CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - By designing with the end in mind and considering durability, construction, recyclability and production, designers who create products with ‘lower-cost’ ingredients bring us one step closer to a circular economy.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - There is immense potential for sustainable innovation in the ever-growing space economy — in ways that could bring the industry’s own impacts, and an infinite source of solar power, back down to Earth.
MARKETING AND COMMS - B Lab has launched a public comment period on new draft standards for B Corp Certification — inviting businesses, civil society and the public to provide feedback through an interactive website.
WALKING THE TALK - Sustainability in business is treated as if our wellbeing isn’t linked to the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and the world we create. In ayurveda’s holistic worldview, there’s no such thing as ‘it doesn’t concern me’ when it comes to sustainability.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Winners of this year’s Green Chemistry Challenge Awards include Modern Meadow’s Bio-FREED technology — which uses bio-based proteins to create a sustainable dyeing process that can be applied to any type of fiber and uses 95% less water, 75% less energy and 80% fewer dyes and chemicals than traditional dyeing methods.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - The brand has partnered with Samsara Eco to extract nylon 6,6 from end-of-life textiles, demonstrating the potential to create a fully circular ecosystem for apparel.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - Amcor is ramping up usage of an industry-standard, 750-ml version of a recycled PET bottle with technology that’s long been in use in smaller formats.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - “We don’t need everyone to do it perfectly to change the world; we just need double-digit percentages from a heck of a lot of buy-in.” — Natural Habitat Adventures’ Court Whelan
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Regenerative sustainability provides a pragmatic foundation to demonstrate caregiving and relationality to people and planet. It shouldn’t be a ‘battle against climate change;’ it should be a ‘relationship we’re working to heal.’
CLEANTECH - We spoke with Damian Chan, EVP of the Singapore Economic Development Board, to learn more about how it is driving sustainability and the energy transition in the island nation.
SUPPLY CHAIN - The impact-driven chocolate brand doubled farmer premiums, further reduced child labor and environmental impacts, and continued to grow its coalition of Mission Allies.
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Here are 4 takeaways from the 2024 WEF annual meeting that the business world should incorporate into sustainability strategies for the year ahead.
COLLABORATION - Often fearful of transitioning toward sustainability on their own, businesses find safety in numbers when working together. And one place to find these numbers is in industry, trade and professional groups or associations.
WASTE NOT - Not all flights booked result in a passenger on board said flight. By predicting the number of passengers based on historical data, AI is helping the airline waste significantly fewer inflight meals.
SUPPLY CHAIN - The often-arduous process for meeting sustainable certification requirements can be daunting, if not prohibitive, for smallholder farmers. Digitizing the process removes pain points for both farmers and the companies that source their crops.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - The luxury Italian carmaker extends its decarbonization program to its entire value chain, with the aim of reducing total enterprise emissions by 40% per car by 2030.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Australian startup Sea Forest’s seaweed-based feed supplements significantly reduce methane emissions from ruminant livestock.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT - The $1M fund aims to finance deployment of reuse and refill infrastructure — particularly in FMCG, food service and delivery, grocery, e-commerce and retail — to combat global plastic pollution.
NEW METRICS - Right now, far too much of the business world is giving sustainability a value of zero, when nothing could be farther from the truth.
MARKETING AND COMMS - A Super Bowl ad can shape a countrywide conversation; but most brands are choosing gutless entertainment — missing an opportunity to differentiate, engage and lead on today’s most pertinent issues.