Helen White, Associate Director of Waste and Resource Management at Tetra Tech, explains why, if we want people to waste less food or recycle more, we need to stop relying on awareness and start designing systems that make the right choice the easy choice.
If you work in the resources and waste sector, you’ll know that changing people’s behaviour is rarely straightforward. Whether we are talking about citizens, customers, or colleagues, the challenge is the same: how do we shift everyday habits in a way that is practical, affordable, and long-lasting?
I have spent a lot of time during the last 20 years encouraging people to waste less food. And whilst household food waste in 2021/22 was 22% lower than in 2007, WRAP found that between 2018 and 2021/22, it was 4.3kg per person higher, a 6.5% increase. Recycling rates in England have flat-lined too, hovering around 44% to 45% for years.
Policies such as Simpler Recycling, alongside Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging and the Deposit Return Scheme, are now tasked with driving us towards recycling 65% of municipal waste by 2035; but with our tendency to ‘campaign and explain’, are we still at risk of relying too heavily on communication to influence sustainable behaviours at scale?
Why communication by itself is not enough
It is a real issue for our sector. ‘Behaviour change’ is often used as shorthand for communication, but information, by itself, is rarely enough. Most people already know they should waste less food and recycle more. The problem is not always knowledge. More often, it is convenience, cost, habit, confusion, and a lack of motivation.
Providing information still matters, of course. But if we keep asking people to act differently without changing the conditions around them, we should not be surprised when progress is slow. The good news is that there are other ways to influence behaviour.
That is why the Behaviour Change Hierarchy is so useful. It helps us to think more clearly about the kind of intervention we are actually using.
The Behaviour Change Hierarchy.
At the top sits REMOVE: taking away the opportunity to do the wrong thing altogether. Below that are approaches such as NEUTRALITY, where the preferred behaviour does not cost more than the alternative, and EASE, where the desired behaviour is simpler to do than the wrong one. At the bottom is ASK, the approach we still use far too often because it is familiar, relatively cheap, and politically comfortable.
But if we’re being honest, asking people nicely has not delivered the results we need.
The strongest interventions are often the least glamorous. Sometimes the answer is not another leaflet, poster, or campaign. Sometimes it is better design. If the wrong behaviour is easier, cheaper, or more convenient, that is the behaviour people will likely choose. If we want different outcomes, we need to make the right action the default.
I experienced this at a conference where, despite recycling bins and clear signage, nobody seemed to know which container the compostable coffee cups should go in. In practice, the system had created confusion rather than clarity, and the result was contamination everywhere.
That problem could have been avoided entirely by using proper cups in the first place. In other words, the solution was not better sorting – it was removing the need to sort at all…
Education alone will not solve these problems, and neither will endless public campaigning. We do not have unlimited time, and we certainly do not have unlimited budgets! We need interventions that do more than ask people to change. We need interventions that make change happen.
Regulation absolutely has a role, but it needs to be designed with acceptability, practicality, and enforceability in mind. Likewise, with financial mechanisms that reprimand or reward, are you charging or incentivising those whose behaviour you want to change or placing the cost somewhere else in the system?
Behaviour is personal, complex, and deeply rooted in context. Whenever the desired action feels harder, more expensive, or less convenient, it will struggle to compete with the status quo.
If we are serious about reducing food waste and improving recycling, we need to be more ambitious about the way we design interventions. That means thinking beyond information and asking ourselves a more important question: what would it take for the right choice to be the obvious choice?
Sometimes that will mean removal. Sometimes neutrality. Sometimes ease. But it will always mean being honest that ‘asking’ by itself is not enough.
Our sector has spent years talking about behaviour change. Now we need to deliver.
Why should we take away the drum?
Helen White is a tutor of the CIWM training course Behaviour Change for the Resources and Waste Sector.
Why have I called this article Taking Away the Drum? This is how REMOVE is illustrated in the Behaviour Change Hierarchy – with thanks to lead author Stephen Bates.
“If a toddler is banging away on a toy drum, a parent might ask them to stop. When requests, demands, and threats still yield no response, the ultimate sanction is to take the drum away. The opportunity to behave contrary to the requirement has been removed,” he explains.
If you work in the Resources & Waste Sector, the chances are your role will involve trying to change how people behave.
In 2025, CIWM introduced a new training course to support its members tasked with encouraging pro-environmental behaviours and the delivery of a more resource-efficient society in line with CIWM’s strategic purpose.
Behaviour Change for the Resources and Waste Sector explores why behaviour can be difficult to influence, how to identify what might be needed to shift it, and introduces the strategies and tools that can be used – often in combination – to influence change.
Developed and tutored by myself, the overall aim is to give those working in the world of waste a better understanding of our behaviour and improve the efficacy of efforts to drive change and support the circular economy.
Derby City Council said the collected food waste is processed at Severn Trent Green Power in Spondon, where it is used to generate renewable energy.
Diverting waste to anaerobic digestion allows it to be transformed into biogas for green energy and nutrient-rich fertiliser, rather than being sent to landfill.
Councillor Ndukwe Onuoha , Cabinet Member for Streetpride, Parks and Leisure, said the start was ‘very encouraging’.
“Like many councils across the country, Derby has faced challenges linked to a nationwide shortage of specialist food waste collection vehicles, meaning temporary hired, non-specialist vehicles had to be used,” Onuoha said.
“Seeing such a significant amount of waste diverted so early on shows that these small changes at home are already making a real difference.”
According to a BBC News investigation, more than 70 councils in England were set to miss the government’s deadline to introduce weekly food waste collections to all households.
With flexible plastic recycling still lagging across Europe and North America, Jean-Loup Masson, Circular Solutions Director, Alliance to End Plastic Waste, speaks to Circular Online about concrete actions that could finally move the needle.
The report identified segregated waste collection and advanced secondary sorting as essential to improving flexible film recycling and quality of recyclates.
It also found that Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) targets are critical for developing end markets and de-risking investment necessary for recycling infrastructure upgrades.
To understand more about the report’s recommendations, Circular Online spoke to Jean-Loup Masson, Circular Solutions Director at Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
Why is segregated waste collection essential for improving flexible plastic recycling?
Jean-Loup Masson, Circular Solutions Director at Alliance to End Plastic Waste.
Modern plastic film production requires very high-quality and consistent feedstock, which mechanically recycled outputs often fail to provide.
Segregated waste collection plays a critical role in helping to meet these requirements, reducing contamination by keeping different plastic types and grades separate at source, resulting in cleaner and more uniform material streams.
Advanced secondary sorting technologies, such as AI object recognition and digital watermarking, also have a crucial part to play in ensuring these quality requirements are met.
For post-household waste, the first stage of sorting typically occurs at a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), but these are often overloaded and tend to prioritise higher-value materials rather than flexibles. Consequently, the granular sorting of flexibles which is required for mechanical recycling typically occurs as a secondary step at the recycler.
However, such technologies are expensive and difficult for individual recyclers to adopt. This points to the need for secondary sorting in dedicated Plastics Recovery Facilities (PRF) that can deploy these technologies at scale.
Why are EPR and PCR content targets crucial policy tools for improving flexible plastic recycling?
Without reliable, high value end markets for recycled film, there is little incentive to invest in the collection, sorting and recycling infrastructure needed to handle these materials.
PCR content targets help address this by creating clear, sustained demand for recycled material, giving recyclers greater confidence that their outputs will be absorbed by the market.
EPR systems help ensure waste management is efficiently delivered, adequately funded, and supported by the right technical expertise.
