BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
White's work highlights actionable ways practitioners can influence consumers to behave more sustainably.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Tiffany begins disclosing the provenance of its diamonds, commits to 100 percent geographic transparency.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
The overall number of drunk driving deaths has decreased by about 50 percent since 1980, according to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.
But while the number of drunk driving accidents has been cut in half, over 10,000 people still die every year from drunk driving–related accidents. We’re approaching one of the most dangerous times in the year: January 1st is the worst time for drunk driving and accidents caused by drunk drivers.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
After an intensive global campaign by Greenpeace, Wilmar International has published a detailed action plan to map and monitor its palm oil suppliers.
This week, the world’s largest palm oil trader, Wilmar International, published a detailed action plan to map and monitor all of its suppliers. If implemented, this would put the palm oil giant — which supplies 40 percent of the world’s palm oil — one step closer to finally eliminating deforestation from its supply chain, and would have major implications for the rest of the industry.
COLLABORATION -
UK grocery giant Tesco and WWF have announced a groundbreaking, four-year partnership aimed at reducing the environmental impact of the average UK shopping cart by 50 percent, improving the sustainability of food while ensuring it remains affordable for all.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The news last week that the Christmas advert from Iceland — a UK supermarket chain specializing in frozen food — has been banned is a bad decision.
Iceland’s advert — a repackaging of a short, animated film by Greenpeace released earlier this year with a powerful, consumer-friendly sustainability message — shows a brand that is trying to do good work by improving its impact on the world.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
There’s something about your menu that you may not have noticed — a lot of it is trash. But it’s not the quality we’re talking about; it’s the waste.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
As Apple, the world’s second-largest smartphone producer, prepares to sign the death warrant of the wildly popular iPhone 6s with the rumored launch of multiple new models later this month, Back Market — the largest marketplace exclusively dedicated to bringing thousands of refurbished electronic devices and appliances from certified professionals to consumers — has launched an awareness campaign rallying the public against planned obsolescence.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The winds are changing. Companies that have operated many steps removed from the farms and people that produce their raw materials are building stronger connections to their agricultural supply chains. This shift stems from interest to replenish soil and water supplies, and boost overall resilience and output through regenerative and thriving agriculture. Pure Strategies’ latest report, Connecting to the Farm, points to the best practices companies are using to get closer to the farm while advancing these critical sustainability aims and gaining valuable business benefits.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
The co-working startup WeWork made headlines recently with a new policy banning meat from company functions and barring employees from expensing any meat dishes. The move is intended to reduce the company’s environmental impact, with the company predicting a reduction in carbon emissions by 445.1 million pounds and saving over 15 million animals. Miguel McKelvey, WeWork’s co-founder and Chief Culture Officer, speaks of the policy as not just creating an environmental benefit, but also changing the minds of his employees and creating a culture of personal accountability at the company.
COLLABORATION -
I recently spent time in Copenhagen for the Fashion Summit. There were a lot of statistics thrown around but there is one that I can’t get out of my head. 50 million tons of clothes are produced every year and 87 percent of them will end up incinerated or in a landfill. And our industry is expected to double. That math is 87 million tons per year burned or tossed!
SUPPLY CHAIN -
‘I would like to source more sustainable cotton, but I’m not quite sure where to start. There seems to be an awful lot of standards out there, and I’m not quite sure what the differences are between them.’
‘I’d like to increase the volumes of sustainable cotton I buy, but I’m worried about sourcing different types of sustainable cotton — does a portfolio approach work?’
‘I want to source sustainable cotton. I just want this to be easy. I wonder how other brands are doing it.’
NEW METRICS -
Scotland remains one of the world’s leading nations on circular economy thinking — this year Glasgow will host the Circular Economy Hotspot, an international event and trade mission that will showcase the country’s progressive approach to materials and resource use.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Last week, over 2,000 representatives from our global community of sustainability practitioners, brand strategists, product and service innovators, thought leaders and other change-makers converged at SB’18 Vancouver to share their latest insights on a multitude of themes pertinent to all of those committed to improving business around the world. Here, we dig into brand and organizational efforts to get consumers to deliver their part of the equation, through responsible consumption.
P&G: The road to responsible consumption
By Marissa Rosen
PRESS RELEASE -
Did you know recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 30 minutes? And recycling 16 aluminum cans saves the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. A series of small actions like these can turn into great things when they are brought together. And that’s what The Recycling Partnership is all about. The Recycling Partnership is a rapidly growing national nonprofit committed to improving curbside residential recycling and boosting recycling education in cities across America — one community at a time, family by family, bin by bin. They’ve already impacted 33 million households in just four years!
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Transparency has become a bit of a buzzword in the fashion industry and judging by the number of times it was mentioned at this year’s Copenhagen Fashion Summit, it is a trend that we are not going to shake anytime soon. Quite the contrary, transparency is reshaping how brands and retailers interact with their suppliers and consumers. But can it really transform the entire fashion industry? C&A Foundation’s Leslie Johnston hosted a panel of experts to find out.
WALKING THE TALK -
It’s hard to believe that a fast-food burger chain would actively set a target to reduce red meat consumption by its customers. After all, that generous meat patty smacked in the middle of two fresh buns is the reason why such restaurants exist, right? But Sweden’s beloved Max Burgers is doing just that, and sales across its 120 stores have never been better.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
The Welsh Government and City to Sea, a group campaigning against single-use plastics, are collaborating on the development of campaigns to encourage refills and change residents’ behavior to make tap water their first choice for hydration.
While the campaigns will help people ‘see the value of water,’ the government has also announced an additional £15 million of capital funding to further improve Local Authority recycling collection systems and infrastructure, including for plastics.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
Proposing a new idea and convincing others of its validity is no easy task. Even more so when you’re dealing with complex issues such as supply chain transparency, or trying to shift the ‘take, make and waste’ model of the fashion industry to one of circularity.
PRESS RELEASE -
In a world motivated by social cred and “likes,” it comes as no surprise that U.S. consumers on average spend roughly $250 a month on clothes, shoes and accessories. But what you might not expect is that men not only outspend women when it comes to their closet (spending an average of $310.50 per month on their wardrobe, compared to $187.20 for women), they are also 52 percent more likely than women to say they care a lot about eco-conscious fashion. Just in time for Earth Day, outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland shines a spotlight on what consumers value most when it comes to “going green” with their wardrobe.