainability and Product Stewardship, to learn more about what drives the company’s efforts.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Makersite is an all-in-one, open-source data platform for product design, costing and stewardship that product teams can use to analyze and collaborate on how things are made and improve the impacts of making them.
The platform includes dozens of apps tailored to various business, compliance, health and environmental evaluations that developers and designers can use to quickly explore the effects of different product configurations, such as climate change, eutrophication, carcinogenicity, RoHS and REACH compliance and production costs.
We caught up with CEO and co-founder Christoph Wilfert to find out more about this one-stop shop for sustainable product design.
PRESS RELEASE -
Shaw Industries Group, Inc. (Shaw) has completed the construction of a cogeneration Combined Heat & Power (CHP) plant at its Columbia, S.C. fiber production facility. The CHP, which began operating in May 2018, will reduce the plant’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 26,000 metric tonnes; that’s an impact equal to removing almost 5,500 passenger vehicles from the road each year.
This is the latest in ongoing investments Shaw is making to minimize its environmental footprint. The company recently announced it has achieved carbon neutrality in its commercial carpet manufacturing operations. Companywide, Shaw has made significant investments to help reduce its energy and greenhouse gas impact.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
This year, the world’s largest event on sustainability in fashion, the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, included an Innovation Competition that saw 12 finalists pitch their technologies onstage in front of a panel of expert judges and Summit attendees. After a series of presentations and judging sessions over the two day event, the winner was announced: ColorZen.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
WAP Sustainability Consulting works with manufacturers and brands to help them meet customers’ expectations on sustainability – specifically around life cycle assessment (LCA), carbon management and product ingredient transparency, particularly in regards to chemicals management.
We spoke with founder William Paddock to learn more about these current hot spots in the ongoing quest for supply chain transparency.
What are some of the key issues or buzzwords of concern for companies right now?
William Paddock: I tend to see organizations struggling with three things:
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Ahead of Earth Day last month, over one million people took to social media urging corporations to "break free" from single-use plastics. And from the fashion to the auto industry – and everywhere in between – innovations are taking root to increase our use of sustainable materials. To continue the momentum created by Earth Day, this year’s World Environment Day (June 5) is also focused on plastic pollution.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
As we get ready to judge our semi-finalists for the 2018 Sustainable Brands Innovation Open, we wanted to check in with last year’s competitors to learn about the impacts they continue to have on the business world. Here, we catch up with our 2017 winner, Detroit Ento.
PRESS RELEASE -
Avery Dennison, a global leader in pressure-sensitive, functional materials, branding, weaving and labelling solutions for the retail apparel market; and SoftWear Automation, a revolutionary sewing technologies company for manufacturing automation in the home goods, footwear and apparel industries, have teamed up to help apparel manufacturers create a fully-digital supply chain that enables speed in the manufacture of apparel and textile products.
Through this partnership, Avery Dennison is leading a transformative change in the apparel industry, ushering in innovation that is in keeping with the company’s history of pushing boundaries to create positive change across the supply chain.
Sparking Change in the Apparel Industry
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
“All I really need is the word to be brought up.”
“If they aren’t talking about it, then it can’t be important to them.”
At WAP Sustainability, we work with manufacturers and brands to help them meet customers’ expectations on sustainability, many of which receive requests through The Sustainability Consortium (TSC).
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Better Buildings Initiative has grown to include more than 900 organizations, which represent 30 of the country’s Fortune 100 companies, 12 of the top 25 U.S. employers, 12 percent of the U.S. manufacturing footprint and 13 percent of total commercial building space, as well as 28 states and close to 100 cities and counties across the nation. Even more impressive is the progress they have made through the program.
PRESS RELEASE -
Neutrox, a brand specializing in hair moisturization, believes that good things in life, such as practicing outdoor sports or being in touch with nature, deserve to be valued more and more. Proof of this is the fact that the brand is one of the sponsors of women's surfing, which depends directly on nature, becoming increasingly aware and concerned about sustainability and preservation of the environment.
Therefore, the brand has decided to renew its packaging, beginning to produce them with Braskem's I'm GreenT Green Plastic, the first polyethylene from renewable origin to be produced on an industrial scale in the world.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Conagra Brands, Inc. is once again celebrating its employees’ commitment to sustainability throughout the organization at its annual Sustainable Development Awards.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Apple uses a lot of aluminum across its product line — it’s part of the company’s design ethos. But it also represents almost a quarter of Apple’s manufacturing emissions.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
These days, there is more pressure than ever on businesses to be environmentally conscious, reduce their impact and do their part to keep the planet healthy. Logistics is a major area of focus for many, with a lot of potential for impact due to traditional transport’s huge fuel and energy requirements.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Reimagining global agriculture will require numerous efforts of various size and focus, such as those in the news this week from a global agribusiness firm trying to meet targets across complex supply chains, a startup developing ways for bees to deliver natural pesticides, and teens looking to utilize unused space for agriculture or al
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Last year saw unprecedented natural disasters across the globe – from wildfires in California to record-breaking hurricanes in the U.S. Gulf Coast, eastern seaboard, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. At the same time, scientists warn that the risks posed by climate change are even more dire than predicted and will lead to even bigger impacts on heat and extreme weather. Combined, this has led to a spike in environmental consciousness, not only for the American people, but for businesses across the globe.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Building on their individual efforts and those under the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)’s New Plastics Economy initiative, dozens of businesses have made their commitment to the new UK Plastics Pact.