The myriad new models and processes aimed at fixing the flaws in capitalism and laying the groundwork for practical, alternative economic frameworks designed to benefit all stakeholders.
Stakeholders are yet again criticizing the European Commission’s new Circular Economy Package. The original policy, released in December of last year, was denounced as insufficiently ambitious, resulting in its dismissal and a review process over the course of 2015. The Commission adopted the revised package on December 2nd, but some claim the new policy is even weaker than the original.
The concept of the circular economy has, at least over the last couple of years, evolved as somewhat of a holy grail for the sustainable business world. It offers the possibility of decoupling growth and resource consumption; a beacon of hope for companies currently grappling with the need to increase profit while reducing their overall footprints. Yet still many view it only as a promising aspect, somewhat confused as to how to transition standard business models from the linear to circular; how to measure these steps along the way, and what an end target might look like. Wednesday morning’s session at SB’15 London aimed to address some of these barriers.
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.
After a slow start 6 years ago when the G20 and APEC made commitments to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, about 30 countries have launched or accelerated fossil fuel subsidy reforms, according to a new paper by the New Climate Economy.The paper, Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform: From Rhetoric to Reality, identifies the lessons learned from past attempts to reform fossil fuel subsidies, explores why progress has been slow and outlines the principles for successful reform.
With an estimated 41.8 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2014, recycling and refurbishing our machines is an increasingly important issue. Perhaps more importantly, consumers need to be convinced to recycle their devices and that refurbished ones can be trusted as functional and reliable. Luckily, a certification for responsibly refurbished computers is on the way.
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced today that H&M has become its latest Global Partner accelerating the transition to the circular economy.
DIY retailer Kingfisher and Swedish housewares giant IKEA both recently told edie of the potential to incorporate elements of the sharing economy and servitization, in what they see as a "natural progression" of their business models.
Last month, the Green Electronics Council (GEC) unveiled new research carried out by Trucost that highlights the importance of advancing best circular-economy practices throughout the electronics sector.
The Dow Chemical Company and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) have released a new study focusing on how nature can help protect business assets from natural disasters. Based on research completed as part of the ongoing Dow-TNC collaboration, the study demonstrates that asset protection strategies can include green infrastructure — such as marshes, mangroves, coral and oyster reefs — along with more conventional infrastructure — such as dikes and levees — to protect business assets from hurricanes and flooding.
More than 20 large banners that encouraged United Airlines customers to “Fly the Friendly Skies” at Chicago O’Hare found new life; the airline worked with the Columbia College Chicago Department of Fashion Studies and the Re:new Project – a nonprofit that provides employment opportunities for refugee women – to transform the large fabric signs into 100 eco-friendly carry-on bags.
Earlier this week, the shortlist was announced for the World Design Impact Prize 2015-2016, a global competition hosted by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Six projects that address health, energy, and infrastructure challenges were selected from the 82 nominations.
UK waste-reduction charity Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) is launching a first-of-its-kind project to explore commercial opportunities for harvesting critical raw materials (CRMs) and precious metals from everyday end-of-life electronic products. The EU LIFE-funded project, Critical Raw Material Closed Loop Recovery (CRM Recovery), will link collection methods with recovery success.
Cross-Posted from Behavior Change. Royal Dutch Shell PLC CEO Ben van Beurden promoted a carbon-pricing plan at the Oil & Money conference in London on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that the plan will encourage investment in renewables and favor cleaner-burning natural gas over more carbon-intensive coal.
More than 13,000 jobs could be created if Northern Ireland moved to a circular economy, according to a new report launched today in Belfast.
On Monday, Dell announced additional progress against its circular economy initiatives, including the expansion of its closed-loop recycled plastic supply chain, introduction of reclaimed carbon-fiber source materials and new industry collaborations to advance global circular practices.
Last week, 10 cities presented ambitious climate action plans in accordance with the planning and reporting requirements of the Compact of Mayors.
Royal Dutch Shell announced Monday it has aborted its mission to drill for oil in the Arctic after failing to find enough of it, according to the Associated Press. The move, which darkens the outlook for long-term domestic oil drilling here in the U.S., validates environmental groups such as Greenpeace, which has relentlessly campaigned against the company for years in efforts to prevent what Executive Director Annie Leonard has called “a terrible mistake.”
This is the second post in a short series on purpose. If you missed the first one, you should start here.I’m not going to pretend to have all the answers, but I think I’ve at least become better at understanding the problem. Capitalism has lost sight of its original purpose and is too narrowly focused on profit at the expense of society. There are very simple things we can do as citizens to help get things back on track, but we’ll need the help of policy for the heavy lifting.
Big brands across all industries are now assigning a carbon price to offset the costs and risks of their GHG production: Companies reporting that they price their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) has nearly tripled this year, now 437 from 150 in 2014.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post, "What's Working: Sustainable Development Goals," in conjunction with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed set of goals will be the subject of discussion at the UN General Assembly meeting on Sept. 25-27, 2015 in New York; they cover 17 key areas of development — including poverty, hunger, health, education, and gender equality, among many others.