Additionally, they can help boost demand for recycled materials by rewarding recycled content use – through mechanisms like reduced EPR fees – and improving the competitiveness of recyclates versus virgin materials.
EPR and PCR targets, though essential, are not enough. Brands and consumers will prioritise safety, design, and performance when in doubt about quality. The quality and cost‑to‑quality of recyclates is therefore central to achieving true circularity in packaging.
For policies, such as EPR, will the cost always be passed onto the consumer?
The assumption that EPR costs are automatically passed on to consumers oversimplifies how these systems are designed to function.
EPR costs are primarily intended to finance system change and all costs are not meant to be passed onto the customer. Well-designed EPR schemes are intended to internalise the end-of-life costs of packaging and place stronger responsibility on producers, while also creating incentives to change behaviour.
By encouraging better packaging design, reduced material use, and investment in more efficient collection, sorting and recycling systems, EPR can help lower overall system costs over time. Many EPR frameworks also use eco modulation to reward materials and designs that are cheaper to manage, helping to offset initial investments.
The objective of EPR is therefore not simply to shift costs, but to build more efficient and financially sustainable waste management systems that reduce leakage, improve recycling outcomes and deliver better value across the system.
How does the design of flexible plastics need to change to increase recycling rates?
Reducing the complexity of flexible plastic packaging is critical to improving recycling outcomes. While packaging often has legitimate functional needs, unnecessary design complexity remains common and undermines recycling quality.
For example, reverse (laminated) printing embeds inks between polymer layers, making them difficult to remove during standard washing and de-inking. Simplifying material structures, including reducing multi-material combinations and barrier layers, can improve recyclability.
Design decisions should also reflect end-of-life pathways, with different recycling technologies needing different bale qualities. Mechanical recycling, for example, prefers single polymer, low ink streams, while pyrolysis accepts polyolefin blends and printed films if halides and oxygen contaminants (for example, PVC, PET) are limited.
Finally, harmonised design guidelines (for example, CEFLEX, APR, RecyClass) are essential to improve consistency, reduce complexity, and enable scalable recycling systems.
EN 18120, a series of standards providing harmonised criteria for packaging compatibility with collection, sorting, and recycling processes, should emerge as the technical backbone of design for recyclability in the EU, underpinning future PPWR linked recyclability requirements.
Why are advanced detection technologies so important to increasing flexible plastic recycling rates?
AI-based object recognition uses cameras and machine learning algorithms to classify packaging based on visual features like shape and colour. There is also digital watermarking, which works by embedding invisible codes into packaging during manufacturing.
These codes can then be later detected by specialised optical scanners on sorting lines. This makes it easier to accurately identify packaging and access product-level data, leading to more precise sorting and higher quality recyclate.
Scaling these technologies does require some enabling conditions. Upfront investment, interoperability across technology providers, and sufficient participation from brands and converters all matter to ensure enough packaging is ‘visible’ to the system.
With coordinated action across brands, converters, and technology providers, these conditions can be met and adoption can expand effectively.
Improving circularity in Europe and North America
The Alliance’s Flexibles Program aims to improve the circularity of flexible films in Europe and North America.
The Alliance is developing a ‘Flexibles Thematic Program’ that aims to improve the circularity of flexible films in Europe and North America.
The Alliance’s Flexibles Program adopts a three-part approach aligned with the report’s findings:
Market mapping and system design that quantifies end-market opportunities and quality requirements.
Showcasing demonstration projects to build confidence in systems solutions with government, industry, and community stakeholders.
Enabling replicationby mobilising brands, recyclers, and governments to understand what it takes to create and proliferate effective systems solutions across geographies.
We spoke to Jean-Loup Masson to understand more about this three-part approach and how it could work practically.
What is market mapping and how would it work in practice?
Market mapping is about identifying end-market opportunities for recycled flexible plastics and the material quality needed to serve those applications.
We do so by first assessing which applications can absorb recyclates at scale, the waste streams that are available for feedstock, and the infrastructure and technologies needed to connect supply and demand.
These findings then shape practical action plans that connect waste sources to recycling technologies and buyers in ways that make sense from a technical and financial perspective.
This market-back approach is essential because it ensures that any investments made in collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure match up with real demand from the outset.
Rather than building capacity and hoping buyers will emerge, we believe effective market mapping involves working backwards from what the market actually needs and can absorb.
Circularity cannot be driven by what technological innovation makes possible. Demand, regulation, and brand strategies must actively pull circular solutions into the market.
What are some examples of demonstration projects?
In collaboration with the European Brands Association (AIM), our HolyGrail 2.0 initiative demonstrated the technical viability and business benefit of digital watermarking. Trials carried out in late 2023 and early 2024 showed that digital watermarks can reliably identify and sort flexible plastics, even when materials are aged, baled or heavily contaminated.
Detection rates of 95% and sorting rates of 85% were achieved on the first pass. The technology is now being tested in real-world conditions in Belgium and Germany to prove it is ready for commercial deployment.
We also support Nextek’s COtooCLEAN project, which uses supercritical CO₂ purifying technology to remove embedded contaminants from post-consumer plastic films. The technology thoroughly decontaminates plastics, removing absorbed contaminants without dissolving the plastic.
This makes it well suited to producing high purity recyclates, with the potential to meet stringent food contact requirements. If successfully scaled, the technology could play a significant role in advancing the circularity of flexible films.
The Alliance supported the launch of a demonstration plant in Lincolnshire, UK, in April – a critical step in validating the technology and supporting its path to wider deployment.
What are the key market differences between North America and Europe? How can systems be replicated across geographies?
The challenges of building scalable circular systems vary significantly across different markets, and a tailored approach is needed. Progress in Europe, for example, is primarily being held back by an unfavourable cost‑quality ratio of recycled materials compared to virgin plastics.
Although the region generally has well‑established collection and recycling infrastructure, the recyclates produced often fail to meet the consistency and performance standards required by end‑use markets. Low virgin‑plastic prices further constrain market expansion for recycled material.
By contrast, the United States faces an infrastructure gap – a consequence of limited EPR regulations and the absence of proven, viable end‑markets, thereby slowing down investment. The limited availability of collection and sorting systems, particularly for flexible plastics, hampers the supply of feedstock necessary to scale recycling efforts.
Regardless of geography, circular systems can only be replicated if they are supported by a functional end-market. Efforts to replicate and scale solutions to plastic waste across different regions must be underpinned by market-driven strategies that ensure recyclate outputs meet end-market requirements before investments are made in infrastructure and technology.
Over 50 businesses and trade associations, including IKEA and Virgin Media O2, are urging the UK Government to publish the long-delayed Circular Economy Growth Plan.
As part of the joint letter, the businesses said the plan would end uncertainty, provide ‘the confidence to invest’ and accelerate a circular economy transition across their operations.
The Circular Economy Growth Plan was originally expected to be published in October last year and has been held back for over six months.
Circular Online learned that the Department for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) expected to publish the plan for consultation in early 2026. However, it has yet to be published, and there is no indication of when it could arrive.
The businesses have said they are worried the ongoing delay ‘will harm momentum towards a more resilient, resource efficient economy’.
The letter has been signed by businesses including IKEA and Virgin Media O2, as well as the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).
Rachel Solomon Williams, Executive Director at Aldersgate Group, a signatory of the letter, commented: “The continued delay to the Circular Economy Growth Plan is creating real uncertainty for business.”
“We need a clear, cross‑government, long‑term approach that provides policy certainty, supports resilience, and enables investment.”
