Sustainability alert: Run for the Oceans surpasses $1.5 million fundraising goal

Building on last year’s success of raising 1 million to educate and raise awareness of ocean plastic pollution, Adidas, Germany, and Parley for the Oceans, New York, met its goal to raise $1.5 million through the Run for the Oceans 2019 initiative to further combat ocean plastic through youth education.

For every kilometer run between June 8-16, Adidas will contribute $1 to develop a Parley youth activist platform, aimed at empowering youth in areas affected by ocean plastic to get involved and “drive urgent change.” The Run for the Oceans 2018 funding went toward Parley Ocean School, which educates youth on the issue of ocean plastic. The 2019 funding will further the school’s programs and launch a new platform, which “equips schoolchildren with the skills, tools and knowledge required to protect the planet’s oceans,” as well as “act as a space where young people can come together, share ideas and gain access to events, mentors and resources.”

Commenting on the platform, Parley for the Oceans Founder Cyrill Gutsch says it will be a “global stage for the next generation of creators, leaders and thinkers.” The campaign reached its goal of $1.5 million the first day of Run for the Oceans. Participants across the globe can sign up for Run for the Oceans challenge and track runs via the Runtastic app.

Adidas and Parley rolled out its first line of performance shoes made with recycled ocean plastics in 2016. Furthering its work with Parley, Adidas has unveiled its first TOUR360 XT golf shoe made with recycled plastic scrap sourced from beaches and coastal communities. The shoes will be available in select retailers beginning June 12.

Circulate Capital, USAID partner to combat ocean plastic

Circulate Capital, the investment management firm dedicated to financing companies, projects and infrastructure to prevent ocean plastic, has announced a finance partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that will “incentivize private capital investment and new business development in the recycling value chain in South and Southeast Asia.” Through the agreement, USAID will provide up to $35 million of loans.

The public sector support from the USAID partnership enhances the private sector support that Circulate Capital has received to combat ocean plastic, which is more than $100 million committed by the world’s leading corporations: PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Danone, Unilever and The Coca-Cola Company. At least 50 percent of the total investments covered by the USAID guarantee will be used for loans in Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, where USAID’s municipal waste recycling program supports local partners in reducing ocean plastic pollution, the firm says in a news release announcing the partnership.

“By blending private and public sector capital, our partnership with USAID will accelerate and expand the magnitude of the impact we can achieve beyond anything we could do separately,” says Rob Kaplan, founder and CEO of Circulate Capital. “By financing companies, innovations and projects that prevent ocean plastic in South and Southeast Asia, we will stop ocean plastic at its source and remove capital as a barrier to critical waste and recycling infrastructure development.”

The partnership was announced at a launch event in Washington, supported by the USAID, Circulate Capital and Washington-based nonprofit Ocean Conservancy.

“We need to invest in effective waste management systems,” says Emily Woglom, Ocean Conservancy’s executive vice president. “Circulate Capital is on the cutting edge of making this investment possible, and we are thrilled USAID is stepping up to support it. It is these kinds of collaborative partnerships that leverage strengths across government, business and NGOs that will ultimately make a real difference for the ocean.”

Olay to test refillable packaging

Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble’s Olay will pilot a new way of shopping for skin care that could dramatically reduce the amount of plastic used in the beauty category, the company says in a news release. Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer of P&G, and Virginie Helias, chief sustainability officer of P&G, announced the pilot at the 2019 Sustainable Brands Conference June 5 in Detroit.

From October 2019 through the end of the year, Olay will offer Olay Regenerist Whip moisturizer with a refill pod that fits right in the jar. If adopted, the brand will have moved 5 million moisturizer jars to refillable pods, reducing the use of more than 1 million pounds of plastic.

Olay’s refillable product concept is one step toward the brand’s commitment to make more of its packaging recyclable or reusable, and part of P&G’s larger sustainability initiatives. P&G was the first consumer packaging goods company to join Trenton, New Jersey-based TerraCycle’s Loop initiative, in which brands are redesigning packaging, with more use of glass and metals, and supply chain processes.

"The ultimate goal is to find and adopt many more sustainable packaging solutions and the refillable Olay Regenerist Whip package is the first step of that journey," says Anitra Marsh, associate director of sustainability and brand communications for skin and personal care. "It’s really important for us to get it right because only then can we bring this concept to market at scale."

Olay will test its refillable pods in the United States and the United Kingdom over a three-month period and then evaluate consumers interaction with refillable products to inform future packaging decisions, the company says.

P&G, Tokyo 2020 partner to create 100 percent recycled podiums

In partnership with the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced it will create all podiums to be used by medaling athletes during the Olympic Games, beginning July 24, 2020, from 100 percent recycled materials, with the help of consumers.

The Tokyo 2020 Podium Project kicks off June 13 in Japan, inviting community members to collect their single-use plastic items, including shampoo and dish detergent bottles, and bring them to a local AEON Group store for donation. Collection boxes will be provided in more than 2,000 AEON Group locations across the country, P&G says in a news release. The retailer will then forward the plastics to P&G, which will also leverage plastic recovered from the ocean to create the podiums.

“Sustainability is at the heart of this effort and P&G is proud to work with Tokyo 2020 and the IOC to demonstrate how consumers can participate in reducing plastic waste,” says Marc Pritchard, P&G chief brand officer. “The Tokyo 2020 Podium Project is an example of how the Olympics can be a catalyst to inspire actions that have a positive impact on the environment and society.”

Each podium will include postconsumer recycled materials that have been collected in Japan. The overall goal is to collect 1.5 million pieces of plastic packaging consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene from consumers to reduce recycled plastic resin. The project will be the largest multi-category collection and material recycling program for postconsumer packaging in Japan, the company says.

As the Olympics conclude, P&G says it will recycle the podiums to create new P&G packaging.