Summer might be ending, but the extreme heat waves and storms this year brought won't stop any time soon. The good news is, businesses and individuals from all industries are making strides to combat climate change in 2019. This year, GreenBiz has continued to track the progress of the clean economy for our sustainability-conscious readership. Thoughtful innovations are leading the charge, from zero-waste packaging to airless tires to regenerative agriculture. During these dog days of summer, we rounded up the 10 stories that our readers collectively tuned into the most, in case you missed them or want a refresher. We hope this list will keep you inspired — and here’s to the stories of the clean economy that are still to come. 1. A zero-waste packaging innovation launched in February, and blue-chip companies have been joining in droves since. We want to Loop you in.   Loop, a zero-waste system that recycles and refills high-quality packaging, attracted an impressive roster of consumer brands — and the largest GreenBiz readership this year. The system aims to eliminate the environmental consequences of disposability but also maintain its virtues, such as convenience, said Tom Szaky, CEO and co-founder of TerraCycle, the company that made Loop. Big names such as Procter & Gamble, Nestlé and Unilever are joining because they recognize the growing demand for sustainable products and packaging, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will match the enthusiasm, our executive editor wrote in this article. 2. At the beginning of the year, the EAT-Lancet Commission released dietary guidelines for the "Great Food Transformation," which aims to achieve sustainable human and planetary health by 2050. The recommendations in their current form, argued our op-ed writer, nutrition consultant Erica Hauver, cannot accomplish either goal. The Eat-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health sought to answer a critical question: "Can we feed a future population of 10 billion people a healthy diet within planetary boundaries?" Its answer — the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems (PDF) — gives recommendations for global diets for the next 30 years. However, its findings have been controversial. Contributor Hauver explores these recommendations and their shortcomings. She notes of the commissioned report: "First, it is founded on outdated, weak nutrition science. Second, the commission failed to achieve an international scientific consensus for its dietary targets, in spite of its claims to have done so. Third, it has suffered from biased, or at least unrepresentative, leadership." The need for a sustainable food system and for transformational change within it are critical — and must be given the consideration deserve, argues Hauver. 3. Car owners know how scary tire blowouts can be, but this new development might offer them a peace of mind: Michelin is teaming up with General Motors to test airless tires.   A prototype of the Michelin Uptis technology — the potential benefits of airless tires include fewer punctures and reduced materials requirements. "Airless tires" might sound like an oxymoron, but the iconic French tiremaker is looking for new ways to advance sustainable mobility. It’s doing just that with Uptis, a new generation of airless tires, made up of composite materials, which could decrease the amount of rubber and raw materials used. Their unique design, which bears the weight of cars at high speeds, also could improve passenger safety. They are likely to be quickly adopted in markets with higher rates of tire blowouts because of gnarly road conditions, such as India and China. Michelin and GM are testing them later this year and hope to make them commercially available by 2024, wrote GreenBiz’s editorial director, Heather Clancy. The ultimate vision is to produce "100 percent sustainable" tires, sourcing entirely from renewable or bio-sourced materials. 4. We put out our fourth list of up-and-coming changemakers in the sustainability field. These twentysomethings represent what makes us hopeful about our work during these uncertain times. One of our most widely-anticipated stories is our annual 30 Under 30 list. After nominations from the global GreenBiz community throughout the spring and much-appreciated partnership from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and BSR in gathering suggestions, the GreenBiz editors must whittle the hundreds of names we've received down to only 30. They're always difficult deliberations, but the application pool was particularly incredible this year. As we wrote: "They work in the worlds of technology and tires, finance and forestry, retail and recovery operations. They hail from Tokyo and Toronto, London and Lima, Mexico and Manhattan. They toil in data centers and diversity, conservation and conservative politics — and generally are making the world greener and more just." 5. We spent International Women's Day doing what we do every day: feeling inspired by the work that women in corporate sustainability are undertaking. To celebrate, though, this year, we decided to write about those amazing women.  