Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

People and economies thrive when micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are empowered to reach their full potential. These enterprises create 75% of all jobs in Latin America, but many need better connections to markets, information, and supportive policies. They need support and incentives to access new markets, adopt sustainable practices, and strengthen workers’ rights.

In its Sustainability Report AIDA cares 2018, the cruise company publishes current facts and figures on the status of its environmental and sustainability commitment and provides an outlook on further projects.

Going into debt with nature is a dangerous thing. When our stocks of water, land and clean air are spent – we don’t have a second planet to borrow from. But that’s exactly the way that Earth is heading. 1 August 2018 marks an annual event, “Earth Overshoot Day”: the day on which the natural resources the planet can regenerate within one year are exhausted. This is the earliest date on which Earth Overshoot Day has ever been reached.

Nutopia, one of our newest Living Products, explores natural effects in urban settings for a new take on biophilic patterns. The unique carpet tile collection meets the most stringent sustainability requirements while offering a multitude of wayfinding and branding opportunities.

With its important role in sequestering carbon, soil is gaining recognition as a tool for mitigating the growing threat of climate change. As a result, agriculture-based industries, such as food, textiles and to some extent cosmetics, are digging into the health of soil — the key to sequestration. These industries are engaging with sustainable agricultural practices designed to regenerate and enhance this critical natural resource.

At its plant in Austin, Texas, Samsung produces chips that go into mobile devices. Precise temperature and humidity control are essential to the fabrication of semiconductors, which is why these facilities have large chiller operations. They also consume significant amounts of Ultra Pure Water (UPW) and generate substantial wastewater.

Grow North is launching the first-ever Food, Ag, Ideas Week on October 8-12, 2018. The event will convene diverse perspectives and communities to create a more interconnected, dynamic and competitive ecosystem for food and agriculture entrepreneurship and innovation. Panels, speakers, startup showcases and experiences will address industry-leading topics across sustainable agriculture, food innovation and tech, and food and society.

Circular economy has gained considerable momentum in the past couple of years. It entails a restorative and regenerative ap­proach by design and aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value at all times (The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2015).

The Arbor Day Foundation announced today a new partnership with Grove Collaborative — an auto-shipment service offering natural household products — to plant 100,000 trees in forests of high need. Grove Collaborative has pledged to donate 1 percent of sales from Grove Collaborative’s Seedling branded paper products toward the Foundation’s reforestation efforts on an ongoing basis.

Sappi Limited, a leading global producer of dissolving wood pulp, speciality and packaging papers, graphic (printing and writing) paper and biomaterials, is pleased to announce its support as one of the founding partners of The Prince of Wales Global Sustainability Fellowship Programme.