CLEANTECH -
Already leading the charge when it comes to wiping out its food and plastic waste, The John Lewis Partnership has become the latest company to commit to drastically increasing its use of renewable energy. The UK retail giant recently announced a new partnership with SmartestEnergy to supply over 380 of its Waitrose and John Lewis stores with 100 percent clean power.
WASTE NOT -
The Plastic Disclosure Project sees an influential need for companies to start disclosing their plastic footprint in order to create a benchmark for reduction by increasing recycling and adding value back into plastic use.
COLLABORATION -
Nestlé has announced a commitment to helping reduce waste and boost responsible disposal in Chile by supporting a new recycling network.The company has backed the “Collective Recycling Project,” which aims to recycle about 1,200 tons of waste per year through the installation of five recycling centers in the capital city of Santiago.The project is a joint collaboration with Walmart Chile, Coca-Cola Chile, PepsiCo and Unilever, with the goal of improving waste management in the country.
COLLABORATION -
LEGO Group recently announced a partnership with WWF centered around improving performance on a range of environmental priorities — including greater focus on collaboration with suppliers to reduce total carbon emissions — and committed to becoming net positive through the use of renewables by 2016.The toy maker joins the likes of Natura, HP, Volvo, Johnson & Johnson and Sprint as the newest member of the WWF’s Climate Savers program.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Each week leading up to our SB London conference, where the winner of the SB London Innovation Open (SBIOL) will be announced on November 18, we will get to know each of our four finalists. This week, meet PulpWorks.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Procter & Gamble has developed a new process to mold plastic that it claims is thinner, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the current industry standard and could save the company $1 billion a year by using less plastic and different raw materials.The company says it plans to use the material for its own products and its patent applications and may also sell it to other marketers from non-competitive package-goods players to automotive giants.
PRESS RELEASE -
BASF and Heritage Plastics, Inc. form strategic partnership to bring ecovio manufacturing to North America
Florham Park, NJ, September 24, 2013 – BASF announced today that it has formed a strategic manufacturing partnership with Heritage Plastics, Inc. to produce ecovio® certified compostable products in North America.
The partnership enables BASF to begin manufacturing ecovio biopolymers outside of Europe to better serve its customers and to further focus on growth in the rapidly developing North American market.
Production of ecovio will begin September 2013 at the Heritage facility in Picayune, Mississippi.
PRODUCTS AND DESIGN -
Products from ten companies have been selected as finalists for the Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Product Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Dutch Postcode Lottery. Three winners will be selected from this group and will share a cash prize of $250,000.The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, in partnership with Make It Right, launched its first-ever Product Innovation Challenge in November 2012. By June, over 100 products had been entered for consideration.
Monadnock Paper Mills has announced its membership in the Gift Card Network and its educational committee to raise awareness of the benefits of forest materials as alternatives to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and bioplastics for gift card programs.Monadnock, along with fellow manufacturers of sustainable card materials, say they will contribute educational resources and drive discussions around ecological options for card production.The Gift Card Network is a community of gift card industry members that connect, collaborate and contribute through a highly specialized online platform, events and group discussions. Members identify and create media, information, and services around education, challenges, and potential solutions to help the industry move forward.
WASTE NOT -
JBI, Inc., a clean energy company that recycles waste plastic into liquid fuels, has announced it is partnering with Crayola on its "Colorcycle" program, which converts markers into clean energy.The program will be conducted throughout the United States in participating K-12 schools and encourages students to responsibly dispose of used Crayola markers through an in-school collection process. Markers will be sent to JBI, where they will be used as feedstock to produce diesel and other liquid fuels using JBI's Plastic2Oil® ("P2O") process.
WASTE NOT -
A pilot project to manufacture commercially viable products from recycled polyethylene fishing nets has been completed successfully in a collaboration between Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM - the Irish Sea Fisheries Board) and Liverpool-based plastics recycler Centriforce Products, according to Centriforce’s website.
WASTE NOT -
A Canadian coffee company says it has developed a more environmentally friendly alternative to the ever-popular, single-serve K-Cup pods, made a household name in recent years by the ubiquitous Keurig home coffeemakers.
WASTE NOT -
ESPN has announced that its annual awards show, the ESPYs, will be carbon neutral and achieve zero waste-to-landfill for the fifth and sixth consecutive years, respectively.To achieve carbon neutrality, the sports network says it will apply energy conservation strategies to minimize the use of fossil fuels and prevent pollution. After reducing energy consumption wherever possible through special applications, the remaining greenhouse gas emissions will be mitigated through carbon offsets.Some carbon reduction strategies include:· Solar power to be used on red carpet, press center, golf course.· Multi-passenger vehicles instead of individual limos to reduce vehicle miles driven.· Hybrid and flex fuel vehicles used for other transfers.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
When Coca-Cola first rolled out its PlantBottle in fall 2009 in Copenhagen, the beverage giant sent a signal to the entire food and beverage industry that it had had to take sustainable packaging more seriously. Additional companies, including Heinz, later rolled out plastic bottles using the same technology.
WASTE NOT -
Starbucks is one of America’s most iconic brands for many reasons. The company transformed coffee culture and taught U.S. consumers to appreciate better coffee beans and traditional coffee beverages long on the menu in Europe.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The rapid adoption of plastics in innumerable applications over the years stems from their overall benefits versus other materials; in particular, their reliability, ease of manufacturing, lighter weight and affordability.
PRESS RELEASE -
Focus is on a recycling communication pilot program for cities
WASTE NOT -
Over 125 billion rigid plastic containers are produced and consumed in the US every year, but according to the EPA only 28% are recycled, with the rest piling up in landfills and oceans. There is an undeniable packaging waste problem in today’s society, which suggests that innovation opportunities are plenty in the packaging industry.
WASTE NOT -
Sonoco, one of the largest diversified global packaging companies, has always prided itself on ‘closing the loop.’ Our company began recycling in the 1920s, before recycling was even a buzzword. Today, we successfully offer a full range of services from creation to reclamation that separates Sonoco from its packaging peers.
A new design of paper coffee cups could make plastic, carry-out lids obsolete.The design, branded Compleat, has flaps similar to takeout cartons that fold over to seal in hot beverages, while creating a sipping spout.