From women running corporate offices to those running for office, incredible badasses around the world are leading the way to a more sustainable and just future. They're fighting for everything from greening finance to equity in tech startup acceleration to healthy materials in fashion to decarbonizing transportation. "Whether it's the unwavering diplomacy of public-sector leaders such as Christiana Figueres or the steely resolve of executives such as Apple's Lisa Jackson, this group is especially noteworthy both because of what they already have achieved and for their ability to directly influence future innovation and progress," wrote our editorial director, Heather Clancy. 6. Our food production system and climate change are inextricably linked. However, better decision-making in our land use and agricultural practices has the potential to stop climate change — and even, reverse it. The agriculture sector represents a far outsized proportion of global emissions that contribute to climate change — between 20 and 25 percent, according to scientists. However, in order to feed the growing population nutritiously and maintain millions of livelihoods around the world, the field is a difficult one to transition to low-carbon. However, the way that we manage agriculture and husbandry makes a massive difference in the amount of greenhouse gases both of them emit. General Mills’ Head of Sustainability of Natural and Organic Operations, Shauna Sadowski, wrote for GreenBiz on why how the future of land and livestock management is regenerative. 7. Oil companies love to talk about their transition to clean energy. BP even changed its name to "Beyond Petroleum." But how are they really doing? Our senior energy analyst Sarah Golden breaks it down with facts and numbers.    Oil supermajors such as Chevron and ExxonMobil are ratcheting up PR budgets to brand themselves as clean energy allies. They're talking the talk, but are they walking the walk? As it turns out, "only 3 percent of the capital expenditures by the top five supermajors is dedicated to low-carbon technologies," GreenBiz’s senior energy analyst, Sarah Golden, wrote. These companies might understand the importance of energy transition to stop runaway climate change, but in the meantime, they’re cashing in on the current U.S. oil boom, with plans to increase oil production and export to foreign markets. Golden also explained in detail what the big five are doing to transition to clean energy. "In some ways, the oil companies would be perfect renewable allies," she concluded. Want to know why? 8. Amazon makes it easy to start your own delivery business by providing its branded vans. Why not make it easier on the planet by electrifying them? Amazon has set ambitious goals to minimize its carbon footprint, from investing in electric pickup truck maker to championing reusable packaging. The logistics giant could make another leap by electrifying its branded vans, which it lends to contractors to launch local delivery businesses and courier packages for Amazon customers. Without electrifying its delivery fleet, Amazon is missing a cost-saving opportunity, wrote GreenBiz’s transportation analyst Katie Fehrenbacher. As these last-mile delivery trips are "relatively short-range, occur over a condensed area and have somewhat routine routes," electric vans can save money by eliminating fuel costs, she analyzed. UPS, FedEx and DHL are already electrifying their delivery fleets, but the market is still relatively new. Could Amazon make a move and tip the scale? 9. Looking for some new listening material to learn even more about the diverse field of sustainability? We have some recommendations for you.  You might have heard our GreenBiz original podcasts, but you might not know that we're generally major podcast aficionados — and we wanted to share the love with you. We've been creating podcast roundups for the past few years, and this year was our longest list so far. We couldn't choose our favorite — but maybe you can find a new one of yours. From transportation expertise to stories of resilience to sustainability comedy (yes, that's a thing), our list has something for everyone. 10. WeWork’s leader of sustainability and well-being sat down with GreenBiz contributor Mia Overall to explain her role in the coworking brand, how she got there and how the company plans to take on climate change.   Lindsay Baker, WeWork's first chief sustainability officer. You won’t find any trace of meat at WeWork’s corporate spread. Don’t worry — carnivores are still welcome, but the coworking brand has stopped spending its budget on meat. This is only one of the ways it’s minimizing its environmental footprint, spearheaded by The We Company's new leader of sustainability and well-being, Lindsay Baker. From building healthier office space to imagining cities of the future, she has seen the role evolve tremendously since jumping on board. And now, the most pressing matter on her mind is climate change. "For us, this means tackling our own climate footprint, but also helping entrepreneurs start businesses to help tackle climate," Baker said. "We’re also disproportionately trying to have a positive impact in areas of the world that are impacted by climate change."

