MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
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.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
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.
PRESS RELEASE -
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.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
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.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
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.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
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.
PRESS RELEASE -
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 GOVERNANCE -
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?
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
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.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
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.
MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
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.
INNOVATION & TECHNOLOGY -
Today, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), with the support of Wendy Schmidt, lead philanthropic partner of the foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative, awarded a total of $1 million to five new recyclable and compostable packaging solutions that are helping stop plastics from becoming waste.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Though the private sector has largely been leading the charge against climate change as of late, local and national governments are starting to step up to the plate to further catalyze the shift to a more sustainable economy.
As the UK and EU ramp up efforts to slash plastics pollution, the Scottish government has announced plans to impose a ban on the manufacture and sale of plastic-stemmed cotton swabs. Once in place, the ban is expected to reduce Scotland’s marine plastic pollution by a staggering 50 percent.
ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE -
Fashion and textile industry heavy-hitters are heeding the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s recent call for a New Textiles Economy with the rollout of new agreements and action plans that consider the full life cycle of garments.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
With an estimated 12 million tons of plastic waste entering the world’s oceans each year, consumers and governments are increasingly looking to businesses to eliminate plastic packaging. Fast food giant McDonald’s and major supermarkets in the UK are rising to the challenge, revealing big plans to go plastic-free.
PRESS RELEASE -
evian today announces that it will make all of its plastic bottles from 100% recycled plastic by 2025, a move that will see the natural spring water brand adopt a ‘circular approach’ to its plastic usage, where plastic is kept within the economy and out of nature. Working in close relationship with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to define this roadmap, evian will move from a linear model to a circular one, where all bottles will be made from recycled plastic without the need for any virgin plastics. This will enable plastic to evolve from potential waste to become a valuable resource.
evian plans to achieve this through pioneering partnerships to redesign its packaging, accelerate recycling initiatives and remove plastic waste from nature.
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS -
In response to the success of its “Blue Planet II” nature documentary series and the substantial social media response that followed, the BBC will launch two new programs that explore the impact of plastics and textiles on the environment.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
Coinciding with the launch of Theresa May’s 25 Year Environment Plan, WRAP has announced a new collaborative initiative with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) that aims to help turn the tide on the UK’s growing plastic waste problem.
CIRCULAR ECONOMY -
The UK government has unveiled a national action plan to eradicate avoidable plastic waste by 2042. The announcement aims to quell concerns of critics regarding the potential negative impacts Brexit could have on the UK’s sustainability performance.