PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Global fitness brand Reebok has launched its “Cotton + Corn” sustainable products initiative, which will bring plant-based footwear to the market later this year.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
High-profile incidents, such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013 and the exposé of slavery and human trafficking in the Thai seafood and electronics industries in 2014 have rightly drawn the world’s attention to global supply chains. As shameful as these incidents are, they are not anomalies. Many unethical, unsafe and unsustainable practices persist, under the radar, three or four layers down the supply chain.
CLEANTECH -
IBM and Energy-Blockchain Labs have launched the world’s first blockchain-based carbon credit management platform based on the open source, openly governed by Hyperledger Fabric, a blockchain technology that is intended as a foundation for developing blockchain applications or solutions.
COLLABORATION -
Following the launch of Applied DNA Sciences’s CertainT platform that utilizes molecular tags to certify authenticity and origins of products, AkzoNobel, Advanced Biochemical Thailand Co. and EY have introduced a new online tool that allows businesses, for the first time, to use e-certification to track bio-based content along the chemical value chain.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
In a bid to boost sustainability in Indonesia’s agri-business sector, PT SMART Tbk (PT SMART) — a subsidiary of Golden Agri-Resources (GAR) — and the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (CIRAD) have launched a new regional platform that will deliver research-based training and enhance sustainability standards in major commodity chains, including palm oil.
COLLABORATION -
The apparel and textile industries have long struggled with environmental and social impacts and the rise of fast fashion has only aggravated the problem, with its unsustainable business model that is based on an unrealistic trajectory of growth. But with the launch of Fashion for Good, McDonough Innovation is hoping to change all of that.
CLEANTECH -
AT&T has expanded its Smart Cities program by partnering up with the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) — a public-private partnership dedicated to the design and execution of a smart cities plan for the City of Dallas — to launch the DIA Smart Cities Living Lab. Dallas is one of eight cities participating in the AT&T Smart Cities spotlight cities initiative and seeks to implement the company’s smart cities framework to develop and apply a holistic strategy to address some of its most significant challenges.
CLEANTECH -
Hydrogen fuel cell technology is changing the way we think about mobility. The effectiveness of fuel cells in reducing emissions speaks for itself — the vehicles emit nothing but water vapor — which is leading more companies to invest in hydrogen for a low-carbon future. Toyota has long been a leader in the transition away from fossil fuels.
CLEANTECH -
The aviation and shipping industries contribute significantly to global CO2 emissions each year, but a growing portfolio of sustainable technological solutions are helping the sectors reduce impacts and remain competitive.
NASA has given its stamp approval to the use of biofuels in the aviation industry in a recent report, in which the body claims that using biofuels to help power jet engines reduces particle emissions in their exhaust by as much as 50 to 70 percent.
PRESS RELEASE -
BASF SE and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced that the companies will collaborate to develop one of the world’s largest supercomputers for industrial chemical research at BASF's Ludwigshafen headquarters this year. Based on the latest generation of HPE Apollo 6000 systems, the new supercomputer will drive the digitalization of BASF's worldwide research.
CLEANTECH -
Textile dyeing accounts for one fifth of all industrial wastewater pollution generated worldwide and much of it, particularly in developing countries in Asia, goes untreated. Now, China is employing electron beams to treat effluent from textile dyeing plants, ushering in a new era for radiation technology.
PRESS RELEASE -
Solegear Bioplastic Technologies Inc. and Braskem, the leading producer of biopolymers in the world, announced today a 3-year partnership in which Solegear will utilize Braskem's I'm greenTM Polyethylene to produce and distribute a series of household recycling containers under its good naturedTMbrand.
PRESS RELEASE -
Ten companies and organizations, two partnerships, and three individuals today will receive 2017 Climate Leadership Awards for their accomplishments in reducing greenhouses gas emissions and addressing climate change.
The awards, now in their sixth year, are a partnership program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and The Climate Registry. The awards are being presented this evening at the 2017 Climate Leadership Conference in Chicago.
This year’s awardees represent a wide array of industries including finance, consumer products, retail, aviation, and technology, plus federal and local government.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
The language of business can be combative (launch, target, strategize), or very often it is about profits, sales, shared value - the language of money. We are either warriors or accountants when it comes to business. However, both warring and counting money are inherently non-productive. In themselves, as actions, they are incapable of producing growth.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Plastics are an important part of the global economy and have many practical applications for everyday life, but their indisputable benefits are countered by their environmental drawbacks — especially in terms of ocean pollution. Recognizing the seriousness of the problem, more and more companies are finding new and innovative ways to tackle plastic pollution both at the source and at end-of-life.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Two new announcements from Ford highlight how the auto and mobility company is harnessing technology to get ahead.
With ambitious plans to launch an autonomous vehicle in 2021, Ford has announced that it is investing $1 billion over the next five years in Argo AI, an artificial intelligence company founded by former Google and Uber leaders, to develop a virtual driver system.
CLEANTECH -
Beatrice Akyoo doesn’t need to spend as much money lighting her home, and her children have more time for homework without inhaling the nasty fumes from kerosene lamps. She also earns extra income by charging her neighbours’ mobile phones.
“I am proud to own my personal electricity source,” she says. “At night, my family now has clean and bright lights - and we can even power a refrigerator."
CLEANTECH -
The ways we consume energy and produce commodities are changing. A new report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that this transformation could benefit the global economy to the tune of $1 trillion, but resource producers will have to adapt to stay competitive.