The practice of recycling has everything to commend it:  On a finite planet, it conserves resources; it is meretricious allowing us, as it does, to pin a mental merit badge on our chests as we ready the assigned recycling bin once a week; and it is an activity that is all good.  We are saving the planet, albeit in a small way, from some of the excesses of the developed world.  And when everyone does their share, the impact has to be unavoidably significant.  Right.  Or, does it?   If we examine what we recycle, that is paper, glass, metal cans and plastic, the junk mail and other paper discarded is the most copious but plastic is close.  Almost all of it used to go to the developed world’s great recycling bin in the east … China.  It absorbed some 95 percent of EU recyclable waste and 70 percent from the US.  But China began to grow its own domestic garbage with the growth of its economy.  The consequences have not been unexpected.  China announced a new policy in 2018, named inexplicably National Sword, banning the import of most recyclables, particularly plastics and contaminated materials.   Since then China’s import of such recyclables has fallen 99 percent.  Needless to say, metals and glass are not as seriously affected.  For the American recycling industry, it has been a major earthquake.  First, about 25 percent of recyclables are contaminated and not recyclable.  Then there are plastic bags.  Not only are these, too, not recyclable but they tend to jam up sorting machinery. The sorting of waste sent to China had been taken over by families in port side communities.  It became their livelihood, retrieving whatever fetched a price and dumping the rest.  Piling up in ad hoc landfills, it washed down waterways into the ocean.  They were not the only culprits.  Thus we have had the phenomenon of whales being washed up dead, starved because stomachs were full of plastic — 88 pounds densely packed in the stomach of one found in the Philippines and 50 pounds inside another in Sardinia.  China’s ban on waste imports has been followed by Malaysia and Vietnam.  In March of this year, India joined them.   As the outlets for their waste disappear and as most of the plastics are not recycled, self-reliance has been forced upon developed countries.  All to the good for the environment, because it will also curtail the use of plastics out of necessity.  The truth is only a fraction of plastic waste is recyclable, generally the white transparent bottles of which some are preferred.  Most ends up in landfills.  A 2017 study in  Science Advances determined that 90% of plastics ever produced are still in the environment.  Yet in the past six decades an estimated 8 billion tons have been produced.  Moreover, the usage trend is upwards and in 2014 some 311 million tons were produced worldwide.   There is though a small movement to restore reusable bottles, and a company called Loop Industries may be on the right track. Their founders announced at the World Economic Forum in 2019 that they aim to return to the milkman model, reusing bottles for everything from edibles to shampoo and detergent. Loop has partnered with Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo, and other large companies.  Perhaps, if we all return to the milk bottle model of the 1950s  — refilling containers to be used again — there may be greater hope for the planet.  The good news is, some towns and states have already banned single-use plastic bottles.   Another intriguing possibility is to use the millions of tons of crustacean shells discarded.  Scientists are now able to extract chitin and chitosan from shrimp and lobster shells.  Still, in the research stage, the process has to be made industrially feasible, and there are also problems with hazardous waste as it uses potent chemicals like sodium hydroxide.  Biodegradable chitin and chitosan can be used as plastic substitutes to make surfboards and anti-microbial food packaging.  Scotland-based CuanTec has developed a bacterial method that has eliminated 95 percent of the sodium hydroxide and also cut energy use by a third as the bacteria do all the work.  They use shells from the langoustines common in northern Europe, and have already signed a contract with the large UK supermarket chain Waitrose to supply flexible film for packaging fish.  The film’s antibacterial properties extend fish shelf life by three days.   An unexpected and more insidious source of plastic pollution is synthetic clothing.  Researchers have determined that acrylic clothing may release more than 700,000 plastic fibers in a single wash.  Polyester releases about 500,000 fibers, and a poly-cotton blend releases about 137,000.  These fibers end up in the water we drink and the fish we eat.  