Collaborating with the ocean is essential to addressing climate change and environmental justice
“The potential for the “blue economy” — one that combines more thoughtful stewardship of the ocean’s resources and economic opportunity with a more pragmatic, respectful approach to protecting coastal ecosystems — is vast. But with more than $1.5 trillion in annual economic value linked to ocean-based activities, the time is right to place the world’s seas at the center of a climate-centric post-pandemic recovery. This discussion will center on the role ocean solutions can play in addressing both climate change and systemic environmental justice issues.
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Biden-Harris: The work begins Joel Makower Sat, 11/07/2020 – 10:39
Whatever your political leanings, the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States increases the odds of bringing America back into the community of nations addressing the climate crisis.
“Increases the odds” is the key phrase in the above sentence. There’s a lot of work to do, and not just by our elected representatives, to regain our footing on this issue — and to regain our standing on the global stage.
Now, the hard work begins. There is public policy to enact and implement. There are new commitments to be made. There are fractured alliances to mend. But more important, there is leadership to project. Not just by the new president or Congress, but by us all.
The new administration will need to know that we have their backs.
If America is to be seen as the climate leader so many of us desperately want it to be, we’ll need to stand with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on climate (and environmental protection in general). We’ll need our voices to be loud and clear. We’ll need to push and prod them toward increasingly more ambitious action.
The new administration will need to know that we have their backs.
This is easier said than done. Most companies have been woefully silent on climate policy. Despite the explosion of net-zero commitments across the economy, there’s been relatively little hue and cry by business for national leadership on climate issues. Quite the opposite: Most companies have stood by as the current administration dismantled existing climate policies, which must now be pieced back together. It won’t be easy or quick, but nothing less will do. And getting back to where we were in 2016 is only the beginning.
Elections are easy; governing is hard, particularly in this fractured age. But it’s heartening that the president-elect’s campaign website has a page dedicated to “a clean energy revolution and environmental justice.” It speaks to how addressing the climate crisis will lead to “a stronger, more resilient nation” as we take on “this grave threat.” It promises that “the development of solutions is an inclusive, community-driven process.”
These are words, not deeds, but they nonetheless represent a welcome turnaround from current policy. All of us will need to hold the new administration to account on those lofty aspirations. There will be lots of obstacles overcome, by all of us.
More to come on this. For now, it’s time to exhale, relax, savor the moment.
But only for a moment. It’s a new day. This is when the hard work actually begins.
Pull Quote
The new administration will need to know that we have their backs.
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Don’t be square: How to tell a successful, circular story that sticks
How can companies effectively communicate circular initiatives without confusing or alienating customers and stakeholders?
The circular economy is becoming a centerpiece of many corporate sustainability strategies. Yet companies often struggle to translate this into stories that inform and engage employees, customers, investors and other stakeholders. This poses a problem because if we hope to unlock the circular economy’s full potential, we’ll need to make sure that it’s understood and embraced by all — and not just sustainability wonks. In this session, panelists explore how companies are learning to leverage the power of narrative to educate and inspire stakeholders on their circular ambitions, products and service offerings.
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How can diverse stakeholders move beyond designing out waste and keeping products in play, to regenerating local economies and natural systems?
The promise of a circular economy includes so much more than just designing out waste and keeping molecules in play. The opportunity, and necessity, is to improve the health of every single system that we touch — from product design and manufacturing to how we engage suppliers across a value chain. What’s the opportunity for your organization to regenerate the natural systems upon which your business depends? How can we learn from nature’s ingenious design to increase value across all forms of capital? This discussion grounds regenerative principles in practice, and shares actionable tools for implementing them.
