With the New Year upon us we may reflect on some of the big issues that the world is facing. One of the biggest is our stewardship of the planet and our use of resources in a rational and sustainable way.
Source: learningrenaissance.wordpress.com
Open call for academic articles for the inaugural online issue of ‘DISCERN, International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship’ DISCERN is inviting researchers, academics, professionals, practitioners, and postgraduate students to submit original articles in the broad areas of design for social change, sustainable innovation, social entrepreneurship, and the circular economy.
Eight months since the GDPR came into force in May 2018, the world hasn’t collapsed, and the sun did come up this morning. Generally accepted as a good thing although a cause for a certain amount of anxiety for Data Controllers and Data Processors.
The European Union warned consumers to stop using their clothes like throwaway items and said on Wednesday that it plans to counter the polluting use of mass-market fast fashion. New rules proposed by the EU’s executive arm call for a mandatory minimum use of recycled fibres by 2030 and would ban the destruction of many unsold products. The European Commission rules also seek to contain the release of microplastics and improve global labour conditions in the garment industry. “We want sustainable products to become the norm,” commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said. “The clothes we wear should last longer than three washes.”
Porsche Motorsport premiered its much-anticipated Cayman 718 GT4 CS MR swathed in sustainable fiber bodywork at the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race last week, where stormy weather and a suspected COVID-19 outbreak muddled up the outcome quite a bit. One thing is clear, though. Bio-based car parts will play a key role in the sparkling green bioeconomy of the future, and what you see zooming around the race track of today could be parked in your driveway tomorrow.
Here’s how a highly intensive manufacturer of insulation and related building products with a presence in 33 countries in Europe, North America and Asia has been on a journey towards the circular economy for over 20 years, and knows it still has far to go. Owens Corning’s website defines sustainability as being about meeting the needs of the present while leaving the world a better place for the future. It claims that sustainability is at “the heart of our business, from the products we make to the way we make them”. It declares that it “considers the future in the decisions we make today…working to expand our handprint while we reduce our footprint”. Its 2030 goals are “to be a net-positive company, one where the positive impacts of our people and products (our handprint) exceeds the negative impacts of our operations (our footprint)”.
Can you decrease energy use and incorporate environmentally friendly upgrades that increase the comfort of residents while reducing your operating costs?