NEW METRICS - The key lesson is to question older practices to ensure they remain fit-for-purpose. After all, practices can morph over time to the point they become ends in themselves — so ubiquitous that no one questions them.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Historically, corporate carbon-reduction strategies haven't looked to genetic innovations as a viable Scope 3 reduction opportunity; but it is one of the most important considerations for improving the sustainability of livestock production.
WALKING THE TALK - The retailer argued that a new store would be 25% more energy efficient; but environmentalists say the Oxford Street demolish-rebuild plan would have sent 40K tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
LEADERSHIP - In the context of leadership, the importance of seeking ‘self-actualization’ cannot be understated. You must be able to face and lead yourself in order to be a great leader.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING - By upcycling agricultural waste, these three startups are replacing plastic with a new wave of packaging materials that ‘make no compromises along the supply chain.’
MARKETING AND COMMS - Anti-ESG agitators are telling a story that’s both inaccurate and bad for business. And silence won’t deter further attacks — though it certainly could compromise long-term brand value.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - Constructing a sustainable built environment requires more than efficient design, equipment and materials — but processes and workflows that say exactly where and how these assets combine to streamline processes as much as possible.
COLLABORATION - Fashion for Good and its four brand partners have joined forces with footwear-recycling innovator FastFeetGrinded to support the scaling of recycled content in footwear.
MARKETING AND COMMS - In partnering with enterprise software startup BeCause, Booking.com can now automate the managing and updating of information about properties’ sustainability certifications and features.
MARKETING AND COMMS - All this diligent measurement, often seen in hundreds of pages of meticulous reporting, removes sustainability from the realm of common interest. Sustainability is for everyone and should be understood by everyone; shared understanding is the first step for shared action.
WASTE NOT - July 28, 2023 marks the point when plastic produced surpasses the planet’s capacity to manage it. By tracking this date, we can more clearly understand the problem; and hold governments, businesses and individuals to account for their role in it.
SUPPLY CHAIN - The bourbon producer is partnering with the University of Kentucky and a local trade group to find an economically and environmentally viable strain to support one of its key ingredient needs.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT - When companies invest in biodiversity credits, the ‘unitization’ of biodiversity outcomes in the form of credits takes the guesswork out of designing the investment. But they are not intended to offset an equivalent, negative impact on biodiversity elsewhere.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION - The French company is poised to meet the nutrition challenges posed by a growing population and a climate- and resource-challenged agricultural future.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT - The organization works to purchase and vault CO2 permits from regulated cap-and-trade compliance markets — thus keeping major polluters from using them to emit and, theoretically, stopping pollution before it happens.
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Visa is partnering with COS, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and more to address the barriers that stop consumers from embracing a circular economy.
THE NEXT ECONOMY - GAF coatings had been proven to cool surfaces and ambient air on individual applications but had never been applied on a community-wide scale. Preliminary data showed a 25-50% reduction of the urban heat island effect during peak temperatures.
WASTE NOT - Vivobarefoot’s new scan-to-print, circular design platform enables rapid prototyping — saving development and lab time, labor, and materials waste. The company is seeking 200 UK participants to test the first generation of VivoBiome footwear.
MARKETING AND COMMS - The RMA aims to fill a crucial gap by offering brands, agencies and publishers a range of services to accelerate their competitive advantage through a sustainability lens.
THE NEXT ECONOMY - Future Food Tech’s recent Alternative Proteins event, which convened over 600 industry players, showcased the myriad innovations that will enable us to continue to bring home the bacon (and chicken, beef, fish …) without further endangering the health of the planet.