Program Updates

In our Circular Impact Procurement Initiative (CIPI), we support innovative social businesses with circular solutions that drive environmental and social change. One such supported business is Ocean Package, a Munich-based start-up co-founded by Joshua Linn and Philip Mayer. Ocean Package has developed a reusable shipping box system that aims to replace single-use cardboard packaging with a more environmentally friendly, circular alternative. By integrating smart technology and recycled materials (including ocean-bound plastic) into their durable boxes, Ocean Package is tackling e-commerce waste and ocean pollution simultaneously. Our Program Director at Yunus Environment Hub and CIPI lead, Kiara Winona Sweeney, recently sat down with Joshua Linn, Ocean Package’s co-founder and managing director, to discuss the concept behind their solution, how they apply circular economy principles and the ecological and social impact they are creating through their work. 

Across African cities, waste management systems are under growing pressure and in Lusaka, Zambia there is no exception. In response, Ebusaka Green Technology Limited is developing a digital, data-driven approach to improve how waste is collected, tracked, and managed, while placing inclusion and accountability at the center of the system.

Yunus Environment Hub joined global leaders at the Zero Waste Forum 2025 in Istanbul to explore how communities, businesses, and policymakers can turn waste into practical, scalable solutions. The Forum brought together voices committed to advancing the zero waste and circular economy transition worldwide.

When procurement decisions are made, they rarely make headlines. Yet the contracts behind them determine how resources move, how products are made, and what kind of future we build. For years, we have discussed sustainability in production and consumption, but not enough about the missing middle: how things are purchased. Circular impact procurement is changing that. It transforms procurement from a transactional process into a tool for systemic change – connecting the act of buying to the goals of climate action, social inclusion, and long-term resilience

Yunus Environment Hub and BASF have joined forces on BASF’s Starting Ventures program supporting Vietnam’s informal waste sector a crucial link in tackling the nation’s plastic waste challenge.

Istanbul, Türkiye – 19 October 2025 – As governments, businesses, and civil society accelerate efforts to curb plastic pollution, Yunus Environment Hub (YEH) and José Manuel Moller, Founder & CEO of Common House, with support from the Röchling Foundation, announced the upcoming launch of Open Reuse, an open-source platform designed to scale sustainable reuse business models worldwide. 

In our Circular Impact Procurement Initiative (CIPI), we support innovative social businesses with circular solutions that drive environmental and social change. One such supported business is Ocean Package, a Munich-based start-up co-founded by Joshua Linn and Philip Mayer. Ocean Package has developed a reusable shipping box system that aims to replace single-use cardboard packaging with a more environmentally friendly, circular alternative. By integrating smart technology and recycled materials (including ocean-bound plastic) into their durable boxes, Ocean Package is tackling e-commerce waste and ocean pollution simultaneously. Our Program Director at Yunus Environment Hub and CIPI lead, Kiara Winona Sweeney, recently sat down with Joshua Linn, Ocean Package’s co-founder and managing director, to discuss the concept behind their solution, how they apply circular economy principles and the ecological and social impact they are creating through their work. 

Every year, the world generates over two billion tonnes of waste yet only a small percentage is effectively reducing waste upstream. According to the World Bank, global waste is expected to increase by 70% by 2050 if no action is taken.