Clare Brass

WRAP has published a practical guide for businesses to identify opportunities for transitioning to reusable and refillable packaging, reducing environmental impact by moving away from single-use plastics. https://lnkd.in/eJEMUYzX

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Wow, didn’t realise that we still use a 175 year old process to dye textiles. A process that creates 30 times more pollution than finished material. Thankfully a handful of startups are helping the industry into the 21st century. They are field testing new inkjet printers that slash energy and water use by around 90%. The market potential for their technology is enormous. These innovators are showing us that sustainability isn’t just about doing less harm; it’s a source of massive commercial opportunity and competitive advantage. The choice is clear: innovate and grow or get left behind... Article in the comments.

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Today is #circularmonday. Here's what I did: 1. Unsubscribed from all emails advertising their "black Friday/week/month". 2. Took the survey on ClimateHero's carbon footprint. 3. Based on the survey result, I pledged to a 0.6 ton CO2 offset per month in a project that meets the gold standard of renewables. (It's 120 kr/month for me, and it offsets 200% of my impact.) 4. To compensate for the 120 kr/month I canceled a streaming service. (Perhaps that also negates a bit of my data center energy and water footprint, which I think should be part of the survey.) Read more about the campaign here: www.circularmonday.com And take the survey you too!

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New research from EdenLab Leo Rayman finds 61% of sustainability professionals do not believe their C-Suite is sufficiently focused on sustainable transformation, with their time overwhelmingly taken up by reporting. Now, this is not to diss legislation, we need it. We need a clear, consistent minimum underpin for the marketplace so voluntary leaders are not left at a disadvantage and so we scale, rapidly decarbonization across the economy, and in doing so secure early mover advantage in an emerging new economy – something China seems to be winning at currently. Rather, it is to highlight the much bigger issue, that today’s high carbon ‘system’ is perpetuating itself through a veneer of respectable box ticking – ‘look over here folks at my shiny new report, not over there at my business as usual, long-term corporate strategy.’ Of course, there’s a sweeping generalization in this diatribe – all companies, all leaders are on a spectrum of understanding and commitment. There are a number that are mendacious, a few that are truly committed, but the vast bulk hover somewhere betwixt and between, waiting for a clear signal, that now is the time ‘to go for it.’ That signal will come, over the next decade spiralling extreme weather events will have a shattering impact on lives and livelihoods, on societal and economic stability. But, by then it’s too late, irretrievable damage done. C-Suites need to ‘look up’ and start to transform. Not quixotically. Not alone. But, with level head certainty, granular planning and mass colleague, supplier and customer engagement. Give your sustainability team permission to be transformation agents, not just compliance officers. And, a final word for sustainability professionals too. If you want to be seen as a transformation agent act like one. We, collectively, sometimes cling to the ‘comfort blanket’ of the ‘alphabet soup’ of sustainable business making it too easy for our leaders to dismiss us as commercially irrelevant. Immerse yourself in every aspect of your value chain, understand why it is like it is, build a value case for sustainable transformation, use data not just to report but to optimize your transformation journey and support your colleagues in delivering it. https://lnkd.in/e4YCaDqf

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What a BALLS UP! The architects of #EPR penalties for UK packaging are favorising fossil-fuels when it comes to calculations. This kills off the glass packaging industry. We already know UK brands are switching out of safe glass because of these disproportionate taxes. There are 9 planetary boundaries, not 1 - we already exceeded the boundary on novel entities (i.e. fossil plastics and microplastics). We humans have nanoplastics in our blood, lungs, testes, uterus and penis. Nanoplastics are tiny, but lethal. A nanoparticle is a small particle that ranges between 1 to 100 nanometres. So nanoplastics can pass through the umbilical cord into unborn infants. So the UK government aided by 'advisers' decides to end the glass packaging industry. Smart move. Maybe check your balls, before this becomes law. Oliver Harry Sian Sutherland John Higginson Dorota Napierska, PhD Peter Pierrou Randy Burns

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During last weeks #PlasticsTreaty INC4-meeting I talked with Steve Toloken from Plastics News on the recent UN Environment Programme science report categorised #EPS (Expanded #polystyrene) transport #packaging as “#recycled at scale and in practice” on a global level. This makes EPS one of only six plastic packagings, which is widely regarded as recyclable. It is a tipping point for the EPS industry, as we no longer need to discuss if EPS can be part of the #circulareconomy! We can now focus on increasing #recycling and expanding coverage. The aim is of course to achieve app. 90% effective recycling rate, such as in Norway and Switzerland! In Denmark at EPS-branchen - en del af Plastindustrien we estimate we are close and will achieve this with roll out of EPR (extended producer responsibility). Proud to represent EUMEPS as part of GESA in the process. Read the interesting conversation between Steve, Betsy Bowers from EPS INDUSTRY ALLIANCE INC and Becher Townshend from Expanded Polystyrene Australia (EPSA). https://lnkd.in/deV-C2fW

