The Generation Awake campaign announced, that a number of companies have recognised that improving resource-efficiency and cutting waste will help protect their supply chain, profitability and good customer relations.
Generation Awake campaign, launched by the European Commission, focuses on the importance of recycling and aims at raising the EU citizens’ awareness of the impact that their everyday behavior has on the environment.
“Economising with resources is a founding principle of IKEA Group, and the company’s People & Planet Positive strategy builds on a long history of working with sustainability. Launched in 2012, the strategy outlines how the company is taking the next big step to help millions of people live a more sustainable life at home, to strive towards resource and energy independence and to help to create a better life for people and communities around the world.
Healthy Seas was set up by an NGO
and two enterprises to recover old fishing nets and recycle them to produce new textile products. According to UN reports, there are around 640 000 tons of abandoned fishing nets in the world’s seas, posing a threat to marine life and polluting the water. ‘Healthy Seas, a journey from waste to wear’ coordinates teams of divers to collect marine waste – especially fishing nets – and regenerates it into ECONYL® yarn for new sustainable products.
TerraCycle, a dynamic US-based company active on four continents (including 11 EU countries), collects difficult-to-recycle packaging - drinks pouches, crisp bags, pens, toothbrushes – and makes it into new products including bags, benches, plant pots and watering cans.
US group Caterpillar employs 3 600 people around the world in its remanufacturing arm, CAT Reman, which replaces products before they break and rebuilds them with a mixture of new and used parts. The company has given increasing consideration to creating a product that is intended to be remanufactured a number of times, and its ability to salvage materials gives its a business advantage over its competitors. One of its most well-known products is an engine block with a removable sleeve in the cylinder bore. When the component is recovered, this material can be removed and replaced to return the engine to as-new performance. Caterpillar’s remanufactured products are rebuilt and tested to the same standards – and sometimes higher – as new products, and are sold with the same warranty.
You can check the Generation Awake website for easy tips that will help you to make the best use of resources and reduce waste in your daily life. Your choices make a world of difference!
Campaign multilingual website: www.generationawake.eu
Facebook fan page: www.facebook.com/generationawake
E-mail: mari.valgepea@meis.ee
