Tag: 3BL

Sappi follows the GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard, also referred to as the Scope 3 Standard. The GHG Protocol divides Scope 3 emissions into 15 categories, and it is the reporting entity’s responsibility to determine which are significant for its operation.

These categories fall into two main streams: upstream (1–8) and downstream (9–15). In this case, “upstream” refers to emissions that occur before customers take ownership of Sappi’s products, whereas “downstream” includes emissions resulting from customers processing Sappi products and the final end-of-life treatment of the goods that Sappi’s customers produce.

In general, Scopes 1, 2 and upstream 3 are how our customers view and evaluate Sappi, whereas the combination of Scopes 1, 2 and 3—both upstream and downstream—is how the world evaluates the entire value chain.

Based on our review, we have concluded that due to the lack of control and the nature of the emissions of category 10 (processing of sold products), category 11 (use of sold products) and category 12 (end-of-life treatment), we will not focus on tracking those emissions. In total, downstream emissions (categories 9–15) are much less relevant to our evaluation and will not be tracked.

Also noted last year, much of the Scope 3 data is based on standard secondary emissions factors from publicly available databases, primarily the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the US Environmental Protection Agency and ecoinvent, a nonprofit association that provides process data for products. Primary emissions factors are always preferred, as they are more accurate.

We remain committed to obtaining the most accurate emissions factors whenever possible from our suppliers and customers. In 2022, Sappi North America circulated its second vendor GHG survey to upgrade emissions factors and verify information required for emissions calculations. We look for added transparency each year from our supply chain partners.

As shown in the donut chart, the three most significant categories for Sappi are purchased goods (category 1), fuel- and energy-related activities (category 3), and upstream transport (category 4). These comprise approximately 98.5% of Scope 3 upstream emissions, based on data collected for fiscal 2022.

TARRYTOWN N.Y., August 21, 2023 /3BL/ – KeyBank and the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley announce a two-year grant from KeyBank Foundation, the non-profit charitable foundation of KeyBank, that will purchase and distribute 44,910 pounds of food per year to Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Middletown NY residents. This equates to 37,000 healthy meals per year for needy individuals and families. KeyBank’s donation will help the Food Bank and their partner agencies address a 23% increase in the need for food since prior to the pandemic and an 11% since June of 2020.

“With this funding commitment KeyBank will make a very direct impact on feeding people in need and alleviating hunger in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Middletown. This is a tremendously thoughtful and meaningful contribution that will fill the shelves of food pantries and soup kitchens and go directly to children, families and others in need,” said Tom Nardacci, CEO of the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York “We are incredibly grateful for KeyBank’s long support and for this generous contribution.”

Food Bank of the Hudson Valley and the Regional Food Bank of Northeast New York work in partnership to alleviate hunger and prevent food waste by collecting large donations of edible but unmarketable food from the food industry and distributing it to 1,000 food pantries, soup kitchens and other charitable agencies in 23 counties of northeastern New York. Each year the Food Bank provides this network of agencies with more than 36 million pounds of food and other basic need items and helps feed 300,000 different people. KeyBank Foundation’s grant is directed to help feed food-insecure residents in the Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Middletown communities served by KeyBank.

“At KeyBank, supporting the communities where we do business is at the core of our company’s culture,” said John Manginelli, KeyBank Hudson Valley/Metro New York Market President. “We are proud to support Food Bank of Hudson Valley and their partner agencies in their work to eliminate hunger and help provide basic needs to our most vulnerable neighbors.”

KeyBank Foundation grants are part of a $40 billion commitment for lending and investments across Key’s national footprint established in 2017 and supporting affordable housing and community development projects, home, and small business lending in low- and-moderate income communities, and philanthropic efforts targeted toward education, workforce development, and safe, vital neighborhoods.

KeyBank has 42 branches throughout the Hudson Valley, including branches in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh and Middletown.

