WASTE NOT -
On foot, by bicycle, through water and combinations of the above, distance races such as marathons and ocean races are a global phenomenon. Running and cycling races have become a big business in recent years, due to the opportunity for sponsorship and the brand affinity that comes with it.
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The potential of a circular economy continues to unfold as new technologies are help transform everything from post-consumer textiles to almond shells into high-quality raw materials.
CARBIOS, a pioneer in the field of bioplasturgy, has taken its enzymatic depolymerization process to the next level, rendering it applicable to PET polyester fibers from textile waste.
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One-third of the Earth’s land mass is covered by forests – beautiful, useful, and the essence of sustainability.
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Braskem, the world's largest biopolymer producer, will supply the LEGO Group with its I'm greenT polyethylene, a globally certified plastic made from sugarcane. Already in 2018, Green Plastic will be used in the 'botanical' elements range, such as trees, bushes and leaves of the Danish company known worldwide for its building bricks.
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College and university students have both a special drive and the capability to positively change the world around them.
Through the PepsiCo Recycling Zero Impact Fund, students are empowered to do exactly that – create proposals to address sustainability challenges on their campuses through unique, innovative solutions.
In its second year, PepsiCo Recycling’s Zero Impact Fund received more than 60 proposals and will award 19 colleges and universities up to $10,000 to accomplish their environmental goals.
Projects that will be funded through the Zero Impact Fund this year include:
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Global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland releases three new Timberland X Thread men’s footwear styles for spring, made with Thread’s recycled Ground to Good™ fabric. The collection marks the brand’s second collaboration with Thread, a Certified B Corporation that transforms plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti and Honduras into one of the most responsible fabrics on the planet.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Businesses have a critical role to play in cleaning up the global economy, but it is consumers whole truly hold the key to achieving a more sustainable future.
In a new report, PA Consulting Group shows that retailers can build customer loyalty — and grow sales — by providing customers with reasons to stay engaged by returning to stores to resell, recycle and donate clothing and electronics.
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Corporate action to tackle the mounting problem of ocean plastics is on the rise with new commitments and cross-industry initiatives cropping up regularly.
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The war against single-use plastics rages on as even more brands rise to the challenge of creating a plastic-free future.
Online food delivery companies Just Eat and Deliveroo are the latest businesses to hop aboard the sustainable packaging bandwagon.
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A new online tool developed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and social enterprise Searious Business could help stem the massive tide of microplastics entering the world’s oceans each year. The tool, dubbed Plastic Scan, allows businesses to measure their plastic emissions and provides recommendations on how to reduce impact across the textile supply chain.
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BASF joined the World Plastics Council (WPC), a global organization of key leaders in the plastics industry. The WPC promotes industry topics of global relevance like the responsible use of plastics, efficient waste management and solutions to marine littering.
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Single-use plastics continue to lose their appeal as the global community rallies around the concept of a circular economy. The UK, in particular, is taking the lead, setting a new standard for both the public and private sector, while food and beverage giant Nestlé is helping ease the transition away from a take-make-dispose model.
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Financing tends to be on the top of the list of hurdles for sustainable companies looking to scale. A business does not survive on a mission alone, and in order to generate profits and revenue, it needs capital to operate. But for sustainable enterprises setting out to meet the triple bottle line (“Planet, People, Profit”) while minimizing impacts, attracting and raising funding can be a particularly challenging task.
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Plastic packaging continues on its downward spiral as supermarkets, government and even the Queen begin to explore more sustainable alternatives.
Kiwi supermarket chain New World is setting a new standard for the food industry by drastically reducing the amount of plastic packaging stocking its shelves.
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Today, Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water, the world's leading bottled water brand, is announcing the introduction of a 700-mL bottle made from 100 percent food grade recycled plastic*, known as rPET. The new package is available starting this month on retail store shelves in North America.
“Nestlé Waters North America is the original bottled water company in the U.S., and environmental sustainability is an integral part of our company’s purpose and heritage,” said Antonio Sciuto, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Nestlé Waters North America. “This new bottle made from 100 percent recycled plastic for our namesake brand is the latest way we’re satisfying consumer demand for healthy hydration on-the-go and inspiring consumers to recycle.”
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Sustainable production standards for clothing continue to rise, with attention to sustainable materials and practices becoming a more integral part of the global apparel industry. In an effort to mitigate its impact on the environment, the sector has been taking important steps toward more sustainable product solutions.
But are we doing enough?
WASTE NOT -
The closed-loop conversation is often one that focuses on e-waste, fashion and single-use plastics, but LEGO Group and Antwerp-based design furniture brand ecoBirdy are aiming to change that by bringing the concept of circularity and sustainability to the toy front.
Supported by the EU’s program for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME), ecoBirdy has launched its first collection of design furniture for kids made entirely from recycled plastic toys. The launch follows two years of research exploring how to sustainably recycle plastic toys.
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Beverage giants Coca-Cola and Evian and global packaging company Amcor have announced new efforts that will fundamentally reshape their approaches to packaging. By 2030, Coca-Cola says it will collect and recycle 100 percent of its packaging; Evian has pledged to produce all of its plastic bottles from 100 percent rPET by 2025; and all of Amcor’s packaging will be recyclable or reusable by 2025.
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Though the normalization of single-use plastic packaging has made plastic pollution out to be an insurmountable problem, consumers’ and brands’ growing awareness of the implications of take-make-dispose models is helping drive the development of recyclable and renewable packaging alternatives. Ellen MacArthur Circular Design Challenge winners TrioCup and Evoware are two examples of packaging innovators leading the charge towards a more circular economy.