Maxine Perella
As Long as CSR Is Linked to Profit, Just How Genuine Is It?
Product, Service & Design Innovation / In these times of increasing corporate scrutiny, do we need a radical new definition of CSR? One that pretty much pushes the idea that companies need to take a financial hit in order to do social good? That solving the world’s most important environmental problems requires a level of business ‘altruism’ that can only be realistically achieved at the expense of the bottom line? - 7 years ago
Dell Identifies UK as 'Hotspot' for Circular Economy Conversation
The Next Economy / Corporate circular economy strategies are starting to mature: A recent survey on this topic found that 28 percent of organizations now consider their own circular strategies to be highly advanced, and core to what they do. However, a significant number (19 percent) are just starting out on this journey and exploring ways in which they can integrate circular principles into their business models. - 8 years ago
Closed-Loop Fabric Producers Still Ironing Out Wrinkles in Circular Textile Supply Chain
Product, Service & Design Innovation / Interest is growing in new synthetic fabrics and textiles made from waste materials that have the potential to be used again and again. Designed from the outset to work within closed-loop supply cycles, Returnity and Econyl are perhaps the two best-known examples of branded products in this field. The level of innovation that is built into these regenerative fabrics is impressive – they outline a wealth of environmental benefits and savings. In the case of Econyl, there is a clear social value driver in terms of delivering a more community-minded, inclusive business model. - 8 years ago
Delivering on Profit and Purpose – a Job for the CFO?
Organizational Change / Back in 2012, a Deloitte study remarked how chief finance officers (CFOs) were ‘coming to the table’ in matters relating to board-level sustainability. The CFO role has evolved to the point where it is now widely perceived as an enabler for sustainable business – customers, shareholders and other key stakeholders are increasingly looking to connect corporate financial performance to social and environmental impacts, and accountability for this tends to rest at the door of the CFO. - 8 years ago
Innovations in Business Models, Water Stewardship, Engagement Abound on Final Morning of #SB14London
Product, Service & Design Innovation / The circular economy and water stewardship dominated the morning’s agenda on the final day of SB ’14 London. After leading us through a host of thought-provoking plenary presentations Tuesday morning, our two event MCs - Forum for the Future chief executive Sally Uren and The Guardian’s executive editor Jo Confino – expressed their enthusiasm for the ideology that underpins the circular economy.Confino felt it was a concept that could go mainstream. “Business can buy into it easily as it doesn’t fight against the current capitalist system,” he said, while Uren was optimistic about the level of brand innovation it could potentially unlock. - 8 years ago
#SB14London: Barry Digs Deep Into Challenges, Lessons Learned as M&S Embarks on Next Phase of 'Plan A'
Organizational Change / As Marks & Spencer’s Plan A programme moves into a new phase — that of engagement — the company’s director of sustainable business, Mike Barry took to the stage Tuesday evening at SB ’14 London to offer his insights into how companies can build long-term, restorative models that are as much about inclusivity as they are profitability. - 8 years ago
Speakers Reimagine Business Models, Stakeholder Engagement, Product Sustainability on #SB14London Day 2
Product, Service & Design Innovation / In her opening address Tuesday at SB ’14 London, Sustainable Brands founder KoAnn Skrzyniarz confronted the audience with a challenge: Reimagine what an economy might look like if it was based on trust.“The big root of the conversation we’ve been having this year is about connecting head and heart,” she said.Reflecting that it had been “an explosive year” on many fronts, with key battles on ideology taking place across the world, Skrzyniarz said the passion for interlinking sustainable business with social value was growing: “As we continue to have this conversation around the world, more communities are coming to us, asking us to localise the conversation,” she revealed. - 8 years ago
Lead Up to #SB14London: Sky Continues to Explore New Avenues for Showing Stakeholders 'The Bigger Picture'
Product, Service & Design Innovation / The Bigger Picture is Sky’s approach to building not only a more responsible business for the long term, but contributing to a more sustainable society through inspiring action on the ground.The far-reaching programme has many highlights to draw on since its inception five years ago. These include its Sky Rainforest Rescue partnership with WWF that has raised over £8 million in fundraising, its Sky Academy initiative helping thousands of young people build skills and confidence, and the delivery of a 40 percent reduction in emissions intensity across the business. - 8 years ago
Lyf Shoes' Cradle-to-Cradle Creations Out to Revolutionize 'Dirty' Industry
The Next Economy / Sustainable footwear is a hotbed of innovation right now for many apparel and lifestyle brands, who are looking to blend ever-smarter manufacturing efficiencies with material optimization techniques. But one enterprising startup is looking to take this to the next level — calling itself a “disruptive digital manufacturing revolution,” Lyf Shoes is looking to capture a slice of the market by handing the creative process back to the consumer. - 8 years ago
Are We Seeing the Emergence of the Enlightened CEO?
Leadership / Society. It’s one of the three pillars of sustainability, but the least defined and the least understood. Corporations have traditionally struggled to blend social purpose with hard-nosed business acumen, but as consumers increasingly look to brands to combat key societal issues such as climate change, human rights, equality and unemployment, this is starting to change. Social brand value is becoming much more sought after, and with it the necessity for a new type of leadership — a more honest CEO. - 8 years ago
Disrupt or Die: Brand Leaders Talk Logistics of a Circular Economy
The Next Economy / No one can deny that the emergence of circular economy thinking is throwing up some fascinating dynamics right now. This urgent need for systems-level redesign requires an experimental cocktail of innovation and imagination, not to mention open platform dialogue and collaboration. Increasingly, brands are realising that is it no longer sufficient to be wedded to sustainable ideals; they need to be prepared to disrupt their business models from within. - 9 years ago
Biofuel Waste Could Offer Concrete Gains for Greener Cement
Waste Not / This article first appeared on edie.net on March 26, 2013. - 9 years ago
Resource Revolution White Paper Examines Risks and Rewards of Circular Economy
Waste Not / This article first appeared on edie.net on March 20, 2013.Environmental Data Interactive Exchange (Edie), an online sustainability resource based in the UK, has published an exclusive white paper highlighting the opportunities and challenges of circular economy realization, for both businesses and the waste management industry.The report, published in association with sponsor FCC Environment and sister title Local Authority Waste & Recycling magazine, investigates the implications of closed-loop thinking as businesses start to take back waste-derived materials and energy into their supply chains. - 10 years ago
Circular Economy Not 'Silver Bullet' for Resource Crunch, Paper Says
Product, Service & Design Innovation / This article first appeared on edie.net on January 28, 2013.Industrial systems based on circular economy models will be constrained by end-of-life material availability, limiting future improvements in process efficiency, scientists claim. A wider materials efficiency framework is required, they argue — one which encompasses not just circular resource flow systems but mitigation options for industrial carbon emissions and consumer demand. - 10 years ago
European Leaders Call for Wasteful Goods To Be 'Taken Off Market'
Waste Not / This post first appeared on edie.net on December 17, 2012. - 10 years ago