Chain of custody

DEFINITION: An unbroken and documented chain of ownership all the way from the supplier to the end user.

See also: Supply chain

 

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Investing in food waste prevention can provide financial boost for restaurants, study finds

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Virgin Media targets 100% renewable electricity by 2020

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Water scarcity now affects more than 40% of the global population

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Melendez believes that regenerative practices will provide benefits for farmers located down the supply chain

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The move builds on ASOS's pledge to eliminate modern slavery from the supply chains of its 87,000 own-brand lines

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'I certainly didn't do it for sales': Iceland boss sheds fresh light on palm oil phase-out

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The pilot scheme's approach has been described as “going beyond simply aiming to minimise impact

Alpro and WWF pilot new nature-focused science-based target scheme

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Thai Union relies on the oceans for its business and is recognised widely as a leader for its approach to sustainability

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The fashion industry is believed to produce 80-100 billion garments a year and account for one-tenth of global carbon emissions

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CCEP's plastic packaging contained 27.6% recycled material in 2018, up from 24.8% in 2017

Europe's largest Coca-Cola bottler reveals progress on plastic reduction

Europe's largest independent Coca-Cola bottler used 27.6% recycled content in its plastic bottles last year - more than ten times the beverage sector's global average proportion of 2-3%.
The BCI-certified cotton sourced by fashion brands in 2018 was equivalent to 1.5 billion pairs of jeans

Fashion industry sourced record amount of sustainable cotton in 2018

Fashion brands and retailers collectively sourced more than one million metric tonnes of sustainably certified cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) last year, breaking the industry standard operator's record.
Primark’s Sustainable Cotton Programme currently covers 28,000 farmers, with the retailer aiming for 30,000 by the start of 2022

Primark launches jeans made with 100% sustainably sourced cotton

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Accenture and Mastercard launch blockchain-enabled supplier 'tip' scheme

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Report: British firms leading animal welfare practices, but laggards remain

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The commitment will cover more than 100 of Waitrose & Partners' own-brand lines

Waitrose pledges to source 100% Fairtrade cocoa by the end of 2019

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Through the lens of SDG 15, Asia Pulp & Paper is committed to improving the livelihoods of the farmers and communities that it interacts with

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Stevia is a naturally sourced, low-calorie sweetener that is gaining traction as a replacement for sugar based on health benefits

Tate & Lyle to assess sustainability of stevia supply chain

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100% of the Italian-grown tomatoes Princes processed in 2018 have been sourced from farms with independent ethical accreditation

Princes turns to blockchain to minimise supply chain sustainability risks

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More than three billion tonnes of cocoa are produced every year, with the majority being grown in West Africa

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SUSTAIN will aim to transform the entire supply chain of the steel sector

Zero-waste and carbon-neutral: £35m programme launched to transform UK steel sector

UK steelmakers and university experts are teaming together on a seven-year research programme aimed at boosting the productivity of the steel sector by championing carbon capture techniques and minimising industrial waste streams.
CDP estimates that the average company's supply chain emissions are 5.5 times that of its direct operations. Stock image of factory in China

CDP: Corporate demand for supplier transparency increased eight-fold since 2008

More than 110 of the world's largest companies are now requesting sustainability data from their suppliers, up from just 14 in 2008, new research from the CDP has found.

The call to action has been sent to Domino's, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Yum! Brands, Restaurant Brands International and Wendy’s

Investors press fast food giants to 'urgently' improve supply chain sustainability

A coalition of investment firms with more than $6.5trn in assets under management have called on six of the world's largest fast food companies to take more ambitious action to tackle the climate and water risks within their supply chains, as a "matter of urgency".

Hershey unveils plan to set approved science-based target by 2021

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The chemicals will be removed from more than 1,300 Kingfisher-owned stores across Europe, including B&Q and Screwfix outlets in the UK

Kingfisher to phase-out 'harmful' chemicals across supply chain

Home improvement retailer Kingfisher will phase-out three potentially harmful chemical groups from its own branded products by 2025, with plans in place to extend the ban across its supply chain as part of the firm's Chemicals Roadmap.
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edie rounds up the key facts from Changing Markets Foundation survey on public perceptions of supply chain practices in the fashion industry

In numbers: The UK public's attitudes to supply chain practices in the fashion industry

A new survey which examines the UK public's attitudes towards supply chain responsibility within the fashion industry has today (10 January) been published. Here, edie rounds up the key facts and figures.
Under the commitment, Kahlua will pay workers a premium for using water and resource-efficient farming techniques

Kahlua pledges to source 100% of its coffee from sustainable communities

Liqueur brand Kahlua has committed to source all of its coffee from communities it certifies as sustainable by 2022, in a bid to have a net-positive environmental and social impact across its supply chains.
Fashion is believed to be the second highest-risk industry for modern slavery after technology

Adidas and Gap top sustainable fashion supply chain rankings

Companies including Adidas, Gap and Primark have been named as the corporates leading the fashion sector's drive for better human rights practices in supply chains, in a new ranking of 43 of the sector's largest brands.
Of the 24 banks surveyed by WWF and Global Canopy, none had implemented seafood-specific lending policies including sustainability clauses

WWF: Finance firms must do more to safeguard food sector from sustainability risks

Global finance firms seeking to future-proof their investments should take more ambitious action to help to food and agriculture firms they invest in become more sustainable, new WWF-led research has concluded.

