The Policy2050 Newsletter: Where innovation, investment, and impact meet.
By David Pring-Mill
Corporate sustainability gained momentum in August as major corporations unveiled groundbreaking recycling initiatives that promise to reshape how industries handle waste and resource management. From HP’s pioneering closed-loop certification for e-waste to innovative aluminum recycling partnerships, the circular economy in particular has received more attention. Combined with emerging energy management technologies that are delivering millions in cost savings, these recent advances demonstrate that environmental responsibility and economic viability are still finding alignment in today’s marketplace, despite shifts in terminology and the political environment.
Corporate Sustainability Programs
HP Achieves Closed-Loop Recycling Certification for E-Waste
HP recently completed a closed-loop recycled materials certification project with suppliers, audited by TÜV Rheinland Taiwan according to ISO 14021, EN 15343, and ISO 22095 standards, as announced on August 15, 2025. The project, launched in 2025, involves recycling HP’s IT and telecom equipment waste—including laptops, monitors, and keyboards—into raw materials for new products. The recycling process includes manual sorting, dismantling, washing, electrostatic separation, and pelletizing stages, with each stage undergoing evaluation by TÜV Rheinland.
The certification verified five types of materials with specific recovery rates: keyboards yield a 65% recycled rate for ABS plastic (0.65 kg of ABS recovered per kilogram of discarded keyboards), while monitors produce up to 30% high-quality recycled plastic for use in next-generation HP products. For metal recovery, the process extracts 200-300 kilograms of closed-loop recycled copper per ton of discarded printed circuit boards (PCBs) through shredding, leaching, and electrolysis, achieving 100% recycled electrolytic copper. HP plans to expand its certification scope and integrate additional recycled materials into its products.
Novelis, DRT Partner on Recycled Aluminum Can Ends
Novelis Inc. and DRT Holdings, LLC have signed a joint development agreement to develop aluminum beverage can ends using the same alloy as the can body (uni-alloy design). This technical collaboration focuses on optimizing the design and conversion process for can ends that can contain up to 99% recycled content. Novelis, which reported net sales of $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2025 and currently achieves approximately 85% recycled content in its beverage packaging globally, is a subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Limited under the Aditya Birla Group.
DRT Holdings, founded in 1949 as Dayton Reliable Tool & Mfg. Co., manufactures high-speed equipment capable of producing up to 3,000 beverage can ends per minute and operates eleven locations in the United States and Europe. The company originally developed the pull-top ends used in food and beverage cans. The partnership aims to develop manufacturing processes that can be adopted across the aluminum beverage can market, with the uni-alloy solution cutting carbon emissions from can ends by more than half and improving recyclability.
Gravity Launches Energy Management Marketplace, Reports $16M in Customer Savings
Gravity announced the launch of its Energy Management Marketplace on August 14, 2025, in San Francisco. The company, which provides carbon accounting and energy management software, claims to have generated $16 million in lifetime savings for its customers through marketplace projects. The platform uses AI-powered scanning of utility bills and fuel invoices, along with direct integrations with over 9,000 utility and telematics providers to track energy consumption and costs.
The marketplace connects customers with various energy project implementations including power factor correction (through McGill Power), demand response enrollment (through Voltus), solar and battery storage installation (through Lumen Energy, Critical Loop, and Viridi Parente), cooling tower optimization (through Baltimore Aircoil Company), fleet electrification analysis (through Sawatch Labs/WEX), and LED lighting retrofits that saved over $200,000 so far this year. Specific customer implementations include Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry’s Dee Manufacturing facility in Crookston, Minnesota, with projects projected to save over $150,000 annually, and Lindsay Precast’s Pennsylvania facility expecting electricity usage reduction from HVAC and air compressor improvements identified through Gravity. The company also partners with TaxTaker and Renew Energy Partners for tax incentives and financing, and Ever.green for renewable energy certificates and clean energy tax credits.
As certification standards become more rigorous and technology enables better tracking and optimization, we’re hopefully witnessing the emergence of a new industrial paradigm where circular design principles are becoming a competitive advantage rather than a compliance burden.
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