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From Vision to Action: GECC Launches the Global Energy Circular Economy Coalition and Circular Battery Design Guidelines

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LONDON, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 22, CATL and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced two new initiatives together with BMW, Renault, Volvo, Google, Xiaomi and other industry leaders and stakeholders, at the Climate Innovation Forum, the flagship event of London Climate Action Week 2026, through CATL’s Global Energy Circularity Commitment (GECC), developed in strategic partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The initiatives include circular battery design guidelines to embed circularity across the full battery lifecycle, and a business coalition to accelerate the policy, investment and commercial conditions needed to make circular business models the industry norm.

By 2040, the global battery recycling market alone is projected to exceed RMB 1.2 trillion, creating more than 10 million jobs, while the International Energy Agency projects demand for battery-critical minerals will increase fivefold over the same period. Meeting that demand sustainably will require not only greater recycling capacity, but common design standards and business models that keep materials in productive use for longer.

CATL became the first battery manufacturer to achieve carbon neutrality across its core operations in 2025, certified under ISO 14068-1, with full value-chain carbon neutrality targeted by 2035. Much of the remaining challenge lies in mining and raw material processing rather than manufacturing. Circularity will play a central role in meeting future demand without proportional increases in virgin material extraction. The initiatives announced aim to help build the common frameworks needed to accelerate that transition.

Earlier the same day, at Octopus Energy’s Energy Tech Summit, CATL and Octopus Energy announced Europe’s first battery-swapping joint venture, targeting 300,000 electric trucks and 30 hubs across Europe by 2035, with the first UK hubs scheduled to open in 2027. The partnership demonstrates the type of commercially viable circular business model the coalition aims to accelerate.

Miranda Schnitger, Climate Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: “Circular economy approaches were key to tackling the 45% of emissions that come from how we produce and consume.”

Jiang Li, Vice President and Board Secretary, CATL: “Last year we set the direction: decouple battery growth from virgin material extraction. Today, the industry is beginning to build the common rules that will help deliver it. That is not only a climate opportunity, but an industrial one.”

Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO, Octopus Energy Group: “By designing batteries to be swapped, optimised, shared and reused thousands of times, we can squeeze every drop of value out of the materials we already have, rather than digging up more. That’s why our battery-swapping joint venture with CATL matters; we are taking the world’s best hardware, combining it with smart energy tech to make it cheaper and more flexible, and building a completely self-sustaining transport network.”

Initiative I: Circular Battery Design Guidelines

The circular battery design guidelines establish a common methodology for circular battery design across a range of mobility applications. As a founding partner, CATL brings practical experience from battery manufacturing, recycling and service operations to support their development. The methodology is intended to inform procurement standards, investor frameworks and future regulatory discussions, including the evolution of European battery policy.

Developed to address fragmentation across approaches to repair, second life and recycling, the guidelines provide a shared basis for comparing circular performance across the market. They aim to help buyers evaluate products, investors assess long-term value, and policymakers reference a consistent framework.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation provides a neutral platform through which companies across the battery value chain can develop shared principles that no single organisation could establish alone. The working group is now underway, with publication planned for 2027.

Initiative II: Business Coalition for Circular Business Models

The coalition for circular business models is a policy and industry platform established to accelerate the adoption of circular business models across mobility and energy. With battery swapping already operating across more than 1,650 stations in 127 Chinese cities, the focus is shifting from demonstrating technical feasibility to creating the commercial, regulatory and financing conditions required for international scale.

CATL contributes practical experience through its battery-as-a-service and battery-swapping businesses, including the expanding Choco-Swap and QIJI networks, providing operational insights that can support wider deployment globally.

The coalition also seeks to establish common approaches for evaluating circular battery assets, including service history, degradation data and second-life value, providing investors, fleet operators and policymakers with greater confidence and reducing market uncertainty.

CATL Advances Circular Battery Systems

CATL continues to scale circularity across its operations. In 2025, Brunp Recycling processed 210,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries, recovering 99.6% of nickel, cobalt and manganese, with 80% of recovered materials returning directly into CATL’s battery production.

Rather than treating recycling as the end of a product’s life, CATL integrates circularity into battery design, manufacturing, use and recovery as a connected system.

Furthermore, CATL is accelerating the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries, with plans to deliver its first sodium-ion energy storage systems to customers starting this September. This initiative expands the energy storage technology roadmap beyond lithium, cobalt, and nickel, enhancing material supply resilience and cost stability.

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SOURCE CATL

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LEAP Group Relaunches HumanView, a Growth Intelligence System Built to Explain Why Customers Behave the Way They Do

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7 hours ago

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October 24, 2026

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Reimagined from the ground up, HumanView pairs statistical modeling with expert analysts to turn millions of real-world customer signals into business decisions

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LEAP Group today announced the relaunch of HumanView, its growth intelligence service. The new version has been rebuilt from the ground up and now has a dedicated home at leapgroupnetwork.com/humanview.

