Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

Joel Makower of GreenBiz interviews Janine Benyus 20 years into her Biomimicry journey.

Founding Director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business is named Distinguished Fellow by the Manufacturing and Service Operations Management Society (MSOM). "Election as an MSOM Fellow should be considered a rare distinction," according to the society's web site.

Tetra Tech’s evaluation of the potential of food waste reduction strategies in Canada was highlighted in Recycling Product News in June 2017. For a National Zero Waste Council-commissioned study, Tetra Tech and Boston Consulting identified that adopting proven actions and technologies could reduce approximately four million tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) generated in Canada annually. Tetra Tech’s team is Leading with Science to examine prevention and sustainable management practices for addressing the vast amount of food waste.

Domtar is a case study of how supply and demand has accelerated sustainability—in particular, how the growing supply of natural gas has accelerated the reduction of coal burning in our power boilers. Over the past few years, energy economics and the drive for competitive advantage through improved efficiency have reduced air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions further and faster than what would have occurred under any likely scenario involving additional government regulation.

A conversation between UPS and Optoro on the future of sustainable e-commerce with the circular economy.

New models of product design, process engineering, packaging, and local distributed manufacturing are springing daily from bio-inspired minds. A 2010 economic study predicted that Biomimicry could represent $1 trillion of global Gross Domestic Product by 2025, and in 2012, Biomimicry topped the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ annual list of “innovations that could change the way you manufacture.” Fortune provocated: “if you’re not incorporating the most brilliant ideas from the natural world into what you sell, you’re leaving money on the table.”

Companies have been creating innovative products out of waste for years; and with each material advancement, the envelope is pushed further with more integrated, holistic communications campaigns. However, many of these previous campaigns skirted away from the gritty aspect of waste. Now, one fashion brand is taking a nontraditional approach to creating beauty out of waste.

At Nestlé Waters North America, we recently announced an impact investment into the Closed Loop Fund (CLF). The organization’s mission is to increase the scale of recycling infrastructure to create a more circular economy.

In the run up to the COMMIT!Forum, CR Magazine spoke with Michele Bartolini, Marketing Director at Rolland Paper. Bartolini oversees marketing for the premium paper company, which puts reuse at the center of its business model.