New paper positions waste pickers as models of environmental stewards for circular economy
SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
New paper positions waste pickers as models of environmental stewards for circular economy
Waste pickers, typically part of extreme poverty communities based on or around landfills, mitigate the effects of waste, contribute to urban resilience, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save energy and preserve natural resources.
Survey: Craft brewers eager for guidance on sustainability
New research by sustainability scholar Carola Grebitus shows that while the brewers would like to use sustainable practices, many don’t think that consumers would be willing to pay a lot extra to support those efforts.
ASU’s Sustainable Purchasing Research Initiative partners with United Nations Environment Programme on 2022 Global Report of Sustainable Public Procurement
In this third edition of the UN report, ASU's SPRI will introduce a new section featuring sustainable public procurement within local governments, building on the initiative's surveys of more than 2,500 local governments within the United States, Mexico, Italy, Australia, and Japan.
New paper: Sustainable consumption communication
The paper by sustainability scientists Daniel Fischer, Tyler DesRoches and co-authors provides a review of sustainable consumption communication (SCC) as a field of research. Analyzing 67 papers, the authors describe 4 types of SCC research that conceptualize and relate the terms very differently.
The Sustainability Consortium releases 2021 impact report
The consortium's THESIS tool helps consumer goods companies have a positive impact: Manufacturers' scores improved 38% from 2016 to 2020.
Government purchasing: sustainability’s best kept secret?
Archimedes once observed that with a long enough lever he could move the world. In the case of moving the world to a more sustainable place, government purchasing could be
TSC Summit 2021 goes virtual: The future of resilient supply chains
TSC Summit 2021 features big ideas, on-the-ground solutions and deep dives into transparency to tackle the path towards more sustainable consumer products.
Inaugural distinguished KAITEKI lecture to feature Stratos Pistikopoulos
In this inaugural Distinguished KAITEKI Lecture, Stratos Pistikopoulos will present the foundations of a Circular Economy Systems Engineering framework and highlight the advantages, limitations, and open questions of this framework as seen through multiple case studies.

ASU contributes to brief on federal recycling policy
With input from ASU's Walton Sustainability Solutions Service, the Consumer Brand Association’s Recycling Leadership Council on Feb. 4 released its blueprint on the federal government’s role in fixing the U.S. recycling system.
Future Agenda: Rethink the tax credit on electric vehicles
Sustainability scientist Ryan Cornell has contributed to Future Agenda, a series from Future Tense in which experts suggest specific, forward-looking actions the new Biden administration should implement. The article is entitled It’s Time to Rethink the Tax Credit on Electric Vehicles.