SCROLL DOWN TO TAKE THE SURVEY

The 10-minute online survey is primarily targeted at in-house sustainability/CSR/energy leaders and managers who hold some level of responsibility for their organisation’s strategy in these areas. This year’s survey has a particular focus on leadership and skills, and on sustainable finance – two critical areas for the future of green business.

The results of the survey will be curated into a full report which will be published as part of edie’s Business Leadership Month – a bumper month of thought-leadership discussions, exclusive interviews and authoritative reports, all dedicated to dedicated to empowering, connecting and celebrating the individuals and teams who are changing business, for good. You can read last year’s Business Leadership report here.

As an added incentive, all survey respondents have the opportunity to be entered into a prize draw to receive a free pass to edie 23 – the premier annual event for sustainability and net-zero leaders taking place on 1-2 March – along with the edie Awards ceremony which takes place on 30 March.

All individual responses will be kept anonymous.

This survey will close on the evening of Wednesday 22 February.

The 2023 Sustainable Business Leadership Survey

Skidmore, Polman and Wathuti will be joined by the likes of Pukka Herbs’ chief executive Anuradha Chugh and Committee on Climate Change Chair Lord Deben for edie 23, which takes place at the state-of-the-art 133 Houndsditch events venue in London on 1-2 March 2023.

Force of Nature Founder and leading youth climate activist Clover Hogan, Leon Restaurants Co-Founder Henry Dimbleby, Earth on Board Founder Philippe Joubert and We Mean Business Co-Founder Steve Howard are also confirmed among the high-level speaker line-up.

Sustainability and energy representatives from the likes of Google, Patagonia, innocent Drinks and Sky will also take to the stage alongside NGOs, climate activists and other inspirational speakers to provide delegates with rousing and insightful discussions to empower long-lasting change.

An evolution of the multi-award-winning Sustainability Leaders Forum, edie 23 is the premier annual event dedicated to achieving environmental and social transformations through courageous business leadership. edie 23 will offer up two full days of keynotes, panels, best-practice case studies and audience-led discussions across three themed stages – Strategy, Net-Zero and Action.

These sessions will be delivered alongside an array of interactive and immersive event features, including an informal “mess up night” to discuss some of the times that sustainability initiatives didn’t go to plan, a series of “#SustyTalk Live” sofa discussions, and a “25th Birthday Party” to celebrate edie’s 25th anniversary as the UK’s industry-leading sustainable business media brand.

We are also partnering with leading mental health and wellbeing platform MyMynd to help you manage your mental health and prioritise the wellbeing and energy of yourself and your colleagues. MyMynd will offer group workshops and private, one-to-one consultations during the event.

The event is underpinned by a pioneering Mission Statement. The Statement includes an industry-leading commitment to speaker diversity and inclusivity, a strict no-greenwashing policy and a laser-like focus on sparking new ideas and trackable actions through the event content.

edie 23 is expected to be at full capacity, with more than 600 business leaders, board-level executives, sustainability, ESG and net-zero decision-makers, finance, communications and procurement experts, NGOs, academics, consultants, tech providers, and entrepreneurs expected to attend the event in March.

Find out more about the event here and secure your place here.  

Our panel of 25 expert judges convened in late 2022 for a full day of judging where they whittled down almost 500 entries to a shortlist of around 200 finalists across 24 categories. This includes new categories such as the Net-Zero Innovation of the Year alongside returning favourites such as Partnership & Collaboration of the Year, and the coveted Lloyds Bank Sustainable Business of the Year.

The shortlist of finalists was revealed back in December, via a video and news piece on the edie website. Now, ahead of the Awards Ceremony on 30 March, we have published this free-to-download report providing more information about every shortlisted entry. Click here to download your copy. 

The Sustainability Leaders Awards ceremony, which will reveal our winners, takes place as an in-person event at the Park Plaza London Westminster hotel on Thursday 30 March 2023. Table bookings are now open and can be made here (premium tables are limited).

Commenting on the announcement of this year’s finalists, edie’s content director Luke Nicholls said: “COP27 and COP15 have underlined just how important business leadership is when it comes to accelerating climate action and reversing biodiversity loss.

