Product, Service & Design Innovation / In a bid to reposition itself as a producer of convenient natural products, Campbell Soup Company is set to launch Well Yes!, a pivotal “clean” canned soup line, with a corresponding campaign that encourages consumers to make small, healthy daily choices rather than big, unrealistic resolutions. With the New Year only a week away, the launch of the new campaign is timely. - 6 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Earlier this year, the World Bank announced a fundamental shift in its role of alleviating global poverty, by refocusing its financing efforts towards tackling climate change through the lens of SMEs. Last month, the group launched a new Climate Business Innovation Network (CBIN) during COP22 in Marrakech to help commercialize and diffuse clean technologies through developing countries. - 6 years ago
The Next Economy / A recent report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and a number of new initiatives sweeping Europe have highlighted the convincing business case for companies to adopt circular principles into their business models. The latest development on the path to a circular economy? A new project across the UK and the Netherlands called REBus. - 6 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Ambitions to reduce environmental impact by slashing water use are driving brands in industries of all kinds to rethink their manufacturing processes. This week, both Wrangler and Toyota announced they have risen to the challenge and have plenty to show for their efforts. Having recently reached a milestone of three billion liters of water saved since 2007, denim and casual apparel brand Wrangler announced on Wednesday that it plans to reduce water usage at its facilities by 20 percent by 2020. - 6 years ago
Waste Not / Ending food waste is a key concern across the Western world, with new initiatives such as WWF and Sodexo’s sustainable meals program and Sainsbury’s Waste Less, Save More campaign seeming to crop up almost daily. - 6 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation / On Monday, Bill Gates announced the establishment of a $1 billion investment fund, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, geared towards fighting climate change through clean energy innovation. - 6 years ago
The Next Economy / There’s growing evidence around the efficacy of a circular economy and the key role it will play in helping companies and nations carry out the commitments outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, maintain competitive economies, and reduce waste and consumption of natural resources. The journey to a circular economy will be a long one, and it will require cooperation between businesses, local governments, investors and individuals around the world. - 6 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Reducing global food waste seems to be on everyone’s mind these days, and two young health food brands — Barnana and Wonky Juice — are looking to address the issue at the source, giving misshapen fruits and vegetables new life and boosting local economies. Fact: Bananas are the number-one wasted food product in the world, with fifty percent of all bananas grown going to waste. Caue Suplicy, founder of organic banana snack brand Barnana, is hoping to change that. - 6 years ago
Cleantech / Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has officially become the first U.S. energy company to pilot a methane-detection device. - 6 years ago
Supply Chain / Growing concerns over the environmental and social impacts of the footwear and apparel industry have kickstarted efforts to create more transparent and ethical supply chains and practices, but there is still a significant amount of work to be done, according to a new benchmarking system launched today by KnowTheChain (KTC), a resource for businesses and investors who need to understand and address forced labor abuse - 6 years ago
Waste Not / Cambrian Innovation, a commercial provider of distributed wastewater-treatment and resource-recovery solutions for industrial facilities, announced today that it is offering a novel water-energy purchase agreement (WEPA) - a new form of financing that it’s calling the wastewater industry’s answer to solar’s power purchasing agreements (PPAs) – and that Lagunitas Brewing Company will be the first to use it. - 6 years ago
Cleantech / Siemens and New York-based startup LO3 Energy have announced that they are partnering up to make the energy-sharing economy a reality through the development of microgrids that use blockchain technology to enable local energy trading. - 6 years ago
Cleantech / French engineering giant Bouygues Group is making a convincing case for reinventing the wheel, rolling out four new solar road projects across four continents that could change the way we drive by 2018. Colas SA, a subsidiary of Bouygues Group, has designed solar panels that are rugged enough to withstand the weight of an 18-wheeler truck — and are currently building them into road surfaces in France. Colas has been performing research and laboratory tests over the past five years and now plans to construct 100 test sites to further test the new technology before commercializing it in 2018. - 6 years ago
The Next Economy / A new report has found that adopting circular economic principles would put India on a path to positive regenerative and value-creating development with annual benefits of US $624 billion in 2050 compared with the current development — equivalent to 30% of India’s current GDP. - 6 years ago
Collaboration / Sustainable food initiatives aimed at tackling food waste and climate change are sweeping through Europe and the UK, and the latest example comes in the form of a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) UK and global catering and facilities firm Sodexo. - 6 years ago
Organizational Change / Yesterday, the European Commission (EC) announced it will begin phasing out coal subsidies and reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030 under a new clean energy package. - 6 years ago
New Metrics / The value of ecosystem services has, up until recently, gone largely unrecognized by governments and corporations. While nature is inherently valuable for a variety of obvious reasons, putting a price tag on it isn’t exactly a straightforward process. - 6 years ago
Waste Not / On Friday, the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme - a collaboration of 22 leading brands, including Kering, Marks & Spencer, Primark, Coop Switzerland and New Balance, along with 13 value chain affiliates and 7 associates - released its Wastewater Guidelines, a unified expectation on wastewater quality for t - 6 years ago
The Next Economy / The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) - a partnership between the Mayor of London and London’s Boroughs dedicated to improving waste and resource management within the capital, with the aim of turning London into a circular city - has launched a new program called Advanced London to support SMEs in adopting and scaling up circular business models. - 6 years ago
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Ramblers Way, an ethically sourced, American-made sustainable clothing company announced today an extensive rebrand across the company along with the new tagline ‘Clothing for a Good Life.’ The new brand look and feel embodies Ramblers Way’s commitment to protect the planet, support local economies and build its business based on lifelong values. - 6 years ago