About the Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York

The Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New York is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that collects donated food from the food industry and distributes it to nearly 900 charitable agencies feeding the hungry in 23 counties of northeastern New York. The food provided by the Regional Food Bank helps to feed over 350,000 people each month. In 2022, the organization distributed 47 million pounds of food to our neighbors in need. The Regional Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the national network of food banks. The organization is supported by foundations, private contributions, and fundraising events. For information on services offered by the Regional Food Bank, call (518) 786-3691 or visit www.regionalfoodbank.net.

About KeyBank Foundation: 

KeyBank Foundation serves to fulfill KeyBank’s purpose to help clients and communities thrive, and its mission is to support organizations and programs that prepare people for thriving futures. The Foundation’s mission is advanced through three funding priorities – neighbors, education, and workforce – and through community service. To provide meaningful philanthropy that transforms lives, KeyBank Foundation listens carefully to understand the unique characteristics and needs of its communities and then backs solutions with targeted philanthropic investments. KeyBank Foundation is a nonprofit charitable foundation, funded by KeyCorp.

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 $195 billion as of June 30, 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.

Note to Editors: For up-to-date company information, media contacts and facts and figures about Key lines of business, visit our Media Newsroom at Key.com/newsroom.

Content created and originally published by America’s Plastic Makers

Meet Timi Fadiran, Sustainability, Technology, Innovation Manager at SEE® (formerly Sealed Air).

Timi’s company created something that pretty much all of us know and love.

“When people ask what I do, I tell them that I work at the company that created Bubble Wrap®. That’s kind of our claim to fame. That’s the product we invented.”

But that’s not all his company does.

“And they’re very surprised to learn that the same company does so much more. We’re helping protect health-care products, such as vaccines and pharmaceuticals, that have to be kept safe through transport so they’re effective in their final use. And we’re also helping protect foods.”

Foods like chicken, meat and produce.

“We create flexible packaging that’s used in protecting chicken and red meat and other fresh products from the point of production to the consumer. Our packaging helps keep it fresh, keeps it from leaking and keeps the food safe for people to eat.”

That packaging plays a big role in sustainability.

“Flexible plastic is a very thin material, is extremely adaptable, and it has unique properties. It’s lighter weight, and because of that, it reduces the carbon impact of shipping. You’re able to ship the same amount of material with a lower environmental impact, because of the lightness of the overall shipment.”

“The most important thing is that the plastics offer a barrier, and they play a role in protecting the freshness of the food that’s transported, not just from state to state but also globally. So flexible plastic helps reduce food waste. Food waste can have huge environmental impacts. That’s why it’s critical to protect foods that have had a lot of energy going into producing them and making sure that they don’t spoil before they get to the consumer.”

But that’s not good enough for Timi.

“We’re looking to make this packaging even more sustainable.”

As a chemical engineer and sustainability, technology, innovation manager at SEE, he’s working to further improve the sustainability benefits of flexible plastic packaging by helping his company jumpstart innovative advanced recycling technologies.

These technologies take often hard-to-recycle plastics such as flexible plastics from the food supply chain and break them down into their basic building blocks to be remade into new food-grade protective packaging.

New plastics that can be remade again. And again…

Meet Timi. One of America’s Change Makers.

Timi sees advanced recycling as an effective way to help keep plastics out of landfills and our environment.

“Right now, a lot of plastic film is likely discarded into a landfill. What we want to do with advanced recycling is capture these types of films such as food packaging that can’t go through our traditional recycling infrastructure today. We want to use advanced recycling to recycle this essential packaging and eliminate the plastic waste but also create a product that can go right back into this packaging over and over again.”

Many people are unaware that flexible plastics typically should not be put in curbside recycling bins.

“Items placed in most curbside recycling bins are sent to material recovery facilities where machines sort recyclables. These machines can handle all kinds of rigid plastics such as milk jugs or water bottles but flexible plastics such as bread bags or Bubble Wrap® can get wound around the machinery and cause it to jam.”