“Nowhere is this leadership more evident than on our edie Awards shortlist. Despite battling through the perfect storm of Covid-19, conflict and the cost of living crisis, all of this year’s finalists have shifted from talking about a net-zero carbon, just transition to actually delivering it – at scale and at pace. On behalf of the entire edie team, I would like to congratulate all of our finalists – we can’t wait to celebrate with you on 30 March at the Park Plaza London Westminster.”

— CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE EDIE AWARDS 2023 FINALISTS REPORT — 

BOOK YOUR TABLE at the edie Awards 2023

From single places for the drinks reception and dinner through to a full Platinum Table front-row experience – there are a variety of options to choose from to ensure you are able to celebrate with the very best of sustainable business at the edie Awards 2023.

Our glittering Awards ceremony takes place at Park Plaza London Westminster on Thursday 30 March 2023, and will include drinks receptions, guest speakers, dinner and a wide selection of entertainment. Avoid disappointment by booking now to guarantee the tickets you want.

BOOK YOUR TABLE HERE.

The retailer trialed this practice on a select number of fruit and vegetable products last year and has claimed this was a success.

Retailers are required to have use-by and/or best-before dates on certain food and beverage products under rules set by the Food Standards Agency (FCA). While use-by dates are applied to foods as a ‘deadline’, when a food presents a high food poisoning risk after a certain amount of time, best-before dates are guidelines for when to eat foods.

Research has repeatedly found that many customers mix the two terms up, throwing away food as soon as it reaches its best-before date, because they assume it is unsafe after this point.

As well as removing best-before dates, the Co-op is also introducing on-pack guidance on fruits and vegetables to highlight the optimum storage conditions to prolong product life. It highlighted previous research from WRAP that found that broccoli often lasts up to 15 days after the ‘best-before’ date before showing deterioration. The difference can be up to 20 days for potatoes, meanwhile, and 70 days for apples.

Co-op has already added on-pack messaging on own-brand milk products, highlighting that they can be frozen at home to prevent waste. It has also replaced ‘use-by’ dates with ‘best-before’ dates on yoghurts, coupled with guidance to check how the yogurts look and smell before binning them.

“As we face into a climate, environmental and cost-of-living crisis, we are committed to helping our customers cut food waste in the home and save money,” said the Co-op’s propositions director Adele Balmforth.

“Date codes can drive decisions in the home, and result in good food being thrown away – which has a cost to both people and to our planet. In addition to axing best before dates on fresh fruit and vegetables, our inclusion of storage on instructions can also help products last longer and, sits alongside our simple on-pack message for shoppers – ‘If it still looks good enough to eat, it is.”

The Co-op is the latest in a string of supermarkets to axe best-before dates on certain products – typically fruits and vegetables. Last August, Asda confirmed the removal of best-before dates from more than 200 fresh fruit and vegetable lines. Staff will be able to check whether products are still in a fit condition to display by scanning a special on-pack code. This move followed the same change at M&S, covering some 300 product lines. Aldi and Lidl then made similar changes last September. Sainsbury’s and Tesco, meanwhile, made these changes some time ago.

Veg box bonanza

In related news, Sainsbury’s is set to stock new fruit and vegetable boxes in 200 of its UK stores, following successful trials last year.

The £2 ‘Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me’ boxes will include a variety of loose fruits and vegetables that would have otherwise gone to waste, but which are fit to eat. The items may be ‘wonky’, not meeting cosmetic standards, or they may be surplus.

“We believe that everyone deserves to eat well at an affordable price, and we hope this additional support will ensure that good quality food doesn’t go to waste,” said Sainsbury’s’ director of fresh food Richard Crampton.

Sainsbury’s also confirmed that it is planning to remove best-before dates from a further 130 product lines, mainly fruits and vegetables, after making the change across more than 100 SKUs last year.

Sainsbury’s is notably aiming to halve food waste across its value chain by 2030 – including waste in consumers’ homes. Waste at the consumer level accounts for some 70% of the UK’s total annual food waste mountain, with WRAP estimating that the average family bins food worth £700 each year.

