Feb 05, 2018  -  It’s Monday, the week has just begun and already we’ve been handed some pretty incredible news.  One of the world’s biggest cruise lines, Royal Caribbean International, has vowed to cut single-use plastic on its cruises.  This is a pretty phenomenal step forward by a major industry player, and we imagine the transition to environmentally-friendly materials won’t be easy.

Feb 03, 2018  -  Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers has vowed to eliminate use of nonrecyclable plastics on aircraft and at head offices and bases. It will also introduce a voluntary carbon offset payment for customers when booking.  The low-cost carrier said it planned to switch to biodegradable cups, wooden cutlery and paper packaging onboard, and make its head offices, bases and operations plastic free.

Feb 2, 2018  -  Dassault Systèmes has been ranked first by Corporate Knights in the 2018 Top 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World (Global 100) index.  The Corporate Knights Global 100 index is recognised globally as the gold standard for corporate sustainability analysis.

Jan 24, 2018  -  Amcor has revealed ambitious plans to make all its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025.The company, which manufactures a wide range of packaging including PET bottles and films, has claimed that it’s the first global packaging firm to make such a pledge.

Jan 24, 2018  -  Unilever is the latest big name to weigh in on the plastics packaging debate calling for the consumer goods industry to step-up its efforts to tackle ocean pollution. The company also called for a circular economy for plastics. Unilever’s chief executive Paul Polman urged more companies to pledge to make its plastic packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. Unilever made this commitment last year.

Jan 19, 2018  -  33 Customhouse Quay in Wellington has been accredited by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) with a 6 star NABERSNZ rating for energy performance – the first New Zealand building to achieve the top 6 star rating.

Jan 9, 2018  -  The government could introduce a charge on single use plastic packaging such as plastic drink bottles, the Prime Minster has said.  Appearing on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, the Theresa May spoke of the success of the 5p carrier bag charge introduced a few years ago and said a similar levy could be slapped on plastic bottles, as well as bubble wrap, cutlery, and polystyrene takeaway boxes in a bid to reduce single use plastic packaging and reduce pollution in the world’s oceans.

Dec 22, 2017  -  The former heads of the UK’s biggest retailers have called for the introduction of a plastic free aisle at supermarkets.  Plastic free aisle Former chiefs of Asda, Tesco, Marks and Spencer, and Argos, along with current bosses at Debenhams and Weleda said in an open letter that while aluminium and glass can be reused easily, plastic packaging cannot be recycled ad infinitum. “Most plastic packaging items can only be recycled twice before becoming unusable,” they insisted. “Regardless of how much is invested in Britain’s recycling infrastructure, virtually all plastic packaging will reach landfill or the bottom…

Dec 20, 2017  -  Victoria University of Wellington geologist Dr Rob Mckay is leading an international expedition to Antarctic waters in January to discover how warming oceans will affect the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and what that could mean for rising sea levels, global weather systems and marine life. An associate professor at Victoria’s Antarctic Research Centre, Dr McKay will head a 30-strong team of scientists from the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) on the JOIDES Resolution, a 140m long scientific research ship operated by the IODP. “We plan to spend nine and a half weeks down in the outer…

Dec 19, 2017 -  A new bioplastic made from algae could replace oil-based plastic completely according to its inventors, potentially turning the manufacturing industry from a source of CO2 into a destroyer of the greenhouse gas writes Jesus Diaz for Fast Company. The designers behind the material imagine a world in which shops can locally produce all kinds of objects on demand, from plates to furniture, using 3D printers and the bioplastic. To demonstrate their material’s qualities, they’re producing it in small batches and using it to print designer products. The Dutch designers Eric Klarenbeek and Maartje Dros spent three…

Dec 12, 2017  -  Considering we pump millions of tons of plastic into the oceans every year, there is a hell of a lot we don't know about its whereabouts and its impact on the marine environment. A study examining how the material is torn apart by ocean life has uncovered some eye-popping evidence, finding that a single plastic bag is literally broken into millions of microscopic pieces before being spread throughout the seas. It's hard to overstate the gravity of our plastic problem. Recent research tell us there is somewhere between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons of the…