Sustainability Science

Alex Morgan, chief markets officer at the Rainforest Alliance, said: “We’re delighted Nestle is strengthening its position in the cocoa sector and unifying its responsible cocoa sourcing commitment across all of its portfolios.

“Our certification programmes continue to connect companies, consumers, farmers and businesses committed to protecting the health of ecosystems, workers, and communities by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of food producers.”

All original TV series made by Sky since last year - including hit shows such as Chernobyl and Brassic - have been classified as 'carbon neutral', with the broadcaster today pledging to offset the emissions generated by its UK productions from 2019 onwards.

The media giant said 41 Sky Original television series produced since 2019 - as well as all future shows - would now be certified in line with the CarbonNeutral Protocol which requires firms to cut emissions through efficiency measures, in addition to investing in external CO2 offsetting projects

That little recycling symbol on the bottom of a soda or shampoo bottle has a dirty secret. There’s only a 30 percent chance the PET plastic in the bottle will get turned into a new plastic product, and the chance it will become another soda or shampoo bottle is almost zero.

The French startup, Carbios, hopes to change that with a new enzyme — one that could usher in an entirely new way to recycle plastic, one that actually lives up to the arrows of the symbol.

Over the weekend, a sustainability-focused Wall Street Journal article started making the rounds on social media. In it, business columnist John D. Stoll notes that several top companies are starting to pump the brakes on their environmental, social and governance (ESG) programs due to economic strain amidst the coronavirus pandemic. And he poses the question: Will the pandemic, like economic crises before it, put sustainability on the back burner? 

It's undeniably true that companies are cutting costs in the face of financial strain, and given that we're all on information overload, it's understandable to assume ESG cutbacks are happening across the board. But we at TriplePundit have a slightly different vantage point: Since we report on these topics daily, people love sharing their sustainability news with us — and, overall, the drumbeat of these announcements has remained relatively steady through the pandemic.

Right now we're all understandably consumed with the human suffering and economic strain posed by the pandemic. Business leaders are worried for their families, wondering how they'll maintain their payrolls, and grappling with how best to respond to this new global challenge we face. But we're not convinced we'll see a sunsetting of sustainability — and these eight examples are just some of the reasons why. 

The companies driving production of the world’s resources — from food to paper to medical supplies — are tasked with creating effective solutions to meet market demand while minimizing energy usage and other environmental impacts. Consumers – and the brands they trust – are looking to suppliers to understand how they are making better use of available energy resources to stay sustainable. For the supply chain, it starts at the source.

When considering a sustainable path forward organizations and decision-makers would be remiss not to consider the role suppliers play driving sustainable production. Ultimately, the supply chain economy is part of one interconnected ecosystem, where end products have longer lifespans and the ability to re-enter the cycle for reuse. With this in mind, sustainable supply chain development requires a holistic circular strategy to achieve results.

US-based sustainable e-platform EarthHero is on a mission to make sustainable shopping the new norm, aiming to be the go-to platform for manufacturers making products with the planets’ best interest in mind and making shopping eco-friendly products easy, convenient and accessible.

At first glance, the sprawling industrial site, covering roughly 900 acres in Kingsport, Tennessee, appears to be just another chemical manufacturing facility. There are hundreds of buildings and countless miles of pipes, conveyors, distillers, cooling towers, valves, pumps, compressors and controls. It doesn’t exactly look or feel particularly noteworthy.

But something extraordinary is going on at this Eastman chemical plant: two breakthrough processes to turn waste plastics of all kinds back into new plastics, continuously, with no loss of quality.

If there was ever a doubt the first signs of a more sustainable planet are emerging from the pandemic, consider this statement, a key finding from a recent Oxford Economics study of 1,000 supply chain executives:

“Sustainability will be a growing focus for organizations across industries over the coming years as they seek to meet internal goals, satisfy consumer demand, and comply with regulations.”

In addition, a majority of respondents from the Oxford study say their organizations have a plan to reduce carbon emissions (71%), supply chain leaders (the top 12% of respondents) are even more in tune with the importance of sustainability, with 86% say a sustainable supply chain is a competitive differentiator, compared with 68% of other respondents.

london-based architecture and research firm ecoLogicStudio, led by claudia pasquero and marco poletto, has devised ‘BioBombola’ — a project that invites people to cultivate domestic algae gardens that provide a sustainable source of vegetable proteins. ‘BioBombola’ absorbs carbon dioxide and oxygenates homes more effectively than common domestic plants while fostering a fulfilling daily interaction with nature.

With the temporary decrease in global carbon emission this year, more giant companies such as Unilever are switching to a sustainable business model.

Multinational company Unilever joins WWF in calling on Australian leaders to set the economy on course to a zero-carbon future, targeting net-zero emission from all products by 2039. This target will be eleven years ahead of the 2050 Paris Agreement deadline. 

The multinational company aims to have the greenhouse (GHG) footprints across its operation. To accelerate the action, Unilever will collectively invest €1 billion (AUD$1.89 billion) in a new dedicated Climate and Nature Fund.

At some stores in Switzerland, it’s now possible to buy Purina cat food and Nescafé coffee from new refill stations instead of in single-use packaging. Nestlé, which owns both brands, is testing new technology as part of its broader goal to cut packaging waste.

If you were to believe the mainstream business media, there would be no question whatsoever that the twin crises of a pandemic and a recession have pretty much put the kibosh on sustainable business activity. I mean, why, amid all this human and economic carnage, should companies be focused on anything besides keeping their doors open?

Last month, for example, the Wall Street Journal published a piece ("Sustainability Was Corporate America’s Buzzword. This Crisis Changes That") proclaiming that when it comes to corporate commitments and programs, "executives have called a timeout." It said in part:

Today, every occupant of every C-suite is trying to figure out what they’re willing to throw overboard as the economic storm spawned by the pandemic is swamping their ships. Businesses that were planning to help save the world are now simply saving themselves.

Last week, we saw digital democracy in action — a record number of leading businesses called on members of Congress to create a climate-sensitive, resilient recovery. And they did it from the comfort of their homes.

More than 300 CEOs and representatives from Fortune 500 firms, and medium and small businesses, logged on for 85 virtual meetings to tell lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that the US must build back better from the ravages of COVID-19.

Thai Union, one of the world's biggest seafood companies, takes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seriously - it has specific targets relating to SDG2 on Ending Hunger, SDG8 on Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG14 on Life Below Water. Like many businesses it does not specifically mention SDG17 in its strategy, "but of course collaboration for partnership runs through all the other goals," admits Darian McBain, executive advisor on Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. "Although it's not explicitly included, it's crucial to the Goals," she adds.

SDG17 and its focus on partnership in support of the other 16 goals can be seen as something of an afterthought - a goal that is one step removed from the firm targets offered by most of the other SDGs. But McBain insists it is a valuable addition to any SDG strategy. "It's a recognition that achieving the SDGs is so huge and all-encompassing that no one company, no one government and no single NGO can do it by themselves," she argues. "SDG17 is a recognition that no matter which aspect of the Goals you are looking at, we can't do it in siloes."

Although glowing plants may seem like a work of science fiction, researchers have succeeded in creating plants that produce their own visible luminescence—and they say the possibilities for how we can use these plants are endless.

This week in Nature Biotechnology, the scientists revealed that bioluminescence found in some mushrooms is metabolically similar to the natural processes common among plants. By inserting DNA obtained from the mushroom, the scientists were able to create plants that glow much brighter than previously possible.

Nestlé has announced that it is to co-fund a new chair for sustainable materials at the EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland, together with Logitech, SIG and other industry partners.