Posts in Circular Economy
Companies talk a lot about ending plastic pollution—but they’re not doing much to back it up

Unilever scored highest out of the 50 large companies in a new report from the nonprofit As You Sow, but still only earned a grade of B–. PepsiCo, despite some experiments with packaging-free refill stations, earned a D+. Fifteen companies got failing grades, including Whole Foods, Tyson Foods, and Hershey’s. Read More →


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Republic Services to look into plastics recovery and recycling

Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, has committed to publishing a report on how the company can improve efforts to increase plastics recovery and recycling to address environmental problems caused by plastic pollution, according to a news release from Berkeley, California-based nonprofit As You Sow. Read More →

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Companies’ New Pledges to Boost Recycling Face Old Pitfalls

“Companies make these big goals. Years roll by, nothing happens or they miss it,” says Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of the shareholder activist group As You Sow, which has filed shareholder proposals to push companies to increase their recycling efforts. “And then there’s really no penalty in a lot of cases, because people have moved on.” Read More →

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WM Inc to Identify Gaps in Recycling Infrastructure to Increase Plastics Recycling

As You Sow believes more organized, concerted action is needed by producer brands, recyclers, processors, regulators, and advocacy groups to dramatically increase levels of recycling, both to capture the embedded value of these materials, as well as to provide feedstock for the recycled content many brands now promise to use. Read More →

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NextGen Cup Challenge, driven by McDonald's and Starbucks, rolls out reusable cup pilot in California

A long-term goal is to introduce the cups into major chains. Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president for the shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow, told Waste Dive the programs are "a key first step" toward shifting companies like Starbucks "away from single use packaging and towards reusables." He added "there will need to be a lot of market testing to study, encourage, and induce customer behavior change." Read More →

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Starbucks ramps up waste reduction goals, focusing on reusable and recyclable cups

Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president for As You Sow, told Waste Dive that with the announcement Starbucks has become "the biggest company to make a commitment of this type." As You Sow is not currently pushing any other companies on reusables, but is encouraging fast-food companies on "more preliminary steps," he said. Read More →

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Starbucks announces new sustainability push, aiming to slash waste, water use and carbon emissions

In 2018, the company committed to eliminate plastic straws worldwide by 2020 and also introduced a strawless lid. Last summer, Starbucks began working more closely with groups like As You Sow, said Conrad MacKerron, a senior vice president at As You Sow who helped lead the Starbucks campaign. Read More →

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