ECR Community has announced the publication of a global review of circular economy case studies from across the retail and consumer goods sector, indicating the level to which companies are implementing circular economy solutions.
The 100+ page review, sponsored by GfK, includes 18 global case studies on circular economy activities in areas such as packaging, waste management, food waste and digital solutions.
It also includes six insight articles from circular economy experts, outlining the importance of the transition to a circular economy. It also features articles from ECR Austria, France and Italy, exploring ECR's collaborative role in a number of markets.
Global Commitment
“The circular economy requires global commitment," said Declan Carolan, co-hair of ECR Community and general manager, ECR Ireland. "Consumers and companies have begun to realise that true sustainability is required to reduce the amount of both raw materials coming into the economy, and waste going out.
"Yet there is much misunderstanding within companies on how to proceed to encourage circularity. Hence, the objective of this review is to highlight case studies throughout a product’s lifecycle that contribute to a circular economy in hope that the actions from these companies will inspire others.”
Among the firms that have made submissions to the project are retailers Jerónimo Martins, Pingo Doce, Coop, AB Vassilopoulos and Chalkiadakis SA, along with suppliers such as Nestlé, Inditex, Birra Peroni, Henkel, Alpla and Cycle.
It also includes case studies from companies providing circular solutions such as Uzaje, the Cameleon Group, GS1 Austria, FoodCloud and Pandobac.
Environmental Responsibility
"Increasingly consumers are responding to the environmental onus with clear action," said Lenneke Schils, global insights director, GfK. "As a consequence, many are fleeing to brand alternatives that have a positive impact. And there are no signals that this is a fad.
"Quite the contrary: in the world’s greenest market, eco-active shoppers are nearing majority already. The ECR Review is a must-read to ponder the business imperative of a circular FMCG industry and its practical implications."
The report, A Global Review of Circular Economy Case Studies from the Retail & CPG Sector, is available to download free of charge from www.ecr-community.org.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. For more Packaging news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
