Category: Sustainability

UK competition watchdog puts businesses on notice over greenwashing claims

Editor

UK – Businesses in the UK have until the end of the year to ensure their environmental claims comply with the law, otherwise, they risk being charged, the UK Competition and Markets Authority has revealed.  Environmental claims are claims which suggest that a product, service, process, brand, or business is better for the environment, according to the CMA.     They include claims that suggest or create the impression that a product or a service has a positive or no impact on the environment.  Environmental claims are genuine when they…

Read More

Morocco’s OCP Group recognized for implementing holistic approaches toward sustainable food systems

Editor

MOROCCO – OCP Group, the world’s largest phosphate mining and fertilizer group, has been named as one of the top five companies leading the world towards realizing a sustainable food system under the 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA). The WBA evaluates 350 of the most prominent food and agriculture businesses in the world, assessing how these organizations are working towards a sustainable food system in the near future. In the 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark, WBA made a dire conclusion, stating that “the sector…

Read More

Unilever, Farm to Market Alliance partner to promote consumption of diversified local foods

Editor

KENYA – Farm to Market Alliance and Unilever are joining forces to find ways for African consumers to access affordable, locally made, food brands like Knorr and Royco produced from indigenous, nutritious and climate resilient crops, supplied by local smallholder farmers.  This new partnership will bring together the Farm to Market Alliance’s Farmer Service Centre model and Unilever’s consumer experience to explore ways for African smallholders to grow ‘Future 50 Foods’ as part of the World Economic Forum’s multi-stakeholder Food Innovation Hubs initiative. This is part of the parties’ commitment…

Read More

McDonald’s to cut use of virgin plastic in toys, announces share buyback program as business recovers

Editor

USA – McDonald’s Happy Meal toys will be made from recycled or plant-based plastics in an effort to cut its use of virgin fossil fuel-based plastics, the company has revealed.   According to a statement from the company, the changes will allow it to cut its use of virgin fossil fuel-based plastic for Happy Meals by 90% compared with 2018.  McDonald’s, which started selling Happy Meals in 1979, shifted to more sustainable toys in the UK, Ireland and France in 2018.  In the United States, McDonald’s is already using some…

Read More

Blue Bottle Coffee to help scale regenerative agriculture in pursuit of 2021 carbon neutrality goal

Editor

USA – Nestlé-owned global network of cafes in the US and Asia, Blue Bottle Coffee has pledged to help scale regenerative agriculture as part of its 2024 carbon neutrality target.  Additionally, the coffee chain has promised to carry out fundamental changes to its business operations and partnerships with suppliers so as to reduce its GHG emissions as much as possible.   Where it’s unable to reduce emissions, Blue Bottle has made a multi-year commitment to purchase the first available high-quality, registry-certified agricultural carbon credits.  Produced by Carbon by Indigo, these…

Read More

Food giants PepsiCo, Nestle introduce tangible solution to managing, tackling waste problem in South Africa

Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – Ceres Fruit Juices, the largest fruit juice packaging operation in Africa, has migrated from the use of plastic straws to paper straws on all its 200ml juice boxes, in a bid to tackle plastic waste pollution. Plastic waste management is a growing concern across the globe, with plastic drinking straws identified as a major contributor to this problem. The South African brand owned by PepsiCo believes that there is an opportunity to change how the world produces, distributes, consumes, and disposes of packaging in order to tackle…

Read More

East Africa Breweries Limited targets to transition to use of clean energy by 2030 under US$199m plan

Editor

KENYA – East Africa Breweries Limited (EABL), subsidiary of British alcohol manufacturer Diageo, has revealed plans of investing Ksh 22 billion (US$199m) to facilitate its transition to use of green energy by 2030. According to reports by Business Daily, the manufacturer and distributor of Tusker, Chrome, Jonnie walker brands mulls to entirely shift from use of electricity from the national grid, Kenya Power and generate its own power from solar. EABL targets to generate at least 9.3 megawatts at its Ruaraka plant and 2.4-megawatt from solar power in Kisumu. Also,…

Read More

Alpla invests in new PET recycling plant in Romania as Clearlake Capital Group to acquire Mold-Rite Plastics

Editor

ROMANIA –  Alpla Group, an Austrian-based global packaging, and recycling company, has invested in the construction of a recycling plant in Romania, as part of its sustainable packaging initiative.  The new plant and associated buildings and infrastructure is expected to cost approximately €7.5 million (US$8.79 million).  Alpla is undertaking the new project through a joint venture that includes Romanian manufacturer Ecohelp SRL and Swiss company United Polymer Trading AG.  The new facility will be based in Targu Mures, Romania, and will recycle plastic granulate from PET (rPET), which will then be used to produce…

Read More

PepsiCo lays down strategies to drive sustainability across its operations in sub-Saharan Africa

Editor

AFRICA – PepsiCo has heightened its commitment to the sub-Saharan market under the newly launched Pep+ (Pep Positive) plan, a strategic end-to-end transformation initiative with sustainability at its core, aimed at inspiring positive change for the planet and its people. Pep+ is aimed to guide the food manufacturer on how to transform its business operations: from sourcing ingredients, making and selling its products in a more sustainable way. This is as it leverages on its more than one billion connections with consumers each day to take sustainability mainstream and engage…

Read More

Finnish scientists develop lab grown coffee to secure future of caffeine infused hot drinks

Editor

FINLAND – A group of scientists from the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT) seeking to make coffee production more sustainable has successfully produced coffee cells in a bioreactor through cellular agriculture.   The move is timely as the global coffee supply has been under threat due to climate change affecting yields in the major growing regions in the world.  In addition to climate change, a barrage of factors including unsustainable farming methods, exploitation and land rights have made cultivating one of the most beloved drinks more challenging.   To circumvent challenges facing the crop, the…

Read More