Recycling glass bottles (Photo by: Geography Photos/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Drinks try to become more sustainable in various ways, such as by replacing glass bottles with paper ones. But this trend will need a proper and wider recycling strategy.
As the global whisky brand Johnnie Walker and its parent company Diageo plan to run a trial of the new environmentally-friendly packaging from next year, a report from consulting corporation Capgemini on sustainability shows this might be the future consumers want.
In particular, more and more people seem to be currently thinking about their economic choices as a result of the pandemic.
Among the 7,500 consumers and 750 large organizations surveyed, 78% said that companies have a larger role to play in society.
Their behavior is changing, too, with 79% of shoppers basing their purchase preferences on social responsibility, inclusiveness, or environmental impact. For example, 53% of consumers overall and 57% of consumers in the 18-24 age group switched to lesser known but sustainable brands.
Among executives, 65% said their consumers are very much aware of their sustainability initiatives. Among consumer products and retail organizations, 75% said they have a strategy, infrastructure, and resources in place to drive sustainability and circular economy efforts.
“So far, many organizations have viewed sustainability as a bolt-on. However, when baked into an organization’s mission and purpose, sustainability has the potential to entirely change an organization’s relationship with its customers and partners,” says Kees Jacobs, vice president of consumer goods and retail at Capgemini.
“The pandemic has heightened global desire for authenticity and responsibility, particularly from large organizations. As businesses focus on transformation in the wake of the pandemic, they should put sustainability at the heart of their efforts.”
In fact, the report highlights that organizations are yet to come to terms with how fundamentally consumer preferences have shifted. Close to half of consumers (49%) said they do not have any information to verify the sustainability claims of products and 44% say they do not trust product sustainability claims.
Preferences for sustainable packaging concern all sectors, not just booze. The European soft drinks industry is already using a range of packaging materials to suit different consumer needs and drinking occasions.
“Driving packaging circularity is a key goal for our members and they have been instrumental in setting up and running packaging collection schemes across Europe,” a spokesperson for UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe says. “UNESDA members have committed to 100% recyclable plastic bottles by 2025 and to at least 25% recycled content by then. They will continue to drive circularity across all their packaging in the coming years working alongside governments, economic actors and consumers.”
However, some claim plastic bottles – more than glass ones – should be replaced. The industry, on the other hand, puts pressure on better recycling strategies.
“We are aware of such moves but caution against substitution, which is not based on life-cycle analysis,” Virginia Janssens, managing director at PlasticsEurope, says. “Plastic brings many benefits but also presents obvious challenges which we are focusing on addressing. Data continually shows that plastics can provide the lowest carbon emissions of any material, particularly when recycled. Substitution could have unintended consequences whether it be the impact of resource extraction or tree felling, or increased carbon emissions from transporting goods. Our members’ focus at the moment remains in addressing challenges around plastics waste and marine litter – ensuring no plastic waste is lost to the environment and plastic plays a part in a low-carbon circular economy”.
Other factors are to be considered. Plastics Recyclers Europe told Forbes: “We believe that choice for packaging has to be driven by its functionality, safety, hygiene and the overall life cycle of product considerations.”
Paper bottles are not necessarily the answer, but circular economy certainly is. “All materials (regardless of the their type) must be collectable and recyclable into high quality secondary raw material that can be used in a wide area of high-end applications,” they added.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
