Lancaster University researchers investigating consumer attitudes and behaviours around plastic food packaging have found UK households are ‘wishcycling’ - putting packaging in recycling bins and hoping for the best, rather than knowing it’s recyclable – due to confusing product labels and differing recycling facilities around the country.

Academics working on Lancaster University’s Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives (PPiPL) project have been working hand-in-hand with supermarkets, businesses, charities and waste management companies for the last 3.5 years to explore the ins and outs of how the UK thinks and acts when it comes to plastic food packaging. They say ‘wishcycling’ is a problem that everyone - government, food producers, waste management and residents – has to solve.

Working days lost to long Covid could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Climate-conscious investors should consider supporting companies with a wide range of climate policies, rather than companies that cherry-pick specific individual policies, according to a study published November 13, 2024 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate by Lena Klaaßen of ETH Zurich, Switzerland and colleagues.

Lobbying can help companies reduce costs related to product recall, but it can also have a negative impact on the firm’s image. Research published in Strategic Management Journal offers clear data on the phenomenon, suggesting that managers should pay careful attention to the reputational cues from the media to determine when lobbying may be problematic and to refrain from the practice.

Firms can use lobbying to influence the government, which in turn potentially limits their costs during product recall crises. Previous research has shown that when a firm increases its lobbying spending by approximately $417,014, which has been found to lead to one less recall, it can save the firm millions of dollars. Each recall conservatively costs about $12 million. Such lobbying can, however, draw scrutiny from the media if the lobbying gives the impression that companies would rather save costs than focus on safety, which can come across as hypocritical.