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Questions for a Sustainable Future // 1. What are the topics you'd like to explore with AberInnovation, me and colleagues at our Shaping a Sustainable Future Conference on 3rd December? 2. What help might you need to develop a strategy and business plan that's based on working with the laws of physics and biology rather than the convenient comfort of continuing to do the wrong things better, and call that enough? 3. What people skills will you and your teams need to respond fully to the wild scale of disruption coming our way as we head towards our planned and intended temperature increase of +3c? 4. What would you set out to do if you took the evidence around as real, and knew that when you responded, you couldn't fail? Climate LinkUP Mark Jones Alan Horton Rhian Hayward MBE Iain Donnison

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Are there any groups out there focused on businesses and organisations actually delivering circular economy or regenerative products or services? There seems to be lots of chatter but a shortage of groups linking organisations who are taking action. Input welcome!

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The article attached deserves to be read. As both the posts shared some critics about it, there are some interesting points catching the complexity and the challenges to make change happen. The first point for me was reading about the idea to see ethics as an obstacle which can be jumped, easily, whilst Money and Finance as walls or drivers for consumption: “[…] purchasing habits will always be financially driven because finance is what drives consumption. Ethics may stand in the may, but they are hurdles to jump rather than impassable obstructions. Money, though, is a brick wall: the only way to pass through is to take it apart or knock it down wholesale.” The second point is that about ‘annoying’ sustainability. That word, annoying, reminged me immediately of a synonym: BORING. I recalled it just because in the past years I spent time learning more about #kindness and discovering kindness suffers four main cons: Kindess indeed is considered - boring - weak - unsuccessful - unsexy Just think about using public transport and cycling to move yourself instead of using and showing the car you own (despite being or not an electric one). Try to couple the same four words with sustainability and tell me if you have my same feeling: they work pretty well, they work because at the core sustainability is simply asking to actually taking care of the planet, and ‘taking care’ (i.e. of people, animals, plants) is the basic action of kindness. Kindness is the ingredient which nudges change; keeping considering kindness, and consenquetly taking care, boring, unsuccessful, unsexy and weak will only delay the sustainable change we need to mantain a livable and enjoyable planet in the coming years for as many people as possible around the globe. #sustainability #change #kindinnovation

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https://lnkd.in/ey86MKYA It's out, and it's big. The new EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation Enhance product sustainability: The ESPR establishes ecodesign requirements that products must meet to be sold in the European Union (EU) market. This promotes the design of environmentally friendly products throughout their life cycle. The ESPR will include the introduction of the digital product passport, providing detailed information about a product's environmental impact. Need help to implement the new EU regulation and increase your competitiveness? We're just an email away Positive Organizations

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With the broader scope of the EcoDesign Directive Recast, aka the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), many industries that were not previously in scope, such as textiles, furniture, cosmetics, etc., are now being targeted - see Article 18(5) of the ESPR for the list of product groups in the "first working plan". Manufacturers, their relevant industry associations, and NGOs focusing on any of these manufactured goods should review this call for participation in the EcoDesign Forum. There are only 250 slots available. Note that, while this has been open since early November, it was just announced publicly on Wednesday, Nov 27. "In order for duly signed applications to be assessed in this first phase, they must be submitted by Thursday 5 December 2024, 12.00 (noon)".

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🤔 Have you recently noticed this about your favourite beverage? A great example of product design to combat single-use plastic waste. Even though plastic bottle caps were recylable, people often discarded them and they would end up in landfill. Combining the behaviour change power of defaults with product design, the EU have now made it law that all single use plastic bottles need to have an attached bottle cap - one that you as the consumer cannot rip off! And trust me, it is very difficult to try and tear it off - I've tried! How many of you have encountered this new type of plastic bottle? And what do you think of it - is it more annoying for the consumer or a good step in the right direction? #behaviourchange #productdesign #plastics #recycling #consumer #marketing #insights #psychology

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Want to learn more about design for the circular economy? In partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Philips, we recently organised an event to share knowledge and best practice on circular design as well as discuss what policies can be put in place to foster it. If you missed it, don't worry! You can now watch the event on demand: https://lnkd.in/e8wWH_6q This was a side event of the World Circular Economy Forum 2024. #WCEF2024 #circulareconomy

