Maxine Perella
Lord of the Flies: The Insect Army Storming the Food Waste Front
Waste Not / How do you solve a problem like food waste? There’s no magic bullet, but realizing that discarded food attracts flies like nothing else, UK-based startup Entomics has engineered an upcycling solution that exploits the metabolic power of insects to convert leftover scraps into high-value protein and fertilizer product. - 5 years ago
Can a Country Become a Sustainable Brand? Why Wales Is Up for the Challenge
The Next Economy / “We hope that what Wales is doing today, the world will do tomorrow.” In 2015 Nikhil Seth, a leading UN representative, hailed the Welsh Government’s Well-being of Future Generations Act as a pioneering piece of legislation, saying it captured the essence of two decades’ worth of UN work in the field of sustainable development. - 5 years ago
Consumption-Based Metrics: The Next Challenge for Zero-Waste Cities
New Metrics / Cities are major contributors to – and battlegrounds of – climate change. According to a report from the UN Habitat, cities pump out roughly 70 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions whilst just occupying just 2 percent of the Earth’s land. - 6 years ago
Efficiency Engagement: Turning Employees Into Energy Ambassadors
Behavior Change / Installing more efficient equipment is often at the forefront of an energy manager’s mind when it comes to driving down carbon emissions, but even the most energy-efficient kit still requires human involvement. Making that link, and understanding how people’s behaviour impacts on technology outputs, is crucial if building management systems are to be optimised. This is where carbon psychology can help. It’s a technique that can be used by companies to understand the drivers behind staff behaviour change and from this, develop strategies to reduce energy consumption. - 6 years ago
Consumer Goods Firms Prioritizing 'Common Principles' to Eradicate Forced Labour
Collaboration / There are an estimated 21 million victims of forced labour in the world today, with labour exploitation fast becoming the dominant form – in 2015, it overtook sexual exploitation for the first time in the UK. The insidious nature of forced labour, coupled with the growing complexity of global supply chains, makes it a tough problem for corporations to identify, let alone stamp out. - 6 years ago
An Ethical Footwear Force Awakens with Po-Zu and Its Better Shoes Foundation
Product, Service & Design Innovation / This week, ethical shoe brand Po-Zu will unveil its Star Wars-themed footwear at the FFANY trade show in New York as part of a major collaboration with the movie franchise. It’s a highly significant launch for Po-Zu, as it will enable the UK-based manufacturer to bring its products to a wider market and raise public awareness over the ‘dark side’ of the shoe trade. - 6 years ago
A Sustainable Life at Home: How IKEA Plans to Become Circular
Product, Service & Design Innovation / IKEA has been quietly piloting various initiatives across its European stores to see how it can build circularity into its service offering for customers. It’s a bold move, given that consumer-facing circular economy business models are still relatively embryonic, particularly in the retail market. “Over the coming years, we will support customers to care and repair, rent, share, bring back, and resell their IKEA products to prolong product life,” IKEA’s sustainability manager Jonas Engberg told me in a recent interview. - 6 years ago
How Becoming Future-Fit Is Helping The Body Shop in Its Quest for 'True Sustainability'
New Metrics / “I think we have to be challenging to each other. If we look at the state of the planet, and we look at the performance of business, there’s something not working there.” Chris Davis, The Body Shop’s international CSR and campaigns director, isn’t afraid to cut to the chase. The company’s Enrich not Exploit commitment, launched earlier this year, is a quest to deliver what Davis calls “true sustainability” – in simple terms, it means putting the needs of the planet before corporate interests. - 6 years ago
Jaguar Land Rover, Novelis Target Aluminum Waste as New Circular Resource Opportunity
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / A key business driver for today’s vehicle manufacturers is to find cost-effective ways to reduce material impact, and weight, in the cars they build. Lighter vehicles result in less fuel consumption – and consequently, fewer emissions. - 6 years ago
Can You Put a Price Tag on Purpose? How Patagonia Highlights Value Over Cost
Product, Service & Design Innovation / In 2014, Patagonia dissolved its sustainability department – a move that the company’s VP of public engagement, Rick Ridgeway, remains proud of to this day. Overnight, the outdoor clothing brand deepened its commitment to environmental and social justice by decentralizing its sustainability team and moving them individually out into core areas of the business where they would have most influence. - 6 years ago
Durable Duds: The Disruptive Startups Looking to Wear Out Fast Fashion
Product, Service & Design Innovation / As leading fashion brands continue their creative battles against textile waste — check out recent innovations by Levi Strauss, H&M and adidas — a new breed of circular clothing disruptor is starting to emerge. These purposeful startups are looking to stop fast fashion in its tracks by building longevity and emotional durability into their apparel. - 6 years ago
Can This App Help Consumers, Retailers Redefine Our Relationship with Stuff?