Our panel of 25 expert judges recently convened for a full day of judging where they whittled down almost 500 entries to a shortlist of around 200 finalists across 24 categories. This includes new categories such as the Net-Zero Innovation of the Year alongside returning favourites such as Partnership & Collaboration of the Year, and the coveted Lloyds Bank Sustainable Business of the Year.

The shortlist of finalists was revealed back in December, via a video and news piece on the edie website. Now, ahead of the Awards Ceremony on 30 March, we have published this free-to-download report providing more information about every shortlisted entry.

The Sustainability Leaders Awards ceremony, which will reveal our winners, takes place as an in-person event at the Park Plaza London Westminster hotel on Thursday 30 March 2023. Table bookings are now open and can be  made here (premium tables are limited).

Fill out the form on the left and click ‘download now’ to access your copy of our Meet the Finalists Report.

Across the UK and the world, leading businesses, cities, states and regions are turning environmental ambitions into action. Here, we round up five positive sustainability stories from this week.

ENERGY: Isle of Man targets 75% renewable electricity mix by 2026

As EU lawmakers grapple with how to fine-tune the design of its renewable energy directive, designed to increase the share of renewables in the electricity generation mix to at least 40% by 2030, a more ambitious target has this week been set by the Isle of Man.

The Isle’s government announced this week a new target for three-quarters of its electricity mix to be accounted for by renewables within three years. The majority of the Island’s electricity is currently generated using natural gas, with diesel, energy from waste, hydroelectric and a subsea cable to England making up the remainder.

Ministers have given the go-ahead for the Island’s state-owned electricity supplier, Manx Utilities, to commence plans to develop 30MW of onshore wind and solar capacity to help achieve the new goal. Much of this capacity will be developed on publicly-owned sites, including solar roofs on car parks and government buildings.

The new goal supports an existing ambition to reach net-zero electricity production by 2030.

“30MW by 2026 is an ambitious and stretching goal for an island community, but one we must achieve if we are to play our part in tackling global warming and climate change,” said Chief Minister Alfred Cannan MHK.

RESOURCES: Currys extends refurbished and repaired tech offering

E-waste is the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream, according to the UN. The UN estimates that electronics, electricals and related components worth $57bn are wasted globally each year.

The good news is that the appetite for refurbished, repaired and recycled electronics and electricals appears to be growing. British retailer Currys this week revealed that trials sales of pre-owned phones and laptops around Black Friday 2022 saw 80% of lines sell out within one week.

With this in mind, Currys is expanding its circular technology offering. The retailer has launched a dedicated, expanded second-hand product range on its own website, while last year’s trials saw a smaller range made available through the ‘Currys Clearance’ eBay store. You can read edie’s full story here.

Currys’ head of development for the circular economy Mandeep Gobindpuri said:  “In the UK we produce the second highest amount of e-waste per capita in the world. As much as we all love brand-new tech, we need to address this challenge.”

MOBILITY: Travis Perkins touts ‘UK’s largest’ forklift electrification scheme

In this part of this weekly feature, we often cover exciting news relating to public transport, like sleeper trains to displace short-haul flights, or innovative electric buses.

This week, though, we have received a success story regarding business fleets – and specifically concerning the specialist, heavy vehicles which often prove to be the biggest challenge for businesses with 100% electric vehicles targets. Building materials giant Travis Perkins has pledged to switch all 1,100 of its diesel forklift trucks with electric alternatives by the middle of 2024.

The company is anticipating that the change will mitigate up to 6,600 tonnes of CO2e emissions each year. It is notably working to achieve a 27% reduction in vehicle and plant fleet emissions by 2027, against a 2022 baseline.

Travis Perkins will source the new forklifts from Briggs Equiment in what it claims is the UK’s largest forklift fleet electrification initiative to date.

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: Hayfield plans 50 ultra-energy-efficient new homes in Gloucestershire

Housebuilder Hayfield has this week submitted an application to Tewkesbury Borough Council for 50 new homes in Gotherington, Gloucestershire, that will all have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) A-rating.

There will be a mix of two, three and five-bedroom houses and bungalows at the £35m development, which will not be connected to gas. Instead, electric heating, cooling and cooking systems will be in place for residents. Air-source heat pumps will serve underfloor heating systems.

