On Her Majesty’s Service
The transition (economic, ecological, cultural, circular?) requires technology, technical know-how, and soft skills of all kinds. New economic expertise, knowledge of governance processes, new langu...
Packaging waste: a preview of the European Commission's draft proposal
On November 30, the European Commission is due to submit its proposal for a "Regulation of the European Parliament and Council on Packaging and Packaging Waste." Renewable Matter was able to view a ...
Polysilicon: the Chinese domain that violates Uyghur rights
Just by looking carefully at a handful of sand, and armed with a magnifying glass, sparkling, spiky grains can be seen. That is quartz sand, or silicon in its oxidized state. Counting for nearly 30 ...
The Role of Universities and Private Institutes in Circular Economy Education
Universities perform a series of essential services for the circular transition, from defining what a circular economy really is to researching innovative solutions, from x to dialogue with business...
Google launches startup accelerator for the circular economy
Google the term "circular economy," and the top search results are a bunch of definitions. The circular economy is still nascent — think tank Circle Economy argues that the world is less than 9 pe...
Let’s re-design the fashion system
According to Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates, the equivalent of one lorry full of clothes is thrown in a landfill or incinerated every second. The global fashion industry keeps growing, but onl...
Brave New Supermarket
Since its very onset, over a century ago, the supermarket model has had only one purpose: to make us buy as much as possible. But nowadays, a more responsible approach to consumption is gaining trac...
Italy's turned right. What are the impacts for the ecological transition?
Italy will be led by a right-wing coalition. In an election with a very low electoral turn-out (64 percent, a 10 percent drop from previous elections), the party led by Giorgia Meloni, Fratelli d'It...
Farmers in Africa bet on tractor sharing
The shortage of farm machinery is a well-known problem for Africa. Founded in Nairobi, Hello Tractor is an app that aims to foster cooperation between farmers and equipment owners.Sharing resources ...
For a more Sustainable and Traceable Olive Oil: Monini's Journey
Olive cultivation is showing itself to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. The supply chain, therefore, needs to rethink its production model, one that protects the soil...
Raj Patel: How to Cure an Inflamed World
Intensive farming, abuse of fertilisers and chemicals, deforestation and the food industry provoke irreparable damage to our planet and to our bodies. To get out of it, as Raj Patel puts it, extract...
ICLEI’s journey towards circular procurement
No doubt a circular demand creates opportunities for a circular supply. But how is it possible to integrate closed loop criteria in public procurement, a share that represents nearly 14% of the GDP ...
Sustainability is a cup of coffee traveling around the world
Coffee is perhaps the most international of all products. The Lavazza Group, a Pure Coffee Company present in more than 140 countries and committed to an ecological transition capable of responding ...
Lost in the Supermarket: Retail and the Sustainability Challenge
I'm all lost in the supermarket I can no longer shop happily The ClashThe retail sector wants to change. It is a need dictated by the times, from macroeconomic and political scenarios to factors rel...
Europe under fire as rubber industry is destroying African forests
Fueled by European demand, the rubber industry is allegedly responsible for massive deforestation in West-Central Africa quantified at 520 km2 since 2000, says a report released by the NGO Global Wi...
Architects of Ecosystems: Will Fungi Shape Our Sustainable Future?
Using fungi and their extraordinary characteristics to “grow” construction materials and degrade pollutants: this is the vision underpinning many studies that soon may lead to real applications ...
United Nations: the environment is now a universal human right
In late July, the United Nations General Assembly recognized access to a clean and healthy environment as a universal human right. This new right will be critical in addressing the threefold planeta...
(Un)sustainable fashion: H&M is being sued for greenwashing
Swedish fast fashion giant H&M has come under indictment for greenwashing. The plaintiff was American marketing student Chelsea Commodore, who took the case to federal court in New York last Ju...
Is advanced recycling the answer to plastic waste?
It’s an undeniably compelling notion: Take waste plastics of all types and turn them back into the building blocks for new plastics, indistinguishable from the same molecules made from petroleum a...
China launches anti-erosion black soil campaign
China is stepping up efforts to protect black soil, the fertile land intended to fulfill a major share of its food demand. “Chinese lawmakers are considering a draft black soil conservation law th...