Ellen Martin

As more companies and governments make commitments to address plastic pollution, several plastic offset claims and credit schemes have emerged.

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Plastic claims validate a plastic material based on its source or the way it has been processed. Similar to carbon offset credit schemes, plastic offset credit schemes are meant to provide credit holders the right to offset the amount of plastic waste they generate. This has, in turn, resulted in the emergence of standards… Show more

As more companies and governments make commitments to address plastic pollution, several plastic offset claims and credit schemes have emerged.

​

Plastic claims validate a plastic material based on its source or the way it has been processed. Similar to carbon offset credit schemes, plastic offset credit schemes are meant to provide credit holders the right to offset the amount of plastic waste they generate. This has, in turn, resulted in the emergence of standards, certifications and credit programs focused on accounting for ocean plastics or circular plastics.



In 2020, The Circulate Initiative (TCI) reviewed 32 standards, certifications, and credit programs to assess strengths and weaknesses across the current landscape and whether current programs are equipped to help buyers meet their impact objectives. Key findings from the review have been outlined below. In addition, TCI identified 11 best practices to ensure that the outcome of these programs contribute to meaningful impact on preventing ocean plastic pollution. Show less

Foundational landscape study of technologies that transform plastics into renewed materials for countless uses, and are critical to ending plastics pollution in the environment and accelerating a circular economy for plastics

In the past year, U.S. recycling infrastructure has experienced significant changes in commodity values and end markets. Materials recovery facilities (MRFs) sit at the critical intersection between our “waste” and value that can be extracted from the reuse and recycling of commodities. As MRFs and municipalities evaluate the evolution of the waste and recycling industry, Closed Loop Fund shares four key practices for MRF success.

The first impact report from the Closed Loop Fund portfolio highlights learning, case studies and progress made in the first 18 months of the Fund's activities.

For Fortune’s first “Change the World” list, we found 51 companies that have made a sizable impact on major global social or environmental problems as part of their competitive strategy. This list is not meant to be a ranking of the overall “goodness” of companies or of their “social responsibility.” Big corporations are complex operations that affect the world in myriad ways. The goal here is simply to shine a spotlight on instances where companies are doing good as part of their profit-making… Show more

For Fortune’s first “Change the World” list, we found 51 companies that have made a sizable impact on major global social or environmental problems as part of their competitive strategy. This list is not meant to be a ranking of the overall “goodness” of companies or of their “social responsibility.” Big corporations are complex operations that affect the world in myriad ways. The goal here is simply to shine a spotlight on instances where companies are doing good as part of their profit-making strategy, and to shed new light on the power of capitalism to improve the human condition.

To assemble our list, the editors of Fortune and FSG, a nonprofit social-impact consulting firm, reached out to dozens of business, academic, and nonprofit experts around the world, asking for their recommendations. Fortune and a joint team from FSG and the Shared Value Initiative then vetted more than 200 nominees. In our evaluation, we considered four criteria: the degree of business innovation involved, the measurable impact at scale on an important social challenge, the contribution of the shared-value activities to the company’s profitability and competitive advantage, and the significance of the shared value effort to the overall business. A team of journalists from Fortune then further vetted each of the nominees and reported on their impact. The final list of 51 was selected and ranked by the editors of Fortune based on the magazine’s own reporting and by the analysis provided. Show less

More and more companies are delivering on both societal needs and the bottom line — but how well are they doing it? At this year’s Shared Value Leadership Summit, we polled viewers in the room and watching online — 800 of the most sophisticated shared value thinkers and practitioners in the field. Thanks to the live polling data, we were able to get a "temperature check" on the current state of shared value.

We at the Shared Value Initiative are excited to announce Global Trends in Shared Value, an ambitious field-wide exploration of shared value creation and how it’s evolving around the world.

What is the Global Trends project? Global Trends in Shared Value will be a dedicated series—video, interviews, stories, online chats, and blog posts—that we’re crowdsourcing from the shared value community to characterize the current state of shared value. This is the first-ever resource of its kind.

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation (GCF) and the nonprofit consulting firm FSG have partnered to understand and evaluate the role of backbone organizations in collective impact efforts. This article, originally published as a four-part blog series, describes the foundation’s motivations for funding backbone organizations, and for GCF and FSG’s work.

Stories from the Knight Community Information Challenge

A practical guide to help organizations analyze the impact of their community information and media projects