“This is particularly important as the UK seeks to reset its relationship with the EU: policy divergence can cause substantial practical and economic challenges for business.”
The joint letter was sent to Emma Reynolds, Secretary of State for Defra, as well as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Department for Transport, Treasury, and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Trewin Restorick, Founder of Sizzle Innovation, explores the behavioural challenges at the heart of UK recycling reform and how they can be overcome.
We all rely on routines to get through our daily lives. These habits are deeply ingrained and largely unquestioned. They operate on autopilot, freeing up mental capacity, allowing us to focus on more complex or unfamiliar decisions.
It is almost certain that some of these embedded habits relate to how we manage waste and recycling. We know when to put the bins out, and we instinctively separate materials without giving it much thought.
Changing these ingrained behaviours is notoriously difficult. It typically requires a significant disruption, such as moving home, having a child, changing jobs, or experiencing illness, before people reassess their routines.
This presents a clear challenge for the recycling sector. With the introduction of Simpler Recycling reforms and the forthcoming Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), there is a need to shift established behaviours at scale across the UK.
Research suggests that public support for DRS is strong and relatively stable, with low levels of opposition. Whilst willingness to use the scheme seems to be high, there is a drop off to around 50% when people are asked whether they are likely to use the scheme regularly.
Awareness is also significantly higher among environmentally engaged individuals and those over 55, but significantly lower among people under 35.
So how can the sector successfully influence daily routines to ensure the effectiveness of this new recycling infrastructure?
Academic research is clear: simple awareness-raising campaigns are rarely enough to disrupt established habits or embed new ones. Instead, a more sophisticated, multi-faceted approach is required, drawing on behavioural insights and practical interventions. These approaches often include the following elements:
Nudge
A key challenge is prompting people to reconsider behaviours that are automatic and largely unconscious. This can be achieved through timely prompts or ‘nudges’ at the point of action. Simple interventions such as stickers on bins encouraging people to pause and reconsider can be effective.
Retailers will also play a crucial role in reinforcing behaviours linked to DRS. Messaging at key touchpoints, such as store exits, car parks, or even printed on receipts and carrier bags, can serve as reminders to return containers.
There is also scope for more creative approaches. For example, visual cues like green footprints leading to DRS return points can make the desired behaviour both visible and intuitive.
Social norms
People are strongly influenced by what they perceive others around them to be doing. Establishing recycling behaviours as the ‘norm’ can significantly increase participation.
This can be achieved through messaging such as: ‘80% of shoppers at this store return their containers’. Social media, local press and in-store communications can reinforce the idea that returning containers is not just encouraged, it is expected.
Over time, this normalisation helps shift behaviour from being a conscious choice to an automatic habit.
Validation
Participation increases when people believe their actions have a meaningful impact. It is therefore essential to demonstrate clearly how individual contributions add up to wider environmental and economic benefits.
Storytelling can be particularly powerful here. Showing what happens to returned materials and how they are transformed into new products helps make the process tangible. Visual installations or real-time counters (for example ‘containers returned this week’) can further reinforce this sense of collective achievement.
At the same time, the sector must be prepared to respond quickly to negative media narratives. Stories highlighting system failures or inefficiencies can quickly erode public confidence if left unchallenged. Transparent communication and rapid rebuttal will be critical.
Hassle-free
Convenience will be one of the most important determinants of success. If new recycling behaviours are perceived as inconvenient, participation will quickly drop. Clear communication will be essential so that people quickly understand what is expected of them.
How the new DRS system fits with existing recycling collections could be an area of confusion and will require a consistent and easy-to-remember set of messaging to ensure it is embedded into people’s understanding.
The system must be designed to fit seamlessly into people’s existing routines. This includes ensuring that return points are easy to access, well-signposted and reliable. Equipment must function consistently, queues should be minimised, and processes should be quick and intuitive.
Where possible, the new system should feel no harder than existing behaviours. Friction is the enemy of habit formation; removing it is essential.
Reward
While environmental motivations are important, tangible incentives can significantly accelerate behaviour change. The financial reward offered through DRS provides a clear and immediate benefit, helping to reinforce the desired behaviour.
There is also an opportunity to broaden the concept of reward. Retailers could link returns to loyalty schemes, discounts, or charitable donations, allowing consumers to choose how they benefit. Non-financial rewards such as recognition, gamification, or community-based challenges can also help sustain engagement over time.
Ultimately, the goal is to move from extrinsic motivation (doing it for the reward) to intrinsic habit (doing it automatically without thinking).
Conclusion
Successfully delivering the next phase of UK recycling will depend not just on what is built, but on what people do every day. Infrastructure and policy can enable change, but only behaviour can deliver it.
Embedding new habits at scale will require sustained collaboration across government, retailers and the waste sector, combining behavioural insight with consistent, frictionless experiences.
Get this right, and new systems will feel effortless. Get it wrong, and even the best-designed schemes will struggle to succeed.
Clarissa Morawski, CEO and cofounder of circular economy non-profit Reloop, explains why Europe must transition to a circular economy in response to economic shocks caused by the war in the Middle East.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a wider war in the Middle East are causing petrochemical disruptions that are already impacting citizens through higher prices.
While there has been increased focus on enhancing Europe’s energy security in response to this crisis, too little attention has been paid to the pressing issue of our resource security, with many vital supply chains reliant on the region.
Clarissa Morawski, CEO and cofounder of circular economy non-profit Reloop.
Now is the moment to redouble efforts to embed a circular economy across Europe, properly valuing and using the materials we have within our borders.
Petrochemicals, the category of oil refining that includes plastic, now account for 14% of global oil use, and the sector is expected to drive half of oil demand growth between now and 2050.
The Middle East is at the centre of global plastic production, accounting for around 40% of polyethylene exports in 2025, the material used to make items including plastic bags.
The costs of our reliance on the region are becoming clear, with prices for plastics having risen sharply since the conflict began, linked to higher crude and feedstock costs.
One European importer of raw materials told reporters that because of the crisis, for polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which has uses including plastic bottles, ‘instead of $1,500/container, it’s now $3,000/tonne’.
We will all feel the impact as these costs translate into higher prices at the till. It demonstrates the problem of our economies still over-relying on virgin plastic, with just 9.5% of plastic made in 2022 having used recycled material.
Reloop’s mission is that natural resources remain resources; an approach that means we don’t waste the plastics and other materials already extracted from the natural world. At present, the majority of plastic in Europe is not recycled (only 40.7% of plastic packaging was recycled in 2022), with the material instead lost to low-value uses such as incineration or buried in landfill.
Our goal to change this system has never been more important. Policymakers have long had an understanding that protecting resources has positive environmental benefits. Now it is clear that resource security is economic security.
Our work to improve the collection of high-quality materials demonstrates these benefits. For example, Reloop supports the wide roll-out of Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) for drinks bottles and cans. Across the EU, DRS schemes – now 18 in total – result in collection rates of greater than 90% at system maturity.
This represents a huge quantity of good-quality material which is available for recycling into new products. Elsewhere, since DRS was launched in Ireland in 2024, 2.5 billion items have been recycled by the scheme.
Programmes like this, which separate uncontaminated food-grade material from other lower-quality material, allow bottle-to-bottle and can-to-can recycling where old drinks containers become new drinks containers.
In the current context, let’s be clear what this means: a security of domestic material supply which does not depend on the vagaries of international petrochemical markets. Still, even with strong collection systems in place, valuable resources are still being lost.
