Catherine Conway, Ingrid Irigoyen, and Kate Daly are pioneering women leading the charge in creating a circular economy, emphasizing early champions, shared infrastructure, and redesigning packaging systems to reduce emissions and waste. The Refill Coalition and Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance showcase successful collaborations in implementing refill and returnable solutions and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the shipping industry. Collective procurement initiatives have led to significant emissions reductions, reflecting a broader trend of companies coming together to accelerate innovation and build societal infrastructures for a circular system. The Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag highlights the importance of changing consumer habits and providing convenient, sustainable solutions in the retail industry through collaboration and shared infrastructure.
Author: Ellenmacarthurfoundation
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Ep 223: EV batteries, bio-based materials, and the jobs nobody talks about
The World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation highlight the industrial opportunities of recycling EV batteries and bio-based materials, emphasizing the importance of circular design and policy agendas to capture economic value. The report calls for policy changes to promote circular economy in Global South countries, stressing the economic benefits of capturing more value domestically and creating formal circular economy jobs. Initiatives like Zero Waste Scotland's material flow accounts and the FutuRaM project are working towards resource recovery and sustainability, while also addressing the potential switch from small format flexible packaging to paper to combat plastic pollution in the ocean. The focus is on connecting bio-based material policies with circular economy and climate goals, and the need for collaborative action to fill the infrastructure gap across industries.
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Press Release: Initiative in Recife draws on learnings from report to tackle waste and plastic pollution
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is partnering with the City of Recife, Brazil's Federal Government, and businesses like Mars Inc., Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever to tackle waste and plastic pollution. The collaboration aims to unlock up to R$300 million for collection and recycling systems in Recife, creating jobs, improving conditions for waste pickers, and keeping plastics out of Brazil's rivers. The initiative aims to develop a new approach to collection and recycling systems for packaging, with the hope of informing national policy and becoming a model for other cities. The Foundation and municipality will work with stakeholders to develop a detailed plan for the city, with implementation expected to begin in 2027. The Closing the Loop report highlights the potential for a better urban waste system in Brazil to recover BRL 14 billion in recyclable value and create around 9,300 jobs by 2030, emphasizing the important role of waste pickers in recovering recyclable materials and calling for systemic change in plastics and packaging. Clean Rivers, a foundation backed by the United Arab Emirates, is also taking action to address water and waste challenges in countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, and Brazil.
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Press Release: Fashion brands urge governments to fix the economics of resale and repair
Nearly 70 fashion and textile organizations, including big names like H&M Group and Zalando, are urging governments in the EU, US, and Canada to implement policy changes to incentivize circular fashion business models. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation report shows that targeted changes could significantly increase profit margins for resale and repair, with the goal of making circular fashion more economically viable and accessible to consumers. The statement calls for reduced VAT, lower labor taxes, and Extended Producer Responsibility to fund infrastructure for collecting and sorting clothing at scale. The foundation aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy by 2030 in the areas of fashion and textiles, critical minerals, and plastics and packaging, ultimately reducing the environmental impact of the fashion industry.
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G20 countries can unlock economic, environmental, and social benefits by transitioning to the circular economy
The article highlights the extensive tracking mechanisms used to monitor user interaction with embedded content, specifically YouTube videos. These mechanisms include storing user preferences, tracking video views, and logging user interactions, with storage durations ranging from session-based to persistent storage. Climate solutions experts should be aware of the data collection practices associated with embedded content, as they play a crucial role in understanding user engagement and behavior on platforms like YouTube.