WASTE NOT -
A new study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology highlights the progress of the notoriously water-consumptive almond industry in becoming carbon-emission neutral or even carbon negative. The research, undertaken by UC Davis scientists, highlights the carbon capture potential of almond orchards and concludes that reusing byproducts from almond production and harvest is critical to the industry’s environmental impact and emissions reduction.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
A new technology from a Bangalore-based scientist promises a cost-effective way to deliver clean drinking water by harnessing moisture from the atmosphere. The patented ‘Rain Tunnel Technology’ has been integrated into a household plug-in machine that will be available for commercial use in the next two months, according to inventor Dr. Rajah Vijay Kumar, Chief Scientific Officer at the De Scalene Research Organization.
CLEANTECH -
As water-dependent companies seek to cut their usage and survive through punishing droughts, Costco is finding solutions with the help of the latest computing technologies – the cloud, data algorithms, wireless tech and low-cost sensors. Through a partnership with Washington-based startup Apana, the retail giant is employing innovative water-conservation technology to cut water use and generate significant cost savings.Costco first tested the Apana technology on several of its buildings in Mexico. After saving thousands of dollars at each facility, the company has now expanded its use of the technology to over 50 buildings in North America.
NEW METRICS -
Like most British people, I enjoy a nice cup of tea. And like most practitioners of life cycle assessment (a far smaller group), I’m very interested in understanding the full impact of the products I consume.So how much water goes into a cup of tea? Somewhere around 30 litres of water is required for tea itself, 10 litres for a small dash of milk and a further 6 litres for each teaspoon of sugar. This means that a simple cup of tea with milk and two sugars could actually require 52 litres of water – enough to fill my kettle more than 30 times.
WASTE NOT -
U.S. Water Services, a water treatment company providing industrial and commercial water management, has announced a breakthrough in sustainable chemistry for cooling water treatment.The PhosZero™ family of water treatment products is designed to provide scale and corrosion control similar to “traditional” phosphorus containing chemistries, but without the discharge or aquatic toxicity of older technologies.The PhosZero products are made with E-FexTM technology, which the company says includes the following benefits:
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
On Thursday, Sunny Delight Beverages Co. (SDBC) released its fifth annual Sustainability Report, detailing its sustainability goals and progress — including an $85 million investment in new production equipment to improve efficiency, a significant reduction in the calorie count for its beverages, and sustaining zero waste to landfill for the fifth consecutive year.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Following ongoing campaigns to urge both businesses and citizens to more effectively conserve water, this week saw the launch of Water Deeply, a comprehensive new media platform created to connect the public with experts to better understand the California drought.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
As a punishing drought continues to grip California and other areas around the globe, scientists are exploring hardy succulents as a pathway to genetically engineer plants to use less water.Agave and other succulents such as the prickly pear, pineapple and vanilla have evolved to perform a different kind of photosynthesis that enable their survival in semiarid environments.Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) describes the process these species use to absorb most of their carbon dioxide at night rather than during the day, as most plants (known as C3 and C4 plants) do. This timing difference means less water evaporates off the leaves through transpiration.
CLEANTECH -
This week, startup Measurabl, a provider of sustainability data management and analytics software, announced a partnership with Optoro, a technology company focused on supply chain sustainability for retailers. The “We Are Measurabl” pilot program allows Optoro and other companies to track and validate their corporate sustainability performance to their stakeholders.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week, SABMiller released its annual Sustainable Development Report, announcing progress to reduce water use and carbon emissions and achievement of significant financial savings associated with these environmental measures.
NEW METRICS -
Ecolab’s efforts to help customers reduce, reuse, manage and treat water more efficiently led to a savings of 115 billion gallons of water in 2014, according to the company’s 2014 Corporate Sustainability Report, released Thursday.The company also launched the Water Risk Monetizer, a free public tool designed to help change the way water is valued and managed by all water users.Ecolab says its mission is “to provide and protect what is vital: clean water, safe food, abundant energy and healthy environments.” Through partnerships with customers, NGOs and communities, the company helps address some of the world’s most urgent resource and business challenges.
CLEANTECH -
California is experiencing a significant paradigm shift around water and energy, and the 2015 Water/Energy Nexus Hackathon, coming to San Francisco in mid-August, intends to bring some of the smartest minds together to help address these complex issues. This two-day event will allow students, professionals and enthusiasts to experiment, improve and unveil new methods to help manage, interact and understand the growing relationship between water and energy, which is ever more critical given the current drought situation.
CLEANTECH -
Ceres has released a new search tool that enables users to access water risk disclosures in company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The SEC Sustainability Disclosure Search tool allows users to find disclosures in 4,500 U.S. companies’ annual filings relating to water availability, scarcity, quality, pollution, regulation and innovation. The tool covers 10-K filings from 2009 to the present and helps stakeholders, including investors, companies, academics and analysts, better understand how businesses are measuring, managing and disclosing material water risks and opportunities.
CLEANTECH -
AT&T, IBM and Mueller Water Products have teamed up to use Internet of Things (IoT) technology to address water sustainability in cities. Their partnership combines Echologics sensors and sound technology from Mueller Water Products with AT&T’s LTE wireless network to detect water pressure, temperature and leaks in urban water systems. The IBM Water Management Center helps aggregate the water data, providing a complete view of past, present and future performance.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A Wednesday afternoon session at SB ’15 San Diego explored compelling case studies on designing and implementing consumer-facing water campaigns. Representatives from Waste Management, Stella Artois and Water.org, the National Hockey League, and WhiteWave Foods described their efforts to engage consumers in their water conservation initiatives and offered tips on creating effective partnerships with NGOs.
WASTE NOT -
Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced it achieved a water use ratio of 3.2 hectoliters per hectoliter of production from 2013 to 2014, which the company says makes it the most water-efficient brewer in the world.This resulted in saving the equivalent of the amount of water it takes to make more than 4 billion cans of beers.In addition to the work done within its brewery walls, the company says it also engages in a comprehensive water stewardship program, including watershed protection measures in brewery communities facing water stress and working with barley growers to obtain the most "crop per drop." The efforts aim to improve the quality and quantity of available water for all users.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
AECOM, Van Alen Institute and 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) on Wednesday launched a new ideas competition calling on multidisciplinary teams of students worldwide to identify risks to urban food, energy or water systems and offer strategies that make these systems more efficient, equitable and accessible to diverse populations.
WASTE NOT -
Fashion is probably the last thing you think about when you see a leather airplane seat – yet through a partnership between Southwest Airlines and textile and accessories upcycler Looptworks, 43 acres of leather collected from 80,000 discarded Southwest airplane seats were turned into LUV Seat weekender duffle bags, shoes, soccer balls and more that embody how creative partnerships can help companies close loops and benefit the environment.
COLLABORATION -
Whirlpool Corporation and Kohler will collaborate to identify ways to achieve net-zero water in the home, according to an announcement made this week at SB '15 San Diego.During the conference, representatives from both companies discussed a shared hope to create energy and water advancements that lead to reduced consumption and allow existing buildings to become self-sustaining systems.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
For Ron Voglewede, Global Sustainability Director at Whirlpool, “doing the right thing the right way” is the only way, “because there is no right way to do the wrong thing.” For Voglewede, the ‘right thing’ means being net positive — where the resources that we produce are at least equal or greater than the resources that we consume; the ‘right way’ requires looking at all stakeholders using systems thinking. In order to do the ‘right thing the right way,’ Voglewede has found that one needs to work on three levels: optimize, innovate, and transform.