Mixed Residual Waste Sorting recovers valuable materials like plastics, metals, and paper from residual waste before it’s sent to landfill or incineration. Across our waste systems, recovering materials from mixed waste could reduce waste-sector emissions by up to 21% and reduce reliance on imported material. In Belgium, for example, plastic packaging recycling rates could increase from 53% to 65%.
And more widely, we must look beyond recycling, while recognising it as a foundational element of circular systems, to scaling up reuse systems (for example, coffee cup return schemes) and reducing material use.
To make the case for transformation across Europe, I was recently in Romania for the Resource Recovery Summit 2026, highlighting the investments needed to close gaps in infrastructure, technology, and market incentives.
There was growing excitement for the upcoming Circular Economy Act, expected from the European Commission in September, which will provide an important signal of how Europe intends to link economic renewal with a more robust circular economy.
Investments in this space can build stronger circular systems that can keep valuable materials within Europe, support industrial resilience and protect future generations from price shocks linked to our reliance on petrochemicals.
The European Commission has held talks on the Circular Economy Act ahead of a final stakeholder workshop involving 1000 participants.
The Circular Economy Act is set to be implemented in 2026 and aims to accelerate Europe’s transition to a circular economy, reduce dependencies on critical raw materials, and strengthen economic resilience.
Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné, and Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, led the stakeholder dialogue.
During the talks, participants discussed how the Single Market can be unlocked for the circular economy, how to recover critical raw materials from waste to support the EU’s economic security and resilience, and how to build a stronger market for secondary raw materials.
Following this introductory dialogue, a final stakeholder workshop on the new law will take place, where more than 1,000 participants will discuss options to be considered under the law.
They are also set to discuss ways to reduce the EU’s dependence on imports of critical raw materials, simplify the regulatory framework for secondary raw materials, and strengthen access to circular feedstocks across the Single Market.
On 6 May, the College of Commissioners will meet to discuss the Circular Economy Act. The College is composed of Commissioners from the 27 EU-member countries, whose roles are broadly equivalent to ministers at the national level.
Why did you choose this certification program, and how was your learning experience with the platform?
I have more than two decades of professional experience in different areas of banking, including treasury, retail, and wholesale functions. Currently, I work in Treasury and ALM, which requires spending most of the time analyzing the balance sheet from the perspective of liquidity, risk, and funding efficiency.
As digital transformation and emerging technologies become integral components in the financial services industry, I developed the curiosity to understand how new technologies can solve balance sheet problems in the real world.
Blockchain has been a recurring topic in conversations around banking, industry narratives, and strategy meetings. However, I believed that I not only need to understand blockchain technology but also how to apply it in relevant business contexts.
Thinking about blockchain beyond the hype helped me choose the Certified Blockchain Product Manager certification. I also like to state that I had a productive learning experience with the certification course and 101 Blockchains.
At 101 Blockchains, you don’t just earn certifications — you gain real-world skills that shape you into a confident blockchain professional.
Which skills or knowledge gained from the program helped you the most?
The structured design of content in the certification program is the most appealing highlight for me. I would like to point out that the program does not explain blockchain as a standalone technology. On the contrary, it clearly showcases how blockchain can become an integral aspect of the larger product and ecosystem design problem in banking. The certification course also explained how different concepts like smart contracts, governance, and tokenization can be combined to craft viable solutions for business problems.
I work with treasury functions and balance sheets in my professional role, and the hands-on project in the certification program helped me the most. My project involved creating a design to solve real problems with SME supply chain financing in India with a practical roadmap for implementation.
The relevance of the hands-on exercise in the certification program with my professional goals turned out to be a huge advantage. Most important of all, the program helped me view the problems from a different perspective. The new perspective enabled me to design a blockchain-based model that treats invoices as digital assets. As a result, it can offer better access to credit, enhance overall capital efficiency, and reduce the risk of double financing.
You should always view hands-on exercises as something more than just academic requirements. The solution that I designed in the program directly targets real challenges in the SME financing ecosystem. It also offers clear implementation pathways across majority of the existing market structures, thereby delivering desired practical value.
How did 101 Blockchains help your professional growth?
The certification program by 101 Blockchains offered lessons on blockchain architecture, integration layers and consensus mechanisms, which I used in creating my solution. Most important of all, I could develop a system that can work seamlessly with existing infrastructure rather than replacing it.
In my opinion, the next promising aspect of the program was that it did not dwell too much on technical complexity. I learned how to explain technical concepts to business stakeholders and gained the skills required to promote blockchain adoption in financial institutions.
With the help of the certification program, I learned blockchain concepts and developed fluency in identifying the right use cases and approaches to implement blockchain technology.
Whom will you recommend the CBPM certification to and why?
I believe that the CBPM certification program is the right choice for anyone who is working at the intersection of finance, technology, and strategy. The program played a pivotal role in transforming my curiosity about blockchain into clear understanding of all concepts. Most important of all, the certification refined my capabilities to identify how emerging technologies can support real business outcomes.
Cryptocurrencies have become an integral component of global finance and shattered all assumptions about their potential. You will find many use cases of cryptocurrencies across various sectors that have been driving real change in the world. However, the growing use of cryptocurrencies also draws attention towards concerns of financial and security risks. You must know how crypto audits prevent fraud and financial risks and develop trust in crypto adoption initiatives.
Monthly transaction volumes of stablecoins stand at an average of $1.1 trillion, calling for increased regulatory scrutiny (Source).
Malicious actors stole almost $2.87 billion in 2025 with the ByBit hack taking the lion’s share at $1.46 billion (Source).
The Chainalysis 2026 Crypto Crime Report indicated that illicit crypto transaction volume reached $154 billion in 2025 (Source).
Access control vulnerabilities led to loss of more than $1.6 billion while smart contract vulnerabilities inflicted damages worth $263 million in 2025 (Source).
If there’s anything that you can take away from statistics on crypto crime in 2025, it will be the rising number and complexity of risks. At the same time, the demand for regulatory scrutiny intensifies with growing use of cryptocurrencies in global finance. Crypto audits can help in preventing fraud and addressing financial risks with diverse benefits that push for long-term crypto adoption. Learning about crypto audits can help new crypto protocols, exchanges and enterprise-grade solutions create strong safeguards against financial loss and damage to brand reputation.
What Will You Find in Crypto Audits?
The best way to learn how crypto audits can prevent financial fraud and risks will involve learning what goes on in a crypto audit. Many people assume that just like traditional finance audits, crypto audits also focus only on the ledger. However, crypto fraud prevention is possible through crypto audits only because they focus on checking the logic, infrastructure security, financial aspect and compliance. Every comprehensive crypto audit process revolves around the following areas.
1. Financial Audit
The financial audit for crypto businesses involves crafting a systematic evaluation of the crypto infrastructure. Financial audits focus on verifying ownership and valuation of digital assets alongside ensuring accurate documentation of crypto transactions. The scope of a financial audit also revolves around ensuring that all cryptocurrency transactions are accurately represented in financial statements.
2. Infrastructure Security Audit
The infrastructure security audit focuses on the ecosystem of a specific crypto initiative. Security audits primarily aim to find out how you store your private keys and the level of security in frontend. Crypto infrastructure security audits also evaluate the access controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can access funds. The infrastructure security audit must also evaluate the robustness of API integrations to ensure resiliency against internal and external threats.
3. Smart Contract Audit
You can find out how audits help in crypto financial risk prevention with insights on utility of smart contract audits. Smart contract audits involve review of the code and governance of crypto infrastructure to identify vulnerabilities and implement proper upgrade workflows. Auditing smart contracts not only validates functionality of the contracts but also helps in preventing operational disruptions and financial exploits.
