Circular Economy

The constant stream of new models, products and processes that are helping organizations extend the useful life of resources and materials while reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms

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Putting Recycling to Work for People, Communities and the Planet

To create a truly circular ecosystem for plastics, we need scalable innovations to close the gap between what consumers can recycle now and which plastics might become a regular part of a future recycling system. ... View More

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2022 Trends in Purpose and What They Mean for the Year Ahead

This year, we saw companies double-down on purpose amidst a rise in consumer skepticism and politically motivated attacks on ESG. Below are six notable trends and what they might mean for 2023. ... View More

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3 Predictions for Cellular Agriculture in 2023

Due to the urgency of solving our most formidable climate- and health-related challenges, we regard decision-makers’ behavior vis-à-vis cellular agriculture — and cultivated food products, in particular — to be of some consequence when conside... View More

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Can Insuring Nature Encourage the Necessary Action to Protect It from Climate Risks?

COP15 again highlighted the importance of ensuring money moves in the right direction to bring about lasting environmental protection. One example is The Nature Conservancy’s recent purchase of a coral reef insurance policy to protect Hawai‘i’s... View More

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Stella McCartney to Pilot Mixed-Textile Recycling Venture

Protein Evolution’s technology can turn unused polyester and nylon fabrics from Stella McCartney’s previous collections into good-as-new, infinitely recyclable fibers — and could present a new circular solution for the fashion industry. ... View More

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Opinion: Why Some Big Brands ‘Aren’t Convinced’ by Plastic Credits

80M tons of plastic waste will end up in the environment just in the next 10 years. Without voluntary, global producer responsibility programs to unlock capital towards infrastructure and bridge the policy vacuum, how else do polluters suggest for us... View More

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COP15 Must Mark a Turning Point for Meat and Dairy Investors

Meat and dairy companies need to go further and faster to protect our natural world — before politicians, regulators and investors make the decision for them. The latest FAIRR Index shows what’s possible and shines a spotlight on the investment r... View More

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Creating Life from Death: Transcend Attempts to Reverse the Environmental Impacts of Burial

The new startup offers a regenerative ‘tree burial’ service that reimagines cemeteries as forests — enabling the dearly departed to truly give back to the land and encouraging younger generations to think about death in new ways. ... View More

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A Completely Different Definition of ‘Waste’: 5 Key Takeaways from the Sustainability Next Summit

Last month, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics and Fast Company co-hosted the virtual summit to convene policy experts, industry leaders and innovators with the expertise and resources to drive real progress toward a circular economy. ... View More

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New Marketplace Matches Tesco Suppliers to Swap Surplus Stock to Cut Costs, Reduce Waste

Tesco Exchange, aka ‘Tesco Tinder,’ matches suppliers who have too much of a product — for example, crops, byproducts, ingredients or packaging — with other Tesco suppliers that can put it to use. ... View More

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Energy Startup’s Biomimetic Solar Trees Planting Roots for a Net-Zero Future

Inspired by nature, SolarBotanic’s solar trees use leaf-shaped, thin-film, photovoltaic nanotechnology to harness both sun and eventually wind energy to power houses, charge EVs or be stored for future use. ... View More

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COP15: ‘Environmental DNA’ Technology Enables World-First Nature Performance-Monitoring Service

NatureMetrics says new platform represents breakthrough in understanding and managing our impact on nature — providing simple, standardized metrics to track and report on site-based nature impacts. ... View More

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Closing the Loop: Rethinking Operations, the Economy to Save the Planet

Whether making a widget or a culinary treat, prioritizing a circular life cycle for products helps keep them out of waste streams until they are negligible — or better yet, they never land there. ... View More

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Record Number of Companies Recognize Biodiversity Risks, But Struggling to Turn Commitments Into Action

Self-reported data from over 7,700 companies that responded to questions on biodiversity through CDP’s climate change questionnaire shows they are ready to disclose on biodiversity, sending a powerful signal to negotiators ahead of COP15. ... View More

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Q&A: Why Partnerships Are Essential for Delivering Circular Packaging for the Food Industry

While flexible packaging plays an important role in keeping food fresher longer, it has long been difficult to recycle. Designing more recyclable flexible packaging from the start and determining a better end-of-life process for current materials is ... View More

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New Program Aims to Expand Plastic Film Recycling Capacity in US

The joint effort from WM and Dow aims to provide a solution to make it easier for households to recycle the film while the companies explore new options to reuse it. When fully implemented, the program is expected to prevent 120,000 tons of plastic f... View More

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Brand Blind Spots, Empty Promises Hindering Effective Action Against Plastic Pollution

As seen in ongoing incidents of greenwashing and a new Greenpeace report, the onus is on consumer product manufacturers to take more comprehensive approaches to stemming their flow of plastic into the world — and turning the tide of public opinion.... View More

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Breaking Through the Logjam to Accelerate Decarbonization in the Energy Sector

Why have the collective efforts of national governments, NGOs, forward-looking companies and citizens had so little impact on curbing carbon emissions? Here are three reasons why high-level pledges are not translating into concrete actions — and wh... View More

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COP27 Yields More Impressive Forest-Conservation Commitments; But Will Our Efforts Go Up in Smoke?

From COP27, we see more and more business initiatives focused on not only reaching sustainability, but averting a climate crisis and achieving nature positivity — but have climate-fueled forest fires already nullified our chances at an effective ca... View More

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Purpose-Driven Brands Continue to Encourage More Conscious Consumption Habits in Antidote to Black Friday

As US consumers report more conservative gifting plans due to money worries, alternatives such as Freitag’s S.W.A.P. events and Poshmark’s Secondhand Sunday meet the downshift in enthusiasm for the Black Friday shopping frenzy. ... View More

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