{"id":624,"date":"2022-09-19T11:41:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-19T11:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/?p=624"},"modified":"2024-01-24T17:35:29","modified_gmt":"2024-01-24T17:35:29","slug":"the-circular-economy-could-be-the-next-greenwash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/?p=624","title":{"rendered":"The circular economy could be the next greenwash"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\" The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or may be not. The circular economy is a huge concept so it is understandably attractive to marketers who don\u2019t really expect target audiences to do more than be impressed by the phrase. But if companies are at least aware of circular economies that has to be a good thing. Just to remind you, a circular economy is one where the waste from a process becomes the raw material for another related process. That is an admittedly simplistic definition, but hopefully it is enough for you to get the idea. If you want a more grown-up definition, The Ellen MacArthure Foundation calls a circular economy a \u201csystems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste and pollution\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much as we despise greenwash, it could be argued that its every droplet can make a difference and eventually aid wider environmental awareness. So for this reason, we try not to sigh when we read yet another press release touting ideas for supporting a circular economy. Repeating a message will eventually make a difference, even if the message sounds like greenwash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actega, a maker of specialty coatings, inks, glues and sealants recently declared its plan for becoming more sustainable. The company, like most responsible businesses, is investing in facilities and research and development. But Actega is also working towards achieving unspecified \u201cnew environmental certifications\u201d which should include ISO 14001 for environmental management systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company is putting sustainability at the heart of its business, particularly in the development of new technologies and products. The good news is that Actega recognises that we must all \u201cmove towards more sustainable raw materials \u2026 to combat climate change,\u201d as Benjamin Lux, Actega\u2019s chief technology officer, summarises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Lux recognises that \u201cWe need to \u2026 ask ourselves how we want to manage resources, make and use products, and what we intend to do with the materials afterwards.\u201d In response Actega has committed to five tactics to move the business closer to a circular economy. They are: to ensure that Actega\u2019s products can be recycled; to cut material waste and energy consumption; to strive to remove materials that cannot be readily recycled from products; to use alternatives to hazardous materials in products; and to look at partnerships to ensure complete degradability of packaging components that cannot be recycled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is an approach that more and more companies are pursuing. They start with a more complete understanding of the raw materials in their products to see what can and cannot be replaced with something less environmentally hostile. They then consider potential reformulations. Companies are working with customers, suppliers and regulators in order to ensure safe and environmentally sustainable product development. This is what should be at the heart of how our industry moves forward towards circularity, and hopefully more companies will take Actega\u2019s path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Laurel Brunner<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article was produced by the Verdigris Project,<\/a> an industry initiative intended to raise awareness of print\u2019s positive environmental impact. This weekly commentary helps printing companies keep up to date with environmental standards, and how environmentally friendly business management can help improve their bottom lines. Verdigris is supported by the following companies: Agfa Graphics<\/a>, EFI<\/a>, Fespa<\/a>, Fujifilm<\/a>, HP<\/a>, Kodak<\/a>, Miraclon<\/a>, Ricoh<\/a>Splash PR<\/a>, Unity Publishing<\/a> and Xeikon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Verdigris blog by Laurel Brunner Or may be not. The circular economy is a huge concept so it is understandably attractive to marketers who don\u2019t really expect target audiences to do more than be impressed by the phrase. But if companies are at least aware of circular economies that has to be a good … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1205,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624\/revisions\/1205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaldots.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}