Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

In the humid Sava region of northern Madagascar, where vanilla vines grow in the shaded canopy of the jungle, villagers guard their crop as though it were a precious metal. Well they might. Strong demand for natural vanilla, speculation, bad harvests and money laundering have driven prices as high as silver. Farmers often awake to find their vines stripped bare, carried off in the night by gangs of thieves filling orders for buyers in the far-off capital of Antananarivo, who in turn supply the markets of western Europe, the US and Asia. In some parts of Sava, say non-governmental organisations working in the region, vigilante groups have sprung up to mete out summary justice to the vanilla snatchers.

FCA’s Windsor Assembly Plant (WAP) has won a Canadian Industry Partnership for Energy Conservation (CIPEC) Leadership Award. The recognition comes for key Process and Technology Improvements from a plant initiative that resulted in an approximate 30 per cent annual energy savings of existing chilled water system and reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to almost 21 homes’ energy use per annum.

The Cherangani people, an indigenous community in Kenya’s Rift Valley, have always called the Cherangani Hills Forest their ancestral home.
Also known locally as the Sengwer, they were traditionally reliant on the forest for hunting and gathering, herbal medicines, honey, and sorghum and millet farming. Then the colonial government evicted them from the forest, only permitting them access to medicinal plants; gathering and hunting in the forest is still prohibited.

Despite Peru’s ambitious commitment to reduce deforestation and emissions derived from the LULUCF sector, advances in the design and implementation of governance tools and strategies to revert land use change trajectories at the deforestation frontiers are still lacking.

Today, hundreds of companies, innovators, universities, cities, and affiliates — including Schneider Electric — have joined the MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Economy 100, which brings together stakeholders from across disciplines to develop collaborative solutions to pressing economic and resource constraints. In a circular economic model, systems, procedures, facilities, and practices are created and managed in such a way that they can continue indefinitely, without exhausting the natural resources upon which they depend.

Nestlé Waters is extending its commitment to water stewardship by certifying all of its sites to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard by 2025.

The global standard promotes responsible water use that benefits local communities socially and economically, while ensuring environmental sustainability of watersheds - all priorities for Nestlé.

With consumer demand for non-GMO foods on the rise, food companies are increasingly making the decision to formulate their products to earn Non-GMO Project Verified distinction (see VIDEO). However, as many food companies have discovered, steering clear of GMOs can be tricky, given the pervasive degree to which genetically modified commodities and their derivatives have penetrated the world market.

CSRHub is pleased to announce it has formed a partnership with The National Wildlife Federation (NWF). The NWF is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

At Sappi we believe that sustainable growth must emanate from a solid foundation where we do not focus exclusively on profits, but rather, balance our need to generate Prosperity by promoting the interests of People while respecting the boundaries of the Planet. Our value statement “at Sappi we do business with integrity and courage, making smart decisions which we execute with speed” is guiding people towards the right behaviour and is providing the foundation for further growth.

For over a decade this event has delivered an unmatched, holistic view of supply chain challenges and solutions. 2018’s iteration is the strongest, most value packed we’ve ever produced with a laser-like focus on the emerging technologies, innovations and collaborations critical to sustainable, cost-effective supply chain strategies.