Making matters worse is the presence of microplastic at depths up to the 1000 meters, investigated by Choy et al in the deep waters of Monterey Bay using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).  The ROV collected the samples at ten different depths.  Maximum pollution was found, surprisingly, not at the surface but from 200 to 600 meters below.  They also collected red crabs and found plastics in the gastrointestinal tract.  Giant “sinkers,” the particle filtering mucous houses used for feeding by larvaceans and discarded after use, were collected at depths ranging from 251 to 2967 meters to overlap and extend the range of the research.  All contained microplastics.   Clearly, ridding the oceans of plastic pollution is an almost insurmountable problem.   Japanese manufacturers have come up with a washing machine filter to catch microfibers, which may provide some aid if more widely distributed.  Yet we still do not know the efficacy of such devices.  Curbing the problem at the source is still the most sensible if we wish to sustain the planet.  It is up to us.   Returning to the cheap, convenient and therefore ubiquitous plastic bags, there is hope, for now, there are several different types:  the most common are conventional plastic bags, then there are compostable bags designed to be recycled in industrial composters, biodegradable bags, and two types of oxo-biodegradable bags.  The latter degrade in open landscapes or on water surfaces like oceans.  None degrade too well in landfills.  There is, however,  another problem with compostable biodegradables:  to repel water and oil these have in them perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in which a hydrogen atom has been replaced by fluorine.  Known as PFAS, these persistent chemicals leach out of the plastic and remain in the compost to be absorbed by plants and later by humans to accumulate in their bodies.   However, it’s back to landfills for the non-recyclables.  In 2015, the US alone produced 34.5 million tons (or 13 percent of total municipal solid waste) of plastic waste from which a small fraction (9 percent or 3.1 million tons) was recycled, 5.4 million tons was incinerated with energy recovery and about 26 million tons ended up in landfills.  Burning reduces volume by 87 percent.  However, open burning produces pollutants including dangerous dioxins, so safe combustion requires a contained environment.   Unless there is a change, the plastic problem appears likely to keep growing.  In 1950, the world produced only about 2 million tons compared to over 300 million tons in present times.  The UN has taken a first step by adding plastic waste to the Basel agreement on hazardous waste — 187 countries have signed up, the US under the Trump administration remains an exception.   Engineering institutions have become aware of the problem and are educating their young members.  As reported in their July 2019 issue of IET Member News, the British electrical engineering professional body has two competitions sponsored by Greenpeace and Greenseas.  For the Greenpeace prize, teams have to come up with methods, technologies and alternative delivery systems to reduce plastic packaging in supermarkets.  And the Greenseas challenge requires competitors to develop a robotic machine to clear beaches of plastic cigarette stubs.  The machine has to be large enough to collect a reasonable amount and painted brightly to attract attention and inform the public of the problem.  Then there is OceanX Group, headed by a young engineer, that is developing automated monitoring and cleanup technology to remove plastic from waterways and better to detect sources.  It employs artificial intelligence including drones.   The inescapable upshot of all of this is a need for education.  Sorting recyclables initially and disposing non-recyclable material into the curbside waste bin could save energy later, and many man-hours.  Changes in the kind of plastic material produced may also help.  For instance, just reducing the coloring used in plastic bottles eases recycling as these additives are expensive to remove.  Also tax incentives for manufacturers can only aid recycling efforts.  However, the now evident danger to the food chain begs including the cost of safe disposal (like controlled combustion for example) in the price of items.  Above all, the total amount of plastic generated can no longer keep increasing; it has to be reduced.  

Szaky is founder and CEO of TerraCycle, in Trenton, N.J. He says the throwaway culture in the U.S. took shape in the mid-20th century. "There were advertisements in 1950 that talk about, 'You don't have to wash the dishes anymore, simply take the whole thing, — the cutlery, the dishes, the tablecloth itself — and throw it all out,' " he says. That disposability was made possible in large part by the invention of cheap plastic.

