UK – British coffee brand WatchHouse has joined forces with skincare and fragrance-maker Haeckels to turn coffee bean waste into the core ingredient for a new hand wash and moisturiser.

To make its coffee manufacturing process more sustainable, WatchHouse thought about its chaff (a by-product from roasting beans) that used to go straight in the bin. By partnering with Haeckels, it realised that upcycling the coffee debris into a soap and lotion formula was possible. Both companies have now introduced the WatchHouse x Haeckels Bundle, which includes an espresso-based hand wash and a moisturising lotion made with espresso, avocado seeds and oat milk.

In Food Waste Innovation, we explored how the growing need to create innovative and sustainable solutions to food waste presents a range of opportunities for innovators.

UK – Could a four-day working week become the norm? As the largest pilot scheme to date came to an end, non-profit organisation 4 Day Week Global has revealed the overwhelmingly positive outcomes.

Since June 2022, nearly 3,000 UK-based employees took part in 4 Day Week Campaign, a six-month trial giving staff the opportunity to take an extra day off every week while remaining on the same salary. Companies taking part in the four-day week pilot were also offered workshops and mentoring to adjust to these changes, and to help employees manage their time to avoid productivity loss.

A survey revealed that 39% of employees felt less stressed and 54% experienced better work-life balance while working 32 hours weekly. The average number of sick days taken also dropped. The model seems to have convinced companies as well – over nine in 10 decided to extend the new working pattern, while 30% have made four-day weeks a permanent company policy. Providing wellbeing benefits and permitting equal if not heightened productivity, shorter working weeks are a development sure to define the future of work.