The Consumerisation of Climate (Part 3)

Issue 96 l Eka’s Weekly Roundup (29 October 2024)

Oct 29, 2024

This week marks the final edition of our Consumerisation of Climate series. So far, we’ve explored (1) circular consumption models and (2) sustainable brands. These are powered by underlying, tools, platforms, and logistics which are key to enabling the consumerisation of climate.

We’ll be exploring sustainable supply chains, delivery and logistics, and recycling solutions which are central to the green consumer economy. Companies like Hived, UseAgain, and Sourceful across the Eka portfolio are each playing their part in this ‘enabling’ segment of the market.

Under the hood: enabling technologies across supply chain, logistics, and disposal 🗞️

1. Designing sustainable products, services, and supply chains

In our push for sustainable production, brands are rethinking the materials they use and how they reach consumers. Advanced tracking systems and AI-driven platforms have become critical in providing visibility and precision in supply chains.

Supply Chain Tracking: Platforms like Carbon Chain allow companies to monitor and reduce emissions at each supply chain stage, fostering transparency and accountability. By giving companies real-time data, they can make adjustments to meet sustainability goals.

AI-Powered Supply Chain Management: Tools such as Sourceful use AI to optimize supply chain decisions, identifying the most sustainable suppliers and materials and linking these up with retailers and brands. This enhances decision-making, helping brands minimize their environmental impact at the source.

This enhances decision-making, helping brands minimize their environmental impact at the source. The panel below is an example of how Sourceful can help brands (1) understand, (2) reduce, and (3) offset their carbon emissions from their packaging supply chains.

2. Getting products to people, getting products from people: last-mile deliveries and reverse logistics

One of the most challenging parts of sustainable consumption lies in the logistics — how products make their way to consumers in a decarbonised way. Innovations in last-mile delivery and reverse logistics are addressing these challenges head-on.

Last-Mile Delivery: Hived is an electric delivery company dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint associated with last-mile logistics. By leveraging electric fleets, they minimize the emissions typically seen with traditional delivery services.

Road transport is responsible for the most GHG emissions of any sector in the UK, and parcel deliveries are a material part of this, especially in the middle and last miles of delivery.

Reverse Logistics: To make product returns more sustainable, companies like Again are pioneering methods that not only simplify returns for consumers but also create circular pathways for products and packaging to be reused or repurposed, minimizing waste at scale.

3. Disposing of items & end-of-life

At the end of a product's life, innovative solutions for disposal and recycling ensure materials are reused rather than wasted. Waste marketplaces and recycling technology are pivotal in closing the loop.

Recycling Technology: Recycleye & GreyParrot use AI-driven sorting systems to make recycling more efficient and precise, ensuring that materials are properly identified and processed. This technology enables facilities to manage waste more effectively, reducing the need for new resources.

Waste Marketplaces: Platforms are emerging to connect businesses with surplus materials to those who can use them, fostering a circular economy. By redistributing resources, waste marketplaces reduce unnecessary disposal and encourage reuse.

So ! We’ve come to the end of our consumerisation of climate series but fear not, we’ll be exploring variations on this theme throughout the next few editions.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts or discuss any of these insights at estia@ekavc.com 🌱