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.
Circular and sharing economy models are the latest trend in sustainable fashion – it seems there are new initiatives popping up all the time! Just last week, we covered startups reKindness and Hubbub, which are making clothes swapping easier in the U.S. and U.K., respectively.
There are new options for Americans and Brits alike who want to “re-fashion” their wardrobes. ReKindness is an Atlanta, Georgia-based startup that is allowing members to swap clothes through its online platform. On the other side of the pond, environmental charity Hubbub is running events to help people learn how to repair and upcycle clothes and accessories, in addition to “clothes swapping boutiques.”
Less than three weeks after General Motors (GM) announced a $500 million investment in ride-for-hire service Lyft, GM made another big move towards “the future of mobility.” This week, GM launched Maven: an on-demand car-sharing service and “personal mobility” brand.
Ford Motor Company has been rather focused on the “future of mobility” since the launch of its Smart Mobility Plan and 25 related experiments. The company has been shifting its focus from being an automaker to changing the way the world moves.
Designer and sustainability visionary William McDonough will unveil ICEhouse™ (Innovation for the Circular Economy house) in Davos this week, as a place for those attending the World Economic Forum annual meeting to gather and discuss the future of innovation for the circular economy. The structure has been designed to demonstrate the positive design framework described in the seminal book, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things; the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, and the reuse of resources implicit in the circular economy.
The winners of the second Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Product Design Challenge were announced this morning – each solution was carefully designed to maximize the use of materials that can be perpetually cycled for reuse.
Grocery stores in Europe and North America have slowly begun to target the food waste epidemic by showcasing “ugly” produce: French supermarket chain Intermarché led the pack in 2014 with its ingenious “Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables” campaign, UK-based Asda followed suit with its “Wonky Veg” campaign, and the trend came Stateside last summer when West Coast supermarket chain Raley’s partnered with Calif.-based startup Imperfect to pilot the “
10 promising startups that deliver water-focused data and analytics solutions have been selected as finalists in Imagine H2O’s Water Data Challenge, competing for $50,000 in cash awards. The final winners will be announced at Imagine H2O’s WaterGala event in San Francisco on March 16, 2016. In the meantime, the startups will participate the non-profit organization’s specialized water innovation accelerator program which will provide mentorship and grant them access to industry events as well as introductions to investors, utility partners, and beta customers.
Purpose brands that are authentic in creating a positive contribution to society while focusing on the delivery of great products and services are outgrowing other competitors. A clear purpose drives consumer preference and motivates employees, accelerating business results and positive change.
Farmer-owned co-operative Organic Valley surpassed $1 billion in sales on December 22, 2015, making it the world’s first organic-only food company to surpass the billion-dollar milestone. The company attributes a large part of its recent success to the introduction of two new product lines: In 2014, the company launched Organic Balance and Organic Fuel brand protein shakes; and in 2015 it launched Grassmilk premium yogurt, made with 100 percent grass-fed milk and no grain.
The ocean may be “big,” and “blue,” but it is also, unfortunately, full of garbage. It has been estimated that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the world’s oceans and 10,000 times more in the deep sea. Plastic and fibers have been found in a quarter of fish sold in markets in the US and Indonesia. Abandoned fishing gear often still traps and kills fish and sea mammals.
This week at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, hundreds of innovators, large and small, will showcase thousands of their latest potentially game-changing technologies in the world of electronics.A CES staple, appliance giant Whirlpool will showcase its Whirlpool® Every day, care™ interactive experience, where attendees can experience the latest product innovations and future design concepts:
The bold thinking and actions taken by corporate sustainability trailblazers often challenge the status quo and alter the concept of a company’s role in society. The following companies are leaders. They have taken principled stances or have implemented innovative programs that lead to better social and environmental conditions. In some cases, a company is included here just because of some radical statement from the CEO. But, they are the kinds of statements and actions we need if we are to move past incremental improvements and achieve transformative change on our way to sustainability.
UPS has announced it will supply its fleet in Memphis, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss., with an estimated 15 million diesel gallon gas equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) as part of a multi-year agreement with Memphis Light, Gas and Water and Atmos Energy Marketing.
Aluminum rolling and recycling leader Novelis released its sustainability report for Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) on December 22. The company doubled its recycling capacity over the past five years, among other achievements.
The future is uncertain — especially when it comes to food. As the need to transition to a more sustainable food system becomes apparent, many have speculated on what the future of food will hold. Will we consume crickets for protein, or stick with something more familiar, like drought-resistant beans and plant-based burgers?
When I first heard of the Sustainable Brands conference from our friends at Forum For The Future - I couldn't wait to go to one of the events. Luckily for me, it wasn't long until they brought the event to Asia, kicking off in the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur. Even though some people look at conference events as a waste of time, I couldn't disagree more. Events like SB'15 Kuala Lumpur are an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded collaborators and to find new and inspiring case studies of business done they way it should be: taking into account our environment and well-being.
13 ventures have been announced as the recipients of $12.9 million in funding from the Powering Agriculture: An Energy Grand Challenge for Development (PAEGC) program.
Today, Procter & Gamble released its 17th annual sustainability report, which details the progress it is making to reduce its environmental footprint and improve social conditions for those in need.The report reinforces the Company’s commitment to operating sustainably and details progress against its long-term vision of producing products that consumers love while maximizing conservation of resources, powering all its plants with 100 percent renewable energy, using 100 percent renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging and having zero consumer and manufacturing waste go to landfill.
The dust may have settled on Sustainable Brands ‘15 London, yet its impacts continue to ripple. Hannah Ritchie’s blog provided excellent coverage of our ‘Future Concepts’ workshop that invited attendees to innovate with us on the day. Yet the session was about more than just a clever process so we wanted to share the results with you, too.We believe that innovation is a crucial yet under-utilised strategy for responsible brand leaders, so our workshop aimed to push more brands along a sustainable innovation path, showing them that this is possible and beneficial.