WASTE NOT -
Among the key challenges to the burgeoning recycling market are lack of infrastructure, innovation at scale and funding. But a variety of initiatives — in developed and developing areas alike — are attempting to secure these factors to help spur the development of circular economic infrastructure.In Argentina, a new generation of trash pickers is helping to refine recycling at the street level. Buenos Aires has invested in recycling through the city government’s Ciudad Verde (Green City) plan and now more than 5,000 litter pickers (known locally as cartoneros) collect a base salary for emptying the city’s bell-shaped recycling bins.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Millennials (adults ages 18 to 35 in 2015) comprise over 30 percent of the labor force in both the United States and Canada. They are doing things differently, hold different values, and have a high affinity for technology.
NEW METRICS -
If 2015 was the year that inspired new hope in sustainability with the publication of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the success of COP21, 2016 is the year the rubber needs to hit the road when it comes to implementation and impact. So rather than add to the end-of-year 10-best-of-this-and-that listing stampede, instead I’ve created a 6-piece series summarizing essential learnings from 2015 to focus priorities and actions for 2016.*Reflecting on 2015, my own work focused on front-end developments needed in three interlinked areas:
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Benefit corporation Singularity University (SU) is in ambitious pursuit of solutions for eleven “global grand challenges” that its experts have identified: environment, security, health, learning, energy, food, prosperity, water, space, disaster resilience, and governance. SU hopes to use technology to address these challenges with the support of its Developing Organization Partners and their expertise.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Amidst increasing risks and heightened uncertainty, diverse perspectives are essential to solving the complex problems facing the world today. That is the thinking behind Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)’s Living Progress Challenge, which is asking people from all over the world: What software applications and digital services would you create to improve people’s lives?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Shipping temperature-sensitive goods is tricky business – warm climates and summer months create unique challenges for transporting refrigerated goods. Proper temperature regulation prevents spoilage, which is becoming increasingly important in light of the increasing attention being given to food waste.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Less than three weeks after General Motors (GM) announced a $500 million investment in ride-for-hire service Lyft, GM made another big move towards “the future of mobility.” This week, GM launched Maven: an on-demand car-sharing service and “personal mobility” brand.
LEADERSHIP -
Arizona State University (ASU) has emerged as a leader in sustainability education in part due to its Walton Sustainability Solutions Initiatives, a series of programs designed to solve global sustainability problems, educate future leaders in sustainability strategies, and engage and inform the public around sustainability issues.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
New research on natural materials has the potential to unlock innovations in packaging, clean energy, and other industries. Fructose, a sugar found in many plants, and calcium carbonate, the material that crystallizes into chalk, shells, and rocks, have each led to chemical discoveries.DuPont Industrial Biosciences and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) have developed a methodology that uses fructose to produce cost-efficient, renewable chemicals and polymers for plastics and textiles.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Ford Motor Company has been rather focused on the “future of mobility” since the launch of its Smart Mobility Plan and 25 related experiments. The company has been shifting its focus from being an automaker to changing the way the world moves.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Farmers in the United States could soon benefit from two new ways to increase crop yield that were announced this month.CropClimate is the latest use of big data to benefit agriculture. The web platform uses climate-, soil- and crop-modeling to link the effects of environmental conditions, weather and crop yield history and field management to develop more resilient crop production systems, reports Environmental Leader.
PRESS RELEASE -
Independent Analyst Report Underscores thinkstep’s Strength in Sustainability and Greenhouse Gas Emission Management with Best-in-Class Scores for SoFi Software Platform
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
10 promising startups that deliver water-focused data and analytics solutions have been selected as finalists in Imagine H2O’s Water Data Challenge, competing for $50,000 in cash awards. The final winners will be announced at Imagine H2O’s WaterGala event in San Francisco on March 16, 2016. In the meantime, the startups will participate the non-profit organization’s specialized water innovation accelerator program which will provide mentorship and grant them access to industry events as well as introductions to investors, utility partners, and beta customers.
CLEANTECH -
AT&T is building a framework to help cities better serve their citizens. The tech giant is using Internet of Things (IoT) innovations to create impactful solutions for cities and forming alliances with technology leaders and industry organizations.
CLEANTECH -
The emergent field of energy analytics could soon be a boon to sustainability.Several companies are now selling energy analytics apps that are superior to manual, data-crunching spreadsheets. The new apps leverage smart grid systems plus data collected by sensors via the IoT. The size of these datasets requires cloud-scale computing.So business is investing in energy efficiency, not necessarily for altruistic reasons, but for smarter operational practice and efficiency as the tools available augment.
CLEANTECH -
With CES 2016 underway in Las Vegas this week, we are expecting to have announcements about exciting tech advancements coming out of our ears. Case in point: At The Ford Motor Company's press conference this morning, it announced a partnership with Amazon to integrate vehicles with Echo, the e-commerce company’s smarthome device.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, hundreds of innovators, large and small, will showcase thousands of their latest potentially game-changing technologies in the world of electronics.A CES staple, appliance giant Whirlpool will showcase its Whirlpool® Every day, care™ interactive experience, where attendees can experience the latest product innovations and future design concepts:
CLEANTECH -
In the era of personalization and connectivity, the way we interact with food could change drastically in the near future. With conceptual 3D printers for meat on the table and specialized accelerator programs for food-focused technology startups already running, changes are well underway. Professor Maged Boulos from the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scotland is considering how the ‘Internet of Things’ concept could be applied to food. How will technology and connectivity influence people’s diets?
CLEANTECH -
Luxury vehicle manufacturers today make up about 23 percent of the plug-in electric vehicle (EV) market, and this is expected to climb to about 50 percent by the early 2020s, according to a new report from Navigant Research.
CLEANTECH -
The Ford Motor Company is ‘going further’ with its Smart Mobility Plan, which focuses on innovation in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics. Two recent developments include the use of sensor technology on motorcycles to collect mobility data in Africa, and autonomous vehicle testing on public roads in the US.