Category: Supply chain

H&M, Lululemon back $250 million fund to decarbonize fashion supply chain

Read the full story in ESG Today.

Fashion sustainability-focused nonprofit Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) announced today the launch of a new $250 million Fashion Climate Fund, with lead funders including Lululemon, H&M Group, H&M Foundation, and the Schmidt Family Foundation.

The new fund aims to drive actions and solutions supporting the industry’s goal to halve emissions by 2030, with a particular focus on the supply chain, which accounts for the vast majority of the fashion industry’s emissions, according to Aii.

Federal suppliers to be required to report carbon emissions

Read the full story at Bloomberg Law.

The Biden administration will soon propose a rule requiring major companies that supply goods and services to the federal government to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, a White House official said Wednesday.

The rule will be distinct from—but similar to—the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s March proposal that requires publicly-traded companies to report their carbon emissions in their registration statements and annual reports, according to Andrew Mayock, federal chief sustainability officer at the Council on Environmental Quality.

He provided few details about the proposal, except to say it will require suppliers to report on greenhouse gases, “report on climate risk, and required to set science-based targets,” and that it will be issued “in the very near future.”

German startup digitizes restaurant orders to address food waste

Read the full story at GreenBiz.

Every year, an estimated one-third of all food produced in the world — about 1.3 billion tons — is lost or wasted. The emissions related to food waste are equivalent to an estimated 3.3. billion tons of CO2, making food waste the third largest driver of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Startup Choco, on the heels of a substantial funding round, is proposing the digitization of the food system as one way to combat that waste. The Berlin-based company has created a platform that hones in on food waste in the hospitality industry, connecting food suppliers directly to restaurants and cafes.

As it stands, chefs in the industry typically source ingredients from various food distributors and are tasked with maintaining multiple contacts and manually keeping tabs on existing restaurant inventory. On both sides of the supply chain, this relationship and its lack of flexibility creates opportunity for food waste, with distributors struggling to sell produce at the end of their shelf life and restaurants over-ordering to ensure their menus are covered. Through its software, Choco hopes to expedite and optimize purchasing processes so less food gets tossed. It does this by boiling the previously multi-pronged process of ordering goods down to a simple chat message. 

Biden to pause solar tariffs for 2 years amid supply chain disruption from Commerce investigation

Read the full story at Utility Dive.

President Joe Biden on Monday issued plans for a 24-month exemption from tariffs for solar panel imports from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The solar industry expects the two-year break from tariffs will run parallel to the continuing solar panel anti-circumvention investigation from the Department of Commerce on those four Southeast Asian countries.

The reprieve is intended to protect existing solar jobs that were at risk due to supply chain constraints reported earlier this year, according to Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

British food and drink majors support new WRAP initiative to unify sector’s Scope 3 emissions reporting

Read the full story at edie.

Sainsbury’s and Tesco are among the businesses piloting a new methodology designed to help food and drink businesses across the value chain accurately measure and report their indirect (Scope 3) emissions.

How does ‘sustainability’ differ for a brand, distributor, and retailer?

Read the full story at Food Navigator.

If sustainability means different things to different people, what does it mean for businesses working in distinct links of the supply chain? FoodNavigator hears from a brand, a distributor, and a retailer.

Sustainability, circularity, and traceability in the textiles & apparel industry

Read the full story at Fiber2Fashion.

Sustainability has become a major focus of fashion brands in the past decade. As organisations evaluate the root cause of the problem and find solutions, a growing number of fashion companies are set to establish supply chain transparency and adopt circular business models. The growing number of innovations in terms of fibres, processes, etc also point towards this trend.

‘A lot of room for improvement’: Lithium-ion battery makers explore better recycling amid supply woes

Read the full story at Supply Chain Dive.

The Russia-Ukraine war and booming EV demand are contributing to surging battery commodity prices. Federal funding and private-sector investments could boost recycling.

GM asks suppliers to sign carbon neutrality pledge

Read the full story at Auto Dealer.

General Motors has requested its suppliers to sign a pledge of carbon neutrality and commit to social responsibility programs and sustainable procurement practices.

Supply chain sustainability & ethics as an investment

Read the full story in Sustainability Magazine.

With the increasing urgency to address climate change impacting businesses all over the world, companies are now more than ever working to incorporate sustainable and ethical best practice into all areas of their manufacturing and supply chain processes. While important for the planet, this shift is paying off for business too: a recent global study showed that 44% of companies found that sustainability efforts had improved their bottom line.