Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

Transitioning from a linear to a circular economy is one of the biggest challenges the industry faces, reducing waste is of paramount importance to ensuring the safety of the planet. It also presents an opportunity for business to drive change through innovation and collaboration.

Essity, a leading global hygiene and health company with a commitment to a circular society, will invest approximately MSEK 400 in a sustainable alternative fiber facility at its tissue manufacturing plant in Mannheim, Germany. This investment will enable the company to produce high quality consumer and professional hygiene tissue products from wheat straw, a renewable resource that is an agricultural by-product. This process is a circular innovation that will improve the overall environmental impact of tissue products produced there. Production is set to begin in the second half of 2020.

The CASE Construction Equipment manufacturing facility in Burlington, U.S.A. and the CNH Industrial agricultural equipment plant in Harbin, China have both achieved Bronze status in the World Class Manufacturing (WCM) program. This important milestone for CASE, Case IH and New Holland Agriculture, global brands of CNH Industrial (NYSE: CNHI/MI: CNHI), represents further tangible proof of the Company’s commitment to the pursuit of world-class manufacturing excellence.

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Nespresso today announced a pilot program to help revitalize coffee production in the municipality of El Rosario, in the Nariño Department of Colombia.

Considerations about sustainability in the supply chain are no longer optional. In all regions of the world, these issues are front and center of both the business and political agenda.

When it comes to the supply chain, transparency is not the first instinct of business. A company’s sourcing practices can be one of the ways to stay ahead of the competition. But, when it comes to sustainability, it’s essential to track the origin of products and services for their environmental and human rights implications.

ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year LG Electronics USA has joined forces with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on the 2019 “Flip Your Fridge” campaign. Replace your old refrigerator with a new LG ENERGY STAR certified model to save energy, save money and help protect the planet. Learn more about the environmental benefits of responsibly recycling and upgrading your refrigerator as a part of the EPA's "Flip Your Fridge" campaign.

At General Mills, chief sustainability officer Jerry Lynch is working with organizations that have direct relationships with oat and wheat farmers in the northern Great Plains to help the company meet its goal of reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions 28% by 2025. Almost half of the company’s carbon footprint, and 99% of its water footprint, comes from agriculture, Lynch says.

According to its 2019 Global Responsibility Report, the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company sources 85% of its top ten ingredients in responsible ways.

Meet Dr. Mary Battrell, staff veterinarian for Smithfield Foods. Dr. Battrell has spent over 20 years ensuring that Smithfield’s animals are safe, comfortable, and healthy. Her motto is: "Every pig. Every pen. Every day. Food, water, comfort, care."

Even the impact of well-managed grazing systems is up for debate. On one hand, you have operations such as White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, which focus on regenerative agriculture and a range of crops and animals, including grass-fed beef. White Oak is actually removing 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every kilogram of beef it produces, according to a life-cycle analysis by Quantis commissioned by General Mills.