The Next Economy / Are we truly stuffed? Our obsession with ownership means we have become somewhat attracted to clutter. It is estimated that the average US home contains 300,000 items, yet this still isn’t enough for 1 in 10 Americans who have to additionally rent offsite storage. - 6 years ago
The Leo Effect: In a Post-CSR World, Can Purpose Really Co-Exist with Profit?
Organizational Change / When Leonardo DiCaprio channeled his long-awaited Oscars acceptance speech last weekend into an urgent call to climate action, it represented something of a defining moment. In just 60 seconds, he effortlessly pushed the emerging concept of ‘society as stakeholder’ into the media spotlight, forcing more than 34 million viewers to take note. - 7 years ago
Is It Time for a New Type of CEO – the Circular Economy Officer?
The Next Economy / As more and more companies look to adopt closed-loop business models, the question of whether to create dedicated circular economy roles internally is beginning to bite. Such roles are still thin on the ground, but it’s notable that those businesses that have already adopted them are demonstrating real leadership on this agenda. - 7 years ago
Will Paris Signal a Sunnier Climate for Low-Carbon Economics?
The Next Economy / Next week marks the start of important climate negotiations in Paris – the aim of COP21 is to deliver a new international agreement that will put the world on track towards a low-carbon future. The feeling in the air is one of optimism – there are high hopes the agreement could go beyond its intended diplomacy and act as a historic catalyst to drive real leadership on the issue. - 7 years ago
UK Brands Turning to Co-Creation to Help Unlock Packaging Innovations
Chemistry, Materials & Packaging / Flicking through various CSR reports, it’s interesting to note how often packaging is highlighted as an area in need of more attention. It’s hardly surprising given the complexity of applying lifecycle thinking to a material that needs to protect the product inside it while also delivering a satisfying consumer experience. - 7 years ago
Brands Must Scale Up Diversity – and Fast – If They Want to Remain Relevant
Organizational Change / “Women challenge the status quo because we never are it.”Addressing a (thankfully) diverse audience of sustainability professionals in London, UK, last month at an event hosted by The Crowd, Cindy Gallop -– a global activist for the gender equality movement -– pulled no punches in reminding business leaders why women are essential to making corporations fit for a better world. - 7 years ago
The Circular Economy, Take 2: Will Europe Fail or Fly?
The Next Economy / The European Commission is expected to unveil its revised Circular Economy Package this autumn – an occasion that will mark the first significant piece of policy intervention in this space. The Commission is under pressure to get the detail right this time, having ditched the original proposals earlier this year, deeming them not ambitious enough. - 7 years ago
Lexmark Predicts Connected Future Built on ‘Economy of Use’
Cleantech / The emerging Internet of Things (IoT) space represents one of the most disruptive, yet lucrative, forces in the business world today. Research by McKinsey & Co estimates that IoT technology offers a potential economic impact of $3.9 trillion to $11.1 trillion a year by 2025. At the top end, that level of value would be equivalent to about 11 percent of the world economy. - 7 years ago
Taking Notes on Humanity: Harnessing Big Data to Drive Social Good
Cleantech / Given the rate at which big data is evolving — it is being generated from multiple sources at such speed and volume that the term itself is becoming overexposed — it is little wonder that corporations are struggling to figure out how best to mine it for the type of information that can help enable a better world. - 7 years ago