Miller Environmental Transfer

Three principles guide a circular economy: - Closed cycles - Renewable energy - Systems thinking... Implementing these principles requires process improvements at every step of a product’s lifecycle, designing for repairability and recyclability in the first place and using fewer resources more efficiently to manufacture and operate products.

The following clever video from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation provides a quick explanation of the circular economy and how society can re-think progress.

We’re seeing so many new ideas and initiatives in sustainable food right now that it’s easy to forget to ask how the sector as a whole is doing. Unilever, PepsiCo, General Mills, Nestlé, Danone and others are leading on climate with ambitious plans around regenerative agriculture, emissions reductions and carbon labeling. But what about the food system companies that aren’t making headlines?

How to make the best of a challenging year? While the lasting impacts of COVID on industry may take years to accurately assess, one thing we can see right now is how the pandemic has focused the textile industry’s attention on sustainability. Globally, with both the COP26 on Climate Change and COP15 on Biological Diversity happening this year, the urgency couldn’t be more clear.

Currently corporations are all about net-zero goals. Although the names have changed throughout the years the strategy is similar to earlier climate commitments: reduce emissions as quickly as possible.

Getting things done in corporate sustainability is easier said than, well, done. Lofty goals and good intentions don’t automatically yield reduced impacts, and the most brilliant environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy means little if it can’t be implemented.