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
Today, food tech startup Impossible Foods published its 2018 impact report, an annual update on its mission, business and strategic roadmap.
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.
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.”
To understand, and report on, an organization’s carbon footprint is a complex undertaking — to say the least.
Have you ever wondered why your fresh produce often spoils long before the expiration date says it should? Food waste is a frustrating phenomenon that not only affects our environment but also impacts consumers’ wallets and businesses’ bottom lines. Up to 40 percent of the food we produce gets thrown out, costing the nation an estimated $218 Billion each year; furthermore, food waste accounts for more than 2.6 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions annually — the equivalent of 37 million passenger vehicles.
Drastic job losses in South East Asia resulting from the onset of robot manufacturing are predicted to lead to a dramatic increase in slavery and labor abuses in global supply chains, unless governments take early measures to prevent automation threatening millions of livelihoods, states a new report by Verisk Maplecroft.
“In 2016, Bacardi led the drinks industry with the first #NoStraws campaign focusing on eliminating single-use plastic straws from its cocktails,” explained Dune Ives, executive director of Lonely Whale, a non-profit dedicated to positively impact the health of the ocean.
Cross-Posted from Innovation & Technology. Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, said he welcomed the idea of bringing forward the UK’s ban on new petrol and diesel car sales that is currently set for 2040. MPs,
Following Vancouver’s approval of a strategic plan to achieve zero waste and phase out plastic straws and other select packaging, its neighbor to the south is also taking action. Seattle recently became the first major U.S.
Food waste remains a huge and costly problem, costing $2.6 trillion dollars in lost value globally each year. The U.S. retail food sector alone generates eight million tons of waste annually in distribution centers and stores, equivalent to about $18 billion a year in lost value for retailers.
Increasing circularity in the apparel sector will require a variety of initiatives and some of the most valuable ways to bridge the implementation gap will be to provide funding, design new products with closed-loop design and launch take-back programs for would-be-waste items. Announcements on Monday revealed that these are exactly the contributions being made by the C&A Foundation, Looptworks and John Lewis.
If I took one thing away from the Circular Economy sessions at SB’18 Vancouver, it was the need to design for the end of a product’s first life. Note I said, “first life,” because ideally it will be endlessly recycled. That said, as new products come online, designers need to be asking, what materials are we using? Can the product itself be reused like the very cool fashion pieces curated by Beyond Retro (a Bank & Vogue LTD company), or will it be recycled and recreated like Brambles’ packaging solutions?
It’s a tough time to be a plastic straw producer. Over the past few months, it seems the message has broken through that plastic straws are harmful to the environment – and marine life in particular – that phase outs and bans are warranted.
This week at Sustainable Brands’ flagship event, SB’18 Vancouver, over 2,000 attendees are sharing and exploring the many ways organizations are helping to “redesign the good life.” One aspect of the good life is cross-sector collaboration, such as brand-city-organization partnerships to build resilient communities, technologies and systems that focus on social inclusion.
Today at SB’18 Vancouver, The North Face will announce the launch of The North Face Renewed — a collection of refurbished products for consumers who want to access affordable gear and reduce their environmental impact. All “Renewed” items — which are sourced from returned, defective or damaged apparel — have been thoroughly inspected, cleaned and refurbished to The North Face quality and performance standards.
Today, Savers® released its third annual State of Reuse Report, which reveals that while people consistently state they are donating or finding ways to extend the life of their items, there is still a long journey ahead to fully embrace reuse — as 60 percent of North Americans shop secondhand only once a year or less.
Written by three leading thinkers in the field of sustainability — Chris Coulter, CEO of GlobeScan; David Grayson, Emeritus of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield University School of Management; and Mark Lee, Executive Director of SustainAbility — All In: The future of Business Leadership (Taylor & Francis, 2018) identifies the essential attributes of high-impact corporate sustainability leadership and describes how companies can combine and apply those characteristics for future success.
Today, the Sustainable Brands® team has convened, along with 2,000 members of its global community, for the kick-off of SB’18 Vancouver, running June 4-7 at Vancouver Convention Centre West in Vancouver, British Columbia. More than 300 influential brand leaders and practitioners of environmental and social innovation will share new tools and frameworks, cutting-edge business solutions and case studies related to design and innovation for The Good Life.
These days — especially in sustainability circles — it seems impossible to avoid hearing about the massive problem that is plastic pollution, and what we can do to address it. In the past two weeks alone, there have been announcements from public, non-profit and private organizations alike, such as the European Commission, City of Vancouver, Zero Waste Scotland, and Hilton. It’s great to see, but before we declare that we’re “winning the war” on plastic waste, we need to take it one battle at a time.
Like many large companies, Hilton has been steadily improving its sustainability performance one step at a time.