Month: July 2023

Originally published by TriplePundit

For the companies developing consumer products, making the needed progress can seem unattainable in an age when plastic has become a reliable and affordable go-to for packaging. It might even feel like a distraction from other priorities. So, how can consumer goods companies contribute to global goals around reducing plastic waste and pollution?

While many consumer goods companies have made ambitious targets for 2025 and beyond, success on some fronts has proven to be elusive. Progress toward the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, signed by over 500 organizations, for example, has been a mixed bag. In 2022, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reported that the use of recycled materials has been improving, but signatories are still using too much virgin plastic and not enough reusable plastic. The overall use of virgin plastic was reported as comparable to 2018 levels when the Commitment was first signed.

Meanwhile, regulatory pressure and consumer demand for change have only increased. More than 60 countries have enacted some form of ban or levy on plastic packaging, according to the U.N. Principles for Responsible Investment initiative. When it comes to purchasing patterns, consumers are also conscious of the packaging they buy. In a 28-country Ipsos survey, 82 percent of respondents said they prefer buying products that have as little plastic packaging as possible.

Research shows the need is urgent: If we don’t reduce waste production, we will more than exceed the boundaries of our planet by 2060. Consumer industries have a major part to play. They represent $35.2 trillion in the global economy, and reducing plastic waste is a crucial focus.

Escaping “pilot purgatory” to reduce plastic waste

Given this business case, Accenture and SAP have built expertise in the circular economy, helping clients reduce waste in product lifecycles. Drawing on this experience, extensive market research and testing, the companies have published a new report, “The Future of Packaging in the Circular Economy: 5 Actions for Long-Term Success,” that gives consumer goods companies insights and tools to build momentum for packaging circularity and achieve long-term success, escaping what the authors call “pilot purgatory.”

Research from the report shows that 66 percent of pledges to go greener on plastic have failed due to companies breaking their own commitments and targets.

Accenture and SAP reviewed corporate communications on 50 circular pilot programs between 2017 and 2023. Of those, only two programs followed up with impact measurement and consistent progress updates. “In short, the overwhelming majority of pilots have not shown progress beyond the initial announcement, with no acknowledgement of cancelled pilots or shared learnings from those projects,” the report reads.

In contrast to the culture of launching pilots that lack the infrastructure to support them to scale, the following five actions help nurture a circular system where initiatives can thrive.

Embrace authenticity and transparency

In business, it’s tough to know how far transparency should go. The important thing is to build a system of data collection and disclosure that expresses credibility to customers and builds trust among stakeholders. This starts with a comprehensive baseline of product packaging and continues by building out tools like digital twins — or virtual models that, in this case, would illustrate what’s happening in the supply chain, as well as how initiatives are progressing.

The public-private Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) established the Circular Economy Indicators Coalition to make disclosure of this information more feasible. By bringing standardization to circular economy metrics, the coalition aims to catalyze more robust and meaningful disclosures that push collective understanding and action forward.

Re-imagine packaging R&D

In calling for innovation, Accenture and SAP recommend first getting down to the basics. A few simple questions about the purpose of the packaging and the product help prune unnecessary elements that would get in the way of circularity.

Then comes design. Changing up materials doesn’t necessarily happen automatically, and it must be done with care. Not every material is truly scalable in an environmentally-friendly and business-sensitive way throughout a package’s lifecycle. Advanced technologies like machine learning can speed up the prototyping and testing process so that it’s easier to find solutions that achieve circular goals while also meeting business needs.

The Consumer Goods Forum, an industry group representing more than 400 companies globally, released its Golden Design Rules for packaging in 2021 to provide further guidance to the sector. The rules range from choosing the proper color to ensure plastic bottles are more easily recyclable, to reducing the use of plastic overwrap, to removing hard-to-recycle plastic resins from packaging. Though the standards are voluntary, companies within the Forum’s Coalition of Action on Plastic Waste have committed to align with them in their packaging design.

Still, packaging that’s more sustainable isn’t necessarily simpler. With “smart” elements like QR codes and digital tags that enable two-way communication, packaging can enhance engagement with customers. And if a circular design sacrifices the glam of shiny and vibrant single-use plastic, tech solutions like augmented reality experiences can expand marketing into new (cost-saving) directions.

