Circular Economy: “The Most Radical Idea We Can Afford” betterplace lab

The world produces enough food to support an estimated 10 billion people, but each year, roughly one third of it is lost to supply chain inefficiency. This staggering amount of waste – 1.3 billion tons annually – not only fuels a global crisis of food insecurity, but also exacerbates the adverse environmental impacts of industrial agriculture.

A new study, carried out by UK business connectivity provider for the transport and logistics sector. Neos Networks, has found that over half (55%) of UK companies are actively planning to adopt battery electric vehicles (BEVs) across their fleet in as little as five years to align with net-zero targets.  BEVs were over two times more popular than competing technologies such as hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), favoured by 26% of companies, or other alternative fuels, chosen by 23%. In fact, just 7% of operators don’t plan to adopt decarbonisation measures in this time period.  The 2022 Green Technology in Freight report, carried out by Neos, asked business leaders at 34 of the UK’s top logistics companies for their insight on changes made since the decarbonisation plan, what barriers they experience in meeting green targets and what the future holds for the industry.  42% of freight companies highlighted artificial intelligence (AI) and data learning across operations as key to their decarbonisation plan. One year on from the announcement of the UK government’s Decarbonising Transport plan, industry experts encourage operators to act now and ‘get smart’ to lay foundations for data systems.  Currently, just two in five companies who collect and report on primary (real-time) data of greenhouse gas and/or carbon emissions are using the data to improve operational efficiency. To truly capitalise on the information available, investment is needed in network systems, employee expertise and connectivity infrastructure.  Does the industry truly believe in net-zero targets?  The industry remains divided as to whether the UK government’s target of net-zero emissions in transport by 2050 can be achieved. Over half (55%) of respondents were positive about meeting targets, though 45% of operators are still to be convinced.  The greatest barrier to net-zero targets for three in five T&L operators (61%) is high investment costs, followed by concern that some shippers are favouring lower costs over greener practices. 35% of operators stated that low costs being prioritised over sustainability is a significant obstacle to decarbonisation.

The San Marcos City Council introduced an ordinance banning single-use plastic utensils and containers and Styrofoam products during its Oct. 12 meeting, becoming the latest in a string of San Diego County cities to implement such a ban. The council vote unanimously in favor of the ordinance, which will be officially adopted at an upcoming council meeting and phased in over two years. According to the staff report, the ordinance will “establish standards and procedures for the protection of the City’s environment, its economy, and the health of its residents and visitors by promoting environmentally sustainable practices throughout the City by controlling the use and distribution and disposal of certain non-recyclable single-use plastic products by City departments, City contractors, food servicers, and grocery stores within the City of San Marcos.”

Not all founders are cut from the same cloth. Federico Sainz de Robles was working in a textile laboratory when he wondered why clothing brands hadn’t evolved with the times. He decided that if nobody else was making attractive, practical, and sustainable clothing, then he would. So he founded Sepiia, a Spanish clothing startup that operates at the intersection of fashion, technology, and ecology. Instead of creating cheap resource-heavy fast-fashion items, Sepiia focuses on high-quality, durable items.