Chinese Solar Companies Tied to Use of Forced Labor
A new report shows some of the world’s biggest solar companies work with the Chinese government to absorb workers from Xinjiang, programs that are often seen as a red flag for forced labor. Read more.
China’s Uighur forced labour presents serious challenges for investors
Global investors are facing an unprecedented situation with Uighur forced labor present in hundreds of factories throughout China in numerous sectors. Chinese state power has conscripted over 1 million civilians into a workforce that is now challenging ESG investors’ notions of acceptable working conditions. Of the over 80 global brands whose factories have been identified using forced labor Uighur workers, most of the firms have strict Codes of Conduct. Yet, somehow, their suppliers managed to introduce forced labor into their facilities. Read more.
rfxcel and Digimarc Partner to Innovate and Improve Digital Supply Chain Capabilities
rfxcel, the global leader in digital supply chain traceability solutions, and the Digimarc Corporation, a provider of software and services for automatic identification, today announced a partnership to provide a robust digital supply chain solution for track and trace, brand protection, personalized consumer engagement, and sustainability. The partnership will leverage the Digimarc Platform, featuring Digimarc Barcode, in support of rfxcel’s signature Traceability System (rTS) and Mobile Traceability app. Read more.
Delta Named Supplier Engagement Leader in CDP’s Supplier Engagement Rating for Its Continuous Development of a Sustainable Value Chain
Delta, a global leader in power and thermal management solutions, today announced it has been awarded the highest rating of “A”—Supplier Engagement Leader in the 2020 Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) conducted by CDP. The aforementioned “A” rating derives from the highest scores in the key rating items, namely “Supplier Engagement” “Scope 3 Emissions” and “Overall CDP Climate Change Performance”, ranking among the top 7% assessed enterprises. This Supplier Engagement Leader recognition also follows Delta’s success in attaining “double-A (leadership level)” rating in the 2020 CDP evaluation for two major environmental items: “Climate Change” and “Water Security”, thus, three key honors by CDP for Delta in 2020. These accolades demonstrate that Delta not only responds to climate change with actions, but also collaborates with business partners actively to build a sustainable value chain, and its efforts and outcomes are highly recognized internationally. Read more.
Weekday launches jeans collection made with reborn textile waste
In collaboration with Infinited Fiber Company, H&M Group brand Weekday has introduced a limited-edition version of their popular Rowe Jeans, using 100% post-consumer waste to make a completely recyclable, breathable cotton like fabric. The material used to make the exclusive jeans consists of 50% organic cotton and 50% Infinna™, which comes from 100% reborn textile waste. Read more.
Climate action in fashion, as big clothing brands back Bangladesh recycling scheme
Major fashion brands, including H&M, M&S and C&A, are getting behind an initiative in Bangladesh that aims to use more recycled materials in clothing production and significantly cut planet-heating emissions from manufacturing by 2030.
The Circular Fashion Partnership, announced this week, brings together more than 30 international brands, Bangladeshi recycling firms and garment manufacturers in a push to reuse textile waste from clothing factories to create new products. Read more.
Dow’s Indian partnership targets plastic waste
Dow has signed a memorandum of understanding with Lucro Plastecycle to develop and launch a closed-loop packaging solution to help enable a circular economy in India. The move reflects a new sustainability target from Dow for one million tonnes of plastics to be collected, reused or recycled by 2030.
Under the agreement, Lucro, a specialist in recycling flexible plastic film waste, will use its trademark Plast-E-Cycle to develop and manufacture film structures by processing plastic using Dow’s virgin resins. Read more.
Anheuser-Busch Signs $10.1 Billion Sustainability-Linked Loan
Anheuser-Busch has signed a $10.1 billion debt facility that will allow it to lower the interest rate if it meets certain sustainability targets.
The sustainability-linked revolving-credit facility is one of the largest ESG-linked loans signed to date and is also the first of its kind among publicly listed companies in the beverage sector. Read more.
DHL and Volvo Trucks Join Forces to Speed Up Transition to Fossil Free Road Transport on Longer Distances
DHL Freight, one of the leading road freight providers in Europe, and Volvo Trucks have partnered to speed up the introduction of heavy duty electric trucks to be used for regional transport in Europe. The combined effort marks another important step towards climate neutral transport solutions. Read more.
Morocco solar plant advances Nestlé towards zero net emissions
El Jadidan Morocco has become home to the latest Nestlé solar plant in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), with the installation of nearly 2,600 photovoltaic (PV) panels on a 7,000 sq m annex to the company’s local milk and coffee products factory.
The plant will generate 1.7 GWh of electricity per year, eliminate more than one million kilograms of CO2 annually, and help the Swiss multinational meet global commitments to halve its emissions by 2030 and achieve a net zero goal by 2050. Read more.
BMW is now sourcing aluminum produced using solar energy
In an effort to reduce emissions even further after the launch of its EVs, BMW is looking to start sourcing the aluminum that it uses to produce its cars from plants that utilize a more sustainable form of energy—solar. This is an important milestone for the company, as it’s one of the first few steps that the firm needs to take in order to lower its carbon-dioxide emissions in its supplier network by 20% come 2030. Read more.
Ferrero makes major transparency release of its key Ghana and Ivory Coast cocoa suppliers
A key cocoa supply chain transparency move has been unveiled by the Ferrero Group, which has for the first time disclosed the full list of farming cooperatives it works with, primarily in Ivory Coast and Ghana. The development has come as the business continues to make progress against its wider sustainability goals with its international confectionery operations.
As part of its latest initiative, it names all its tier-1 suppliers and all cocoa farmers from which the company sourced cocoa and chocolate during the2019/2020 season. The list of dozens of businesses also includes groups in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ecuador and Colombia. Read more.
FSMA Proposed Rule for Food Traceability
The FDA is proposing to establish additional traceability recordkeeping requirements (beyond what is already required in existing regulations) for persons who manufacture, process, pack, or hold foods the Agency has designated for inclusion on the Food Traceability List. The proposed rule, “Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods” (Food Traceability Proposed Rule) is a key component of the FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint and would implement Section 204(d) of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The proposed requirements would help the FDA rapidly and effectively identify recipients of those foods to prevent or mitigate foodborne illness outbreaks and address credible threats of serious adverse health consequences or death. Read more.
Tetra Pak calls for collaborative innovation to tackle sustainability challenges in the food packaging industry
Tetra Pak has introduced a new collaborative innovation model with leading paperboard producers in a move aimed at tackling the food packaging industry’s sustainability challenges. The traditional operating model of a linear supply chain has changed and a new partnership ecosystem model is emerging, where the entire industry works in close collaboration. This brings together, not only producers and suppliers, but also research institutions, universities and start-ups, in an attempt to find solutions. Read more.
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