Chocolate brands back EUDR timetable

The European Union’s deforestation regulation, due to be fully implemented before the end of 2024, continues to dominate many conversations, with conflicting calls for EUDR to be delayed and for supporting its proposed timetable. Currently from 30th December companies selling tropical commodities or related products in the EU market will have to prove their supply chains don’t contribute to the destruction of forests. A group of large consumer goods companies operating in the cocoa sector – including Mars Wrigley, Ferrero, Tony’s Chocolonely and Nestlé have publicly backed the regulation, while urging the EU to do more to help companies meet the December deadline. In a joint paper, the companies say that EUDR represents an important step forward in driving the necessary transformation of the cocoa and chocolate sector, helping to minimise the risk of deforestation associated with cocoa and chocolate products on the EU market. 

In terms of specific help to meet EUDR’s requirements, the companies call for better coordination between the EU and individual national authorities, and guidance on legal interpretations and due diligence obligations. Some industry groups, including the Confederation of European Paper Industries, and the US government have called for the regulation’s full implementation to be delayed. Several members of the Biden cabinet sent a joint letter to the European Commission asking for a delay to EUDR because of perceived potential negate impacts on US companies. However, some commentators have pointed out that given the limited exposure of US based commodity producers to deforestation risks, in fact EUDR represents a significant opportunity for the vast majority. 

The US government now supports limits on plastic production, as part of the global plastics treaty being negotiated at the United Nations. This is a reversal of the US's previous stance, which opposed production limits in favour of a focus on recycling and cleaning up plastic waste. The US's support could encourage other countries to join the coalition pushing for more ambitious measures to reduce plastic production.

The US had sided with China and Saudi Arabia in opposing plastic production controls, advocating instead for a focus on recycling and re-use. However, developing countries in Asia and Africa, where plastic waste ends up in dumps and landfills, have called for greater responsibility to be placed on producers for controlling and cleaning up plastic waste.

The petrochemical industry in the US argues that limiting production wouldn’t reduce pollution and that alternatives could have a higher emissions footprint. Trade groups have argued that plastics are critical to modern healthcare and clean drinking water. 

The US’s change in stance comes as scientists present new evidence on the harmful effects of plastics. A recent report in Annals of Global Health revealed that every group of chemicals associated with plastics was linked to at least one adverse health outcome. Particular concern has been raised over “forever chemicals” such as PFAs, which never fully break down and accumulate in the environment and biological systems, including the human body.

The final round of global plastics treaty negotiations is scheduled for late 2025 in South Korea. 

Nestlé’s flagship Cocoa Plan has achieved an increase in yields among participating famers of 32% over the programme’s first 18 months. The plan has a focus on accelerating cocoa farmer incomes, along with reducing child labour. So far over 10,000 farmers in Côte d’Ivoire have been supported. Nestlé plans to roll out the plan in Ghana later in 2024. The Cocoa Plan encourages cocoa-farming families to improve in four areas: better agricultural practices, school enrolment, agroforestry and diversifying incomes. 

The agricultural practices can be as simple as more effective pruning of diseased trees, and better use of shade and co-planting. Nestlé also has a policy of providing cash incentives to farmers that are decoupled from production amounts and are proportionally aimed to more advantageous for smallholder farmers. Overall farm incomes in the communities that are part of the income accelerator projects increased by 38% on average over the 18-month period.  

Apparel sector initiative Fashion for Good is partnering with a group of footwear brands, including Adidas, Inditex, PVH and Zalando, on a new programme aimed at accelerating and validating the next generation of footwear innovations, in particular in developing more circular footwear. This initiative aims to address the key intervention points needed to drive footwear circularity spanning four workstreams across the supply chain from materials to end of use. Fashion for Good says that there is an urgent need to accelerate innovation in footwear sustainability, highlighting that there are 23.9bn shoes produced globally each year. 

A new report from environmental group Ember analysed national 2030 wind targets for the power sector, evaluating them against what is required to meet the global goal to triple renewables capacity by 2030, made at the climate COP28 meeting in 2023. The report found that national targets add up to a more than doubling of global wind capacity by 2030, but fall short of a tripling. The sum of 2030 national wind targets from 70 countries and one region analysed is 2,157 GW. This is a 2.4x increase from 901 GW in 2022, leaving a gap of 585 GW to achieve a global tripling of wind capacity

This growth is primarily achievable due to large wind additions forecast in China. Although it only accounts for 37% of global wind targets, China is forecast to install over 50% of global wind additions between 2024 and 2030. China is overachieving on its target and is forecast to almost triple wind capacity from 2022 to 2030.

Of the 70 countries with wind targets (including more subjective “implicit” targets), almost two-thirds are projected to fall short of their national 2030 targets based on the International Energy Agency’s main forecast from January 2024. These countries are, Ember says, collectively aiming well-below the tripling of wind capacity that is needed.

UK supermarket chain Tesco has introduced digital passports for its clothing line F&F, marking a step forward in transparency within the fashion industry. These digital passports will give consumers insights into the clothing production process, including the origin of materials, helping to combat greenwashing and enabling informed choices. This move is in response to upcoming EU regulations that will require companies to provide detailed information on the environmental impact of their products. This initiative is expected to boost transparency and accountability across the supply chain, potentially driving improvements in production practices.

The US state Virginia has noted a surge in water use to cool data centres. Water consumption by various IT facilities in Virginia has jumped by two-thirds since 2019. Virginia is home to the world’s largest concentration of data centres, including facilities used by Amazon, Google and Microsoft. According to the Financial Times, the warehouses used at least 7 billion litres of water in 2023, compared with 4.3bn litres in 2019. Environmental campaigners warned that demand for computing infrastructure is set to rise sharply due to the use of artificial intelligence, which requires significant computing power. Water is used by data centres to cool equipment and in power generation. Google’s water consumption rose by 14% in 2023, which it said was primarily due to water cooling needs at data centres. 

Many data centres are unable to fully recycle water in a closed-loop system, as much of the water is set aside for humidity control and ends up evaporating, especially in drier regions. 

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the UK has announced the first indicative base fees for extended producer responsibility for packaging, set to take effect in 2025. This scheme is designed to hold producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of the packaging they introduce to the market, encouraging more sustainable product design that prioritises low impact disposal and recycling. The base fees will apply to packaging producers, with rates varying by material.

While the release of these fees has been welcomed by many in the industry for offering much-needed clarity, some glass businesses are concerned about the negative impact the weight-based fee structure could have on their sector. UK charity WRAP's director for insights and innovation emphasised that EPR should be part of a broader, holistic approach to packaging, urging businesses to also adopt other environmentally positive practices like refill and reuse models.