Invest in infrastructure and communities

The beauty and complexity of circular economy goals is that they don’t end with production. A circular company has the responsibility to ensure its packaging is properly collected and repurposed at end-of-life. If this involves recycling, for example, there are various stakeholders and community features to engage and support.

The report calls out Danone as one positive example of a multinational company stepping beyond its walls to fulfill circular packaging aspirations. For example, the company helped establish the largest and most advanced PET plastic recycling facility in Indonesia and has invested significantly in recycling technology and infrastructure in North America. These initiatives have been in supplement to the company’s basic efforts at changing its packaging for the better. Today, almost three-quarters of Danone’s plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable, compared with a baseline of almost two-thirds in 2018.

Grow, reuse and explore circular business models

Here’s another roadblock to overcome. What if a company puts time, effort and money into a circular solution, but consumers don’t buy it? Or maybe the market jumps in an unexpected direction. We’ve already noted the solid and intensifying business case to pursuing circularity, but aligning properly (and securely) with these trends takes intentional efforts.

Accenture and SAP outline steps including user research, testing and learning instead of putting all your eggs in one pilot. Collaborating with other actors along the value chain also allays risks.

Further, reusable packaging offers a uniquely secure opportunity not only for resource efficiency, but also for brand loyalty. As widely reported across news outlets including Time Magazine, success in reuse requires demonstrating proper customer buy-in and low environmental impact over the course of the packaging’s lifecycle.

Collaborate to scale

It’s no accident that we find collaboration at the end of the report. Breaking down silos between companies and organizations is a big ask. Yet the authors write, “Collaboration is one of the critical and necessary components for circular packaging to gain traction.” Consumer goods companies should seek to collaborate with each other before getting to the stage of competition in the market, SAP and Accenture recommend.

Some opportunities include creating “communities of practice” that prioritize forthright communication, where companies can openly share triumphs and challenges in the march toward circularity. It’s through collaboration that companies might also find reusable packaging a more feasible option: They can work together to coordinate investments and establish the necessary relationships and infrastructure.

The bottom line

The most important element to each of these recommendations is work. That’s why Accenture and SAP called them “actions.” They aren’t targets to be made and set aside after a few months. Actually working through the outlined steps takes dedication.

The innovation and honesty required might not be comfortable, but working together can help make the path smoother. “Given the scale of the challenge, time is too short for each consumer goods company to learn the same lessons individually,” the authors write. 
In the end, finding solutions to wasteful plastic packaging will make companies more compliant to regulations and appealing to customers. Consumer goods companies are uniquely positioned to lead the way.

This article series is sponsored by SAP and Accenture and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: Polina Tankilevitch/Pexels

With record high prices, fuel shortages and slowing economies worldwide, the current energy crisis is a truly global issue. The year 2022 saw oil prices soar to levels not seen since 2008, directly impacting the availability and affordability of energy for consumers.

This issue is of particular concern to the telecoms industry. According to GSMA Intelligence, energy consumption accounted for between 15 and 40 percent of the operating expenditure of telco operators in 2021. With the expected increase in data traffic and the new infrastructure required to handle 5G, energy consumption and emissions are expected to rise over the coming years. Fortunately, this isn’t a problem that the industry is taking lying down. Orange is one such example.

An industry pioneer through sustainable growth

Working across 26 countries, Orange Group strategically focuses on sustainable growth—reinventing itself and adapting to a constantly changing world while delivering exemplary performance on social and environmental issues. The Group is working towards achieving an ambitious 30 percent reduction in its direct emissions by 2025, with the ultimate aim of becoming a Net Zero Carbon business by 2040. This would make it a pioneer in the telecoms industry, achieving this target a full decade ahead of the rest of the sector.

Orange France is helping lead the change for the Orange Group. The subsidiary, which boasts 26 million customers and generated around EUR €18 billion in 2021, is committed to supporting Orange Group’s environmental goals through substantial operational change.