Other built-in sustainability features will include solar panels for each home, an electric vehicle charging point at each property and built-in water efficiency measures. As required by law, Hayfield will deliver biodiversity net-gain at the site. It is planning native tree pond and the creation of a pond with wetland flowers.

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: OVO joins Community Energy England

Community Energy England has stated that just 23 new community-owned renewable energy generation assets were installed in 2021, the lowest number since 2017. It has been calling for more policy support for the community-owned approach, which proponents argue can help to maximise the socio-economic benefits of the energy transition and ensure they are shared fairly.

This week, OVO Energy joined Community Energy England as a Principal Supporter. In this post, it will help community energy associations to access subsidy-free power purchase agreements (PPAs), which are often a deciding factor in whether a project goes ahead or not. OVO Energy has this year signed two new PPAs with subsidy-free onshore wind projects from Genatec and Ambition Community Energy, and has stated an intention to expand and accelerate this work.

“We’re looking forward to helping the OVO team with their initiatives to support the growth of community energy by providing the sector with more investment and enhanced levels of support,” said Community Energy England’s head of operations Philip Coventry.

“With ongoing cooperation, we are confident that OVO’s engagement with community energy will facilitate new opportunities that will benefit the whole sector and its growth.‘’

Don’t miss out: Register now to attend edie 23

Taking place in London on 1-2 March 2023, edie’s biggest annual event has undergone a major revamp to become edie 23, with a new name, new venue, multiple new content streams and myriad innovative event features and networking opportunities.

edie 23 will take place at the state-of-the-art 133 Houndsditch conference venue in central London. Held over two floors, the event will offer up two full days of keynotes, panels, best-practice case studies and audience-led discussions across three themed stages – Strategy, Net-Zero and Action.

Click here for full information and to book your ticket.

Over the course of 90 minutes on the afternoon of 15 February, edie delivered a 60-minute webinar exploring crucial interlink between supply chain sustainability and net-zero; and a 30-minute masterclass focused on how the Modern Slavery Act can be used to tackle inequalities and enhance social sustainability at every point in the chain.

-CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY ONLINE EVENT ON-DEMAND-

Backed up by real-life case studies, this edie webinar and masterclass united a selection of sustainability and supply chain experts to showcase how organisations large and small can take their supply chain sustainability strategy onto the next level in 2023 – with a focus on reducing Scope 3 emissions and tackling modern slavery.

Over the past 12 months, businesses have faced a ‘perfect storm’ of the ongoing energy crisis, increasing extreme weather events and international trade frictions – placing immense pressure on global supply chains.

With these converging challenges showing no signs of abating, many organisations are looking to embrace a “leadership through crisis” mindset by engaging with suppliers to ensure emissions reductions aren’t forgotten across the value chain; and championing more inclusive, local, and socially sustainable procurement.

As such, we hosted this exclusive online event in association with Carbon Quota and BSI. It is now available to watch on-demand, at your convenience, for free.  Click here to register.

Session 1: Supply chain sustainability – Best practice case studies

 Chair:

• Sarah George, Senior Reporter, edie

Presenters:

• Nathan Tiller, Co-Founder, CarbonQuota

• Anita Neville, Chief Sustainability Communications Officer, Golden Agri Resources

• Michael McGowan, Group Sustainability Manager, Ibstock Brick

Discussion points

• What makes a great supply chain sustainability strategy in 2023?
• Scope 3 emissions: Engaging with suppliers on the path to true net-zero
• The role of transparency and risk analysis in future-proofing product supply

Session 2: 30-Minute Masterclass: Tackling modern slavery in your supply chain

 Chair:

• Sarah George, Senior Reporter, edie

Presenters:

• Anne Hayes, Director of Sectors and Standards, BSI Knowledge Solutions

Discussion points

• Modern Slavery Act: Key updates and need-to-knows for business leaders
• Understanding the link between modern slavery and environmental sustainability
• Tools and strategies to monitor your supply chain for human rights risks

-CLICK HERE TO WATCH OUR SUPPLY CHAIN SUSTAINABILITY ONLINE EVENT ON-DEMAND-

MyMynd will also offer free online assessments to all edie 23 delegates and select members, with the anonymised results being curated into a post-event report that analyses the state of mental health and wellbeing among the sustainability profession.