4. Compliance Audit
The next crucial component in every crypto audit workflow is the compliance audit. Crypto projects can leverage compliance audits to verify that the project follows relevant AML regulations and sanctions checks. Compliance audits also help with assessment of reporting requirements in different jurisdictions. Auditors will also evaluate processes to verify counterparties and monitor transactions to identify suspicious activity.
How Crypto Audits Prevent Fraud and Financial Risks?
The crypto landscape is almost two decades old and is still haunted by specific vulnerabilities. Crypto audits can provide an effective solution to ensure safeguards against financial risks and fraud. You can notice how effective crypto audits help in proactive mitigation of the following risks.
Access Control Vulnerabilities
Access control flaws emerged as the biggest attack vector for crypto projects in 2025. It is important to note that the most common reason for crypto fraud or theft is the lack of attention to access controls. If you leave your door open, then thieves will find it easier to steal your funds. Access control vulnerabilities help unauthorized users call privileged functions without any detection.
Crypto audits can verify safeguards for sensitive functions, with multi-signature requirements and role-based access control. As a result, a single point of failure could not leave your protocol at risk of theft.
Flaws in Business Logic
An overview of cryptocurrency risks and benefits will show that most of them can be attributed to business logic. Crypto audits help in finding invisible errors in the business logic of crypto protocols that run perfectly while failing to achieve the intended goal. Lending protocols can end up miscalculating the value of collateral and allow users to borrow more than they can.
Crypto audits leverage mathematical proofs for formal verification and ensure that the smart contract logic works as intended in different conditions. It helps in preventing financial exploits that seemingly appear as genuine transactions.
Flash Loan Exploits
Flash loans are an innovative solution in the crypto space that allows everyone to borrow loans with zero collateral. The only condition in a flash loan is that the borrower should repay the loan within the same block. Malicious agents can use certain tools to amplify the impact of small bugs into catastrophic financial losses.
Crypto auditors carry out simulations of black swan events by using flash loans and check whether the internal rules of the protocol remain steady under extreme volatility.
Oracle Manipulation Attacks
The use of oracles in the DeFi space has increased, thereby making them an invaluable tool in crypto protocols. If a crypto protocol relies on a single source of information, attackers can pump artificial price estimates to take massive loans against the manipulated assets.
Audits help in verifying that DeFi protocols utilize decentralized and time-weighted average price oracles. Crypto auditors also establish relevant circuit breakers in place to freeze all transactions when price data appears suspicious.
Rug Pulls and Exit Scams
You may have assumed that crypto audits prevent fraud and financial risks that are technical in nature. However, all crypto fraud in not technical in nature as you can notice in examples of rug pulls and exit scams. Developers can create hype around specific projects and vanish into thin air with funds of investors and users.
Crypto audits can help in preventing this massive source of financial risk by checking timelocks and liquidity locks. Comprehensive audits ensure that developers cannot move funds instantly without a public warning. Verification of liquidity locks also ensures that the initial liquidity of a crypto project is locked in smart contracts, and founders cannot withdraw it. Furthermore, crypto audits also evaluate governance model of crypto projects to ensure that a small group cannot implement arbitrary changes in protocol rules or allocate more tokens to insiders.
Most of the crypto audits follow a regular schedule and are conducted annually. The primary goal of conducting crypto audits at the end of a fiscal year is to ensure alignment with financial reporting and compliance guidelines. However, the best way to use audits for crypto fraud prevention requires identifying the ideal time to conduct an audit.
The notable trigger events for crypto audits include unexpected regulatory changes or investor requests. On top of it, inquiries from tax authorities can also call for crypto audits. You should also note that significant business events, such as launch of new crypto assets or products can call for crypto audits.
Final Thoughts
Crypto audits are no longer a nice-to-have addition to the business strategy of any crypto project. You can figure out how crypto audits prevent fraud and financial risks in the fact that audits help in identify notable security flaws. Comprehensive crypto audits provide an effective tool to find access control vulnerabilities, business logic flaws and issues in smart contract code. On top of it, crypto audits ensure that the governance and compliance of crypto protocols are in the right place. Learn more about the significance of crypto audits now.
News updates written by CIWM’s commercial partners.
Dennis Eagle
Dennis Eagle’s five top tips to reduce your food waste
CRJ Services
Driving Sustainability Forward: CRJ Services Invests in Solar Energy
Valpak
Valpak by Reconomy launches global EPR platform
Plan B
Providing community support in Bridgend
Fleetclear
Fleetclear partners with SUEZ recycling and recovery UK for new integrated fleet safety system
VEV
A data-led approach to electrification can reduce transition costs by up to 30%
Norse Group
Calderdale Council partners with Norse Group for waste and recycling services
Beyondly
How the EU Circular Economy Act will transform packaging and EPR globally
Vision Techniques
Vision Techniques celebrates revamped system shortlisted for industry award
Dennis Eagle | Dennis Eagle’s five top tips to reduce your food waste
1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted globally each year, with 9.52 million tonnes of this coming from the UK alone. To put this into perspective, today’s annual food waste worldwide could feed almost the entire population.
While it’s unsurprising that households are the main offenders, responsible for 70% of UK food waste according to WRAP, it is staggering to learn that approximately 6.4 million tonnes of this food was still edible.
According to a government impact assessment conducted in 2023, food waste currently costs the UK £19 billion each year. This equates to roughly £1,000 per household – that’s £200 already gone by March. The environmental impact of this is also significant, with food waste contributing to approximately 8-10% or
around 4 billion tonnes of global greenhouse gas emissions annually – nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector!
It’s safe to say that ultimately something needs to change. A mindset shift is needed to ensure food is seen as a precious commodity rather than a perishable luxury. Thankfully, all of this food wastage can be easily avoided by employing just a few simple tips and tricks that will make a world of difference, helping you improve any “rubbish” behaviour for the better.
Here’s some food (waste) for thought from Dennis Eagle:
Don’t confuse Best Before with Use By
This is one of the most common mistakes when it comes to food waste, and an easy one to make. ‘Use By’ dates specify when your food is good until; you don’t want to eat it after this date has passed as it will no longer be safe to do so.
‘Best Before’ dates instead let you know when your food is at its best. Just because an item reaches its Best Before, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s gone off or is unsafe to eat. Check for any signs of spoilage, and if not, bon appetite!
Too often food is thrown away once it reaches its Best Before date and isn’t given the opportunity to live up to its full potential. Don’t cut your food down in its prime: check the label, and if your Best Before item still looks tasty, it’s likely fine to consume. For detailed food safety advice, visit: www.food.gov.uk.
Plan meals ahead, or based on food’s shelf life
A key thing to remember before you take a trip to your local supermarket is to check what you already have in your cupboards and fridge at home. You never know – that pasta sauce you’ve got a taste for might be hidden behind a few other jars, and there might still be a few carrots to use up before buying a new bunch.
Remind yourself what you’ve got, make a list of what you need, and plan a few specific meals you know you’re going to stick to throughout the week. If you’re going to be eating out at any point during the week, account for this too and don’t buy any more than you need.
Doing your food shop online instead of in person can also reduce the temptation to buy surplus food. Using supermarket apps helps to streamline your shop and be more selective about what you’re adding to your basket.
Freeze it to eat later
Once your food gets back to your fridge or freezer, take a note of what’s going to go off first so you know to prioritise it – items such as meat products don’t have a long shelf life, so if you’ve been looking forward to that steak all week, don’t let it end up in the bin.