Data centers: significant developments

Orange France identified data centers as a key component of its plans to improve sustainability and embarked on a journey to close 17 older, energy-inefficient facilities and invest in three state-of-the-art data centers. Due to their environmentally conscious design, these new facilities can operate without air conditioning for ten months of the year, reducing their energy impact by up to 30 percent when compared to legacy premises. With a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) that Orange estimates at 1.3, the data centers rank among the most efficient in France and are considered strategic assets for the Group.

Reducing servers tenfold and significantly reducing the average workload energy consumption

The move presented Orange France with a huge workload migration task. It also presented a great opportunity to further optimize the IT infrastructure from an environmental perspective.

Orange France started working closely with VMware Professional Services. Mathias Rousselet, head of the virtualization innovation cloud, Orange France, says, “The advantage of Professional Services is that they spend time with us, and they learn about our ecosystem and environment. VMware products have many possibilities, but they teach us how to make them work best for Orange.”

Orange France created a private cloud with VMware Cloud Foundation spanning its old and new data centers. This enabled the migration of apps and data to the new facilities. To date a third of workloads have been moved. The efficiency of private cloud has reduced the requirement for servers tenfold, providing significant energy savings. Orange reports that the average workload in its private cloud consumes significantly less energy than it did in the virtualized legacy infrastructure. This was further supported by the use of VMware Aria Operations to identify existing resources that could be redeployed or deleted. Orange France estimates this results in approximately 1,800 reclaimed VMs a year.

“VMware Cloud Foundation and Aria Automation help us optimize resources to reduce our carbon emissions,” says David Varusio, IT Cloud Project Manager, Orange France. “We’ve reduced our hardware footprint across computing, storage and networking, there is better sizing of IT environments from the outset and we’re running the same number of applications on ten times fewer servers.”

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In December of 2021, the worst tornado outbreak in Kentucky historydecimated the Bluegrass State, flattening entire towns and leaving hundreds homeless. The shocking images out of Western Kentucky attracted global media coverage and an outpouring of support from around the world.

ekō Solutions, a division of Land Betterment based in Fishers, Indiana, which specializes in low-cost upcycled shipping container homes, immediately sent four units to Dawson Springs to house families displaced by the storms. Now, nearly two years later, as the news cycle moves on and as the tornadoes fade into memory for much of the public, ekō Solutions continues to help affected individuals and families in Western Kentucky with the tall task of rebuilding their communities and their lives.

Last month, ekō Solutions placed six units on site at Camp G.R.A.V.E.S., a nonprofit organization in Water Valley working to provide short-term housing solutions and a host of educational and employment resources to displaced families. The current plan is to house around 30 families on the site — 14 in tiny homes, 16 in camper sites and six in ekō Solutions container homes.

“After my apartment in Mayfield was destroyed, I didn’t know what to do,” said Jared Medlock, a Camp G.R.A.V.E.S., resident who recently moved into a new unit provided by ekō Solutions. “Now I feel like I have some kind of stability under my feet.”

That sense of stability comes at a critical time for Medlock, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last year. He says searching for housing while battling cancer was an exhausting and harrowing experience.

“First FEMA arranged temporary housing for me in Murray, but that funding ended last month,” said Medlock. “Then my case worker told me about Camp G.R.A.V.E.S., and I was accepted, now I’ll be here for the next 18 months.”

Medlock will be living in an ekō Solutions container home, which features an open floor plan, full kitchen and full bathroom. He says the home, which was built using the mainframe from an upcycled steel shipping container, will give him space to focus on his health while rebuilding his life.

“It’s been nonstop stress, with my health issues and looking for housing, it’s been a 24/7 job on its own,” Medlock said. “But the container home is awesome, it’s a really neat way to do it. When you walk in you just feel at ease. I’d love to buy one for myself one day.”

Five other individuals and their families will occupy ekō Solutions homes on the site. They began moving into the units in June.

