Environmental policy will see a clear shift from land to sea, as shipping is (and will remain) the most efficient way to transport vast amounts of goods long-distance, according to the Norwegian Shipowners' Association chief executive Sturla Henriksen.

Companies like Ikea and Apple have been investing in their supply chains in order to avoid unknown and potentially environmentally damaging activities from their suppliers by purchasing forest, building wind farms, and taking over plastics recycling plants. Ikea has purchased forest in Romania and the Baltics, while Apple has invested in forest in the US, writes The Guardian.

Walmart has spent more than $141m on ethics and compliance systems since 2013, to manage and track efforts that include appointing over 2,300 ethics and compliance professionals, ensuring compliance is up-to-date and accurate, and creating a board-level Global Ethics, Compliance & Risk Committee, the company recently announced.

Target says it will use its "power and scale" as one of the country's largest retailers to advance the idea that all packaging will be recyclable one day, and to help consumers understand how and why recycling is so important.

Lawrence Black sees the circular economy finally moving from theory and high-level strategy to practical applications in design, engineering, and marketing. He has a clear view of these changes as senior advisor to the Waste Management-McDonough Sustainable Innovation Collaborative, a partnership formed in 2013 to improve the recyclability of packaging and products.