If you notice food is about to pass its Use By or Best Before date, put it in the freezer before it reaches that point. It’s important to note that not all food is freezable, so make sure you check the label to clarify whether it can be frozen first.
If the answer is ‘yes’, you’ve just bought your food a lot more time. Similarly, a lot of food can already be bought frozen – even some healthier foods like fruit and vegetables. As a lot of frozen veg comes ready-sliced or diced, these often help you skip some of the time-consuming prep work for larger meals too.
Use leftovers for lunches, or get creative
How often do you measure out too much pasta or rice than you need for a meal? It can be difficult to ‘eyeball’ this accurately, so it’s important to either weigh out portions before they go in the pot or put any leftovers into Tupperware for use the next day.
We’re also all guilty of throwing away vegetable peels, but often the peel can be the healthiest bit provided you wash it first. Full of rich nutrients, it’s a shame to see this condemned straight to the food caddy. You can bake peels for the occasional healthy treat, boil them to create your own vegetable stock, or blend and freeze them for use later.
You can even roast and blend any leftover tomatoes to make your own scrumptious pasta sauce, saving you from trying to locate the one at the back of your cupboard. Plan your weekly meals around what is left to eat, or make all-encompassing recipes like spaghetti bolognese, soups, or stir-fries to use up remaining veg.
Put food waste in your caddy, not your bin
With the recent introduction of Simpler Recycling legislation in 2025 and March 2026, food waste is now being collected separately to general waste across most of the UK. This now requires residents to put their food waste into caddies rather than their usual rubbish bin.
While many are still adjusting to this change, it’s essential to ensure food waste is discarded separately, enabling this to be broken down into fertiliser, composted, or converted into energy – a far better outcome than simply adding it to landfill.
Both cooked and uncooked food can go into your caddy, so any inedible veg, leftovers, and even used tea bags can go straight in. Importantly, it’s better to use compostable food waste bags to line your caddy rather than plastic bags, or your efforts will quite literally go to waste.
These small and easy steps to reduce food waste can all make a huge difference to your community, the environment, and your piggy bank. By being more aware of what you purchase, when food is due to go off, and which bin this needs to go into, together we can ensure food wastage is minimised and correctly disposed of, saving money and helping to save the planet.
As the leading manufacturer of refuse collection vehicles in the UK, Dennis Eagle has significant insight into the importance of adhering to best practice waste management and hopes to encourage a better approach to food waste for a brighter, greener future.
CRJ Services | Driving Sustainability Forward: CRJ Services Invests in Solar Energy
CRJ Services has taken a significant step in its sustainability journey with the installation of a 105kWp solar energy system at its headquarters, reinforcing its commitment to reducing environmental impact while maintaining high operational standards.
The investment reflects a broader shift within the waste, recycling and forestry sectors towards more responsible energy use.
The solar array enables the business to generate renewable electricity on-site, reducing reliance on grid-supplied power traditionally produced from fossil fuels. Over its projected 25-year lifespan, the system is expected to generate approximately 2.3 million kWh of clean electricity, delivering a substantial reduction in operational emissions while supporting the wider adoption of renewable energy.
Electricity consumption remains one of the largest contributors to industrial carbon footprints. Prior to installation, CRJ’s electricity usage accounted for around 37.4 tonnes of CO₂e annually, a figure that would have continued to rise alongside business growth.
By generating a significant proportion of its own energy, the company is reducing its dependence on carbon-intensive grid electricity and lowering emissions year-on-year.
The system has been designed to align closely with operational demand, ensuring maximum efficiency. It is estimated around 63% of the electricity generated is used directly on-site, while the remaining 37% is exported back to the grid.
This approach not only maximises the benefit of renewable energy within the business but also contributes surplus power to the wider network.
Alongside the installation, CRJ is introducing EV charging infrastructure and supporting employees transitioning to electric vehicles.
By pairing solar generation with EV charging, the company is creating a more sustainable, closed-loop system where clean energy can be used to power both operations and transport, reducing emissions associated with daily travel.
As energy prices continue to rise, generating electricity on-site also provides long-term cost stability while delivering environmental benefits.
The investment marks an important milestone for CRJ, demonstrating a clear commitment to cleaner energy, improved efficiency and a more sustainable future, while continuing to deliver the quality and reliability its customers expect.
Valpak | Valpak by Reconomy launches global EPR platform
Valpak by Reconomy is bringing industry-leading tools to the global market, with the launch of its Global Data Insights Platform.
The platform provides rapid analysis of large data volumes, helping brands and retailers to manage packaging obligations, recyclability and EPR costs across multiple countries. Rooted in the world’s largest packaging and product dataset, it references over 60 million SKUs to validate data. Many of the UK’s best-known brands are already using the tools to manage compliance, identify key areas for improvement and create customised reports.
Phillip Crum, Director of Data Insights at Valpak, said: “Modern compliance is not just about submitting accurate data; the real benefits lie in putting the data to work, to reduce costs and drive change. Managing compliance across borders calls for a new level of visibility and instant analysis. Valpak customers are using the platform to identify improvement opportunities and model design changes or, equally, to pinpoint data gaps and engage with suppliers to avoid penalties.”
“Global EPR regulations are evolving rapidly. Seven US states have already passed Bills for pEPR (Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging), while the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is bringing more complex demands and diverse challenges for obligated businesses in the EU. Valpak customers are looking for solutions – for example, with the arrival of PPWR, we have seen enquiries rise by over 40 per cent in just eight months. This trend is showing no sign of abating.”
Valpak’s Global Data Insights Platform allows businesses to centralise all packaging, component and supplier data in one unified system, model global pEPR compliance costs, assess recyclability and identify redesign opportunities in preparation for modulated fees. Businesses can create live reports on recycled content, plastic usage, source certification, as well as mapping packaging decisions directly to ESG commitments.
Crum added: “Compliance is a collaborative process that involves the whole value chain. Using the platform, obligated businesses can gain visibility of how each supplier contributes to overall packaging data, recyclability performance and fee exposure. This, in turn, leads to an understanding of where supplier-driven improvements can reduce costs, strengthen reporting accuracy, and support strategic procurement decisions.”
Plan B | Providing community support in Bridgend
Plan B Management Solutions is delighted to announce that the first grants from our £10,000 Community Fund have been awarded.
The fund, set up in February to support local projects in Bridgend County Borough, consists of 4 x £1,000 and 12 x £500 grants. We have awarded grants to organisations that:
Enable participation in physical activity
Enable participation in the arts
Prevent or reduce the impact of poverty
Support marginalised groups and tackle inequality
Improve biodiversity and respond to the climate emergency
Support waste prevention, re-use and recycling
Improve green spaces and increase access to the outdoors
Provide support to improve mental health
Grant recipients include Bridgend Athletic RFC, Daring to Dream, Raw Performance CIC, The Bridge Mentoring Plus Scheme, and Penyfai Village Community Association, and here’s how they plan to invest the money.
Raw Performance CIC, fitness specialists
“This grant is a game changer for Raw Performance CIC. Because our free classes are mixed ability, having a diverse range of equipment is essential. New funding allows us to invest in everything from heavier weights for our advanced athletes to lighter gear for beginners, ensuring fitness remains accessible to everyone. We pride ourselves on keeping our sessions fresh and varied; this investment ensures we can continue to innovate and challenge our members every time they come along,” Steve Tallis, Director, Raw Performance CIC.
