Product, Service & Design Innovation

The latest products, services, design approaches and business models that are helping organizations of all sizes deliver on their sustainability ambitions and establish a new business as usual.

Topic Channel Sponsored By

New Innovations Simplify Ocean Plastic Supply Chain

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Incorporating recycled ocean plastics into products is no longer a risky affair, and more brands are following in the footsteps of earlier pioneers to revolutionize their own product lines and story with these salvaged materials.

Interior Design Firm’s Product Exchange Minimizes Construction & Demolition Waste

Cross-Posted from Waste Not. Schott Design’s product exchange program, SchottXchange, goes beyond its carpet reclamation and recycling efforts on its projects to facilitate the reuse of items within or between buildings, diverting materials from the landfill.

Going Green (and Blue): Three Lessons Learned from a Circular Partnership

Cross-Posted from Chemistry, Materials & Packaging. As CHEP and Ice River Springs have worked together in pursuit of a stronger circular economy, we’ve learned a number of lessons. We want to share a few with you, in hopes that they’ll spark inspiration for your own operations.

Nimble Nonprofit Pivots to Fulfill Its Purpose During the Pandemic

The Desai Foundation’s advice to purpose-driven organizations dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic is to look beyond the immediate practicalities and be open to new ways to deliver on end goals.

Slowly But Surely, Fairphone Paving the Way to a More Ethical Electronics Industry

Cross-Posted from Supply Chain. Latest Fairphone Impact Report reveals benefits of social and environmental programs; while LCA of the Fairphone 3 shows that using a smartphone for over 5 years can reduce CO2 emissions by about 40%.

How a Classic Brand Is Tackling the Marine Plastic Problem

Cross-Posted from Chemistry, Materials & Packaging. Zipper giant YKK Group has used recycled PET yarns in the woven tape of its Natulon® zippers since 1994. But when it wanted to help address the challenge of ocean plastic, the company saw it as an opportunity to get creative.

Global Maker Challenge Finalists Tackling Food, Trade, Justice, Circularity

This year’s global challenges centered around four themes: Sustainable and Healthy Food for All, Climate Change/Circular Economy, Innovation for Inclusive Trade, and Innovation for Peace and Justice.

Young Innovators Compete on Ideas to Build Back Better in Latin America

UNEP’s Innovation for Sustainable Lifestyles Competition sees college-level entrepreneurs developing solutions in the areas of transportation, building and food to help the region rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

P&G Embraces Natural Climate Solutions to Achieve Global Climate Neutrality

Cross-Posted from Finance & Investment. The goal is to reduce its GHGs by 50%, use 100% renewable electricity at all manufacturing sites by 2030, and advance natural climate solutions to achieve carbon neutrality for the decade.

Public Benefit Brewer Aims to Put People Back to Work During Corona

While starting any new business is challenging; Works Progress Administration believes it’s always a good time to help people and benefit your community through social impact — especially during this time of chaos and crisis.

HP Sets Ambitious Plastic Goals, Doubles Down on Diversity Commitments

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. Along with the release of its 2019 Sustainable Impact Report, the tech giant has set bold goals around reduction of single-use plastics and increasing recycled materials; and committed to doubling its number of Black executives by 2025.

A Brief History of Food Declarations; and the Path to Better Ones

Cross-Posted from Marketing and Comms. Food is not about boxed brands on a shelf, but about people and the environment — hence, our need for food declarations. We’re working on one that not only certifies the ingredients, but shows consumers the impact they make with the purchase of each product.

Meet the Food-Delivery Service That’s Actually Helping Restaurants ‘Fare’ During the Pandemic

Fare, a new food-delivery app, is building a more equitable model — one that fosters enhanced community cohesion and shared benefits, and doesn’t include restaurant-crippling fees.

Small Fashion Brands Throw Collective Weight Behind Circular Fashion Pledge

Cross-Posted from The Next Economy. Over 110 small and medium-sized apparel brands from around the world have signed on to the 2020 Circular Fashion Pledge, with actionable steps to make circular fashion an industry-wide reality.

Meet the Innovators Ensuring the COVID Plastic Boom Doesn't Last Forever

With health concerns momentarily outweighing mindful consumption, global efforts to wean the world off of single-use plastics have ground to a halt — and suddenly, in the race to protect citizens, plastic is everywhere. Thankfully, lockdown has also triggered radical innovation and ingenuity.

Sisters’ Social Enterprise Breaking the Cycle of Limited Personal Mobility in the UAE

Cross-Posted from Waste Not. Meet Charicycles — the upcycled cycles that are helping improve mobility and air quality in Dubai, while improving the wellbeing and motivation of children in refugee camps.

SDGs Key to (Re)Building Tourism with an Eye Toward the Future

The travel industry has done a poor job integrating the SDGs into business operations and reporting on them. But the Goals offer guidance on how to develop destinations that can appropriately manage tourism’s footprint and minimize environmental impact while benefiting local communities.