Overcoming burnout

Commenting on the partnership, edie’s content director Luke Nicholls said: “The climate crisis and other escalating sustainable development challenges are increasing the risks of poor mental health in the workplace and impacting the accessibility and quality of associated services across the globe.

“Through edie 23, we want to give sustainability and net-zero professionals the tools they need to manage employee wellbeing whilst enhancing their own mental energy and increasing resilience – MyMynd is the perfect partner to help us do that.”

MyMynd’s co-founder and chief executive Henry Majed added: “We’re proud to be partnering with edie to support mental health and wellbeing at edie 23.

“The past two years have placed sustainability issues firmly at the heart of boardroom discussions increasing already demanding and potentially stressful roles. Exhaustion and burnout are on the rise. With a sense of always more to do and our own unforgiving expectations the urge to endure is overwhelming. We’re committed to helping protect and enhance the health and energy of sustainability leaders at edie 23.”

One-to-one consultations

MyMynd is a digital mental health platform that seeks to transform how employees can take control of their mental health. The platform is based around a secure assessment using clinically validated tools. Employees get a detailed understanding of their mental health risks and wellbeing, and users are guided toward resources linked to their specific needs to improve their ability to cope.

The Health & Wellbeing Zone at edie 23 will allow delegates to schedule free one-to-one consultations with MyMynd’s health and wellbeing experts and take part in a choice of two themed workshops taking place across the two days. Delegates will be contacted about how to book consultations and attend the workshops in advance of the event.

An evolution of the multi-award-winning Sustainability Leaders Forum, edie 23 is the premier annual event dedicated to achieving environmental and social transformations through courageous business leadership. Find out more about the event and book your ticket here.

More information on the MyMynd platform and services can be viewed here.

In response, Currys is extending its trial of refurbished and repaired technology on its website. While some items were previously only available via the ‘Currys Clearance’ eBay store, customers can now purchase second-hand products directly via Currys, with a range of specialised payment options available.

Customers were previously only able to buy second-hand teach graded as being in “excellent condition”. However, a range of items in ‘very good’ and ‘fair’ conditions are available at lower price points. Currys will also offer a 12-month technical guarantee, to cover any potential product faults.

The refurbished products are checked, restored and repackaged by Currys at Europe’s largest tech repair centre in Newark. Currys processed 600,000 individual tech items in the last twelve months, a proportion of which are then made available for resale.

Commenting on the initiative, Currys’ head of development for the circular economy Mandeep Gobindpuri said:  “In the UK we produce the second highest amount of e-waste per capita in the world. As much as we all love brand-new tech, we need to address this challenge. E-waste is a core reason why we are committed to our ‘Long Live Your Tech’ campaign, which helps customers make more informed environmental decisions when buying and disposing of technology.

“Buying refurbished saves customers money and saves good tech from landfill. This trial is a win for customers, and a win for the planet.”

Currys’ parent brand Dixons Carphone had previously pledged to make all of its own-label products reusable or recyclable by 2023. The company will work with select suppliers to develop alternatives to packaging without plastics or expanded polystyrene (EPS).

In 2021, Dixons Carphone launched an in-store takeback scheme for EPS. The scheme was based on a successful trial at 14 stores over a six-week period that summer. Dixons Carphone has also created and published its Product Packaging Guidance to share best practice with the wider industry. The guide outlines preferred materials for use for both retailers and other suppliers.

The retailer has made an overarching commitment to become a net-zero business by 2040, as part of the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Action Roadmap. More than 60 big-name brands are supporting the collective transition to net-zero ahead of the UK Government’s national deadline in total.

Across the UK and the world, leading businesses, cities, states and regions are turning environmental ambitions into action. Here, we round up five positive sustainability stories from this week.

ENERGY: Australia blocks coal mine on environmental grounds for first time

Australia’s Government moved on Thursday (9 February) to refuse plans for a new coal mine, both on climate grounds and on the grounds of its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef (pictured).

