How Can Retailers Drive Health & Sustainability?

In this insightful conversation, Mike Barry, former Head of Sustainability at M&S and co-founder of The Planeatry Alliance, discusses how retailers and food companies can align human and planetary health. He breaks down the complexities of the food system, explains why retailers hold the key to large-scale change, and explores the role of technology, data, and AI in making sustainable shopping effortless.

Barry also highlights the biggest challenges facing the food industry, the importance of government intervention, and why businesses need to move beyond ESG targets to deliver real impact.

🔍 Topics Covered:

✅ How food choices affect both personal and environmental health

✅ The role of retailers in making sustainability simple

✅ Why technology (AI, digital twins, and data platforms) is key to change

✅ The future of sustainable food shopping

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In this insightful interview, Charlie Stewart, content strategist at Exceptional, discusses the often-overlooked environmental impact of digital marketing and PR activities. Digital campaigns, powered by energy-intensive data centers, now contribute 2.5-3% of global carbon emissions—surpassing the aviation industry.

Charlie highlights key findings from the report From Words to Actions: Reducing the Climate Impact of Your PR and Digital Marketing Activity, co-authored by Exceptional and Thinking Hat Media. He emphasizes the need for marketers to rethink strategies, focusing on efficiency and sustainability. Key topics include:

•The environmental cost of data centers in digital campaigns.

•How to make marketing campaigns more efficient and impactful.

•Avoiding greenwashing and embracing transparency in sustainability claims.

•Practical steps for reducing the carbon footprint, such as using energy-efficient formats and targeting high-engagement platforms.

Charlie also explores the dual role of PR in influencing behavior and amplifying positive change while addressing its potential misuse in greenwashing.

Listen to the full interview to learn actionable steps marketers can take to make their campaigns more sustainable while driving results.

Link to Report:

Download From Words to Actions here: exceptional.marketing/digital-sustainability

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Europe’s Critical Raw Material Challenge: Can Innovation Lead the Way?

Europe’s transition to clean energy faces a major obstacle: dependence on imported critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium, copper, and graphite. A new report, A Critical Raw Material Supply-Side Innovation Roadmap for the EU Energy Transition, highlights how Europe’s share of global mineral production has dropped from 25% to under 7% over 40 years, intensifying the need for domestic supply.

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets ambitious targets: 10% of mining, 40% of refining, and 25% of recycling to be met domestically by 2030. However, progress has stalled due to permitting delays and local opposition.

Technological innovation offers hope. Geothermal direct lithium extraction projects by Vulcan Energy in Germany and Eramet in France could meet 7% of Europe’s lithium demand. Low-carbon graphite production could supply 40% of EU needs while cutting emissions by 90%. Advanced technologies like bio-leaching for copper, AI-powered exploration, and tailings reprocessing could further boost domestic production while reducing environmental impacts.

Key environmental concerns include high GHG emissions, water-intensive mining, and waste from tailings. The report urges EU policymakers to accelerate funding, streamline permits, and support innovation to reduce import reliance and secure a sustainable clean energy future.

The full article on which this discussion is based can be found at https://climatesolutions.news/news/europes-critical-minerals-crunch-can-innovation-bridge-the-supply-gap. It also contains a link to the original, detailed research document.

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