Accelerating the Circular Economy in the Port of Rotterdam

At Finch & Beak, we are always curious about the sustainable developments taking place in the cities that we work in, and Rotterdam is one of them. In 2016, a shocking 20% of the national CO2 emissions of the Netherlands was accounted for by the port of Rotterdam. Time to take action: between the period 2016-2020, the port of Rotterdam managed to reduce its CO2 emissions by 27% to 22.4 million tons. A noteworthy reduction that can be explained by the switch to more renewable energy sources and the exploitation of waste-to-value opportunities. The port of Rotterdam is making an impact through discovering the benefits of the circular economy.

Circular Economy in Motion: the Mattress Market

Worldwide, the mattress market is estimated at a sizable €23 billion. In line with global growth of our population, this market has been predicted to further grow with annual 6.5% between 2017 and 2024. With almost 90% of all mattresses produced in the EU containing between 2 and 15 kg of hard-to-recycle polyurethane foam each and increasing pressures from legislation, mattress manufacturers are starting to lose sleep over finding less impactful solutions.

Sustainable Brands Oceans: Porto

The first Sustainable Brands Oceans also marks the first SB event in Porto, Portugal. As Porto is a city that is closely linked to the health of the Atlantic Ocean, it is the perfect place to start. As a global community of professionals in sustainability, business & brand strategy, product design & innovation, and marketing, Sustainable Brands thrives to be a driver of business innovation in a sustainable world.

Innovation Summit 2019: London

This year's Innovation Summit takes place at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London and focuses on the role of culture in innovation. Business leaders, policymakers, academics, corporate entrepreneurs, innovation directors and business development executives come together to discuss and share insights on integrating innovation in the day-to-day work life.

The Key to Executing Change is Collaboration

As the launch of the new Loop partnership at the 2019 World Economic Forum suggests, today’s biggest sustainability challenges require collaborative solutions. That is why the Sustainable Development Goals include SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals. However, the number of sustainability partnerships has remained low due to fierce competition between companies for recognition of their sustainability performance. By forging and maintaining partnerships companies can make a bigger sustainability impact while also gaining the competitive advantage they seek.

Deepening Your Focus for Better Sustainability Reporting

This time of year many annual reports are under construction to inform stakeholders about the 2019 performance and to provide them with an outlook on the upcoming years. Although reports can seem like straightforward tools to inform investors about the impacts of a company over the past reporting period, companies can get stuck in the reporting trap. The reporting trap causes companies to lose focus on the long-term, leaving limited time to make a real impact and turn strategy into action.

Pinpointing The Potential of Sustainable Innovation

In order to better understand customer requirements and to encourage firms to generate Many Alternative Sustainable Solutions (MASS) in developing sustainable innovations, Explore Your Customore was created; a toolbox with a set of inspirational cards with proven innovation methodologies.

Katapult: A Norwegian Accelerator with Global Impact

The Oslo-based Katapult is not just any startup accelerator program. While the likes of Y Combinator, TechStars and Seedcamp have pioneered the acceleration landscape through funding hundreds of small businesses that in some cases have grown into big names themselves, this Norwegian program is a for-profit accelerator that is uniquely focused on creating positive societal impact.

Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit: Amsterdam

This year, Bloomberg is bringing its Sustainable Business Summit to Amsterdam for the first time on June 20-21, 2018. Don't miss the opportunity to meet and learn from a diverse group of sustainability experts!

Sardex: A Local Currency for a Thriving Community

As part of their round-the-world sailing trip in search of sustainable solutions, the Sailors for Sustainability visited Sardinia. During the financial crisis in 2008, the credit flow dried up and unemployment was on the rise, also in Sardinia. In response, five young men from the Sardinian village of Serramanna set up the Sardex, a local currency for businesses in Sardinia. How does it work?