Speakers
Shana Rappaport, Vice President & Executive Director, VERGE, GreenBiz Group
Ahmed Rahiem, CEO & Co-Founder, Numi
Amanda Ravenhill, Executive Director, Buckminster Fuller Institute
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An idea for solving the plastics crisis Sara Kingman Tue, 09/15/2020 – 01:30
A major problem with behavior-change programs in the waste industry is that they rely on consumers being taught to feel the guilt of plastic in the ocean, and the harm to turtles and whales. They’ve tried to condition people to believe that if we buy so-called “zero waste kits,” choose zucchini and cucumbers without plastic shrink-wrap and champion our favorite reusable metal straws, these choices alone somehow will drive a reduction in single-use plastics.
While these steps can provide some benefit — and the strategy of creating consumer guilt shouldn’t be entirely discredited — this narrative is misguided. Ultimately, it never will address the root of the issue.
Instead, savvy leaders in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) are focusing more attention on the plastics industry — and by extension, the oil industry.
First, those producers and their trade groups for decades have driven misleading, consumer-centric campaigns that redirect societal blame and attention away from the pollution they create. The classic examples include “sustainability” statements made by plastics industry leaders promoting recycling. These campaigns insinuate: “If consumers recycle correctly, the waste problem will be solved and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch will disappear.” This is plainly false propaganda, evident first by the astounding fact that a mere 8.4 percent of America’s plastic waste is actually recycled.
Regardless whether designers of the built environment are involved in the policies of overseas plastics recycling, we create structures in which plastics are fixed in place and the spaces that plastics move through.
As a society and as AEC professionals, we can’t continue allowing the plastics industry and oil producers to govern our approach to sustainability. Plastics are the problem — and recycling is not the solution.
So how can more professionals in building design and construction make a difference?
First, admit that recycling is broken. For the past decade, American consumers and businesses have relied on China to accept our immeasurable wave of plastic waste. The U.S. was not sending clean, recyclable material but rather plastics covered in food remains, which turned into mold in the transportation process and became excessively difficult to process upon arrival. Inevitably, by 2018 China instituted a strict contamination allowance under the National Sword policy, which effectively meant Americans no longer could export plastic waste to China. No one blames China for this decision — U.S. leaders should have had the foresight and environmental consciousness to realize the process relied on for the previous decade was not only unsustainable, it also wasn’t even a cost-effective solution for the long term.
Now is the time to look domestically and reframe U.S. waste management — and quickly, because in the meantime America’s plastic waste is being landfilled and burned at an alarming rate, both domestically and abroad.
Second, consider the AEC industry’s potentially powerful role in this. Regardless whether designers of the built environment are involved in the policies of overseas plastics recycling, we create structures in which plastics are fixed in place and the spaces that plastics move through. Clearly, we can have a significant impact. For example, building designers should:
Create sustainable purchasing policies for clients, to be enforced throughout the lifetime of a building’s operations, governing the behaviors of all tenants. These would ensure single-use materials, and especially single-use plastic purchases, are minimized throughout the building’s lifetime. The policy facilitates the best opportunities to allow occupants to act in an environmentally conscious manner.
Specify Red List-free building materials. This eliminates all toxic and socially harmful materials, simultaneously decreasing reliance on petrochemicals. Keep in mind, even if plastic building products are retained in situ for 60 years, at end-of-life they are still being landfilled. It’s unhealthy, and we don’t need and shouldn’t foster use of these materials in any buildings.
Advocate for improvements to building materials and assemblies. More AEC leaders need to ask vendors and manufacturers to improve their products by decoupling from petrochemical-based ingredients. Many would be glad to comply.
It’s time to face down this challenge. It is the responsibility of designers of the built environment to operate beyond our traditionally defined boundaries and insist our buildings meet the highest standards possible.
It is also our responsibility to be educators and help show those around us how to ensure a healthy and sustainable world for future generations.
The problem is not consumer choices or their commitment to recycling correctly — the problem is plastics, period. Without doubt or hesitation, we need action today by the AEC industry to stop the cycle of pollution from this endemic industry.
Pull Quote
Regardless whether designers of the built environment are involved in the policies of overseas plastics recycling, we create structures in which plastics are fixed in place and the spaces that plastics move through.