“Lots of flexible plastics can be dropped off at retailers for recycling and may end up as things such as synthetic lumber for decking. But other kinds of flexible plastics like the packaging that protects fresh meat and chicken in the grocery store can’t be tossed into these store bins. Recovering these essential packaging materials requires innovative recycling solutions beyond traditional mechanical recycling.”

By helping advanced recycling grow, a lot more of that flexible plastic can get recycled.

“Advanced recycling is very promising and very exciting. As we establish the infrastructure for advanced recycling, it will be better able to handle the flexible packaging films. That can help eliminate plastic waste and in doing so help protect our environment, keep our streets clean, keep our forests clean, our beaches clean.”

Used packaging that once was considered waste can now be remade in many cases.

“Making products to be remade is what advanced recycling offers. That will reduce our need for natural resources in key materials that go into our packaging in the first place. So, we need to invest in advanced recycling, we need to establish the infrastructure, and it needs to grow and scale up globally.”

Timi sees a promising trend in his generation, as well as a new generation he’s helping create.

“I would say my generation is very focused on sustainability. We think about the products that we buy; we think about how the products we buy are packaged. That’s something that’s very front of mind for our generation.”

“And I’ve learned a lot more about sustainability since being at Sealed Air. I’ve been able to teach my friends and family how to recycle more appropriately.”

“With my daughter, I try to instill in her how to recycle properly too as she’s growing and learning. We take the flexible plastics that we collect in our household, and we drop them off at the store for recycling. That’s something we do as a family.”

That’s a sustainable trend every generation can get behind.

_____________________________________________

Meet Ron Cotterman, another Change Maker from SEE. _____________________________________________

The story of plastic is evolving. And it’s being written by our scientists, engineers, designers, technicians, innovators, and others—America’s Change Makers—who are leading sustainable change for America’s Plastic Makers. Read about more of America’s Change Makers here.

Suncor broke new ground when we first began reporting our sustainability performance in the mid-1990s. Twenty-eight years later, the Report on Sustainability and its companion publication, the Climate Report, continue the practice of disclosing our progress in more than a dozen areas of environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

Suncor’s 2023 Climate Report and Report on Sustainability are .
 
“We take our performance in environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas seriously. This is why we disclose our sustainability performance every year through these comprehensive reports,” says Jon Mitchell, Suncor’s Vice President – Sustainability. “The audience continues to grow because a lot of groups important to our company, from Indigenous Peoples to investors to regulators, want to know what we are doing to operate a sustainable business, our efforts to improve and our plans to be successful in a low-carbon future.”
 
The Report on Sustainability covers 19 different ESG areas. Some of Suncor’s 2022 highlights include:
 
Improving environmental performance in 2022

13% reduction in freshwater withdrawal since 201894% water recycle rate for mining and in situ operations1 million tree and shrub seedlings planted362 hectares reclaimed at our oil sands operations

Creating strong partnerships in 2022

$3.1 billion spent with Indigenous-owned suppliers, which represents 20% of our overall spending on procured goods and services5.4 per cent of Indigenous employees in our overall workforce

Investing in communities and people in 2022

$40 million contributed to community, charitable and non-profit groups in communities where we operated27% of our employees participated in SunCares, our employee giving programMore than 105,000 hours volunteered by employees and $6.2 million employee donations to community organizations

The Climate Report charts our progress made on our climate objectives in our strategy. Highlights from this year’s report include:
 
A pathway to net zero 

Achieve net zero GHG emissions in our operations by 2050 and reduce emissions by 10 megatonnes (Mt) across our value chain by 2030. 10 Mt is equivalent to the annual average emissions of 2.3 million Canadian homes.$540M spent on low-carbon projects in 2022, in line with our 10% of capital allocation commitment to low-carbon energyBecame Alberta’s 4th largest electricity operator in 2022 by generating low-carbon power through our cogeneration fleet  

 Download the 2023 Report on Sustainability and 2023 Climate Report . Any questions or comments regarding the reports can be sent to sustainability@suncor.com.  

