Each week, the Erb Institute shares a collection of news and updates regarding business sustainability. This month, the Erb Institute blog and social media is focusing on consumer goods, leading up to our C-Suite speaker event with Campbell’s CSO, Dave Stangis, at the end of the month. Click here for more details!
Sustainable Business News – 12/30/2017 – 1/5/2018
Consumer Goods
Looking towards 2020 for forest friendly products
Huffington Post
“2018 promises to be an exciting year as we begin the last leg of the journey towards 2020. This is the date which so many industries have used as a starting point for a sustainable future for us all. As a consumer who is concerned about my family’s environmental impact, I look towards the one pledge which has the biggest potential to reduce my family’s environmental footprint. The Consumer Goods Forum(CGF)”
Nestle, a 150-year-old start-up
Food Business News
“‘People’s palates are changing, too, as routine consumption of food has given way to culinary discovery, where we as consumers have control over our food’s nutrition, flavor, sourcing, and sustainability,’ said Rui Barbas, chief strategy officer of Nestle. ‘Consumers are more informed and sophisticated than ever. And for businesses eager to serve this changing marketplace, start-ups can launch with little more than an idea and a laptop.'”
How Kraft Heinz cooked up its post-merger sustainability strategy
GreenBiz
“In early December, the world’s fifth largest food and beverage company — with brands ranging from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to Heinz Ketchup — whet their appetites with the release of its inaugural combined corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. (It plans to release updates every two years in the future.)“
Fighting climate change, one laundry load at a time
Today Online
“A Danish biotechnology company is trying to fight climate change — one laundry load at a time. Its secret weapon: mushrooms like those in a dormant forest outside Copenhagen.
In the quest for a more environmentally friendly detergent, two scientists at the company, Novozymes, regularly trudge through the mud, hunting for oyster mushrooms that protrude from a fallen beech or bracken fungi that feast on tough plant fibres. They are studying the enzymes in mushrooms that speed up chemical reactions or natural processes such as decay.”
Trending: circular sportswear is next on sustainable fashion’s checklist
Sustainable Brands
“Despite recent criticism over its decision to send its discarded clothing to Swedish incinerators, H&M continues to stride forward on its mission to accelerate the circular fashion movement.
The fast fashion brand has expanded its Conscious Collection to include an activewear line made from recycled fibers, more specifically, polyester and elastane.”
How do the world’s recyclers solve a problem like China?
Sustainable Brands
“For decades, China has been an open door for foreign waste, importing recycled material from around the world to help feed its manufacturing boom. In 2016, the country imported 7.3 million metric tonnes of waste plastics from developed countries. However, this is all about to change. Last year, the country notified the World Trade Organization its intention to ban 24 types of solid waste material by the end of 2017 — including unsorted paper and plastics.“Do you want to contribute to the conversation? Tweet us @erbinstitute!