New Year Honours 2019: Sustainability champions make Queen's list

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McCartney was quizzed by CNN's chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour

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H&M recently announced that 930,000 garment workers in its supply chain are covered by its 'fair living wage' roadmap

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Fashion giant H&M has today (11 December) held a summit to determine how best to ensure all supply chain workers receive a "fair" living wage, following campaigner accusations that it had failed to pay some garment workers enough to keep them above the poverty line.
Wilmar International supplies palm oil to several blue-chip companies, including Unilever, Proctor & Gamble and Mondelez International

World's biggest palm oil firm unveils new measures to end supply chain deforestation

Palm oil sourcing giant Wilmar International has unveiled plans to use satellite tracking and other digital technologies in a bid to eliminate deforestation risks from its supply chains.
Kering owns 14 luxury fashion brands including Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent

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Businesses are responding to regulators and investors putting pressure of firms to disclose their sustainability practices, HSBC claims

HSBC: Businesses turning the screw on supply chain sustainability

A third of global businesses are looking to improve the sustainability of their supply chains over the next three years, according to an extensive new survey from HSBC.

The Environmental Audit Committee estimates that UK consumers are now buying an average of 26.7kg of new clothing every year

Is the fashion industry about to have its 'plastics moment'?

With MPs urging clothing brands to disclose impacts, consumers increasingly protesting "fast fashion" and documentaries on the true cost of cheap garments emerging at a pace, edie explores whether the fashion industry is set to have its "plastics moment".
The report accuses viscose suppliers supplying to some of the world's biggest fashion retailers of dumping toxic waste in China's Beijiao Port (pictured)

High-street fashion giants urge viscose suppliers to bolster sustainability

A group of big-name fashion retailers including H&M, ASOS and Inditex are urging their suppliers to take ambitious action to make their viscose processing methods more sustainable, after an investigation found that many were dumping toxic wastewater in waterways and fisheries.

10 ideas to make energy innovation work for your business

This report showcases the output of edie's SPARK! event, where roundtable participants discussed the role of innovation in achieving a sustainable future for business energy and debated which new technologies could hold the key to clean growth.
Milikin and Barcenas discuss some of the brewer’s notable achievements to date. Photo credit for Ezgi Barcenas: Bloomberg

Sustainable Business Covered podcast: In the green room with AB InBev's Tony Milikin and Ezgi Barcenas

Welcome back to the green room - edie's exclusive interview hub for sustainability leaders, brought to you as part of the Sustainable Business Covered podcast. Up next to provide the insights of a leading sustainable business: Ab InBev's chief sustainability and procurement officer Tony Milikin and global vice president of sustainability Ezgi Barcenas.
Nespresso will track the aluminum through its supply chains using a a digital traceability mechanism

Nespresso pledges to use 100% sustainably sourced aluminium for coffee capsules

Beverage giant Nespresso has unveiled a new commitment to use only sustainably sourced aluminium in its coffee capsules by 2020, after co-founding a new scheme to encourage the sustainable extraction of the metal.
The UK Government estimates that around 13,000 people in Britain are living in modern slavery today

UK fashion retailers and law enforcement agencies to partner on tackling modern slavery

Some of the UK's largest fashion retailers, including John Lewis and Marks & Spencer (M&S), have committed to work with law enforcement bodies to help identify and act on cases of modern slavery in the textiles industry.
Kering, Inditex, Stella McCartney, EILEEN FISHER, H&M, Marks & Spencer (M&S) and the C&A Foundation co-funded the development of ForestMapper

Big-name fashion retailers collaborate to fund digital deforestation map

Seven of the world's largest fashion retailers including H&M and Kering have collectively funded the development of a new online tool that allows businesses, investors and customers to track the origin of paper, wood and viscose sourced by corporates.
Asda joins the likes of Tesco and Lidl in committing to use only sustainable-certified soy in its own-brand products

Asda commits to new zero-deforestation soy policy

Supermarket giant Asda has this week made a fresh sustainability pledge to ensure that the soy it sources for agricultural raw materials and animal feed is "net-zero deforestation" verified by 2020.