SUPPLY CHAIN -
Though diamonds in today’s jewelry market are much more likely to be conflict free thanks to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, it can still be difficult to trace individual components back to their exact origins. IBM and a newly-formed consortium of gold and diamond businesses aim to make the jewelry supply chain more transparent through the use of
PRESS RELEASE -
DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont) and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) announced the opening of the world’s first biobased furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) pilot production facility in Decatur, Illinois. The plant is the centerpiece of a long-standing collaboration that will help bring a greater variety of sustainably sourced biomaterials into the lives of consumers.
Nearly one-tenth of the world’s oil is used to make the plastic products we use every day. From shampoo bottles to frozen food containers, fossil-fuel-based plastics are virtually impossible to avoid because of a lack of commercially available alternatives — a significant gap in the marketplace that DuPont and ADM’s new biobased FDME will help address.
PRESS RELEASE -
Dr. Milos Milenkovic | MIT A hyper-connected network of logistics clusters could play a key role in achieving the European Union’s goal of creating a sustainable, more efficient freight transportation system.An EU-backed research initiative called Clusters 2.0 is laying the groundwork for such a network by developing ways to link freight hubs via the physical internet.
PRESS RELEASE -
London: 18 April 2018 -Today, at the London Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the world’s leading Crop Protection companies announce their commitment to support the research, development and supply of innovative products to save lives and help eradicate malaria by 2040.
PRESS RELEASE -
Photo:
Two cars recharging at Tesla stations
Photo courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
All throughout Earth Month and every day at Target, we’re working toward ambitious goals to help keep the planet healthy.
Today, we’re taking another step forward, accelerating our electric vehicle program with the help of industry experts Tesla, ChargePoint and Electrify America. Together, we’ll expand our current program, available now at 18 sites in five states, to more than 600 parking spaces at over 100 sites across more than 20 states with charging stations over the next two years.
WALKING THE TALK -
As food supply chains grow more complex, consumers are setting higher expectations for food quality, safety and sustainability as they seek more aspirational choices around what they eat. But food scares continue to happen, one of the most famous being the horse meat scandal in 2013.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Everyone’s gotta eat – and it makes for a big industry. Globally, food and agriculture is a $7.8 trillion industry. Its also growing (pun intended): global investments in the food and agriculture sector have grown three-fold since 2004 and, according to McKinsey, on average have demonstrated higher returns to shareholders than other sectors. In the US, agriculture, food and related industries generated 5.5% of the country’s GDP at $992 billion, $137 billion of that coming directly from US farms.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The Green Chemistry & Commerce Council (GC3), a multi-stakeholder collaborative that drives the commercial adoption of sustainable chemistry, has selected the 10 startups that have won the opportunity to pitch their sustainable chemicals, materials, products and manufacturing technologies to large, strategic companies at the GC3’s 3rd Annual Green & Bio-Based Chemistry Technology Showcase & Networking Event.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A team of students from North Dakota State University took the top prize last week at 3M’s Disruptive Design Challenge in St. Paul, Minnesota.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
By 2020, the market for “green” chemistry is expected to reach $100 billion globally, with North America seeing an increase from $3 billion to over $20 billion during the same period. This growth, essential to the future of our planet, is a sign that the industry is engaged in much-needed change. Today, 8.3 percent of all deaths and 5.7 percent of the total burden of disease worldwide are related to chemical exposure.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Dow Chemical Company is again teaming up with national nonprofit and longstanding partner Keep America Beautiful to award a total of $100,000 in grants for organizations to establish Hefty® EnergyBag™ programs in their communities.
CLEANTECH -
In Henry Ford’s day, there was no term for environmentalist. But he had a goal of zero waste to landfill, just as we do today, based on his belief that nothing should be wasted.
Those values still hold true at Ford.
Currently, conversation is underway on setting the near-term standards for fuel economy. It is a critical one for all of us who care about the environment and our customers, and we all need to work together to ensure there is a win on both fronts.
WASTE NOT -
As much as one third of the world’s food is being wasted. The United States alone wastes roughly 63 million tons, or $218 billion, of food annually. As awareness of this issue has grown over in recent years, a variety of initiatives have taken root.
PRESS RELEASE -
Cisco is receiving the 2018 AT&T* Supplier Award for its outstanding performance and service to AT&T affiliates during the past year.
The company is being recognized for its outstanding contributions across a broad scope of selection criteria, including supplier diversity results, creative cost management solutions, teamwork, customer service, product/service performance and sustainability.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Apparel collections that are less harmful to the environment are on the horizon from G-Star RAW and H&M. Meanwhile, a small Boston-based footwear company is making it easier for customers to connect with their craftsmen, and the non-profit Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) recommended sustainability priorities for senior managers in the fashion world in its first ‘CEO Agenda’ report.
PRESS RELEASE -
As of now Novacolor offers new decorative effect paints under the “Africa”, “Puro” and “Patina Minerale” brand names. The textured plasters meet the challenge of combining design and sustainability: Puro is an opaque mineral water-based innovation based on potassium polysilicate, which is odorless and neither contains volatile organic compounds (VOC) nor Formaldehyde. For indoor and outdoor glazing, Novacolor offers the new “Patina Minerale” product, a mineral color wash based on silicates, that recalls the ancient patinas with its chromatic effect. And “Africa”, the finish for interior decoration, which creates a changeable and pleasant play of light and reflected colors based on gentle metallic effects, complements the product range.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Closed Loop Fund (CLF) today unveiled an historic statewide, public-private partnership targeting a $5 million investment in recycling infrastructure in Connecticut in 2018. This statewide program follows Closed Loop Fund’s successful investment in Waterbury, CT in 2017.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
With the global population predicted to reach nine billion by 2050 and the realities of climate change quickly unfolding, the pressure is on to find new solutions that allow us to meet growing demand while reducing environmental impacts. Food companies and government have an important role in initiating change, but startups are quickly emerging as the champions of tomorrow’s food system.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The potential of a circular economy continues to unfold as new technologies are help transform everything from post-consumer textiles to almond shells into high-quality raw materials.
CARBIOS, a pioneer in the field of bioplasturgy, has taken its enzymatic depolymerization process to the next level, rendering it applicable to PET polyester fibers from textile waste.