Business & Industry
In this issue
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Sustainability claims and consumer power
People are increasingly aware of the imperative to live more sustainably and to have a lighter footprint on the planet. But how do you tell genuine sustainability claims from greenwashing? By its nature, sustainability is complex; combining health, social, environmental, resource and economic issues. There are trade-offs and synergies, so making the right decision requires...
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s Sponsored
Packaging the pandemic: could cartonboard hold the answer to our growing climate concerns?
Sponsored by: Fuelled by the pandemic, consumers are keener than ever to make a difference to the environment and make more sustainable choices, starting with packaging. Research by Pro Carton found that 54% of UK consumers have become more concerned about the environment since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Climate change was their second highest concern...
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Plastic packaging tax driving recycling opportunities
Will the upcoming plastic tax achieve its aims without further legislative and investment support? Will the tax prevent plastic pollution? As a stand-alone measure, probably not. But strengthening recycled content requirements will certainly make a difference. Since the introduction of the plastic bag levy in 2015, alongside powerful images of plastics pollution in every corner...
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Tackle the root cause of plastic waste
If we want to solve the plastic waste crisis, we need to tackle the root cause of the problem, rather than simply addressing the symptoms. My local coffee shop has started serving coffee to-go in reusable coffee cups only — it is simply not possible to get coffee in a single-use cup. For every coffee...
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Helping businesses invest in circular economy
Urgent global issues pose huge challenges to companies. To tackle them requires a transformation of business models, and even entire production and consumption systems. Investing in circular economy models offers businesses the opportunity to address global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss, by designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use,...
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Why switch to carton packaging?
Sponsored by: Paper-based packaging is the most widely recycled across Europe, with 85% already recycled. However, after the Courtauld Commitment in 2005 put the emphasis on reducing weight in packaging rather than waste, paper-based solutions haven’t had the recognition that they perhaps deserve, until now. Jon Clark, General Manager of BPIF Cartons, the UK trade...
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The real stats don’t lie; big plastic is on the run
BIG plastic would have you think its best days are ahead of it. And they’re prepared to provide you with a deluge of figures to prove it. The industry boasts it has invested more than £150 billion in petrochemical plastic capacity over the past decade in the US alone. The British Plastics Federation presents the...
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Plastic packaging tax starting in April 2022
Plastic waste is a pressing issue both here and abroad. Often, it does not decompose and can last centuries in landfill, or else ends up littering the streets or polluting the natural environment. Every year over 2 million tonnes of plastic packaging are used in the UK alone.[1] The vast majority of plastic packaging originates...
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These essential workers are slipping through the cracks
Waste pickers are among society’s most essential workers. They’re also some of the most marginalised. Here’s how you and I can help them through this crisis. From Jakarta to Brooklyn, from Dakar to Rio de Janeiro, waste pickers have laboured tirelessly for decades to keep our streets clean and liveable – all without guaranteed pay,...
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s Sponsored
Recycling the unrecyclable – how advanced recycling is the answer to eliminating environmental plastic pollution
With the UK’s recycling rate at just 45%1, the majority of plastic packaging is sent to incineration or landfill, resulting in environmental plastic pollution and increasing CO2 emissions. With the goal of recycling 500,000 tonnes of plastic waste annually by 2025, Mura Technology present Cat-HTR™ – the future of plastic recycling. Despite growing rates of...