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
EVRYTHNG — the IoT platform that makes every consumer product intelligent, interactive and trackable — is now powering a first-of-its-kind recycling scheme providing CPG brands and retailers with vital insights to consumer recycling habits and behaviors. Read More...
A new report published this week by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) identifies 12 characteristics behind business model design, that are being combined by organizations around the world in different ways to create new sources of value. Read More...
Last year, the Sustainable Brands community gathered around the world throughout the year to share insights on how they – and their customers – were “redefining the good life.” This year, the conversation has progressed from the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ of designing the sustainable future in which we all want to live. Read More...
At the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015, countries committed to Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3, calling for the world to cut food loss and waste in half by 2030. Now three years on, Champions 12.3 — a global coalition of sustainable food champions — is tracking progress toward this fast-approaching target and finding that the private sector has seized the opportunity to tackle food loss and waste. Read More...
Circulate Capital, the impact-focused investment management firm dedicated to financing companies, projects and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic; and SecondMuse, a global business accelerator that works with local stakeholders, leading corporations and government agencies to build resilient economies, today announced the launch of The Incubator Network by Circulate Capital and SecondMuse, a new initiative to accelerate solutions to ocean plastic waste by partnering with existing incubators t Read More...
The Ocean Cleanup, the Dutch non-profit organization that made waves in 2015 with its grand plans and new approach to ridding the oceans of plastic, last weekend launched the world’s first ocean cleanup system from the San Francisco Bay. “System 001” headed to a location 240 nautical miles offshore for a two-week trial before continuing its journey toward the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, 1,200 nautical miles offshore, to start the cleanup. System 001 is being towed from the San Francisco Bay by the vessel Maersk Launcher, which has been made available to the project by A.P. Read More...
One of the most frequently asked questions I get when pitching Thread is “what happens if you run out of plastic to recycle?” Read More...
Capitalism will save the planet. And I’ll tell you why. This week, leaders from around the world have descended on San Francisco for Gov. Jerry Brown and Michael Bloomberg’s Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) and its affiliate events, to celebrate past and commit to future actions to curb climate change. The hope is that, collectively, these commitments from states, cities, businesses and other organizations will be enough to counter the current climate policy regression in Washington. No doubt, commitments will be made — but talk is cheap unless we can find a way to make the walk profitable. Read More...
New York Fashion Week is here and there is a growing fashion movement that has the potential to fundamentally change the industry: sustainable fashion. If designers want to endear themselves to Gen Z, they’ll take note of this important shift. Read More...
A major report released by the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate finds that we are significantly underestimating the benefits of cleaner, climate-smart growth. Bold climate action could deliver at least US$26 trillion in economic benefits through to 2030, compared with business as usual. Read More...
Materialism is making us miserable. That’s the unavoidable conclusion from decades of research into the links between consumption and wellbeing. Buying stuff just doesn’t make life feel any better. Advertising paints a picture of what we don’t have and fuels frustration and insecurity. What does this mean for businesses that aspire to grow? How can brands improve their impacts on the world whilst also selling us more? Read More...
Founded in 2008, Atlanta-based Rubicon Global has become a worldwide leader in providing cloud-based waste and recycling solutions for customers in business, government and the nonprofit sectors. Read More...
The latest plastic product to come under fire is plastic straws. Before that, it was bags; and before that, foam foodservice items. Have you ever stopped to ask, why do we use so much plastic, especially plastic packaging? The answer depends on the type of packaging, but one of the overriding answers is that plastic is more resource efficient than its competing materials. In other words, it takes less energy (a key resource) to do the job. Read More...
It is often said that transitioning towards a circular economy requires a number of changes in the way businesses operate. For example, the linear supply chain will need to be re-organised into a circular ecosystem, which decouples growth from the use of virgin raw materials and resources. Read More...
Have you been busy shedding paper weight? Do you know someone who’s lost pounds of plastic, aluminum and glass? Is your business slimming down sustainably? Rubicon Global — a leader in providing waste, recycling, and smart city solutions to businesses and governments — is on the hunt for the leaders who are shaping up their organization’s sustainability plans by slimming down on waste. Read More...
We’ve all occasionally bought too much or waited too long to eat our fresh fruit and veg, but what is the true impact of the food we throw away? UK food tech company It’s Fresh! has launched a food waste calculator to enable consumers to understand the true cost of the fruit and vegetables they discard. Read More...
Thread, the Pittsburgh-based startup that's collected over 41 million plastic bottles from landfill communities in Haiti and Honduras and created fabric for some of the world's leading brands, today launched its own product on Kickstarter with a first-of-its-kind bag — the Better Backpack. Read More...
Today, food tech startup Impossible Foods published its 2018 impact report, an annual update on its mission, business and strategic roadmap. Read More...
Litter. It seems like such a ‘60s word, but it’s time to dust it off and rethink it — especially in the context of plastics and Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). Start with the fact that more than 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the environment annually, much of it into our oceans. That’s almost 3 percent (and perhaps more) of all plastic produced annually. Read More...
It’s time to face the facts. By 2030, we will consume 102 million tons of apparel per year, an increase of 63 percent from 2017. And by 2050, the global-fashion industry will consume a quarter of the world’s annual carbon budget — which represents the quantity of greenhouse gas emissions that can be emitted to keep climate change “tolerable.” Read More...