Outlining the case for economic growth as sustainability cure, not curse
An MIT researcher’s take on how technology and growth help humans “tread more lightly” on the planet.
Source: mitsloan.mit.edu
An MIT researcher’s take on how technology and growth help humans “tread more lightly” on the planet.
Source: mitsloan.mit.edu
Fraunhofer Institute UMSICHT, SABIC and Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced their collaboration in an innovative circular economy pilot project which aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of closed-loop recycling of single-use facemasks. Due to COVID-19, use of billions of disposable facemasks is raising environmental concerns especially when they are thoughtlessly discarded in public spaces, including – parks, open-air venues and beaches. Apart from the challenge of dealing with such huge volumes of essential personal healthcare items in a sustainable way, simply throwing the used masks away for disposal on landfill sites or in incineration plants represents a loss of valuable feedstock for new material. “Recognizing the challenge, we set out to explore how used facemasks could potentially be returned into the value chain of new facemask production,” says Dr. Peter Dziezok, Director R&D Open Innovation at P&G. “But creating a true circular solution from both a sustainable and an economically feasible perspective takes partners. Therefore, we teamed up with Fraunhofer CCPE and Fraunhofer UMSICHT’s expert scientists and SABIC’s T&I specialists to investigate potential solutions.”
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation releases new, free tool for businesses to measure circularity.Circulytics provides an assessment, metrics for comparison, and suggestions for growth…
The world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, has launched its first investment fund dedicated to accelerating the global development of a circular economy.
Organisations from the UN system most active in addressing the global electronic waste (e-waste) have pledged to bring an end to it. They have signed a Letter of Intent, paving the way for co-ordination and collaboration for the management of e-waste. The signatories include UN Environment, the International Telecommunication Union, UN University, International Labour Organisation, the Basel and Stockholm Convention and the UN Institute for Training and Research.
VMware, Inc. has announced its 2030 Agenda, a decade-long commitment to address critical challenges facing the global community. The Company created 30 measurable goals to achieve by 2030 (30×30) that are focused on three outcomes relevant to its technology and business operations: Trust, Equity and Sustainability.
A circular solution is only as good as its implementation, and customer engagement is a tough nut to crack.I’m writing this week from the LAUNCH Circular Forum in Bentonville, Arkansas, having spent the week with nine innovators tackling this issue head-on, focusing…