Media Contact:
media@suncor.com

From Typing to Telepathy

How human beings have interfaced with computers has steadily evolved over the decades and is now becoming extraordinary. Actually, it all started with zero user-to-computer contact. Once upon a time in a computer age long ago, IBM punch cards were stacked and delivered by programmers or users to computer operators, specially designated people with unique access to the mainframe. Then, with the invention of the PC, users got hands on with keyboards, mice, the ThinkPad TrackPoint, touchpads, digital pens, and touch screens. Today, people even just talk to computers to make them follow commands, or even use their eyes and hand gestures to use augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets like the ones offered by Lenovo ThinkReality.

What’s next? Some people are now just simply thinking and the computer is responding directly to sensors interfacing with the user’s brain and body. Brain-Computer-Interfacing (BCI) is a technological frontier that has been explored for decades by the scientific community. The technology holds promise for therapies and remedies for people with a broad range of physical impairments, researchers trying to better understand the mind, and possibly many more applications, including helping improve human cognition.

Innovation Dedicated to Opening Minds

Lenovo recently began collaboration with OpenBCI, a pioneer in the wearable BCI field. OpenBCI creates open-source tools for biosensing and neuroscience with the goal of lowering the barrier to entry for brain-computer interfacing.

OpenBCI’s latest project is called Galea; a hardware and software platform merging next-generation biometrics with mixed reality. Galea is the first device that integrates EEG, EMG, EDA, PPG, and eye-tracking into a single headset. By combining a multi-modal sensor system with the immersion of augmented and virtual reality, Galea gives researchers, developers, and creators a powerful new tool for understanding and augmenting the human mind and body.

Galea is already producing amazing results.

Christian Bayerlein is a German technologist and disability rights activist living with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic disease that affects the motor neurons that control voluntary muscle movement. During TED2023, Christian and OpenBCI founder Conor Russomanno demonstrated how residual muscle activity from Christian’s body could be repurposed to control and fly a drone.

Learning to Fly

The TED Talk and demonstration are part of OpenBCI’s larger “NeuroFly” project which will culminate in the release of a documentary and open-source software toolkit for replicating the demonstration.

OpenBCI worked with Christian to identify the four muscle groups that he could most reliably activate and placed electrodes on these muscles. OpenBCI’s hardware and software were used to translate each muscle’s activation into digital sliders that Christian learned to control. Signal processing and fine-tuned filtering helped eliminate false-positives and enable the thresholds of the joystick to adapt specifically to Christian and to variations across sessions. These sliders were then mapped to a new digital joystick. With practice, Christian was able to learn how to use the new controls to gain full control over the drone. By connecting the drone’s camera to a VR headset, Christian was able to fly in first person over the TED audience.

The process is like learning how to use a keyboard for the first time; with practice the brain adapts and learns how to use the new controls effortlessly. The same sensors and interaction methods used for NeuroFly could be applied to control a range of physical or digital tools.

OpenBCI tested many different machine learning and data processing pipelines while developing NeuroFly and the project was made possible in part through resources and expertise donated by Lenovo Workstations. The final demonstration used relatively simple signal processing techniques, but having access to cutting-edge computational, CPU, Memory & GPU horsepower, greatly accelerated OpenBCI’s ability to explore different engineering paths and process the range of data generated by Galea’s numerous sensors. Lenovo ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series Workstations have the unique characteristics of being able to support these intensive workstreams without support from the cloud because of their large number of compute cores, fast processor clock speeds, huge memory capacity and bandwidth. Being able to run the powerful Varjo VR headset, while simultaneously streaming and running AI models on Galea’s data was a boon for the development of NeuroFly.

My Brain Has an App for That

The applications of Galea and other BCI technology seem nearly limitless. Galea’s list of early users includes companies in consumer technology, automotive, aviation, healthcare, neuroscience, simulation and training, and gaming. The project originally started as a collaboration with gaming giant Valve. In general, BCI technology has the potential to help restore lost motor and communication capabilities, unlock human’s ability to quantify cognitive and emotional states, and power new forms of AI-assisted human-computer interaction tailored to an individual’s specific mind and body.