For more information on Camp G.R.A.V.E.S., and to learn about volunteer opportunities, visit www.campgraves.org

To learn more about ekō Solutions and their line of low-cost container home solutions, visit www.ekosolutions.com

Media Contacts:

Mark LaVerghetta 
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance 
Land Betterment Corporation 
Phone: 317.537.0492 ext. 0 
Email: info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman 
Stakeholder Engagement Director 
Land Betterment Corporation 
Phone: 207.205.0790 
Email: info@landbetterment.com

Zak Owens 
Fleur de Lis Communications 
Phone: 502.386.5704 
Email: zak@fdlcomms.com

JLL, a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, is pleased to release its ESG Performance Report 2022, summarizing the progress made during the financial year against its ESG commitments.

The firm announces that it is making significant progress on its commitment to transition its spaces to net-zero and is ahead of progress to achieve the World GBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment on offices. JLL also reports it is on track to achieve key diversity commitments.

Click here to view the report

Key highlights include:

Reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 34% across JLL occupied offices compared with 2018 baseline. On track to meet JLL’s near-term, net-zero 2030 World GBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment.29% of electricity across JLL’s global portfolio supplied by, or sourced from, renewable sources.Achieved green building certificates across 54% of JLL offices in excess of 10,000 s. f. – a 9% increase on 2021.Reached 37% female representation in JLL’s top two management levels.Spent $2.24bn globally with diverse and small business suppliers.

“I am pleased to report on the progress we have made to achieve our ESG commitments in 2022. Mirroring our resilient overall business performance, these achievements build on the strong foundations that underpin our ambitious long-term targets,” said Christian Ulbrich, President and CEO, JLL.

“The actions we’re taking have a significant impact beyond our portfolio and our enterprise,” said Erin Meezan, JLL Chief Sustainability Officer. “With buildings responsible for over 60% of overall emissions in cities, decarbonizing as quickly and effectively as possible is critical for the future of all cities, countries and the planet.”

About JLL
For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy and invest in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and retail properties. A Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $20.9 billion and operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than 103,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAYSM. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com

Contacts:

Investor Relations:
Scott Einberger, Investor Relations Officer
T: (312) 228-2772Scott

Media Relations:
Gayle Kantro, Global PR
T +1 312 228 2795
M +1 312 450 5948

ESG:
Tom Branczik, Senior Director, ESG Measurement & Reporting
M +44 (0) 7808 102268

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CLEVELAND, July 12, 2023 /3BL/ – KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) provided a $9.8 million construction loan and $11.8 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity for the construction of an affordable multifamily property in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The Letsche School Development will include an adaptive re-use of the historic former Letsche School, as well as the new construction of four townhomes on two adjacent vacant parcels. The project will create 46 mixed income units and a community space for families and individuals earning no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI), of which 25 units will be subsidized by a Section 8 Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) Contract and seven units will remain at market rate. The unit mix includes 27 one-bedroom units, 12 two-bedroom units, and seven three-bedroom units. The property will offer amenities including a community room, courtyard and picnic area, laundry room, playground, and elevator.

The property will offer an on-site Resident Service Coordinator, who will be responsible for developing on-site educational, recreational, and cultural programming. The coordinator will ensure that residents – especially families, children, and non-elderly residents with disabilities – are linked to the specific supportive services they need to continue to live independently. These services include rent assistance, mental and behavioral health, workforce training, family empowerment initiatives and education, health and wellness, youth enrichment, and community building.

The project sponsor is Beacon Communities (“Beacon”), a developer, owner, and manager of multifamily real estate properties, including affordable housing, which makes up a majority of its portfolio. In addition, the project received permanent financing from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority and aligns with the Hill District Community Development Corp (CDC) Master Plan to revitalize existing structures and provide affordable housing within mixed income developments in the Greater Hill District of Pittsburgh.

The project is 0.2 miles east of downtown in the central portion of Pittsburgh and is accessible to local urban amenities and new infrastructures including grocery and convenience shopping, public transportation, employment, recreation and parks, pharmacies, banks, and hospitals. Many of these services are within walking distance of the property.

Eric Steinberg, Seaver Rickert and Anna Belanger of KeyBank CDLI structured the financing.

About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank’s platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 10 consecutive “Outstanding” ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act’s passage in 1977.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp’s roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation’s largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $198 billion at March 31, 2023. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,300 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications, and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.