Wood is an often underrepresented waste stream. In 2018, the U.S. generated over 18 million tons of wood waste, comprising 6.2% of all municipal solid waste generation that year. Of that, only about one-sixth was recycled.

Ronald van Loon, CEO & Principal Analyst at Intelligent World, explains how next generation technologies are forming the future of rail, following a visit to the East-West Gate intermodal terminal.

Ecological responsibility and the use of digital technologies are currently among the key trends in supply chain management. This view was expressed by around two thirds of a total of 150 logistics managers in German companies in a survey for the 18th Hermes Barometer "Trends in Supply Chain Management "*. For greater supply chain resilience, the respondents also rely on stable supplier relationships and the establishment of efficient risk management. The basis for this is a detailed and transparent data overview - but companies still have potential for optimization here.

In the book “Moneyball,” author Michael Lewis chronicles then Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane’s embrace of sabermetrics to transform a struggling franchise into the darling of the advanced baseball analytics movement during its meteoric rise in the 2002 season. Sabermetrics is defined as the empirical analysis of baseball through statistics, which is used to predict the performance of players to give teams a winning edge. While rivals used traditional statistics and scouting reports to build their teams, Beane understood a mountain of existing data could be used to improve the product on the field.

Rather than only recycling what can be recycled, used products are being repaired and reused and/or their component raw materials are extracted for reuse internally or by other industries. There is a growing recognition that something created in one company likely can have another life in another industry. When that cycle encompasses multiple producers and industries it can create a natural circular momentum that supports itself and no longer needs to be driven by individual participants.

In this article we will introduce you to key customer & industry trends, niche innovations in the food sector and display how materiality assessment can prepare you for sustainable strategy development.