Sustainability Science

Today, The Sustainability Consortium (TSC) has joined the U.S. Plastics Pact, a collaborative, solutions-driven initiative rooted in four ambitious goals intended to drive significant systems change by unifying diverse cross-sector approaches, setting a national strategy, and creating scalable solutions to create a path forward toward a circular economy for plastics in the United States by 2025. The first North American Pact of its kind, the U.S. Pact is a collaboration led by The Recycling Partnership, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

This video is sponsored by Dow.

In a conversation with GreenBiz Executive Editor Joel Makower, Dow CEO Jim Fitterling details strategy for the company’s latest sustainability commitments — including being carbon neutral by 2050.

“That includes looking at Scope 1 through 3 emissions. And also taking a look at some of the positive benefits our products bring to society,” Fitterling said, pointing to energy-efficient housing and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that that creates.

Its other commitments are related to protecting the climate, stopping waste and closing the loop.

Fitterling noted that the company is currently putting together a consortium of partners that would help come up with an index that allows it to measure, account and verify its work as it progresses toward its goals.

Dole Packaged Foods and Dole Asia Fresh, which are divisions of Dole Asia Holdings, announced plans to move toward zero fossil-based plastic packaging by 2025.

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.

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.

Although “this will not be easy,” multinational food and beverage firm Nestlé said it has joined the list of other big companies committing to eliminate use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025 as part of Europe’s first regional initiative toward a circular plastics economy.

A statement showed that Nestlé has signed the European Plastics Pact, initiated by France and the Netherlands, targeting to stop the region’s sole dependence on virgin plastics, which are made from non-renewable fossil fuel.

The world produces more than 300 million tons of plastic every year, 50% of which is for single use, according to Plastic Oceans. A significant amount of plastics each year ends up in the waste stream — in oceans, landfills and elsewhere. Great volumes of plastics — think six-pack rings, water bottles, containers, single-use bags and microplastics from manufacturing waste — are generated by the more than $12 trillion global food and grocery retail market.

The Swiss-based multinational food and drink processing firm, Nestlé, has announced it is set to invest US$2bn as it seeks to increase its sustainable packaging initiatives.
Nestlé will reduce its use of virgin plastics by one third by 2025 whilst working to advance the circular economy and endeavor to reduce plastic waste from oceans, lakes and rivers. 

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has announced that it’s switching the carriers on its multipacks from shrink wrap to paperboard to reduce packaging waste. CCEP estimates this change in its beverage packaging will remove about 4,000 metric tons of single-use plastic per year from its current supply chain.

The North Face has unveiled its new limited-edition Recover Tee, showcasing the label’s sustainability commitment by recycling plastic bottles. Titled “Bottle Source,” the three-tee capsule has been produced from more than 18,000kgs of plastic bottles that were collected from waste streams in the Alps.

The T-shirts themselves come in either long or short sleeve, and feature a new version of the The North Face’s heritage logo. For the capsule, the logo is decked out in blue, pink or green.

As well as aiming to reduce the plastic waste in the Alps, “Bottle Source” is also intended to raise awareness for the rubbish dumped in the mountains. With each item created, The North Face will also be donating 1 Euro to the Summit Foundation. This foundation supports the clean-up programs in the Alps and helps to protect wild places, ensuring that the mountains remain a great place to explore.

Diageo has developed a 100% plastic-free paper-based bottle made entirely from sustainably sourced wood, and will debut the packaging technology early next year with its Johnnie Walker brand.

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.

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.

Many of these medical elements currently use single use plastics or have some sort of sustainability challenge. Without doubt, the immediate focus should (and is) on meeting the impending need. Indeed, many innovative approaches are being used during this emergency in the very short term. 

At the same time over the medium to longer term, many other companies are working on alternatives to plastics that could offer options to replace single-use plastics for medical purposes. Indeed, if the strict social distancing and stay at home measures introduced yesterday are successful, there will be a lot of surplus equipment after ‘Peak COVID-19,’ and a flattened curve.

Much of the discarded medical waste in the US is sterilized and taken to landfills in a regulated manner (incineration has been discouraged since 1997). However, other countries may not have as advanced bio-hazard waste protocols. This could potentially lead to a secondary environmental crisis with billions of small items of hazardous single use plastics ending up in waterways and oceans around the world.

An innovative new chemical recycling solution for PET and polyester is on the precipice of commercial release having been funded by the EU’s Horizon’s 2020 programme and backed by a consortium of companies including H&M.

Chemical recycling has long since been touted for use in the fashion and textile industries but costing complexities have stifled its progress for the large part – with the exception of a new solution developed late last year by Eastman – shining a spotlight on what Swiss business Gr3n is vying to introduce.

Buyers from the food and beverage, chemical, cosmetics, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors are deepening their focus on implementing sustainability in their production process and their overall operation. This focus is primarily contributing to spend growth in the sustainable packaging market. With the environment-related regulations bringing operations of these sectors under their scanner, buyers are being compelled to adopt sustainable measures in their operations.

The demand in the sustainable packaging market in North America is being governed by the dynamic consumer preferences and their purchasing trends. In Europe, stringent environmental regulations and legislations are compelling buyers to partner with suppliers who are known to adhere to waste disposal and directives that govern the use of recycled content.

Nestlé has announced that it will invest up to $3 billion to lead the shift from virgin plastics to food-grade recycled plastics and to accelerate the development of innovative sustainable packaging solutions.

One brand that is innovating through recycling is San Francisco-based Everlane. Over the past few years, it has become known for offering quality basics at reasonable prices, while operating with transparency on their ethical supply chain. Recently they announced a line called ReNew - outerwear, such as puffer jackets, parkas and fleeces - made entirely of recycled plastic bottles. The range of classic garments comes in a selection of neutral tones, with offerings for men and women.