Focus On the Positives
Did you know that there is a huge amount of positive sustainability work being done around the world?
From individuals to global corporates, there is a realisation that not only is sustainability good for the planet and future generations, but it is also good for you and good for business.
Doing good produces dopamine and makes a person feel good and for companies, doing good makes your team and customers feel good!
With that in mind, let’s shine a light on three stories of positive sustainable change that give us hope for a better future.
Mainstream Chocolate Maker Makes a Sustainable Step
Beginning in 2023, Mars, Snickers, and Milky Way chocolate bars will come in paper-based packaging that can be recycled in standard kerbside recycling.
Manufacturer of chocolate, confectionery, and chewing gum, Mars Wrigley reported this big step in a first-ever for the global company.
Andrew Leakey, General Manager of Mars Wrigley in Australia said during an interview:
‘The transition to paper-based packaging for our locally made chocolate bars marks a significant milestone in our sustainability journey. This was crucially important for us as we wanted to ensure consumers had easy access to recycle our new paper-based packaging.’
The new packaging is set to go on sale in April 2023 when it is anticipated by Mars Wrigley that their current inventory of stock will run out.
The company will roll out the new packaging in Australia having spent over $2.5 million on extensive research and development at its production facility in Ballarat Victoria.
The new packaging underwent extensive trials and worked with local innovation teams to come up with their new more sustainable wrappers.
Being able to eat one of the world’s favourite snacks and no longer know the packaging will end up in a landfill is a great step.
Hopefully, all the other manufacturers will follow suit and single-use plastic packing will become a thing of the past.
Could Hemp Help to Fight Climate Change?
In research carried out by the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Ontario, it was found that natural hemp fibre has huge potential for Carbon Storage.
The quick-growing plant is thought to be twice as efficient at capturing and storing carbon as trees.
In all the discussions about how to stop climate change, hemp is hardly ever brought up.
Modern industrial hemp, more commonly referred to as cannabis, is too weak to be used as a narcotic, yet it is incredibly effective at both absorbing and locking up carbon.
As one of the world’s quickest-growing plants, hemp can grow up to 4 metres in just 100 days.
The research showed that 1 hectare of hemp will absorb between 8 and 22 tonnes of CO2e per year, far more than the absorption rates of any woodland.
They found that the CO2 is then permanently fixed within the hemp fibres which are incredibly strong and can be used for many purposes.
Hemp is used in textiles, insulation for buildings, concrete and medicines – the car manufacturer BMW is even using it to replace a number of plastic car parts!
Unfortunately, unlike many countries, the UK still classifies industrial hemp as a controlled substance requiring a home office licence to grow.
Let’s hope this changes soon as the UK could create huge carbon sinks using a crop that has so many useful purposes.
Did you know that in 1941 Henry Ford made a car constructed from hemp and designed to run on hemp bio-fuel?
It looks like Henry Ford was ahead of his time!
Are You Ready for a Greggs Vegan Turkey and Stuffing Baguette?
It’s available at all 2,200 Greggs outlets and marks the chain’s second collaboration with THIS after the two companies earlier this year debuted a vegan southern fried chicken baguette.
Gregg’s has also added the vegan festive bake, which first debuted in 2021, to their holiday menu.
The bake has a puff pastry outer shell and is choc full of Quorn mycoprotein pieces, vegan bacon crumbs, sage and onion stuffing and a tasty sage and cranberry sauce.
Andy Shovel, Co-Founder of This said:
“Having such a huge operator and admired brand as Greggs want to work with us is massive. It’s a statement on the quality of the products we’re producing and is also reflective of the continued investment into and demand for plant-based food.”
Reducing your meat intake will help you to deduce your personal footprint and Gregg’s vegan options give you the opportunity to switch a meal out for a more sustainable alternative.
As part of a journey to a more sustainable future actions like this, over time, have a significant impact on the planet and we salute Greggs, BMW and Mars Wrigley for taking steps to make our future greener.
That’s our favourite positive sustainability news for this week.
We hope you can see that these steps are not isolated and positive change is happening all around the world!
By joining Play It Green and being part of the change, you can play your part whether as an individual or as a business, you will join a community of changemakers doing their bit for the planet.
Please contact us to find out more or use the button below to join us right away.