HumanView analyzes what customers say and do across social platforms, e-commerce sites, review platforms, search behavior and user-generated content, including signals from Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, Meta, Amazon and Walmart+ that general AI tools cannot always access. Because the data reflects unprompted, real-world behavior, it avoids the response bias built into surveys and focus groups.

The service works in three layers. HumanView captures signals at scale, decodes millions of records through validated statistical models such as regression, correlation and clustering, and then relies on experienced analysts to interpret the patterns. Clients receive clear, human-validated insights instead of another dashboard.

“Machines find the patterns. Humans find the point,” said Alan Gilleo, CEO at LEAP Group. “The first version of HumanView showed us how much customers reveal when nobody is asking them questions. This version is built to explain why they act the way they do, and to put those answers in front of everyone making decisions, from product to service to marketing.”

HumanView focuses on three areas:

Growth Intelligence: customer motivations and how people perceive a brand and its competitors

Market and Category Intelligence: product pain points, service friction, unmet needs and competitive gaps

Audience Intelligence: new segments, positioning opportunities and gaps in the market

Every model is designed and validated by data scientists and benchmarked before it informs a recommendation.

To learn more about HumanView, visit leapgroupnetwork.com/humanview.

About LEAP Group
LEAP Group is a boutique marketing agency holding company with offices in Louisville, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Chicago. Guided by the belief that brands should “Market Less. Matter More.,” LEAP gives clients access to specialized experts across its entire network. Learn more at leapgroupnetwork.com.

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SOURCE LEAP Group

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STEPHEN A. SMITH ADDRESSES WHITE HOUSE DINNER ATTENDANCE, REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO HBCUs AND PROTECTING CORPORATE INVESTMENT IN BLACK EDUCATION

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October 24, 2026

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NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Stephen A. Smith, media mogul, New York Times bestselling author, and proud 1991 graduate of Winston-Salem State University, is addressing the public discussion surrounding his decision to attend a White House dinner with President Donald Trump, emphasizing his commitment to the long-term financial stability of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

For Smith, the decision was rooted in a commitment to institutions that have educated generations of Black leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, and public servants.

“I will always advocate for HBCUs and the students whose futures depend on them,” Smith said. “My reason for attending the White House dinner was to discuss the challenges these institutions face in securing long-term funding and to make the case that corporate America must continue to invest in them.”

Smith acknowledged federal support through the FUTURE Act while expressing concern that political tensions surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) could discourage private companies from supporting HBCUs. He maintains that these institutions deserve sustained corporate partnerships, philanthropic contributions, and public investment.

“If we truly believe in free-market capitalism, businesses should be able to support educational institutions and charitable causes without fear of criticism or repercussions,” Smith said. “HBCUs have made extraordinary contributions to this country. They deserve sustained public and private investment.”

Ashley Christopher, Esq., Founder and CEO of the HBCU Week Foundation, recognized Smith’s advocacy and decision to engage with the administration.

“Stephen A. Smith has been a powerful advocate for HBCUs, using his platform and influence to shine a national spotlight on our institutions,” expressed Christopher, “His continued support of HBCU Week helps advance our mission of connecting students with life-changing educational opportunities, and we are proud to have him as our ambassador.”

Since Smith became an HBCU Week Ambassador in 2019, the initiative has facilitated more than 15,000 on-the-spot college acceptances and raised and awarded more than $150 million in scholarships, according to the HBCU Week Foundation.

As public discussion continues, Smith is emphasizing the importance of ensuring HBCUs have the resources and partnerships needed to educate future generations and expand opportunities for students.

CLICK HERE to watch Smith’s full response to his White House visit.

MEDIA CONTACT:

media@mrsasinc.com

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SOURCE Straight Shooter Media

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Advantex Announces Completion of Financing and Extension of Maturity Date of Previously Issued Debentures

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October 24, 2026

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TORONTO, Oct. 23, 2026 /CNW/ — Advantex Marketing International Inc. (CSE: ADX) (“Advantex”), a leader in the merchant cash advance and loyalty marketing products for merchants, today announced the completion of a $250,000 secured debt financing. Advantex issued a $250,000 non-convertible debenture which bears an interest rate at 12% per annum and matures December 15, 2027. The proceeds raised from this issuance of the Debenture will be used for working capital purposes.

Advantex has also extended the maturity of its existing $700,000 in 12% secured debentures from October 10, 2026 to December 15, 2027.

About Advantex Marketing International Inc.

Advantex provides working capital to merchants. Advantex also provides specialized marketing programs that enable members of Aeroplan to earn Aeroplan points at participating merchants.

Advantex shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol ADX. For more information go to Advantex’s profile on www.sedar.com

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the future business and operations of Advantex. Actual results and developments may differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. The business and operations of Advantex described herein is dependent on a number of factors and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ material include, but are not limited to, changes in Advantex’s economic and competitive conditions including but not limited to the industry sectors in which Advantex operates.

The statements in this news release are made of the date of this release. Forward-looking statements are made based on management’s beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and Advantex undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Advantex Marketing International Inc.

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