PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Reimagining global agriculture will require numerous efforts of various size and focus, such as those in the news this week from a global agribusiness firm trying to meet targets across complex supply chains, a startup developing ways for bees to deliver natural pesticides, and teens looking to utilize unused space for agriculture or al
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
One in four children are affected by anxiety disorders, putting our next generation of leaders and innovators at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences and engage in substance abuse.
WASTE NOT -
The US food industry uses roughly 30 billion disposable gloves per year. Estimates vary but between 45-75 percent of these are vinyl (PVC) disposable gloves. There are many scientific studies analyzing the effects of various health and food safety aspects of vinyl — including the dangers of plasticizers such as phthalates and the emission of dioxin at incineration or landfill, as well as at manufacture.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
This week, global brewer AB InBev announced two major initiatives helping it advance toward its 2025 Sustainability Goals in different parts of the world.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
“Clean meat” — products produced from culturing animal cells rather than raising and slaughtering animals — is facing its first major regulatory battle. The U.S.
WASTE NOT -
On April 21st, at the Palace Cinema in Raffles City, Changning, Shanghai, I attended the premiere of the first of a three-part documentary series, “Jackie Chan’s Green Heroes” — a joint project by the action movie star, National Geographic Partners LLC and Buick — which captures stories of sustainability innovators to inspire and educate the public.
COLLABORATION -
Companies looking to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support startups get their solutions to market by using a new digital match-making platform, fetch. The Dutch-based enterprise helps bring together potential collaborators by showcasing market-ready innovations and allowing companies to search by SDG or industry category to find the ones that align with their corporate sustainability goals.
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
SUPPLY CHAIN -
As we approach the 2020 deadline for many corporate sustainability pledges, plus the commitments made in the New York Declaration on Forests, sustainable business practices are front and center in the minds of decision-makers. The next twelve months will be pivotal in achieving these goals.
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.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
This is the eighth in a series of articles examining how business leaders and companies can transform their corporate culture in order to succeed in the midst of the impending Purpose Revolution. Find links to the full series below.
CLEANTECH -
Many people assume that tech companies are always competing. But as we celebrate Earth Day this year, we’re feeling grateful for our tech peers. When it comes to the environment, working together allows us to make bigger strides toward our shared sustainability goals — and collaboration is the only way forward.
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 -
In line with its commitments to reflect the diversity of its audiences and to support the next generation of creatives and technologists, 21st Century Fox has made a multi-year commitment to back the groundbreaking organization, Girls Who Code (GWC), with financial and in-kind resources.
This support will go toward two significant initiatives: GWC’s new College Loops program, which will drive retention and community among female computer science majors by connecting and engaging Girls Who Code alumni at colleges and universities, and the development of the organization’s international presence. Both efforts will help the organization move closer to its goal of closing the gender gap in technology.
WALKING THE TALK -
With 4.85 million active listings, Airbnb commands the largest portfolio in the industry, larger than the top five biggest hotel companies combined. The company that put home sharing on the map recently shared some of its 2017 data and celebrated its diverse community of travellers from over 190 regions of origin. 38 million US travelers used Airbnb internationally and 31 million travelers stayed at an Airbnb listing in the US.
BUSINESS CASE -
In school, we both read Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce, and it profoundly influenced the impact we want to have in life. His book demonstrates how industry and the environment do not have to be at odds, and if we work to find the right solutions, the two can (and must) work together. We’re grateful and lucky to have Paul as Lyft’s environmental advisor.
PRESS RELEASE -
Braskem, the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and the worldwide leader in bio-polymers, announced today its expanded focus on the research, development and commercialization of chemicals and materials sourced from renewable feedstocks. Braskem started a new operation in Boston focused on leveraging groundbreaking developments in biotechnology and advanced materials. The activities will include biotechnology and material science R&D, business and market development as well as technology scouting for key strategic partnerships.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Going “circular” refers to the change from our current take-make-waste linear economy to a borrow-use-return circular economy, also known under the banners of ‘zero-waste’ and ‘cradle-to-cradle.’ The concept has sparked a movement among companies, governments, NGOs, and