Central Queensland Coal had proposed a mine 700km north-west of Brisbane, just 10km from the reef, which is a World Heritage area. The firm was seeking to extract both thermal and coking coal for two decades.

The Australian Government received more than 9,000 responses to a consultation on the project within just ten days, with almost all of them opposing the mine on environmental grounds. It had also received evidence from the Queensland State Government recommending the mine be rejected.

In heeding this warning, Environment Minister Tanya Pilbersek has become the first in her post in Australian history to block the creation of a coal mine.

RESOURCES: Vestas touts breakthrough in wind turbine blade recycling

It has been stated that around 85% of the components of a typical wind turbine, by weight, can technically be recycled. But, due to a lack of recycling capacity, developers have typically sent the blades to landfill. WindEurope expects around 25,000 tonnes of blades to reach the end of their operational life annually by 2025, so this is a growing waste mountain.

This week, Vestas presented a new solution to recycle epoxy-resin-based turbine blades using chemical processes. It has worked with epoxy maker Olin and Stena Recycling to develop and test the solution, which it claims is appropriate for blades that are already operating around the world.

Epoxy resin is notoriously challenging to recycle using mechanical processes. However, Vestas claims its innovation can chemically break this material down into “virgin-grade” materials. It will now work with industry, academia and policymakers in a drive to scale the solution.

Vestas’ vice-president and head of sustainability Lisa Ekstrand said: “Once this new technology is implemented at scale, legacy blade material currently sitting in landfill, as well as blade material in active wind farms, can be disassembled, and re-used. This signals a new era for the wind industry, and accelerates our journey towards achieving circularity.”

MOBILITY: Barcelona offers free public transport to residents scrapping old, polluting vehicles

This isn’t technically a new story which happened this week – but it’s one that’s getting a lot of social media attention, given Barcelona’s decision to lower public transport prices for a second time this year, following initial reductions last September, due to the rising cost of living.

Sustainability professionals are this week praising Barcelona’s decision to reward motorists who participate in its scrappage scheme for old, polluting cars with benefits beyond an initial payment. Motorists are paid a one-off payment relating to their vehicle type, but they are also given a transit travel pass. The pass entitles them to free public transport use within the city, and on some public transport options in the wider region.

This could discourage residents from simply going and buying a newer, more efficient petrol car. It could also help them consider whether they need their own hybrid or electric model at all. While electric cars produce no tailpipe emissions, they still contribute to traffic. Moreover, replacing all petrol and diesel cars, one-for-one, with electric options, would lead to a surge in demand for critical minerals. As such, modal shift is an important part of the low-carbon transition for transport.

THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: UKGBC assembles new task group on retrofitting

The UK is home to one of the least energy-efficient housing and building stocks in Europe. The ongoing energy price crisis has only served to highlight the scale of the challenge.

While new standards are in the works to ensure that new buildings are more energy efficient, the UK Government is being called upon through the Net-Zero Review to increase energy efficiency targets for homes and commercial buildings that already exist. Meeting these targets will enquire more rapid and concerted efforts on retrofitting.

The UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) has this week announced a new ‘Task Group’ of more than 30 experts, on a mission to accelerate action on retrofitting commercial buildings including offices. The group will map out the carbon and cost benefits of different retrofit measures. Members will also assess common industry challenges and present solutions. The Task Group is expected to produce its first publication this summer.

Members of the Task Group include corporate sustainability managers, mechanical engineers, consultants, investors and strategists for developers. All parts of the building value chain are covered, including construction, building materials, architecture, consulting and finance.

“Improving the energy efficiency of our commercial buildings has the potential to deliver significant carbon savings across the built environment, and with demand for sustainable office space surging in the UK, this is an opportunity we can’t afford to waste,” said UKGBC’s head of climate action Yetunde Abdul.

“Collaboration across this sector is key to accelerating the pace of action towards our common climate goals. That is precisely why UKGBC has assembled a team representing the breadth of the built environment to assist us on this timely and important piece of work.”

BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: Ad Net Zero launches in the US

Back in November 2020, the Advertising Association trade body partnered with IBSA and the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) to launch a collaborative initiative to support the UK’s advertising industry to reach net-zero within a decade.

