We’re back with more in newsletter #2! Coming up are five bite-sized findings, but if you’re hungry for more you can download a research report or listen to a podcast on packaging, giving, food waste, intention vs. impact… all free via our website.

1. The waste hierarchy is a tool to help prioritise waste diversion across all kinds of value streams. For food waste, prevention is the highest priority; then reuse; recycling; recovery; and disposal to landfills as the last port of call.
2. Recycling aluminium uses around 95% less energy than producing virgin aluminium, where the material is cast and rolled, and formed into a new packaging component.
3. The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute sets out 5 principles for a global packaging standard: material health; product circularity; clean air and climate protection; water and soil stewardship; and social fairness.
4. If your business gives money to a nonprofit, have you thought about the way you’re giving? Open Road Alliance found that 46% of the roadblocks encountered in nonprofit impact projects are caused by funders.
5. Unrestricted funding enables nonprofits to plan for the future, invest in their team, and focus on impactful work. But as it stands, only 2 in 5 nonprofits receive multi-year unrestricted funding.

In last week’s newsletter, we shared a finding about water use in cotton production - but there’s much more to the story. Here’s an informative read on the impacts of cotton from circular fashion label A.BCH.

Do you know something about environmental responsibility in the fashion industry? This is a topic we’re currently researching and would love your input. Hit reply to this email and share what or who you know with us!

Other upcoming topics:

• Going carbon neutral/negative
• Inclusive, sustainable housing

We recently surveyed leaders and managers in small to large organisations to understand where businesses stand on profit and impact, what needs to be done and importantly what's holding them back. Download the report.

How would you score your business’s social and environmental impact? Leaders at impact businesses (those that have B Corp certification, Fair Trade Certified, social enterprise, etc.) tended to score their impact higher, while standard business leaders most commonly gave a score of 5 out of 10.

The Business Pickle is here for leaders ready to do good.

We provide resources and strategic advice for teams to improve their impact. How is your business tracking when it comes to its social and environmental impact? Have you got a plan in place? Do you know where to focus your efforts? If you need a hand, reply to this email for a quick chat about how we might help.

And if you're after a new podcast, search for The Business Pickle wherever you're listening. We've published part two of our series on the billion dollar question of corporate giving, with the next instalment of our series on the great packaging pileup coming soon!

That's all for now, but we'll be back soon with more interesting findings and links to share.

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