Grounded World

Most of us would consider too much pride more of a vice than virtue...except during Pride month perhaps! Pride Month came to be in honor of the Stonewall Uprising, when, angered by police harassment and social discrimination, members of the LGBTQ+ community rioted outside the Stonewall Inn - a gay club located in Greenwich Village on June 28th, 1969. This was a cultural tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement here in the United States. Since then it has gathered momentum, largely since the early 90s, to become a commercial juggernaut, spawning a variety of parades, festivals, fiesta and community events around the world - along with A LOT of marketing. So we've curated a bit of a cross section - of the good, the bad and the ugly from queerbaiting and asylum seeking to why pride is good for business and inspirational talks on TedX. So, wherever you stand, take your pick and take Pride! #TimeToGetGrounded #PrideMonth #BrandPurpose

Participating in Plastic Free July is more than a challenge. It's a reality check to the staggering amount of single-use plastic we consume on a daily basis—imagine over the course of a lifetime? As part of the revolution to tackle the pervasive plastic pollution affecting our oceans and beaches, we've compiled an in-depth article highlighting the top brands leading the charge. Among these trailblazers is Grove Collaborative, whose former Head of Sustainability, Danielle Jezienicki, shared exclusive insights into their ambitious journey towards plastic neutrality and beyond with Grounded's own, Paloma Jacome. Their story, along with the efforts of other innovative companies, underscores the critical importance of reducing single-use plastic and adopting circular practices NOW not later—not just for a month, but as a lifelong commitment to our planet.

As Plastic-Free July comes to a close, it's inspiring to spotlight innovative solutions making a significant impact in keeping our oceans and waters clean. Seabin™'s floating trash receptacles are revolutionizing marine clean-up by capturing up to 1.4 tons of plastic waste, oil, and pollutants annually. Installed in marinas and ports worldwide, they harness natural currents to draw in debris, filtering it out before it reaches open waters. Another groundbreaking initiative is the Wasteshark Leeds, designed by Richard Hardiman of RanMarine Technology. Already operational in the Port of Rotterdam and Dubai Marina, this robotic device 'swims' close to shore, collecting up to 1,100 pounds of waste before returning to be emptied. Recently, WasteShark was launched in Ilfracombe Harbour by WWF and Sky, showcasing its effectiveness in keeping our coastal waters clean. lfracombe Harbour. Now available in both Slim and Fatboy versions 🦈 Similar to the Seabin™, the Marina Trash Skimmer has been designed for use in harbors and marinas to reduce plastic pollution in high marine traffic areas. This stationary unit works around the clock with natural currents, tides, and winds to collect trash and oil sheen, offering a robust solution for commercial-scale pollution removal such as at the Port of Los Angeles. Another notable mention is the The Ocean Cleanup Array, designed by inventor Boyan Slat. This device uses floating barriers to harness ocean currents, collecting large amounts of plastic for extraction and recycling. With upcoming installations off the coasts of Japan and South Korea, this innovation aims to tackle large-scale issues like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Liked this post? Stay tuned for more interesting info from us by signing up to our newsletter which comes out with a new edition this week! Turn on your bell to be notified 🔔 Subscribe on LinkedIn https://lnkd.in/dAnU8eKk #PlasticFreeJuly #OceanConservation #OceanCleanup #MarineCleanUp #InnovativeSolutions #PlasticPollution

Very cool to see The LYCRA Company fibers made from 100% textile waste at the #2024OlympicGames. High performance #fashion that’s also performing for the #planet!

oohh arggh.... tractor! What a week! Got to spend a whole week shooting film with this wonderful lady Heidi Schoeneck in deepest darkest Iowa with The LYCRA Company and QIRA - promoting one of the biggest innovations to date in #sustainablefashion. Textile fibers made from field corn.....100% renewable and not a fossil based nasty in sight! Find out more about the journey we've been on https://lnkd.in/eGePYjFT. #timetogetgrounded

Attention California companies! Have you heard of SB 54? On June 30, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 54 (Allen, Chapter 75, Statutes of 2022) into law to address the impacts of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware. This landmark packaging law requires that by 2032 we: ✂ Cut single-use plastic such as packaging and foodware by 25% ♻ Recycle 65% of single-use plastic packaging and foodware 🌱 Ensure 100% of single-use packaging and plastic food ware is recyclable or compostable Packaging makes up over 50% of what we dump in California landfills by volume- a critical crisis for California companies to help eradicate. The law shifts the plastic pollution burden from consumers to producers by raising $5 billion from industry members over 10 years. This will help cut plastic pollution and support disadvantaged, low-income, and rural communities hurt most by the impacts of plastic waste. Producers Play a Strategic Role in Building a Truly Circular Economy SB 54 establishes a new extended producer responsibility (EPR) program to manage packaging and single-use plastic food ware products across every sector of the economy. Producers will ensure that the packaging and plastic food ware sold in California is recyclable or compostable. EPR gives primary responsibility for managing products after their useful life to producers, who can design and market products to be more easily reused or recycled. EPR can encourage product design changes to ensure products are easily reused or recycled and minimize negative impacts on public health and the environment at every stage of the product’s lifecycle. #EPR #SB54 #PlasticPollution #PlasticFreeJuly #PlasticPolicy #CaliforniaLegislation