The initiative, Ad Net Zero, has proven to be a success, providing guidance to some of the UK’s biggest advertising agencies and associations, plus corporates advertising products and tech giants carrying advertisements, like Google and Meta.

This week, the Ad Net Zero team are celebrating the launch of the initiative in the US. They have already garnered the support of more than 50 US-based organisations for the initiative. One of the first pieces of work will be developing a US-market-specific version of the Ad Net Zero online training course.

Ad Net Zero USA director John Osborn said: “The time is now to unify the advertising industry to solve one of the toughest challenges facing our industry and the world. The advertising industry has proven time and again the power of collective creative thinking and innovation which are essential in reducing carbon emissions across the entire advertising ecosystem.”

The technology giant has this week announced 12 projects set to benefit from training, mentoring and technical support from Google’s engineers. Seven are based in North America and five from the Asia-Pacific region.

As you would expect from Google, several of the successful projects are highly focused on digital technology.

One of the chosen projects is California-based Beni, which is working to create a “frictionless” platform for online shopping for second-hand goods that does not require customers to change how they search for items.

Beni’s co-founder and chief technology officer Celine Mol summarised: “At its current state, it takes too much time and energy to shop secondhand and requires everyone to learn a new mode of shopping. With Beni, we set out to make shopping secondhand so easy that buying new is no longer the default.”

There is also Delaware-based TURN, which has developed a ‘smart’ system for cup reuse at large events such as concerts and sports matches. The system consists of trackable cups and bins and dishwashers with digital tracking capabilities.

From the Asia-Pacific region, chosen projects include Ishitva Robotic Systems, which uses machine learning and AI to identify, sort and recycle valuable material. This not only reduces pollution but creates new economic opportunities in waste management.

Teams from all 12 projects will attend a Google ‘boot camp’ event in March to guide their further work. They will also be invited to showcase their projects and progress at a dedicated ‘demo day’ in May.

This year’s Circularity Gap report from Dutch think-tank Circle Economy confirmed that humanity’s use of raw natural resources is around 100 billion tonnes per year. It forecasts an increase to 170 billion tonnes by 2050 on a business-as-usual trajectory.

Concern is raised in this report about the fact that, as we use more raw materials, a diminishing share is reused or properly recycled. 9.1% of the materials extracted in 2018 re-entered the circular economy, but the rate stood at just 7.2% last year, by Circle Economy’s calculations.

Amazon Sustainability Accelerator

In related news, Amazon has opened the application for the second round of its Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, which it runs in partnership with UK-based NGO WRAP and European climate innovation platform EIT Climate-KIC. Applications are open until 17 March.

The Accelerator was forged to help Amazon deliver on its pledge to invest $2bn in sustainable innovations this decade. Successful applicants are given support packages comprising grant funding, AWS Activate Credits and Amazon Advertising credits, as well as free mentoring and office space.

After fielding more than 1,300 applications during the last cohort before selecting 12 winners in April 2022, Amazon is now starting the process again. This time, it has stated a specific interest in supporting recycling technologies.

Amazon said in a statement that it is seeking “start-ups with promising technologies that can help the recycling industry leap forward, including new technologies that tackle yet-to-be-solved recycling challenges.

It is also seeking “technologies that significantly improve on existing tools, such as advanced sortation machinery and waste management data systems”.

Aside from recycling, Amazon’s other focus for this cohort is on consumer products that are “quantifiably more sustainable than existing products” in their respective categories. There is also a focus on products that can help people in choosing more sustainable behaviours.

“We need radical collaboration between industry and business, policy makers, and financiers to both connect innovative solutions to one another and shape new markets to bring about bold systemic change,” said EIT Climate-KIC’s chief executive Dr Kirsten Dunlop.

“Our Accelerator programmes set out innovation challenges that encourage entrepreneurs to put these systemic challenges at the very heart of their business solutions. At EIT Climate-KIC, we look forward to this new edition of the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator and to the new solutions that will create opportunities to connect into large-scale, systemic implementation.”

