CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Coal ash is the United States’ second-largest waste stream, after household garbage. It needs to be stored safely to prevent arsenic, lead, mercury and other toxins from leaching into farmlands, rivers, lakes, and other public water sources. Coal-fired power plants in the United States generate 140 million tons of coal ash each year – leaving an estimated 3.5 billion tons which now must be managed. Now a startup from Charlotte, North Carolina thinks it might have a profitable solution to this toxic problem.
CLEANTECH -
Toyota recently announced a set of goals to be achieved over the next 35 years, which address key global environmental issues such as climate change, water shortages, resource depletion and degradation of biodiversity.The Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 aims to reduce the negative impact of manufacturing and driving vehicles as much as possible. The challenge is composed of six individual challenges across three areas: Ever-better cars, ever-better manufacturing and enriching lives of communities.Ever-better cars
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Haitian off-grid utility startup RE-VOLT is on a mission to bring affordable and reliable electricity to families in rural Haiti and is running a crowdfunding campaign to help fund the expansion of its service to more customers, according to a recent announcement.RE-VOLT recently launched a campaign on crowdfunding site Indiegogo in order to raise the working capital necessary to grow its customer base on La Gonave to 2,000 households or 10,000 people by January 2016.
CLEANTECH -
World leaders have shaken hands on the new Sustainable Development Goals that will hopefully be shaping global and local agendas and policies over the next 15 years. The UN Sustainable Development summit coincided with the 7th edition of Climate Week, which was jam-packed with well-timed announcements and strong messages in favor of a low-carbon economy.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Earlier this week, the shortlist was announced for the World Design Impact Prize 2015-2016, a global competition hosted by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Six projects that address health, energy, and infrastructure challenges were selected from the 82 nominations.
CLEANTECH -
Solar combined with energy storage systems (solar+storage) can help protect vulnerable populations during power outages in multifamily affordable housing and provide an economic return to building owners, according to a new report by nonprofit Clean Energy Group.
CLEANTECH -
Tesla “Powerpack” battery systems will be used to power part of 24 office buildings in California, according to a recent announcement, as reported by Edie.Real estate firm The Irvine Company, which has properties throughout California, will install Tesla battery systems the size of five parking spaces. It is expected that these will reduce peak grid energy consumption across the company's entire portfolio by 25 percent.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Sustainable food startup Impossible Foods recently raised $108 million in Series D funding, bringing their total funding to date to $183 million. The Redwood City, California-based company is creating meat and dairy alternatives from plant ingredients that are remarkably similar to the real thing.
COLLABORATION -
Representatives of 193 countries met at the United Nations’ annual summit last month to agree on a global agenda for continued growth made up of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs tackle environmental, social and economic issues and will stimulate action from all sectors and stakeholders to build a more sustainable world. The goals reflect the fundamental changes the world needs now and in the future to tackle poverty and climate change, and grow sustainably and equitably. Over the next 15 years, countries are expected to use these goals to frame policies, allocate financing and drive changes that will help build a fair and sustainable world for all.
CLEANTECH -
U.S. reliance on wind, solar and other renewable sources of energy has reached historic levels and is poised to make even greater gains in the near future, according to new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).A Tectonic Shift in America's Energy Landscape finds that the energy sector in the United States emitted less dangerous carbon pollution last year than in 1996, with a full 10 percent reduction over the past decade. Meanwhile, coal and electricity consumption are down nationwide, while oil use today is lower than in the early 1970s, the report shows.
NEW METRICS -
Clearly, with an exploding population, rapidly accelerating fossil fuel-based consumption and climate catastrophe all looming, the current “net negative” state – whereby we extract more than we return – needs to change. The radically opposite concept – giving more than taking – is ideal.
NEW METRICS -
The divestment/investment movement calls on institutional, family, and individual investors to hold themselves accountable for the impacts of financial investments. By moving their money, individuals and institutions can revoke the license of fossil-fuel firms to operate, and doing so accelerates the transition of our global economy away from coal, oil, and gas to sun, wind, and water.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Gaming, hotel and resort company Caesars Entertainment Corporation released its sixth annual Corporate Citizenship Report, Inspiring Citizenship, this week. The company achieved most of its 2015 targets early and has established new interim targets for 2020 in accordance with their goals for 2025.Highlights of environmental progress include:
COLLABORATION -
This week, the first draft of the new climate change agreement set for COP21, the United Nations (UN) international conference on climate change, was presented to governments. The document will act as a concise basis for negotiations for the next negotiating session, which is happening from October 19-23 in Bonn, Germany.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Royal Dutch Shell PLC CEO Ben van Beurden promoted a carbon-pricing plan at the Oil & Money conference in London on Tuesday. The Wall Street Journal reports that the plan will encourage investment in renewables and favor cleaner-burning natural gas over more carbon-intensive coal.
CLEANTECH -
Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the U.K., even without government subsidies, claims a new analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). This is the first time that threshold has been crossed by a G7 economy.Much of this is due to wind and solar power’s improving capacity factor, or the percentage of a power plant's maximum potential that's achieved over time.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The scandal that erupted recently around Volkswagen’s “diesel” pollution scam is going to reverberate across the corporate world − and so it should. All around the world surveys have shown that a majority of consumers care about whether the companies they buy from are “green” and “good.” Yet those same surveys show that consumers are confused as to whether the companies they buy from really are good and skeptical of company claims in this regard.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Researchers at UC Berkeley have created a synthetic leaf that uses water, sunlight and carbon dioxide to make liquid fuels such as methane, butane and acetate — and releases oxygen into the air, The Los Angeles Times reports.Lead researcher on the project, Peidong Yang, plans to use a “genius” grant of $625,000 he recently received from the MacArthur Foundation to nurture the artificial leaf technology. Although it is still several years from being commercially viable, it could represent an important step on the road to creating a carbon-neutral and sustainable fuel system.
CLEANTECH -
Water and wastewater treatment typically account for 35 percent of a municipality’s energy budget, which would mean big savings for local governments that can make the facilities energy neutral — that is, increase energy production to a level equal to or greater than the amount of energy it consumes.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Royal Dutch Shell announced Monday it has aborted its mission to drill for oil in the Arctic after failing to find enough of it, according to the Associated Press. The move, which darkens the outlook for long-term domestic oil drilling here in the U.S., validates environmental groups such as Greenpeace, which has relentlessly campaigned against the company for years in efforts to prevent what Executive Director Annie Leonard has called “a terrible mistake.”