BEST IN GRASS 🌱 Grounded's curated collection of Best-in-Class examples of brands implementing compostable, biodegradable innovations! 🌍 Leading the charge in circular innovation, major brands are making remarkable strides in reducing their environmental impact through compostable, biodegradable, and regenerative packaging: ☕ Keurig introduces the K-Round pods, a groundbreaking alternative to single-use plastic K-Cups. These pods are made with food-grade algae and compostable materials, ensuring a significant reduction in plastic waste. The sleek design supports various beverages, including espresso, which was previously not possible with K-Cups. By maintaining convenience and quality, Keurig's new pods demonstrate a commitment to sustainability while catering to a wide customer base. The company aims to make this transition seamless for consumers, emphasizing that these changes will dramatically reduce environmental footprints without compromising user experience. 🖥 Dell Technologies pioneers mushroom-based packaging for shipping heavy products like servers. These mycelium cushions, which grow in just 5-10 days using natural carbohydrates, offer a fully compostable alternative to traditional packaging. Dell's commitment to sustainability began in 2009, focusing on replacing non-recyclable plastics with eco-friendly materials like bamboo and mycelium. This innovative packaging not only supports greener shipping processes but also ensures consumers can easily compost the packaging. Dell’s website provides detailed instructions on disposing of these materials properly, showcasing their dedication to environmental responsibility and educating consumers on sustainable practices . 🛀 LUSH goes plastic-free with cork beauty containers sourced from Portuguese cork oak trees, using traditional harvesting methods that promote regrowth by only removing the outer bark. This sustainable approach allows the tree to sequester new carbon, contributing to a net positive environmental impact. Lush also incorporates biodegradable, edible packing peanuts made from vegetable starch, ensuring zero waste. These packing peanuts dissolve in water and can even be consumed safely, further reducing plastic waste and emphasizing Lush’s commitment to innovative, circular solutions . Together, these brands are setting a new standard for sustainability, proving that innovative packaging can be both practical and planet-friendly. 🌱♻️ #Sustainability #SustainablePackaging #InnovativePackaging #CircularSolutions #CorporateResponsibility

Should chemical recycling, also known as, advanced recycling, even be considered recycling? Many state legislators don’t think so. Just in June, New York legislaters passed a packaging bill in the state Senate that would enforce companies to meet ambitious recycling standards and reduce packaging waste by 30%. BUT the bill would not initially include chemical/advanced recycling. Companies such as Eastman Chemical B.V. And Samsara Eco are leading in chemical recycling using processes such as methanolysis and enzymatic recycling. “We had a serious concern about the pseudo solution pushed by the industry called chemical recycling,” said Judith Enck, a former US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official and founder of Beyond Plastics, an advocacy group that supported the bill. Beyond Plastics raised doubts about advanced recycling plants’ yield, emissions, byproducts and energy use— arguing that advanced recycling amounts to little more than a marketing tactic deployed to distract decision makers from proven waste-reduction methods, like using less packaging. Against the legislation, several business groups rallied together to write a letter opposing the bill stating, “Advanced recycling is NOT incineration.” With #EPR on the rise, should chemical recycling be considered a circular process? #Recycling #ChemicalRecycling #CircularEconomy #ClimatePolicy

It’s still #PlasticFreeJuly but the LinkedIn community hasn’t been advocating enough for actually taking the challenge of CHOOSING TO REFUSE single-use plastic. Collectively, we understand that plastic is earth’s enemy yet we continue to consume it nearly DAILY. This intention-action gap is slowly killing us. The UN Environment Programme’s “Wake up call to end plastic pollution,” unfortunately aged well. On March 2, 2022, 175 nations backed a historic resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly to END PLASTIC POLLUTION and commit to develop a legally binding agreement by 2024 (now). But looking at where we are to date, has much really changed? Plastic pollution has quite literally seeped into every aspect of our lives (particularly by way of particles and microplastics) yet we don’t see it. Well this wake up helps us see what we’ve done and continue to do every time we ACCEPT single-use plastic. CHOOSE TO REFUSE plastic this Plastic Free July and every month of every year. Our future is in our hands— stop throwing it away. #TimeToGetGrounded #PlasticPollution #EPR #PlasticFree #Microplastics

If you're planning to be in NYC during Climate week this year (23rd-27th September) stop by the Freedom tower to congratulate the 100 top Chief Sustainability Officers at the inaugural North America CSO awards - recognizing outstanding contributions of CSOs who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and leadership in advancing sustainability practices within their organizations. The top 100 has been published by futur/io Institute, a pioneering organization dedicated to nurturing and inspiring leadership in sustainable innovation and building the most impactful network of CSOs globally and it has been compiled in partnerships with Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at Imperial College Business School. Many congratulations to...(continued in the Comments 👇) Aditi Mohapatra, Alan B. Horowitz Alanna Boyd Alexa Dembek Alison Taylor Amber Williams, CFA Amelia DeLuca Andrea C Barrack Angela Baker Ann Tracy Bob Holycross Brandon Lombardi Caroline Roan Cassandra Garber Christine Montenegro McGrath Christopher Wellise Christy M. Nageleisen Daniel Fibiger Deborah Donovan Deborah (Breisblatt) Lizt Douglas H. Liedberg Ellen Glaessner Ellen Jackowski Elliot Stultz Emilio Tenuta Emma Stewart, Ph.D. Erol Odabasi Fahmida Bangert Francesca Mahoney Gayle Schueller, PhD Geoff Pegg Gildas Poissonnier Grady Crosby Heather Zichal Helene V Gagnon, APR, FCPRS James Gowen Jean Garris Hand Jeannette Ferran Astorga