Sustainability Benefits: A Corporate Perspective

Sustainability Benefits: A Corporate Perspective

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Sustainability… It’s the topic of the decade, maybe even the century! We hear about it in all of our personal and social environments, and it seems to be aggressively penetrating every aspect of business and finance. But are Sustainability and ESG really here to stay? Is this a full paradigm shift, or just another passing trend? For businesses, is it just another regulatory challenge, or is it a true opportunity? How business leaders decide to answer this question will have huge impact on their company’s market position and longevity. Hopefully you are reading between the lines here and see that the answer to these questions is quite obvious. True North has shifted. There is a valuable opportunity to capture here, and if businesses don’t adjust their bearings, they will become lost and left behind. Even if businesses are not convinced about sustainability, basic business management fundamentals make a strong case for integrating ESG and Sustainability into business models across all sectors.

Sustainability – an essential driver of the business of the future

Sustainability – an essential driver of the business of the future

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Sustainability is now core to the business strategy of industry leaders. Beyond the sustainability function, more and more areas of businesses are getting involved to shape sustainability strategies and execute them to achieve measurable goals. We asked our Retail & Consumer clients – who typically do not have a sustainability title – to provide their perspective on a range of sustainability-related topics, including the extent to which they are involved in helping shape and execute their organisation’s sustainability strategies and tactics.

IKEA and Ellen MacArthur Foundation announce strategic partnership

IKEA and Ellen MacArthur Foundation announce strategic partnership

ByThe Circular Economy Team

The partnership between Inter IKEA Group and the Foundation will focus on putting the home furnishing business on the global circular map and accelerating the transition to a circular economy within IKEA and beyond.  Working together, one of the first projects will be to develop a common glossary of terms to support an industry-wide transition.  Lena Pripp-Kovac, chief sustainability officer, Inter IKEA Group, said: “To become circular is one of our big ambitions and challenges for the future. It is a transformational shift of our entire business from how we develop our products and services, and source materials, to how we work through the supply chain and meet our customers.

We’re increasing our carbon fee as we double down on sustainability

We’re increasing our carbon fee as we double down on sustainability

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Since 2009, Microsoft has made and met a series of commitments to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. While we’ve made progress toward our goal of cutting our operational carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030, the magnitude and speed of the world’s environmental changes have made it…

Is General Mills the only one putting its money where its mouth is on sustainability?

Is General Mills the only one putting its money where its mouth is on sustainability?

ByThe Circular Economy Team

General Mills has been the subject of some bad press recently, particularly after a study concluded that 21 of its products, including Cheerios and Nature Valley cereals, contain glyphosate residue, the main ingredient in the much-vilified RoundUp pesticide. The chemical’s manufacturer, Bayer, has been battling a series of lawsuits brought by plaintiffs claiming that exposure to glyphosate caused them to develop cancer and that then-manufacturer Monsanto knew of the risk and failed to provide appropriate warnings.

WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Continues Efforts on Plastics Pollution, Circular Economy

WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Continues Efforts on Plastics Pollution, Circular Economy

ByThe Circular Economy Team

The Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) met on 3 July 2020 to discuss how trade policy can address plastics pollution and a circular economy and to review the resumption of work on other initiatives disrupted by COVID-19.  The meeting, chaired by Ambassador Chad Blackman (Barbados), served to continue conversations previously introduced by members at the WTO, including a discussion on addressing plastics pollution in November 2019 and an informal consultation on the subject held in February 2020, co-hosted by China and Fiji.

Blog: Will behaviour change be key to the success or failure of the circular economy?

Blog: Will behaviour change be key to the success or failure of the circular economy?

ByThe Circular Economy Team

This second webinar in the new series of deep dive sessions jointly hosted by SUEZ and CIWM explored how we can help encourage, support and adapt consumer behaviour and choices as part of effectively delivering the circular economy and inspire them to make the right choices sooner rather than later.

Amsterdam’s Pandemic Recovery Plan Embraces Doughnut Economics and the Circular Economy

Amsterdam’s Pandemic Recovery Plan Embraces Doughnut Economics and the Circular Economy

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Amsterdam is the first city to embrace Doughnut Economics, a concept developed by British economist Kate Raworth. The city is hoping that implementing the sustainable economic model, which strives for a circular economy and tackles social inequalities, will help it rebuild post-pandemic.