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If you work on textile you should already know that fashion is polluting our blood and our rivers. We need forceful laws to stop selling synthetic clothing ( first and second hand) . Emily Macintosh, from the European Environmental Bureau , will be in this webinar , we can talk with her about the current laws that are not protecting us neither our ecosystem. We know about microplastic from 2011 and we need to ask her for laws that reward plastic-free brands and penalize plastic brand that have been encouraging overproduction with taxes to pay the ecological debt. We need a new directive for labelling with ALL fibers and materials included, warning about microplastics instead of QR with biased and incomplete environmental and social information. Fashion’s Plastic Paralysis: How Brands Worsen Microplastic Pollution. In it, we’ll discuss the environmental and health risks posed by the fashion industry’s reliance on synthetic, fossil-fuel-based textiles. This one-hour session on 16th October will illuminate critical insights from our latest report, Fashion's Plastic Paralysis, and discuss solutions for driving meaningful change in the fashion sector. Urska Trunk, Senior Campaigner at Changing Markets Foundation, will reveal findings from our Fashion’s Plastic Paralysis report, highlighting major brands’ continued use of synthetic fibres. Professor Barbro Melgert, from the University of Groningen, will address how synthetic fibres enter the human body and their health implications. Emily Macintosh, from the European Environmental Bureau, will discuss regulatory gaps and offer actionable solutions for lawmakers.

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EU Bans Destruction of Unsold Fashion! 🛑 Large and medium-sized companies are required to find sustainable alternatives to destroying unsold products under ESPR. Why is this important? Here are some eye-opening facts 👀 💥 100 billion garments are produced annually, but 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. 📉 The frequency of wearing a garment has dropped by 36% in the past 15 years. Alternatives like Resale, Rental, Repair, and Remaking are the future. These models are already worth over $73 billion—though that's only 3.5% of the market. They’re growing fast! Do you think these sustainable models will become the new norm in fashion? 💭

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Consistently inconsistent Unsustainable plastic production, overconsumption and mismanagement have resulted in increased global plastic pollution in the environment, threatening sustainability. Most plastics (99%) are produced from fossil-based sources (i.e., conventional fossil-based plastics) and only 1% are derived from bioplastics. For the effective development and implementation of a legally binding agreement (Business For A Plastics Treaty by the United Nations Environment Assembly to curb plastic pollution by 2024, careful consideration should be given to switching to alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastics to avoid unintended consequences. Bioplastics are not silver bullets to curb plastic pollution These alternatives to conventional fossil-based plastics are often described as being sustainable compared to conventional plastics; however, they cause widespread consumer confusion, are unregulated, and have unintended environmental consequences. Simply substituting these alternatives with conventional fossil-based plastics may not be a realistic solution to combat global plastic pollution as they pose hazards to organisms and human health. Increased consumer use of biobased and biodegradable plastics must not distract from calls to reduce global plastic production to curb plastic pollution. The Global Plastics Treaty must carefully consider the potential advantages and disadvantages of biobased and biodegradable plastics compared to conventional fossil-based plastics. Lack of consistency in labelling causes confusion Currently, there are no international harmonized standards for the labelling of ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ plastics. Products that are labelled ‘compostable’ in Europe must adhere to the EN13432 standard, which indicates the ability to be processed in the industrial composting system in Europe (European Bioplastics, 2015). However, few municipal waste management facilities are capable of processing these ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ plastics making these misleading labels confusing for consumers and problematic at the end of life. To use these labels claiming ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ on products, producers must adopt independent certification systems that adhere to ISO, EN or ASTM standards until international regulations are developed. Experimental studies testing the validity of the end-of-life claims by these labels are rare, yet a recent study revealed the complicated legacy of bioplastics. Conclusion The lack of standardized international frameworks to assess, measure and properly define bioplastics, are complicated by the absence of a legally binding international agreement The revised Zero Draft text of the international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution released on December 28, 2023, already includes criteria to address biobased and biodegradable plastics (UNEP, 2023): https://lnkd.in/e74N_7EV

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In this weeks blog, we explore the need for a greater level of enquiry into all aspects of procurement, and why our attention and focus should be on more than simply greenwashing.

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#Greenwashing is when companies present themselves as environmentally friendly or sustainable, but their actions are not truly eco-friendly. This may include deceptive advertising, false claims, or minor changes that give the appearance of environmental responsibility without real effort. The aim is usually to take advantage of the increasing demand for green products and services without making meaningful changes to lessen their environmental footprint. Fast fashion companies are often associated with greenwashing due to their business models, which emphasize rapid production and turnover of inexpensive clothing. Examples of fast fashion companies often accused of greenwashing include H&M, Prmark, Zara, ASOS & Boohoo.

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