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From Product to Practice: Circular Innovation from the Ground Up
How can companies leverage one circular product initiative into an organization-wide, circular transformation?
Rethinking your company’s strategy, business model and supply chain for a circular economy — all while continuing to fulfill current and evolving market and customer demands — can be a daunting task. Rather than tackling circularity at scale, some companies are finding early success in starting small. Hear from leading companies about their journeys in optimizing a single product, and how it helped launch enterprise-wide changes in business strategy. Panelists present practical case studies on how implementing and innovating for circular products can transform business practices — from supplier engagement to materials innovation, process improvement, resource optimization and global business strategy.
Speakers
Christina Raab, Vice President, Strategy & Development, Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute
Kellie Ballew, Director of Sustainability, Shaw Industries Group, Inc.
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How should diverse corporate stakeholders —such as brands and packaging producers — help shape the U.S. policy landscape around plastics, recycling and solid waste management?
This two part policy session, organized in collaboration with the The Recycling Partnership, will focus on the role that brand and packaging producers can play in forging a stronger policy environment in the U.S. to create more circular outcomes. The steady growth of public attention around plastics and packaging has led to a revitalized policy focus in the U.S. on recycling and solid waste management in 2020. Historically, brands and packaging producers have played an antagonistic role in the U.S. packaging policy landscape. However, the emergence of a circular economy opportunity and the urgency of science-based action are creating the conditions for value chain engagement and collective participation in the policymaking process.
Speakers
Elizabeth Biser, VP Policy & Public Affairs, The Recycling Partnership
Nicole Collier, Director of Policy & Public Affairs, Nestlé
Dylan de Thomas, VP of Industry Collaboration, The Recycling Partnership
Missy Owens, Director, Government Relations, Federal & Diplomatic, Coca-Cola
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What new strategies are enabling companies and sectors to finance circularity at scale?
The circular economy offers significant value and new growth opportunities. In the plastic value chain alone, research shows that compared with business-as-usual, a circular economy has the potential to reduce the annual volume of plastics entering our oceans by 80 percent, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent, generate savings of $200 billion per year, and create 700,000 additional jobs by 2040. The circular economy can create value in similar ways across other sectors of the economy. As we look for ways to recover from the economic shock of the pandemic, the circular economy presents a pathway to build back better. Through the capital markets, investors can help build a more resilient economy that addresses global challenges, creates jobs, and benefits society.
How should diverse corporate stakeholders — such as brands and packaging producers — help shape the U.S. policy landscape around plastics, recycling and solid waste management?
This two part policy session, organized in collaboration with the The Recycling Partnership, will focus on the role that brand and packaging producers can play in forging a stronger policy environment in the U.S. to create more circular outcomes. The steady growth of public attention around plastics and packaging has led to a revitalized policy focus in the U.S. on recycling and solid waste management in 2020. Historically, brands and packaging producers have played an antagonistic role in the U.S. packaging policy landscape. However, the emergence of a circular economy opportunity and the urgency of science-based action are creating the conditions for value chain engagement and collective participation in the policymaking process.
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How can your company implement a rental business model?
While the concept of renting is anything but new, recent years have seen an expansion of products traditionally bought and kept by consumers now available for rent. From formal wear to scooters to furniture, rental products promote access over ownership, providing consumers with an often easier and cheaper alternative to purchasing something outright. In return, rental models allow companies to extend their customer relationship from one-off products to long term service. This paradigm shift requires businesses to evolve in numerous ways, shifting internal operations and financial models alongside external value propositions, communications strategies and sales tactics. Hear from companies at the forefront of the new and improved rental industry as they discuss the benefits, challenges and best-practices for building a successful rental business model.
Speakers
Hélène Smits, Initiator and Lead, Circle Textiles Program, Circle Economy
Gustav Hedström, Business Developer, Houdini Sportswear
Amy Kang, Director of Product Platform Systems, CaaStle
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