Supply chain News and trends

A new report has found that Europe is by far the largest consumer of sustainable palm oil in the world, accounting for 45% of total global use of RSPO certified sustainable palm oil.

Jointly commissioned by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), European Palm Oil Alliance (EPOA) and IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative, the report, Sustainable Palm Oil: Europe's business - fact, analysis and actions to leverage impact, presents an in-depth analysis of the current trends and developments in the European palm oil market and supply chain.

Key Findings
By reaching 93% uptake of certified sustainable palm oil in Europe for food, feed and oleochemical purposes, the palm oil sector is at the forefront of sustainability, and ahead of most other commodities, even before legislation.

This is followed by certified sustainable palm kernel oil (CSPKO) at 62% and certified sustainable palm kernel expeller (CSPKE) at only 5%, indicating that sustainable sourcing needs to be further developed in some sectors. CSPKO and CSPKE are mainly used in the oleochemical and feed sectors, respectively.

Via EcoVadis

Companies are ramping up their climate commitments, and with them their ambitions to source materials—such as green steel, recycled aluminum, and recycled plastic—that have lower emissions intensity than their conventional equivalents. Production capacity for many low-emissions materials, however, appears set to fall far short of future demand. For example, our analysis suggests that in 2030 demand for green steel in Europe could be twice as great as the available supply. Projections point to global shortages of recycled aluminum and recycled plastic.

Via EcoVadis

From 2025 onward, the joint venture between PowerCo, the new battery business of the Volkswagen Group, and Umicore, the Belgian circular materials technology company, will begin producing precursor and cathode materials in Europe. The partnership will provide European battery cell manufacturers with key chemicals supplied by PowerCo.

The partners’ aim by the end of the decade is to produce cathode material and their precursors for 160 GWh cell capacity annually. This compares to an annual production capacity that could power about 2.2 million full electric vehicles. Cathode active materials are crucial for a successful powertrain transition towards e-mobility because they are key levers affecting battery performance, as well as the biggest single contributor to overall battery cost.

“Cathode material is an indispensable strategic resource for battery production, accounting for roughly fifty percent of overall cell value.” said Thomas Schmall, Group Board Member for Technology at Volkswagen AG and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of PowerCo SE. “Immediate and long-term access to extensive capacity is thus a very clear competitive advantage. We are setting up a sustainable, transparent supply chain with high environmental and social standards, localizing value creation here in Europe.”

Via EcoVadis

European clothing retailer VIA Outlets has kick-started a new sustainability initiative with the launch of its first ‘Re.Love’ pop-up store in Lisbon, Portugal.

The company plans to establish several pop-ups throughout Europe which will champion ‘sustainable’ collections, secondhand fashion and rental.

Geert Paemen, group sustainability director at VIA Outlets, commented: “We are delighted to pioneer this new sustainability initiative, which complements the ambitious environmental targets we have set for our centres and highlights the important efforts being made by our brand partners in this field.”

Via EcoVadis