Responsible Production & the Circular Economy

2015 was a year filled with positive achievements for our collective future, with the adoption of both the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, in 2016, the voices of many in the world told us clearly that good intentions are not enough and that the current economic system is broken for them, with many asking whether the costs of globalisation are greater than its benefits. And now, nearly half-way into 2017, the world continues to face economic, social, environmental and political uncertainty.

HPE is leading the way to a sustainable ICT supply chain with emissions reductions targets that could equate to taking 21 million cars off the road for an entire year. This first-of-its-kind supply chain management program will serve as a model for the industry and the world.

Kernza is the product of years of plant breeding at The Land Institute, an independent, nonprofit research institute in Salina, Kansas. The Land Institute, a recent McKnight grantee, envisions developing an array of perennial grain crops that could be planted in mixtures to mimic native prairies. If the effort is successful, Midwest agriculture could feed consumers while generating clean water and healthy soil.

Kimberly-Clark announced that Howard Sharfstein, the company’s Associate General Counsel for Environment, Energy, Safety and Sustainability, has received a Crystal Tree Award as Kimberly-Clark’s first-ever Sustainability Pro of the Year. The award is the company’s highest internal recognition for individuals whose work helps drive social and environmental impacts that make our communities and workplaces better for future generations.

Customers no longer view sustainable building materials as a specialty option. Rather, for many builders and homeowners, they’ve become mandatory.

A network of local and global businesses are collaborating with the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) to transform a long-vacant apartment complex in Detroit’s lower North End into a multi-functional community space that will become one of the most sustainable, energy-efficient buildings in Detroit.

The Volkswagen brand has set itself new, ambitious targets for reducing the environmental impact of production. By 2025, vehicles and components are to be produced in a way which is 45 percent more environmentally compatible than in 2010, the reference year for the current Think Blue. Factory. environmental program.

Despite being inefficient, waste has permeated our lives. At a high level, I see a few reasons for that.

Ways of bringing about positive changes to the host community of De Beers’ Venetia mine were on the agenda at a business breakfast.

Avnet, a leading global technology distributor, today released the May 2017 issue of Supply Chain Navigator, the award-winning journal dedicated to supply chain thought leadership. This special edition examines how industry leaders including Cisco, General Electric, Nestle, Nike and Puma are reimagining their businesses and their supply networks to keep pace with the leapfrog advances in the “golden triangle” - people, processes and technology - that are radically transforming the global manufacturing sector.