Circular Economy
The constant stream of new models, products and processes that are helping organizations extend the useful life of resources and materials while reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms
Starbucks Expands ‘100% Reusables’ Tests in Bid to Sink Disposable Cup Waste
Since 2021, Starbucks has been testing the 100% reusables model across more than 25 markets. With most of its beverages enjoyed on the go, the company continues to test and learn how to best encourage customers to embrace reusables. ... View More
Free, Open-Source Recycling Ecosystem Is Making Plastic ‘Precious’
Precious Plastic is all about democratizing circularity. And it’s enabling a new form of craftsmanship: One in which anyone, anywhere, can start a small business recycling and making new products from plastic waste. ... View More
Beyond Recycling: Report Highlights Need for Circular Approach to Critical Raw Materials
The report from CISL's Corporate Leaders Group showcases the challenges, opportunities and business best practices of embracing more circular practices in CRM use through case studies from Ball, Volvo Cars and more. ... View More
Fashion for Good, adidas, Inditex, Target, Zalando Launch Circular Footwear Pilot
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. ... View More
Congratulations! We’ve Marked Our First Plastic Overshoot Day
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. ... View More
Climate Vault Aims to Spur Climate Action by Locking Away Carbon Permits
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. ... View More
Visa's Recommerce Behavioral Insights Lab Aims to Make Circular Shopping Behaviors the Norm
Visa is partnering with COS, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and more to address the barriers that stop consumers from embracing a circular economy. ... View More
GAF's First Urban Heat Project Produces Cool Results
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. ... View More
VivoBarefoot Offers Glimpse Into a Truly Waste-Free Footwear Future
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. ... View More
Alt-Protein Industry Ramping Up to Be ‘All Sizzle and No Steak’ — in the Best Way
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 h... View More
WWF: Funding Locally Tailored Food-System Innovation Is Essential for a Healthier, Abundant Planet
WWF’s new framework guides improved investment of innovation funds in food systems, so investors and businesses can work with local communities and stakeholders to identify the right innovations for the right impact in the right place. ... View More
The Science of Tree Planting: How Data Is Boosting Climate Resilience of Both Cities and Forests
Arbor Day Foundation’s Forest Priority Index and NatureQuant’s NatureScore tool identify where trees are needed most in both rural and urban areas — enabling better planning for addressing climate and human-health risks. ... View More
Change the Product, Not Just the Packaging: A Crucial Step Towards a Sustainable Food Future
A growing industry solution to plastic packaging pollution is to create food products that are more stable and compatible with more minimal and sustainable packaging materials. ... View More
Is the Chocolate Industry Ready for Europe’s Strict Due Diligence Requirements?
The EU’s mandatory environmental and human rights due diligence laws will require companies, traders and farmers around the world to rethink how they source major commodities. But cacao may be the one to watch to see the impacts of these regulation... View More
Report Shows Path to Zero-Emission Passenger Transport with 'More Mobility and Less Mining'
A new report shows a just pathway to zero-emission urban mobility. Simple changes such as smaller EV batteries can greatly improve resource-use efficiency; but holistically reducing car dependence will be paramount. ... View More
New Guide Helps Fashion Brands Take Meaningful, Measurable Action to Protect Nature
The report provides a critical introduction for the fashion, textile and apparel industry to setting measurable, science-based targets for nature; and will act as a blueprint for other industries to follow suit. ... View More
NextWave Focuses on Inclusive, Equitable Strategies to Turn Plastic Pollution Into a Resource
The cross-industry collaborative has reached 80% of its goal of diverting 25K MT of ocean-bound plastic by 2025. Now, it is working to ensure that the plastic is sourced with high ethical standards. ... View More
Colombian Toy Company Encourages Circular, Co-Creative Model of Play
Toynovo has created a subscription model for toys that eliminates waste, along with a co-creative approach to play that enhances creative thinking and problem-solving capacities. ... View More
Mobile Industry Eyes 5B ‘Dormant’ Phones Sitting in Desk Drawers for Reuse or Recycling
The GSMA estimates that if properly recycled, 5B mobile phones could recover US$8B worth of gold, palladium, silver, copper, rare earth elements and other critical minerals; and enough cobalt for 10M electric car batteries. ... View More
Organic-Materials Management: How Companies Can Make Better Choices
Helping people on the front lines of manufacturing and materials management understand company sustainability goals, and providing the leadership support to contribute to achieving them, empowers them to take a more conscious approach to disposal. ... View More