“Ultimately, I see the combination of neurotechnology and mixed reality as the future of personal computers,” says Russomanno. “Spatial computing, BCI, and AI will converge this decade, resulting in quite possibly the greatest technological inflection point humanity ever experienced. It is going to be remarkable.”

Within a decade or more, PC users could start having a lot more intuitive computing experiences. Based on data from technology like Galea and other sources, as well as new AI-enabled applications, computers will understand, predict and respond to individual’s needs based on biometric data and other inputs. For example, if a user is tired or distracted, audio or video feedback could slow down or pause to help the user stay on track. Or game designers and players could optimize settings based on player’s physical and emotional reactions to enhance gameplay, like make scenarios less or more frightening, exciting or soothing, depending on user preferences.

This convergence of smarter technologies and human experiences is resulting in transforming the philosopher Rene Descarte’s insight “I think, therefore I am” to the more practical notion “I think, therefore I do.”

Nasdaq

Leveraging Nasdaq’s proprietary Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools, our ESG Advisory team analyzed the earnings call transcripts of constituents in the Russell 3000 and MSCI USA ESG Leaders to track the evolution of ESG discussions in the capital markets. The results can be utilized to guide corporate strategy, disclosure, and discussion, as well as inform companies about ESG priorities at the country, sector, and industry level.

The Q1’23 ESG Trends Report elaborates on the following:

ESG discussion boost in first quarterHuman capital and climate drive discussionSector-level topic breakdown

Download the report to help inform your broader ESG strategy and communications.

CHICAGO, August 18, 2023 /3BL/ – As millions of students get ready to head back to school, United Airlines is stepping in to help families and educators with the rising costs of supplies and classroom necessities. United will donate $1.25 million to DonorsChoose.Org to fund aviation, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) projects across classrooms in the airline’s seven Hub markets: Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., New York, Houston, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as in Phoenix and across Hawaii.

“Whether it’s using model planes to teach middle schoolers the dynamics of flight or taking a field trip to see how a simulator works, we’re proud to help teachers get the resources to inspire the next generation of aviators,” said Josh Earnest, United’s Senior Vice President, and Chief Communications Officer. “We’re proud to team up with DonorsChoose to support teachers who are doing incredible work and changing the lives of students around the country.”

The contribution from United will fund all aviation classroom projects currently posted on DonorsChoose.org, and the remaining funds will be used over the next few months during a matching campaign to fund more aviation and STEM-focused projects. If teachers in the selected cities are interested in submitting a project to be considered for funding, they can visit donorschoose.org/teachers.

DonorsChoose.Org connects the public to teachers from public schools who need money to buy school supplies and pay for other program expenses for their students. It was founded by a public high school teacher in the Bronx, NY in 2000. Donors Choose ensures the integrity of funding every step of every project by vetting all requests, purchasing each item, and shipping materials directly to verified teachers.

“United Airlines is helping classrooms launch into the new school year, with resources that will help aviation and STEM students thrive,” said Alix Guerrier, CEO of DonorsChoose. “Through this campaign, United Airlines is empowering youth who are tomorrow’s scientists, aviators, and engineers. This partnership will foster the beginnings of future careers.”

With nearly 100,000 employees worldwide, United offers a wide variety of career opportunities within the STEM field ranging from pilots, aviation maintenance technicians, flight dispatchers, and network planners. As the largest airline in the world, measured by available seat miles, United has embarked on an ambitious growth plan with 700 new aircraft on order over the next 10 years and plans to hire 15,000 employees this year alone.

About United

At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.

About DonorsChoose

DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, 5.8 million people and partners have contributed over $1 billion to support more than 2 million teacher requests for classroom resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the classroom, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability.

For more information, visit www.donorschoose.org.