Earlier this year, Häagen-Dazs collaborated with TerraCycle, a global leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials line ice cream cartons, to release reusable, refillable pints through a sustainability new program called Loop. A special feature of the packaging ensures that the vegan ice cream at the top melts faster than the bottom. Customers looking to further reduce their carbon footprint were able to order the brand’s vegan ice cream through Loop.

TerraCyle has launched a circular, durable packaging model for CPGs and their consumers interested in reducing single-use packaging waste streams.  Packaging and product manufacturers are well aware of the environmental impact of their companies, the negative press about single-use plastics in our oceans, consumer demand for more sustainable solutions, recycling rates with room for improvement and jam-packed landfills. TerraCycle, the globally known leader in recycling hard-to-recycle waste, such as laminated snack pouches, toothbrushes and polyurethane earplugs, is blazing yet another trail, this time wholly changing the way we think about products and consumption to support our value stream in reducing its reliance on single-use packaging. This year TerraCycle has launched Loop, a circular packaging reuse solution that changes the existing model for fast moving consumer goods. Loop has created an infrastructure where the primary product containers are durable, designed for multiple uses. The containers are collected, cleaned, refilled and reused via e-commerce and retail, making reuse convenient and affordable to customers through virtual and physical shopping channels. Today a package is considered a COGS (cost of goods sold), and its cost is fully allocated per fill. The cheaper the package the lower the cost per fill. In the Loop model, the package is property of the CPG company rather than the consumer. In this way, the manufacturer’s allocation per fill is the cost divided by the number of uses it can bear. The more durable the package, the lower the cost per fill. By changing the concept around ownership, the demand for durability increases. Rick Zultner, vice president of research and development at Loop, says: ‘When the packaging is an asset to the brand, and made as durable as possible, the manufacturer can depreciate the cost over time. In the current model, single-use packaging is effectively hurting the bottom line, and there is more incentive to reduce the cost per unit as much as possible.’ The incentive to reduce the cost per unit is part of what makes hard-to-recycle laminated pouches so appealing, coupled with convenience and ease-of-use. Therefore, the underlying benefit to the Loop model is the economic structure with the ultimate incentive of eliminating single-use waste entirely. We have a long way to go before we start seeing a major shift, but there’s no doubt that global consumers are eager for a viable, sustainable consumption option such as Loop. Zultner continues: ‘There is a healthy amount of market development being done, and we know that this model makes sense to better align the total life-cycle cost of a product with the finance objectives of the company manufacturing the products.’ The circular Loop  Loop offers its reuse packaging system using two models. For e-commerce convenience, brands can integrate their product onto the Loop website. Loop executes all receiving, outbound distribution, inbound distribution and cleaning. The second option is to purchase products at Loop retail partners’ brick and mortar locations. Once the consumer is finished with the product, they can return it to the retail store. The consumer will receive their deposit back, and the empties will be transported through the grocery store distribution network back to Loop for cleaning and refilling. For initial launch, only the e-commerce option is available. In the US, UPS is Loop’s logistics partner, handling delivery and reverse logistics. Together the partners custom-designed the foldable Loop tote to handle liquids, dry goods and personal care products with protective dividers inside, using materials that offer easy cleaning. The UPS Package Design and Test Lab identified ways to mitigate material breakdown, product leaks and exterior packaging materials that display dilapidation quickly. The tote eliminates the need for the ubiquitous corrugated boxes we have become so familiar with as e-commerce users. The tote comes with a shipping label to place on the top of the tote when the containers are empty and ready to be returned. Users trigger return pick up and shipment through their account on the website. Throwback ‘milkman’ designs  Loop assists product manufacturers with the selection of their primary container materials including aluminum, stainless steel, glass and engineered plastic. Zultner explains: ‘We want to make sure the containers can be cleaned and effectively reused.’ Material selection is based on the product type and where in the household the product is used. For example, Love Beauty and Planet’s shampoo bottles are aluminum because of the hazard associated with breaking. However, REN Clean Skincare’s bottles are glass. Designs from the 1950s have made a comeback with this paradigm shift, harking back to a time where there was no concept around single-use and disposal. For example, Mondelez’s Milka brand is going back to a design more like a cookie tin from the post-war era. Manufacturers are starting small and incubating their most prominent brands using the Loop circular opportunity. Most of the Loop participants have R&D lines to do the filling in-house, or the ability to contract with a specialty filler. The objective is to design a primary container that can withstand 100 uses at a minimum. Explains Zultner: ‘In a life-cycle analysis, depending on the type of package – if it can achieve five uses, it’s considered better than single-use packaging, and any uses beyond that deliver both environmental and cost savings.’ Branding durable containers  Much of the growth in the label industry through the 1970s and 1980s can be attributed to the increasing demand for foods, beverages and beauty products in convenient, single-use packaging. According to Forbes, humans buy a million plastic bottles every minute; and it’s estimated that over half a trillion plastic bottles will be sold in 2020. Loop has officially launched in the greater Paris area, and New York state, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania – all locations within a one-day shipping zone. Should these regional consumers shift their buying power even a small percentage to Loop’s reusable containers, the label industry will feel the contraction. The Loop teams are actively researching the best decoration technologies to suit the purpose of reuse on these durable containers. Zultner says: ‘We’ll need labels that remain appealing through multiple washing stages, but can be peeled off and removed without damaging the packaging and without leaving residue behind.’ Loop is looking to build a materials guide for its CPG partners, informing users on adhesive and material selection to meet their branding objectives. For instance, the adhesive and overall durability of a label on the front of the container might require more permanence than the back label, to accommodate more frequent ingredient changes during a reuse phase. Alternatively, the front of the container could incorporate direct print while only the ingredient label is pressure-sensitive and can be effectively removed frequently for updates. ‘It’s still important for brands to differentiate their products through the Loop platform,’ Zultner says. ‘And we’ll be using our resources to help uncover the best ways of branding and labeling the primary containers used in the Loop infrastructure.’ Brand participation  The Clorox Company’s Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, Unilever’s Hellman’s mayonnaise and Nestlé’s Haagen-Dazs ice cream are among the participating food brands. Terracycle has targeted the largest food conglomerates to get involved. Says Zultner: ‘It adds momentum to the initiative and can help change the entire market direction.’ With the right brand participation, Loop can more rapidly gain authority and relevance in the marketplace.   Moreover, Unilever’s power brands Dove, Axe, Love Beauty and Planet, REN Clean Skincare, and Seventh Generation are available through Loop. Procter & Gamble’s influential brands Pantene, Tide, Cascade and Crest can be purchased with reusable packaging via Loop. The opportunity TerraCycle’s Loop offers is exciting and telling in many ways about the pivotal way packaging sustainability will evolve over the next 10-15 years, or sooner. So many consumers are already heavily entrenched in today’s e-commerce infrastructure. It’s only a matter of time before leading brands participating in Loop gain user traction, achieve growth and find renewed cost models that make their businesses more profitable. In turn CPG shareholders will be more confident, and CPG customers happier about the economic and environmental decisions they’re able to make when purchasing their favorite products. Wise label converters will pay attention to the moves their customers are making in the packaging reuse space, so they can continue servicing their needs in a 21st century milkman’s world.  

A more circular supply chain. This can mean changing to recycled materials, extending the life-cycle of a product and improving recovery at the end of its life. New Jersey-based TerraCycle Inc. has launched the “Loop” initiative, a collaboration with household names such as Nestle SA to provide common products — ice-cream for example — in packaging that can be returned and refilled. There is a multinational push by General Motors, BMW, and Toyota to create an aftermarket for used electric car batteries, which can be used for chilling beer at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan or banking solar energy in Cameroon. And New York startup Rent the Runway Inc. offers designer dress hire for events like weddings and galas, allowing clients to dodge one-wear purchases, while earning the company a $1 billion valuation.

