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
To understand, and report on, an organization’s carbon footprint is a complex undertaking — to say the least. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
“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. Read More...
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, Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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? Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
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. Read More...
Like many large companies, Hilton has been steadily improving its sustainability performance one step at a time. Read More...
The world’s first retail platform that connects consumers to their own carbon footprint is being piloted by Ben & Jerry’s at its newest Scoop Shop in London. The platform, created by the nonprofit Poseidon Foundation and launched on May 1, uses blockchain technology to integrate carbon markets into transactions at the point of sale, giving retailers and their customers the opportunity to support action on climate change by helping fund forestry conservation projects around the world when they buy and sell everyday items. Read More...
Awareness of our plastic waste problem continues to grow, prompting campaigns and corporate action around the world. Read More...
Ahead of Earth Day last month, over one million people took to social media urging corporations to "break free" from single-use plastics. And from the fashion to the auto industry – and everywhere in between – innovations are taking root to increase our use of sustainable materials. To continue the momentum created by Earth Day, this year’s World Environment Day (June 5) is also focused on plastic pollution. Read More...