GRI’s investment in the United States continues, as additional experience and skills have been added to the team to increase our impact and support in the Region. The GRI North America team continues to grow with the addition of 4 new resources. Two senior, experienced sustainability practitioners, and two full time interns.

Andres Machado and Gina Lee join the team in strategic roles supporting standards development and uptake, as well as, relationship and services management, respectively.

Andres has 10 years of experience in stakeholder engagement, global convening, and ESG/ sustainability standards development and management. Gina brings 15 years of relationship and program management, partnership development, and business development experience to the work of GRI in North America.

With the addition of these strong individuals, the GRI North America team is even better prepared to address the pressing needs of our stakeholders in the Region.

In addition, GRI continues its commitment to help bring the next generation of sustainability experts into the market, fully informed on the content and value of GRI and the GRI standards. To that end, we have recently expanded our internship program and we are delighted to add both Leah Goryachkovsky and Noah Curry to the team. Leah is currently a student at Columbia University and Noah comes to GRI with several years of work experience. Both Leah and Noah will jump right into the work of the team, supporting all aspects of outreach, research, and delivery. We are delighted to continue our internship program and to provide this opportunity to future leaders in the field.

With these additions, GRI is strengthening our commitment to the region and recognizes the need to be a more present and active force in the sustainability field in the Region. We are excited to be part of this critical work and will continue to build our capacity to serve all of our stakeholders.

Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: MPC) and its midstream affiliate MPLX LP (NYSE: MPLX) have published two joint reports that provide details on their efforts to lead in sustainable energy.

The companies’ Sustainability Report and Perspectives on Climate-Related Scenarios report highlight MPC’s and MPLX’s recent accomplishments and progress toward achieving goals in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects of their business. The Sustainability Report provides insight into their progress on greenhouse gas emissions reductions; low-carbon fuels manufacturing; diversity, equity and inclusion; engaging with communities; board oversight and risk management; and strong compliance and ethics programs, among other topics. The Perspectives on Climate-Related Scenarios publication – MPC’s and MPLX’s seventh annual report aligned with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures framework – details the companies’ analysis of strategic risks and opportunities as the energy industry evolves.

“At MPC and MPLX, we challenge ourselves to lead in sustainable energy across the many components of our business,” said Michael J. Hennigan, president and chief executive officer of both MPC and MPLX. “This challenge drives our analysis of the risks and opportunities we face as the energy industry evolves, which in turn shapes our goals, our everyday work, and how we invest for the future.”

While each report provides distinct sets of data and analyses, they also emphasize common themes. For example, the reports highlight the companies’ time-bound, realistic GHG emissions reduction goals. MPC is on track to achieve its Scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity reduction goal of 30% below 2014 levels by 2030 – as of year-end 2022 it had achieved a 25% reduction. Similarly, MPLX has made significant progress on its methane emissions intensity goal of a 50% reduction from 2016 levels by 2025, and is well on its way to achieving its updated goal of 75% by 2030.

A significant theme of the Climate-Related Scenarios report is MPC’s efforts to optimize its legacy refining portfolio, contribute to a lower-carbon future through its natural gas business, and invest capital in growth opportunities in renewable energy and low-carbon solutions.

“We put tremendous effort into planning these strategic investments, and in balancing them with our annual and longer-term performance goals, as well as our commitment to capital discipline and serving the world’s present-day energy needs,” said Hennigan. “I invite you to learn more about how we are positioning ourselves to lead in sustainable energy.”

Click here to download the 2022 Sustainability Report

Click here to download the 2023 Perspectives on Climate-Related Scenarios report

Originally published on TriplePundit

As described in its recent Global Sustainability Report, Herbalife says it is committed to sustainable practices and priorities including sustainable packaging and minimizing plastic use. Global efforts to minimize the impact of product packaging include reducing materials, including recycled materials into product packaging, and engaging consumers to recycle more through awareness and education.