The Bridge Mentoring Plus Scheme, a charity that breaks down the barriers to social inclusion
“We are delighted that Plan B Management Solutions has offered the support of £1,000 towards reducing the impact of food and financial insecurity in Bridgend, this supports our mission and the provision of vital services for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.” Kari Morgan, The Bridge Mentoring Plus Scheme.
Bridgend Athletic RFC, grassroots football and rugby club
“In early 2025, Bridgend Athletic RFC undertook an energy survey of our clubhouse in Ewenny Road to identify key areas to improve energy savings and reduce carbon emissions. By way of a Sustainable Wales Grant, solar panels were installed on the clubhouse roof. One other key area was changing all incandescent light units to LED type to further reduce energy consumption and costs. The grant received from Plan B Management Solutions will enable the club to purchase the light units required and fulfil another key energy saving requirement,” Gareth Davies, Director, Bridgend Athletic RFC Ltd.
Daring to Dream, an emotional health charity
“The grant will be used to support the provision of our ‘Space to Sing’ for the Care of the Elderly and Dementia patients and their families in the Princess of Wales Hospital. Fortnightly, we contract two musicians to play a set in each ward area. The feedback from patients, their families and staff is just heartwarming. The musical afternoons bring smiles, joy, and create happy memories too; at times the music, the responses of the patients also bring tears, it is so poignant and meaningful. Thank you so much to everyone at Plan B Management Solutions for your recognition and support for this important project that supports members of the Bridgend Community, Diolch yn fawr iawn,” says Barbara Chidgey, Founder and Chair, Daring to Dream – the Emotional Health Charity.
Penyfai Village Community Association, a charity that improves the local area for residents
“We are grateful and excited to have received this investment for our community planting scheme from Plan B Management Solutions. We are going to use the funding to bring residents together to create enjoyable spaces, improve biodiversity, strengthen local bonds, and leave a lasting, positive impact for everyone who calls our village home. Diolch o galon,” Marged Griffiths, Chair of Penyfai Village Community Association.
Plan B Management Solutions is proud to deliver social value through our Community Fund, food bank and charitable donations, and our Random Acts of Kindness initiative. We are committed to supporting the communities where we work. The next round of applications for funding opens in September 2026. For more visit: planbms.co.uk/social-value.
Fleetclear | Fleetclear partners with SUEZ recycling and recovery UK for new integrated fleet safety system
SUEZ is switching its vehicle fleet to a fully integrated safety platform following a comprehensive tender process that led to fleet technology company, Fleetclear being awarded the nationwide contract.
In the UK, SUEZ operates across hundreds of sites and handles approximately 11 million tonnes of waste materials every year – a significant proportion of the UK’s total waste. Through collection, treatment, recycling and logistics, it operates 1700 vehicles across multiple locations.
Dave Shaw, Head of Fleet at SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “We went out to tender and Fleetclear came out as the clear winner with their fully integrated system. It’s much easier now to pull together the information we need, which means we can properly analyse the performance of our vehicles and use the information to improve safety and enhance service delivery.”
The transition to the new system has been well managed as Dave explains: “We didn’t go for the big bang approach and opted instead for a phased roll out. We selected certain vehicles we wanted to fit with the system first, including all new vehicles.”
One of the first tranche of vehicles to be equipped with the Fleetclear system was the new fleet that SUEZ manage on behalf of Milton Keynes City Council as part of their collections and street cleansing contract.
Dave commented: “The transition at Milton Keynes has been executed very well with minimal disruption to operations. We received the new fleet of vehicles at the depot and Fleetclear came in en-masse to fit the equipment over a few weeks.”
The company is currently trialling other Fleetclear technologies, such as the Live Lane Information System (LLIS), which uses AI to detect oncoming traffic in the adjacent live-lane and alert operatives, reducing the risk of collisions.
Added Dave: “The team at Fleetclear are easy to deal with and very collaborative. We want to work with them to engage with new technologies such as AI to help us further enhance our safety and our performance.”
With over 15 years of expertise delivering credible solutions proven in the field, Fleetclear helps fleets operate safely, efficiently and responsibly. With fully qualified in-house engineers, leading after-sales support and comprehensive warranties, Fleetclear is your fleet safety partner.
VEV | A data-led approach to electrification can reduce transition costs by up to 30%
Analysis by VEV’s consultancy team has shown that a structured, data-led approach to the early stages of electrification can reduce transition costs by up to a third and significantly increase the likelihood of successful deployment.
The team has utilised the data collected from over 100,000 buses, trucks, vans and RCVs to help fleet operators overcome the biggest barriers to electrification: high upfront costs, operational uncertainty, and grid complexity.
Logistics operators face mounting pressure to electrify, but delays and poor early planning are putting 2030 targets at risk. Increasing lead times for grid infrastructure, rising capital costs, and limited access to grants mean that starting early and starting correctly is now critical.
George Hobbs, Data Lead at VEV said: “Most fleets don’t fail at electrification because of technology, they fail because they don’t start in the right way.”
“Our approach uses real-world data to remove uncertainty, prove viability, and build a clear, investable roadmap to scale.”
Through its consultancy work, VEV has identified that a data-led approach can significantly improve total cost of ownership, identifying up to 20% in energy savings through energy optimisation and charging strategies as well as reducing costly grid upgrades by as much as 70%.
VEV has applied this approach across a wide range of complex fleet environments, from multi-site operations such as Manchester Airports Group (MAG), to large-scale logistics fleets, emergency services, and critical national infrastructure operators with fleets of over 10,000 vehicles.
Across these projects, VEV’s analytics has been used to model real-world operations, define energy and infrastructure requirements, and build phased, investment-ready roadmaps that enable organisations to transition with confidence.
VEV has also delivered measurable financial impact through its consultancy work with municipal waste collection fleets in the UK in partnership with Whitespace. Using live operational and telematics data, VEV and Whitespace developed a detailed
electrification roadmap and cost model for Derby City Council that enabled the team to identify immediate opportunities, optimise infrastructure planning, and unlock value estimated at up to ten times the initial consultancy investment, including securing additional funding through the Depot Charging Scheme.
Unlike traditional consultancies, VEV combines advisory with delivery. As an Independent Connection Provider (ICP), VEV can design and deliver grid connections directly, removing one of the biggest bottlenecks in electrification: long, uncertain wait times for power. The result is faster deployment, greater certainty, and fewer delays caused by third-party dependencies.
George Hobbs added: “What makes VEV different is that we don’t just tell customers what to do, we deliver it. By combining analytics, pilot programmes, and infrastructure delivery, we give fleets a clear and achievable path to electrification.”
With the UK Government announcing a new £1 billion funding package to support cleaner transport, the cost of waiting is rising. Businesses that act now can secure funding, reduce risk, and get ahead of an increasingly competitive transition.
VEV is urging organisations to prioritise early-stage planning to secure funding, reduce risk, and accelerate their transition.
Norse Group | Calderdale Council partners with Norse Group for waste and recycling services
Norse CEO welcomes new partnership worth £88 million over eight years.
Calderdale Council is entering a new joint venture partnership with Norse Group to deliver waste and recycling services across the borough, from August 2026. The new co-owned company, named Calderdale Norse Ltd aims to enhance service delivery, improve efficiency, and create lasting social value for the community.
Waste and recycling represent the largest service provided by the council, handling over 7.5 million scheduled collections from 95,000 households each year. With this new partnership, Calderdale Norse will offer a high-quality service, including the management of Household Waste Recycling Centres. The service will also ensure long-term resilience and reliability, greater control over future changes in legislation and evolving community needs, and ongoing financial sustainability.
