Several businesses have published new research to mark Plastic Free July, including Veolia and Amcor. Here, edie rounds up the key findings, which act as a snapshot of public opinion on plastics in the context of Covid-19.
Source: www.edie.net
Victorian retailers who supply single-use plastic bags to customers could be fined $49,500 per offence under new laws that come into effect on Friday.
The grocer will offer special discounted pricing and promotions on its reusable bags during 2019 to ensure a smooth transition.
“One of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century is dealing with the progress of the 20th Century — especially old computers, monitors, cellular phones and televisions.These appliances depend on po…
Microsoft has published its annual sustainability report for 2021 [PDF], claiming to have reduced its own CO2 emissions by about 17 percent year-on-year, but with a bigger carbon footprint overall than it had last year, showing that “progress won’t always be linear”. In 2021, Microsoft generated 14.072 million metric tons of CO2e, by its own estimation. That’s up from 11.58 million metric tons of CO2e the year before – an overall 21.4 percent increase. Announcing the report, Microsoft president and vice chair Brad Smith said that the past year had provided the company with critical experience for its stated goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030.
UOB has been approved to join the Equator Principles Association and has adopted the Equator Principles (EPs), a set of international standards to assess environmental and social risk projects, according to a press release. UOB said that it is committed to the implementation of the EPs in its environmental and social policies, procedures, and standards for financing projects. “As an Equator Principles Financial Institution, we will ensure that rigorous environmental and social standards are applied in the projects we support, from the project development stage through to follow-up monitoring,” said Eric Lim, chief sustainability officer, UOB.
The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) Secretariat has released five publications that outline how the electronics, textiles, food, plastics, and capital equipment sectors can increase their circularity. Comprising the ‘Circular Economy Action Agenda,’ the reports serve as a rallying call for businesses, governments, researchers, consumers, and civil society to work together. Each publication outlines the objective for a circular economy and what circularity in that particular sector looks like, the impact on people and the planet if those objectives were to be achieved, the barriers that stand to hinder implementation, and actions that can optimize the sector’s transition towards a more circular economy.