Detergent brands Cascade and Tide have joined circular shopping system Loop, with customers in the U.S. now able to buy the products in reusable packaging. Recycling specialists TerraCycle run the program, which enables customers to buy everyday products in durable packaging that can be cleaned, collected, refilled and reused.

The scheme, run by recycling specialists TerraCycle, enables customers to buy everyday products in durable packaging that can be cleaned, collected, refilled, and reused. Cascade and Tide are both owned by Procter & Gamble, which is one of the major consumer goods companies backing Loop alongside Nestle, PepsiCo, Unilever, Mars Petcare, The Body Shop, Coca-Cola European Partners, and Mondelēz International.

Unilever plastic packaging used in products like shampoo and conditioner bottles contributes to ocean pollution.

• The consumer giant has cut down on plastic use by 15% and is using bioplastics and refillable metal bottles for items like deodorant.
• The global plastic packaging market is on pace to reach $300 billion, but many of Unilever’s newest top-selling brands are the ones aligned with its Sustainable Living Plan.

On any given day, 2.5 billion people use Unilever products that span 400 brands. That success has created a huge target on the company’s back as the sustainability movement gains more traction with consumers shunning plastic pollution. Sajjad Hussain | AFP | Getty Images From the farthest reaches of the Arctic to the deepest depths of the ocean, plastic pollution really is everywhere. Plastic pollution in the ocean is a particularly big problem: an estimated 100 million ocean animals are killed each year because of plastic in the ocean, and we currently have no reliable way to extract those plastics. But plastic is also a huge part of our everyday lives, in often invisible ways. Now, one of the world’s biggest plastic polluters is racing to reinvent its business–and the way we think about this ubiquitous material–one package at a time. The sea change is top priority for Unilever to ensure customers remain loyal to the 90-year-old global brand. On any given day, 2.5 billion people use Unilever products that span 400 brands to feel good, look good and get more out of life. But the multinational with a market cap of over $158 billion recognizes that its growth has come at the expense of the environment. The company invests over $1 billion annually on research and development, of which new plastics innovation is a component, but declined to tell CNBC how much its plastics initiatives specifically are costing. It is benefiting the company: In 2018, the 26 Unilever brands that are aligned with its sustainability initiatives grew 46% faster than the rest of the business and also outperformed in turnover growth, according to the company. In November 2010 under the guidance of now-former CEO Paul Polman, the company launched its industry-leading sustainable living plan, which has guided the company’s approach to product design and redesign ever since. Oversight of this global initiative starts at the top: reporting directly to the company’s CEO and executive leadership, a steering team meets five times per year and is accountable to the executive for the sustainable living plan’s goals. They rely on a series of internal groups devoted to everything from sustainable packaging to water use. Unilever also runs its own Safety and Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) that takes a science-focused look at the environmental impacts of products throughout their life cycle, including when they go down the drain.

Transforming plastic

Since 2017, one of the plan’s main focuses has been plastic. That’s when Unilever signed on to an Ellen MacArthur Foundation initiative called The New Plastics Economy, committed to making all of its plastic packaging either reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. Doing so will ensure that plastic packaging stays within a “circular economy” where it can be produced and reused, rather than becoming waste. That means not only developing the technology to make plastics that can be effectively recycled, but also transforming its global supply chain. Both are major challenges. “I’m convinced that we are going to move more as a society into some of those spaces around reduce and reuse, and [Unilever] will be at the forefront of doing that,” says Richard Slater, chief research and development officer for Unilever. Slater, who took over the role in April 2019, says Unilever’s commitment to sustainability was a big reason he was drawn to the company. Inside the company, this attitude toward plastic shows up in a framework used throughout the business, referred to as “less/better/no.” It’s visible in their finished products: shampoo bottles that contain around 15% less plasticthanks to the introduction of bubbles into the material; replacing traditional plastics with bioplastics made of materials like cornstarch; and goods that use no plastic in their packaging, like refillable deodorants that come in a metal tube. Addressing the issue of packaging is a great way to start changing the way plastic is used, says Shelie Miller, a University of Michigan professor who studies packaging and sustainability. “Packaging is produced to become waste,” she says. “That makes it unique among manufactured goods.” It’s hard to know exactly how much of the plastic problem is due to plastic packaging, says Melanie Bergmann, a marine biologist and plastic pollution expert at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute. However, packaging on consumer products is a significant problem, she says, and unlike many other sources of plastic, “something we can tackle relatively easily.”

