The latest developments in safe and sustainable chemicals, new materials, fuels, and more.
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. A Canadian coffee company says it has developed a more environmentally friendly alternative to the ever-popular, single-serve K-Cup pods, made a household name in recent years by the ubiquitous Keurig home coffeemakers.
Dow Microbial Control, a unit of The Dow Chemical Company, today introduced its Advanced Oxidation System (AOS) Certified technology for whole-room sanitization, which will provide food and beverage producers with an effective, chemical-free system for controlling surface and airborne pathogens. AOS Certified systems fill a need in the global food processing industry for a whole-room sanitization technology that quickly and safely reduces dangerous bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and Salmonella, which pose serious health risks to consumers and a great financial risk for food manufacturers.
This post first appeared on Earth911.com on July 10, 2013.Already topping lists of the nation’s most sustainable companies, Tom’s of Maine is looking to reduce end-of-life waste from its products even more by experimenting with biodegradable packaging made from potato starch.
Oshenite®, a bioplastic additive produced from a renewable marine mineral called oolitic aragonite, allows environmentally conscience brand owners and manufacturers to produce or use plastic packaging with reduced amounts of fossil fuel-based resins. Produced by U.S. Aragonite, Oshenite can replace these resins in a wide range of flexible and rigid applications and offers environmental and economic benefits — both without sacrificing performance or contaminating recycling streams.
Whether one believes corn-based ethanol is a viable long-term solution for the United States’ energy portfolio or not, the reality is that 280 plants across the country will continue to produce biofuels. And with the constant argument over the rise of cultivating farmland for fuel versus food, it is incumbent upon growers and biofuel producers to use this valuable crop as efficiently as possible.
Twelve colleges and universities have joined Dow Chemical and other chemical industry leaders in signing the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC). This is the first nationally organized effort to link higher education and the chemical industry to effect education reform in the U.S.The non-profit Beyond Benign, founded by Dr. John Warner, launched this consortium with the goal of teaching chemistry for a sustainable future. In order to achieve this, Beyond Benign fosters innovative, efficient and environmentally sound chemical products and processes, while preparing world-class chemists with the skills necessary to do so.
Nike, Levi Strauss, H&M and several other members of the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals Group have committed to publishing a list of chemicals targeted for phase out or research by 2015 as part of a plan to eliminate hazardous chemicals from their supply chains by 2020.
When Coca-Cola first rolled out its PlantBottle in fall 2009 in Copenhagen, the beverage giant sent a signal to the entire food and beverage industry that it had had to take sustainable packaging more seriously. Additional companies, including Heinz, later rolled out plastic bottles using the same technology.
Over the past 10 years we’ve seen a recurring ambition from clients — wanting to ‘do a Nespresso.’ This is because it’s a refill system that premiumised their brand, redefined their category, elevated user experience, drove consumption and built brand loyalty whilst delivering profitable growth.
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. During his plenary presentation last night at the SB '13 conference, designer, author and sustainability thought leader William McDonough announced a new partnership between McDonough Innovation and Waste Management, Inc — North America's largest environmental solutions provider and residential recycler.
In the final week leading up to the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) finals presented by Target on June 5th, where the runner-up will be decided via live online public vote, we will feature daily articles introducing our semi-finalists. Today, meet Blue Box.Blue Box is positioning itself as an innovative method of cleaning industrial equipment with very little chemicals, at very low cost.
PulpWorks, based in San Rafael, CA, designs and manufactures sustainable packaging, molded from 100% post-consumer waste paper, for the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. The company has created a compostable and biodegradable alternative to toxic and harmful plastic (PVC) blister packaging.
The rapid adoption of plastics in innumerable applications over the years stems from their overall benefits versus other materials; in particular, their reliability, ease of manufacturing, lighter weight and affordability.
Today there are three ways to ship wine in the mail: cardboard, molded pulp or expanded polystyrene (EPS). Pfeiffer Lab, a Bay Area design firm, has been working on a design strategy project to re-envision wine packaging using new bio-based materials developed by Malama C
Companies crowdsourcing their sustainability strategies is a growing trend, and I was lucky enough to experience this first-hand last month, through a Unilever Sustainable Living Lab session, as a guest speaker discussing sustainable packaging design (interest declared: they’re a Seymourpowell cl
Cross-Posted from Waste Not. In a recent report from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), researchers determined that consumer attitudes and behaviors surrounding food packaging could help reduce household food waste.
DuPont Refrigerants and EOS Climate have announced a new buyback program to incentivize the return of recovered chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants by paying contractors and business owners for the safe disposal of polluting substances.
GE has developed a new membrane to purify tough-to-treat water such as wastewater from industrial processes that can reduce time between cleanings by as much as 50 percent.
Each week leading up to the Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) finals on June 5th, where the runner-up will be decided via live online public vote, we will feature articles introducing our semi-finalists. This week, meet EOS Climate.Joe Madden, Todd English and Jeff Cohen met at graduate school in 2009, and created their company EOS Climate with the objective of tackling climate change by managing greenhouse gases with market-based approaches.
Packaging. The term evokes images of wrappers, tubs, pouches and other types of product encasements we see on store shelves every day. Meanwhile, transport packaging such as pallets, cardboard boxes and plastic stretch wrap remain largely hidden from shoppers’ view.