“One of Herbalife’s top priorities is moving toward more sustainable product packaging, focusing on reducing single-use plastics throughout our global distribution network, and incorporating more sustainable materials including using 25 percent post-consumer resin in our Formula 1 canisters globally in select markets,” said Stella Tsai, VP of Herbalife Nutrition North Asia. 

The multi-nation Simply Recycle challenge is an example of this mission in action. The packaging take-back program engaged thousands of Herbalife independent distributors across the Asia Pacific region in 2022 and expanded into new markets this year. 

A regional recycling initiative with local impact 

Launched on World Environment Day 2022 and held from June to August of the same year, the Simply Recycle challenge was a big hit with customers. More than 3,300 Herbalife Nutrition members sent in over 712,000 product canisters, resulting in 36 metric tons of plastic for recycling during the program’s first summer.

Herbalife partnered with organizations in Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand to ensure the challenge spoke to the needs and expectations of local communities. 

Some of these nation-specific nonprofit partnerships focused on converting product packaging into new manufacturing materials, for example, while others incentivized the collection of used product canisters from sales and distribution centers in order to reduce waste. 

The company also linked up with One Tree Planted, a global nonprofit organization with a strong footprint in the Asia Pacific, to amplify the impact of the Simply Recycle challenge by planting one tree for every participant who submitted a certain number of used product canisters for recycling. The result was more than 1,400 trees planted, with the potential for 14 tons of carbon sequestration per year. The tree-planting partnership also proved to be a strong motivating factor in getting customers engaged with the challenge, Tsai said.

Engaging stakeholders for sustainability 

Herbalife Nutrition also leverages the impact of stakeholder engagement and NGO partnerships to bolster its other Global Sustainability goals. For example, in addition to environmental initiatives, Herbalife and the Herbalife Nutrition Foundation have made significant strides in improving health and wellness like  providing nutrition education and healthy meals in local communities in need.

Those efforts include HNF’s Casa Herbalife Program — which has engaged 178 organizations like hospitals, schools, and anti-hunger initiatives to provide food and nutrition to more than 229,000 children worldwide. Additional partnerships with the Global FoodBanking Network invests in the fight against food insecurity, reduce food waste and improve sustainability. 

Consumer engagement as a force for lasting change

These nonprofit partnerships and efforts like the Simply Recycle challenge indicate that consumer engagement can — and should — be utilized as a long-term strategy for lasting change. 

When launching the initiative, Herbalife Nutrition conducted a survey of 5,500 consumers in 11 Asia Pacific markets, the majority of whom revealed strong environmental proclivities. More than 75 percent of respondents recognized that environmental sustainability is important when making nutrition-related decisions. In particular, 76 percent feel it’s important to purchase products in recyclable packaging, and 90 percent said they’re more likely to engage with nutrition companies that offer recycling programs. 

In addition to consumers, the Simply Recycle challenge also motivates the company’s network of distributors, Tsai said. “Our distributors support sustainability and appreciated the fact we had launched an innovative initiative to boost recycling,” she told us. “In addition to participating in the Simply Recycle challenge, our distributors also showed an aptitude for creative reuse by transforming empty product canisters into useful items, such as plant pots, money boxes and Christmas tree decorations.”

Going further in 2023

The Simply Recycle challenge kicked off again in April 2023 and runs through September across 14 markets in the Asia Pacific, including Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. 

Herbalife Nutrition and One Tree Planted will plant one tree for every 50 product canisters recycled. And the top three recyclers will receive product vouchers to incentivize participation and friendly competition. 

Engagement programs like Simply Recycle allow consumer companies like Herbalife Nutrition to extend sustainability efforts beyond their own four walls and inspire a sustainability mindset in their stakeholders.

The warm reception for the program among customers, distributors and partners in 2022 bodes well for even higher levels of participation in the future. “We anticipate an even more enthusiastic response this year, resulting in more trees planted,” Tsai said.

This article series is sponsored by Herbalife Nutrition and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Images courtesy of Herbalife Nutrition