Rethinking supply chains

Transforming its plastics packaging market has required ongoing change in the company’s supply chain, both in working with existing suppliers to change their practices and with new partners like Terracycle’s consumer goods distribution system Loop, which will be testing consumer uptake on products like refillable aluminum deodorants for some of Unilever’s top brands. The Loop Initiativehas buy-in from some of the world’s biggest brands, including Unilever competitors Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. Terracycle’s partners involved with the initiative include logistics company UPS, European retailer Carrefour and resource management company Suez. On the materials side, too, the drive to develop better plastics has seen Unilever partner with startups like Ioniqa, which bills itself as a “high tech chemical company”, and broader industry initiatives like the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance, a World Wildlife Federation-led initiatives to develop biodegradable plastics that don’t compete with food security. The company is also “engaged with several bio-plastic suppliers,” according to a company spokesperson. Unilever also is pushing forward on in-house initiatives such as developing a new pigment for black plastic such as that used for the company’s TRESemmé line of shampoos and conditioners. Traditional black plastic is not detectable by the infrared sorters that recyclers use and must therefore be thrown out. Unilever’s solution is a new kind of pigment that can be detected by the sorters, allowing its black plastic bottles to be recycled at traditional recycling facilities. Within industry, “Unilever is really seen as a leader in sustainability,” says Miller. “They have a track record of being a leader in efforts to reduce overall environmental impacts, so it’s not surprising that they are ahead of the curve here.” From the investment perspective, this is one of the most lucrative markets to get into. However, creating a circular plastic economy for its many products isn’t a simple undertaking. “One of the challenges we face in many places around the world is availability of material, ” says Louis Lindenberg, Unilever’s Global Packaging Sustainability Director. “We’ve had to work with our supply chain partners to identify what material is required where, how much is available, what the gap is, and how we fill that gap.” One example is in Brazil, whereUnilever recently partnered with local recycler Wise to expand local recycling capacity in order to get the recycled materials it needs to meet its commitments, Lindenberg said. There’s no guarantee that the things they try will get consumer uptake. The company’s found high consumer acceptance for initiatives like moving towards things like 100 percent recycled or recyclable plastics, Slater says. But on the no-plastic side, with things like the Loop initiative and other refill and reuse systems, “we really are more in pilot mode there.” Initiatives like these are also what will keep Unilever competitive into the future, says Slater. In its 2018 annual report, the multinational named plastic packaging as a “principal risk” to its business. “Both consumer and customer responses to the environmental impact of plastic waste and emerging regulation by governments to tax or ban the use of certain plastics requires us to find solutions,” reads the message to shareholders. By 2025, the year when Unilever and other signatories to the New Plastics Economy agreement have pledged to transform their packaging, Grand View Research predicts that the global plastic packaging market will reach a market size of $269.6 billion USD, up from a 2017 valuation of $198 billion. Key drivers of this market are the convenience and low cost of plastic packaging, but according to numbers produced by Transparency Market Research, consumers are willing to pay nearly 10 percent more for sustainable packaging. “Consumers are looking for sustainable packaging, says TMR senior market analyst Ismail Sutaria. “At the same time, the packaging should be easy to use.” At the moment, the food and beverage sectors have the biggest market share for sustainable packaging, he says, with cosmetics and personal care not far behind, meaning that Unilever stands to benefit strongly from investment in this area. Increased focus on sustainable packaging will get the eye of investors on a company, Sutaria says. “From the investment perspective, this is one of the most lucrative markets to get into.” By working to change the plastics market, Unilever is paving the way for its own future.