The latest developments in materials, feedstocks and processes that are transforming the way many conventional products are made and packaged — and eliminating their negative impacts
Sustainable chemical management is a critical component of a healthy and circular future. In its second annual report, the Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) revealed encouraging advances across industries towards the use of safer materials and greater transparency.
DowDuPont Materials Science (Dow) and WE, a global development charity and youth empowerment movement, have rolled out the We Are Innovators campaign to challenge educators and students to harness chemistry and science to create solutions for pressing global issues.
It’s Waste Reduction Week in Canada, and to celebrate, I spoke to some superstar companies reducing waste through product design that are featured in the National Zero Waste Council’s Design Portfolio. For the first article in this three-part series, I spoke to Abeego founder Toni Desrosiers about her company’s reusable beeswax wraps.
The global airline industry is flying high — according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the sector is forecasted to make a net profit of $29.8 billion in 2017 and air passengers are expected to double over the next 20 years. But coupled with the industry’s success are unprecedented levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
The environmental impact of laboratories is enormous. But with the launch of ACT, the first-ever environmental impact factor label for laboratory products, nonprofit My Green Lab is working to change that. “The ACT label makes it possible for scientists and procurement specialists to choose safe, sustainable products by focusing on the impact of making, using and disposing of a product and its packaging,” said Allison Paradise, Executive Director of My Green Lab.
Despite making progress on climate risks, the chemical industry is failing to meet the goals outlined by the Paris Agreement, says a new report by CDP.
With Sustainable September now underway, an opportunity to elevate the importance of sustainability on a global scale, and the release of our 2014-2016 sustainability report, All of Us, Every Day; we caught up with our own Michael Colarossi, VP of Innovation, Product Line Management and Sustainability.
This week, Walmart updated its sustainable chemistry policy, to eliminate toxic chemicals in thousands of consumable products, such as household cleaners, cosmetics and skincare items, and infant products. This policy includes new goals for the company to restrict over 2,700 harmful chemicals in household products by 2022, increase transparency of ingredients globally, and encourage suppliers to certify their products to credible third-party standards such as EPA Safer Choice. The updated policy applies to 90,000 products from 700 suppliers.
Car manufacturers have dominated the news in recent weeks with details emerging about everything from scrappage schemes to big-time commitments to EVs, indicating that a significant industry-wide shift is underway. Now, Volkswagen joins the growing group of mobility giants making the switch to low-carbon vehicles, while Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has launched a new program that will place end-of-life materials into new products.
While eliminating impacts at the design stage is a crucial strategy for putting a stop to plastic pollution, it’s just one small piece of the puzzle. According to new initiatives and research from The Dow Chemical Company and the Closed Loop Foundation, investing in intelligent end-of-life solutions for previously non-recyclable packaging is just as important.
Packaging has widely been recognized as a pathway to a sustainable future, but opinions around the critical actions needed to deliver circular outcomes in urban areas, particularly megacities (a metropolitan area with a total population over 10 million people), such as management of recycling, littering, waste and support for sustainable behavior and education, largely differ.
The fashion and textile industries continue to make strides towards a more circular future with the emergence of new resources and technologies that make a sustainable shift easier than ever before.
Startups and retail giants alike are looking to bio-based materials and recycled plastics to drive innovation and reduce environmental impacts along the value chain within the fashion and textile industry.
Microplastics — extremely small pieces (less than 5 mm) of plastic debris resulting from the disposal and breakdown of consumer products and industrial waste — have been found in tap water around the globe, according to a new report by Orb Media, a D.C.-based nonprofit digital newsroom. The discovery has led to a call from the scientific community for urgent research on microplastics’ implications for human health.
While the textile industry presents endless opportunities to significantly reduce global environmental impacts, progressing towards sustainability and circularity continues to be an uphill battle. As a new technology is revealed to be instrumental in reducing the carbon footprint of textile coatings, a new ban on scrap textile imports in China could curb global textile recycling progress.
Ohio-based Buckhorn manufactures different types of heavy-duty, reusable plastic packaging for the food processing, automotive, manufacturing, distribution, bakery and agriculture industries, with a focus on improving companies’ supply chain performance by reducing product waste and material handling costs. The company is also dedicated to keeping its own impacts in check by buying back end-of-life containers for recycling; the company then incorporates ground-up recycled materials, called ‘regrind,’ into the next generation of containers. We spoke with president Ken Kozicki to learn more about Buckhorn’s commitment to eliminating waste throughout its value chain.
As consumer demand for product transparency grows, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to disclose information about the ingredients that go into to their products. Following this call to action, Procter & Gamble (P&G) has unveiled plans to list all fragrance ingredients down to 0.01 percent for its entire product portfolio in the US and Canada by the end of 2019.
There was the agrarian revolution, followed by the industrial revolution and now the digital revolution. With each came efficiency and added value. But with each also came a loss of jobs and painful adjustments. Currently, the world straddles two distinctly different ways of life: On one side sits the taxi cab and newspaper users among us; on the other, the Uber and Twitter devotees. These distinctly different worlds lead many businesses to a fork in the road where the path toward survival and long-term growth is often complex and unclear.
The market for sustainable packaging is expected to reach $440.3 billion over the next decade and businesses that hop on the bandwagon early are expected to reap economic benefits as well as increased consumer satisfaction and a lower environmental footprint. Two industry giants are riding the wave of change with the help of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition and the roll out of new sustainable packaging initiatives.
Johnson & Johnson is on a mission to improve the sustainability of its products by sourcing solutions from within the company through its Earthwards® program. In June, the program became 100 products strong; J&J’s aim is for the Earthwards® portfolio to represent 20 percent of its revenue by 2020. We spoke with Paulette Frank, J&J’s Worldwide VP of Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability, to learn more about the internal and external benefits of designing in sustainability.