The Next Economy
The myriad new models and processes aimed at fixing the flaws in capitalism and laying the groundwork for practical, alternative economic frameworks designed to benefit all stakeholders.
Bold Climate Action Could Deliver US$26T by 2030, But Only If We Hurry
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.
Brands: Time to Address the Growth vs Happiness Conundrum
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?
Q&A: How Rubicon Global Is Championing a Zero-Waste World
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.
Developing a Circular Narrative: The Case of Relooping Fashion
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.
Impossible Foods Details Progress Toward Eliminating Animals from Food by 2035
Today, food tech startup Impossible Foods published its 2018 impact report, an annual update on its mission, business and strategic roadmap.
Blockchain Will Make Carbon Visible for Everybody
To understand, and report on, an organization’s carbon footprint is a complex undertaking — to say the least.
Report: Slavery, Labor Abuses in SE Asian Supply Chains Set to Spiral in Age of Automation
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.
Trending: C&A, Looptworks, John Lewis Spin Out More Circular Apparel Solutions
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.
When Will We Truly Begin Designing for Circularity?
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?
How Brands Can Leverage Sustainability, Social Inclusion to Create ‘Good’ Cities
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.
Q&A: Will We Go 'All In'? The Past, Present and Future of Sustainability Leadership
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.
BASF, IKEA, P&G Among Companies Showcasing How Brands Are Redesigning the Good Life
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.
Ben & Jerry’s Piloting Platform Connecting Consumers to Their Carbon Footprint
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.
How Is Your Brand Redesigning the Good Life This World Environment Day?
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.
Trending: New EMF Collaborative, G-Star RAW, Parsons Students Latest to ‘Make Fashion Circular’
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) has launched a new industry collaborative to build on the vision outlined in its New Textiles Economy report.
Trending: Edinburgh Going Circular, Auckland Sees the Business Case
A major new initiative in Edinburgh will help local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) identify and capitalise on circular economy opportunities, while an economic study has shown how circular economy opportunities could deliver nearly $9 billion for Auckland.
Trending: #BusinessCase, Innovations Grow for Sustainable Fashion; Waste Ban Looms
The business case for sustainability in the fashion industry has strengthened, but the pace of change still isn’t going fast or far enough, according to the newly released second edition of the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report.
Saved Grains, Zero-Emission Trucks Edging Anheuser Busch Toward 2025 Goals
This week, global brewer AB InBev announced two major initiatives helping it advance toward its 2025 Sustainability Goals in different parts of the world.
WRAP Convenes 42 CPG Giants in Global Pact to Eliminate Plastic Packaging Waste
Building on their individual efforts and those under the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF)’s New Plastics Economy initiative, dozens of businesses have made their commitment to the new UK Plastics Pact.
Trending: Commercial Food Waste Finds New Foes in Unique Co-op Model, Veolia Marketplace
Food waste is the single largest waste stream lost to disposal and is the leading cause of methane emissions from landfills. While many communities have successfully implemented curbside organics collection, the non-residential sector loses more than 70 percent of food waste to disposal, according to the Recycling Council of Ontario (RCO).