Norse has worked closely with the council to conduct extensive due diligence and financial modelling, ensuring a thorough understanding of the metropolitan borough’s requirements. Both Calderdale Council and Norse are confident that the resources will meet the scope and quality needed for continued service excellence.
This joint venture, with an annual value of over £11 million, spans an initial period of eight years, with the option of two four-year extensions. The partnership not only aims to deliver exceptional waste and recycling services but also places a strong emphasis on creating social value for the local community.
Providing frontline services to over a million people nationwide, Norse Group is committed to creating economic value and driving social impact in partnership with local authorities. Across its successful joint ventures, Norse Group has achieved more than £65 million in public sector savings.
This partnership presents a unique opportunity for Calderdale Council and Norse to benefit from shared expertise, whilst also achieving significant cost savings, supporting job creation and continuous employee development.
The service will also support the Council’s net zero ambitions and contribute to the broader wellbeing of the community. In addition, Calderdale Norse will prioritise local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the procurement of goods and services, further supporting the local economy.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“We understand the importance of reliable waste and recycling collections. It’s a service we all use, and we want it to be as efficient, resilient and sustainable as possible.”
“The Calderdale Norse joint venture arrangement offers a range of benefits, giving the council more control over the services and offering flexibility around how the service could be delivered in the future.”
“We’re working closely with Norse to support a shared understanding of how things will work and making sure that we’re ready to hit the ground running next August, ensuring a smooth transition for residents and helping us to retain our consistently high recycling rates.”
Justin Galliford, Chief Executive Officer of Norse Group, added:
“We are thrilled to partner with Calderdale Council to deliver waste and recycling services across the region through this long-term joint venture. Beyond the economic benefits, we are committed to giving back to the local community at every level through social value programmes, environmental initiatives, and career opportunities for Calderdale residents.”
“By reinvesting profits into the public purse, we ensure that our efforts make a real, positive difference to people’s lives. We are excited for the journey ahead and look forward to a successful and meaningful partnership.”
Beyondly | How the EU Circular Economy Act will transform packaging and EPR globally
Beyondly is a B Corp environmental compliance scheme and consultancy.
The EU Circular Economy Act (CEA) represents a significant evolution in the bloc’s approach to materials management and resource efficiency; shifting from linear waste management to a systemic redesign of how products are made, used, and recovered.
At its core are principles of durability, recyclability, reduced material use, and extended producer responsibility (EPR), underpinned by stricter eco-design requirements and greater transparency across value chains. The legislation aims to decouple economic growth from resource consumption, while strengthening the EU’s resilience to material supply risks.
Whilst Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) marks a major milestone, the CEA is expected to go further, signalling the next policy layer and integrating packaging into a broader, system-wide approach to circularity.
For packaging, this means:
A shift to system-level regulation.
Harmonised EPR driving real design and innovation.
Data, chemicals, and compliance expectations are intensifying.
EU policy is setting the direction for the UK and global markets.
Its relevance extends well beyond EU borders. For EU-based businesses, compliance will require fundamental changes to product design, material selection, and end-of-life management.
For UK businesses, the implications are equally material – those exporting into the EU must meet these requirements to maintain market access, whilst domestically, UK policy is increasingly converging with similar circularity and EPR principles. As a result, the Act is not just an EU regulatory development – it signals the direction of travel for global markets.
Understanding the CEA’s foundations and impact is therefore critical, particularly as it sets the stage for more specific and impactful changes in packaging and EPR obligations.
From packaging regulation to system regulation.
The CEA is likely to move beyond packaging-specific rules and instead align requirements across multiple product categories. This means packaging will increasingly be assessed as part of a wider product system alongside materials, product design, and waste infrastructure. Businesses must therefore ensure their packaging decisions align with PPWR and new circular economy requirements affecting product design and material use.
EPR becomes a genuine design and innovation tool, not just a cost.
EPR scheme harmonisation across the EU creates demand and supply at scale, supporting more robust secondary material markets and leading to key developments including:
Design for circularity becomes commercially advantageous.
Material innovation accelerates across the value chain.
Increased scrutiny of packaging performance in real-world systems creates control and transparency over lifecycle impacts.
Restrictions on substances of concern (SoC) such as PFAS and heavy metals.
The CEA is expected to create transparency and reinforce restrictions on these substances that hinder circularity. By the end of 2026, the commission aims to map packaging components, particularly intentionally added SoC, to identify possible sources of PFAS.
PPWR compliance will overlap with REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals)’s ‘safe for use’ and drive packaging that is ’safe for recycling and circularity’. From greater scrutiny on packaging placed on the market, to increased responsibility of quantifying SoC, the challenges and opportunities posed are significant:
Packaging transparency and quantifying SoC in finished packaging components and ensuring verification in line with heavy metal restrictions for all packaging and the PFAS limit for food-compliant packaging.
Volume and cost challenges of SoC testing across industry in principle, required before 12/08/2026 under PPWR.
Aiming for chemical compatibility with recycling streams.
Data, transparency, and digitalisation.
This is a critical aspect for producers to focus on. The EU is moving toward more standardised and transparent data systems, likely aligned with initiatives such as Digital Product Passports (DPP). To avoid non-compliance risks, companies will need:
Robust data collection systems.
Clear traceability of materials and components.
Audit-ready documentation.
Increased enforcement risk
With greater regulatory alignment comes stronger enforcement. Companies can therefore expect more inspections and audits, cross-border enforcement, and lower tolerance for non-compliance and misleading sustainability claims.
Global impact
In the UK, Defra are seeking input from PPWR experts as it shapes circular economy reforms. EU policy continues to shape global regulation, with many non-EU markets already aligning with EU approaches to EPR, recyclability, and SoC, to maintain their access to the EU market.
Businesses operating internationally should therefore treat EU compliance as a baseline for global strategy.
In summary, businesses that move early – embedding these circular principles into design and decision-making – will be best positioned to manage risk and control future costs in selling packaged products into the EU.
Vision Techniques | Vision Techniques celebrates revamped system shortlisted for industry award
Commercial vehicle safety and security specialists Vision Techniques has been shortlisted for an award for its revamped product.
The VT Ident Plus System, one of the company’s best-selling products, was shortlisted in the Innovator of the Year category at the Fleet Vision International Awards.
While it did not take home the top prize, Vision Techniques is celebrating the product’s continued success and strong customer response.
The system is designed to prevent thefts, accidents and unauthorised vehicle use by ensuring only trained and authorised operators can start and operate vehicles and/or equipment, with built in anti-rollaway protection.
The intelligent driver and vehicle authorisation system already offered a range of benefits including improved operational efficiency, fuel savings and complete controlled access.
Following its recent upgrade, the system now delivers even greater functionality. New features include flexible authentication options such as passive RFID tags, cards, pin codes as well as integrated telematics for live vehicle tracking via VT Connect.
This enables businesses to monitor driver activity and behaviour, as well as providing full visibility of driver usage, access attempts and events.
In addition, customers benefit from a complimentary first year data subscription included with the system.
Managing Director Dave Smith said: “We are delighted our VT Ident Plus was recongised at the FVI Awards. While we didn’t take home the award, we are incredibly proud of how well the system has been received by our customers.”
“We are seeing growing demand from businesses looking to invest in vehicle safety and security, and it is exciting to see the impact the system is already having.”
“We would like to congratulate all the winners and thank our customers for their continued support.”