Hear more from Google at edie 23

Taking place in London on 1-2 March 2023, edie’s biggest annual event has undergone a major revamp to become edie 23, with a new name, new venue, multiple new content streams and myriad innovative event features and networking opportunities.

edie 23 will take place at the state-of-the-art 133 Houndsditch conference venue in central London. Held over two floors, the event will offer up two full days of keynotes, panels, best-practice case studies and audience-led discussions across three themed stages – Strategy, Net-Zero and Action.

Click here for full information and to book your ticket.

Google’s head of sustainability for the EMEA region, Adam Elman, will be appearing at edie 23 on Day Two (2 March). He will be appearing on a session hosted in association with edie’s innovation partner Springwise, which will explore ‘how AI can accelerate climate action from businesses’.

No company, country or even region can fix these problems alone. Collaboration is the only way forward.  At last month’s World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting meet in Davos, Switzerland, world leaders were endeavoring to respond collectively to the complicated and interlinked challenges we face. Convening on the theme of ‘cooperation in a fragmented world’, they know such systemic problems require coordinated solutions.

In the same way, the fashion sector must unite to address its particular social and environmental challenges. As one of the planet’s most polluting industries, it has much work to do. For apparel manufacturers, retailers and brands this must be a year of collaboration, not conflict, of progress, not platitudes.

Seismic changes are coming our way. In response to the climate emergency, new public policies will put increasing demands on all aspects of operations. In these circumstances, the only way we make progress is if companies set aside their differences, listen to each other and find common ground towards shared solutions that benefit all, and not just some.

In 2023, we have three pressing challenges to overcome together:

Collective action to cut emissions

First, we need to agree on cutting our emissions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and commit to taking action. In practice, this means the entire fashion industry should set Science-Based Targets (SBTs). They are widely recognised as the most clearly defined pathway for companies to reduce emissions. Unfortunately, the fashion industry has been slow to adopt them.

To date, only 24% of our members have approved SBTs in place. As our membership organisation represents around half of the fashion industry – including some of the world’s biggest brands – and exists to enable positive social and environmental impacts at scale, this low uptake demonstrates the urgent need for much faster progress. In an effort to tackle this, we launched a new Decarbonisation Program to support and drive the sector to work towards urgent, and necessary emissions reduction. The Program will focus on collaboration, member support and delivering tools and guidance to make achieving these targets possible.

Strategic partnerships to address the data gap

Secondly, brands, retailers and manufacturers must collaborate to fill the current gaps in sustainability data. Without it, there is no credible way forward. To reach crucial climate and human rights goals, each company must first understand its current status. Otherwise, there is no way of knowing what action to take. That’s why independent, scientifically accurate and standardised data is essential.

Over the last decade, the SAC, together with our members, has gathered a wealth of verified data to measure the cradle-to-grave environmental impacts of textiles, materials, accessories, and final products. This increased transparency has enabled those within the industry to make informed decisions. The data isn’t ever complete, but it is evolving. Some crucial gaps remain that must be urgently filled; we want to see NGOs, data specialists and leading industry brands and manufacturers coming together to solve this.

Harmonised legislation for a common approach

Finally, we need harmonised legislation for the materials, textiles and accessories used to make garments and footwear, as well as for final fashion products. As a highly complex international industry, with supply chains typically crossing continents, the apparel sector can only drastically reduce its social and environmental impacts within a clear, robust and standardised framework.

We need a common language to describe sustainability, alongside a method for calculating environmental footprints that are recognised worldwide. It’s the only way organisations can undertake reliable sustainability measurements that provide the foundation for trustworthy sustainability claims. It’s how we combat greenwashing.

We are living through turbulent times, but we are in this together. Massive systemic change only happens when we are all involved. Our industry – with its immense creativity, innovation, knowledge and ability to collaborate pre-competitively – has the capacity to be an example for others.

There is still so much to be done and time is running out. The decisions we make together in the year ahead will have profound impacts for generations to come. To ensure a greener, cleaner and fairer future, they must be the right ones. For apparel, I believe that means setting SBTs, filling crucial sustainability data gaps, and harmonising global legislation. Those are this year’s crucial steps towards creating an industry that leaves the world in a better place than when we arrived, and it’s clear to me that we must tackle this together.