The Business of Sustainability: Zeno

This week we published the latest episode of the Business of Sustainability podcast.

Our co-founders Alexandra Smith and Mike Penrose are joined by Managing Director of Zeno London, Jo Patterson.

They discuss advice for businesses on how to communicate its sustainability, and explore Zeno’s mission, objectives and what sets them apart from competitors in terms of how they value sustainability.

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Fashion brands unite to improve circular economy for shoes

A new collaborative initiative led by Fashion for Good, a global NGO dedicated to promoting circularity in fashion has launched with the aim of driving circularity within the footwear industry.

In partnership with brands including Adidas, Inditex, ON Running, PVH Corp., Reformation, Target, and Zalando, the initiative aims to transform how shoes are designed, manufactured, and recycled.

Building on successful projects like the Fast Feet Grinded pilot—which collects and recycles post-consumer shoes, Fashion for Good is expanding its efforts to create a circular economy for footwear.

The initiative focuses on four core work streams:

• Design: The initiative will define what circular design means for footwear, creating guidelines to build a sustainable infrastructure from the ground up. This includes innovative approaches to designing shoes that can be more easily recycled or repurposed.

• Materials: Finding and validating sustainable alternatives to traditional materials like plastic, leather, and rubber is crucial. The initiative will focus on scouting and adopting next-generation materials that reduce environmental impact.

• End of Use: A comprehensive understanding of post-consumer footwear waste is essential. The project will develop a dataset covering non-rewearable shoes, and identify solutions for sorting, disassembly, and recycling, ensuring that even worn-out shoes contribute to the circular economy.

• Traceability: Establishing a robust traceability protocol will help verify sustainability claims, ensuring transparency throughout the shoe's lifecycle.

“Through this partnership, we have collaborated on a number of different sustainable innovation initiatives that are benefitting the fashion industry. Now we want to build on this know-how and expand our focus into the footwear space. Currently, there is a limited portfolio of low-impact materials which also meet the necessary performance requirements that are also scalable. We hope this initiative will help overcome some of these hurdles.” - Sigrid Buehrle, Product Operations and Sustainability Senior Vice President, Adidas

British Airways commits to diversity with new pilot training funds

British Airways (BA) is continuing its commitment to cultivating the next generation of pilots through the Speedbird Pilot Academy cadet program. Since its inception in 2023, the program has provided fully-funded flight training for up to 100 candidates per year, making the dream of flying commercially attainable for many who might otherwise be deterred by the high cost. Now, in a major announcement at the Farnborough Airshow, BA revealed a significant expansion: the airline will increase its investment to £21 million for the 2025 class, offering up to 200 prospective pilots the opportunity to train without the burden of self-funding the £100,000 training cost. This initiative aims not only to nurture talent but also to enhance diversity within the pilot community, which has traditionally been limited by financial barriers. By breaking down these financial barriers, BA is providing life-changing opportunities, particularly for women and others who have historically been underrepresented in aviation due to financial and societal challenges.

The Royal Mint launches facility to recycle gold from e-waste

In a move towards sustainable resource management, The Royal Mint has inaugurated a state-of-the-art facility in Llantrisant, South Wales, designed to "mine" gold from electronic waste.

This innovative 3,700 square metre factory represents a significant advancement in the recycling of precious metals, particularly gold, from discarded electronics. The facility is the result of a two-year collaboration between The Royal Mint and Canadian innovators Excir, who have developed a revolutionary process for extracting gold from printed circuit boards (PCBs).

These PCBs, found in a wide range of electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and televisions, often go unrecycled, leading to a massive loss of valuable metals. According to the United Nations, only 1% of the global demand for rare earth elements is currently met through recycling e-waste, and less than a quarter of the world's e-waste was properly collected or recycled in 2022. Recycling e-waste is notoriously challenging due to the complexity of materials involved, including metals, plastics, and other components that are often soldered or glued together.

However, Excir’s cutting-edge technology addresses these challenges head-on. Their process uses a "mild" chemical lixiviant to efficiently separate precious and base metals from the plastic components of PCBs. Remarkably, this method works at room temperature and within minutes, minimising energy use and environmental impact. The gold extracted through this process boasts an impressive 99.9% purity, making it ready for use in new products, including jewellery.

With the capacity to process up to 4,000 tonnes of PCBs annually, this facility not only highlights innovation but also sets a new standard for e-waste recycling.