The latest products, services and cleantech applications and how they are tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental issues.
When people think of industries making the world a more sustainable place, air travel is likely at the bottom of the list — but United Airlines is one industry leader working hard to change that. We recently spoke with United’s Director of Environmental Strategy and Sustainability, Natalie Mindrum, to learn more about how the airline continues to fuel its progress on sustainability.
Big things are brewing in the realm of clean energy, with new initiatives in France, Denmark and Puerto Rico ushering renewables towards the mainstream. France is poised to double its current wind and solar power capacity with a new plan approved by the European Commission that will see Europe’s second largest economy add 17 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy to its portfolio.
MIT has developed a new technology that could revolutionize wastewater treatment and water purification. Providing an alternative to more energy- and chemical-intensive alternatives, MIT’s new method is capable of removing even extremely low levels of pollutants from water. The technology was developed by MIT postdoc Xiao Su, Ralph Landau, Professor of Chemical Engineering T. Alan Hatton and five others at MIT and at the Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany.
If anyone doubts renewable energy is the future for this country, they need only to look at employment numbers. According to a recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), employers in the renewables sector are hiring people 12 times faster than the rest of the economy.
Investors, regulators, NGOs and consumers have yet another way to access companies’ sustainability data with the release of Arabesque S-Ray, an easy-to-use application that streamlines environmental, social and governance (ESG) information for over 4,000 of the world’s largest corporations.
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.
This week, two more multinationals joined the ranks of companies energizing their sustainability agendas with bold commitments to power their entire operations with renewables.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Renewables continue to gain traction both with businesses and governments, offering solutions to reduce impacts and address issues of energy security. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is the latest to embrace renewables, signing a new agreement with EDF Energy to buy all of its electricity for its manufacturing and production sites from renewable sources up to March 2020.
Water is an increasingly precious resource and no one knows this better than California. Last year marked the state’s sixth consecutive year of drought, an issue that is putting serious strain on its agriculture and viticulture industries. Achieving a sustainable water future is critical to meet the needs of people, businesses and the environment, a prospect that local and national businesses alike aren’t taking lying down.
Last month, we at Sustainable Brands announced the renewal of our renewable energy partnership with sustainability solutions provider South Pole Group, to help minimize the footprint of our global events. This week, we chatted with Melanie Wilneder, a Key Account Manager at South Pole Group, to learn more about the ever-growing renewable energy market worldwide, and which solutions make the most sense for business.
While electric vehicles have long been identified as a leading solution to reduce emissions and combat climate change, hydrogen fuel cells are still met with significant criticism. The flammability of the element leaves many skeptical about the feasibility of fuel cell vehicles, but for companies such as Toyota and Shell, hydrogen is the future.
An updated version of the Carbon Clean 200 (Clean200) released today by As You Sow and Corporate Knights reveals that China continues to play a leading role in the clean energy economic expansion. Although China’s stock market is less than half the size of the U.S., it has almost double the number of large clean energy companies (71 vs. 41).
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."
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.
In moves that will spur new energy vehicle demand, two new auto industry partnerships provide a look at a low-carbon economy of the future. First, Honda Motor Co Ltd and General Motors Co (GM) have announced ambitious plans to expand pollution-free hydrogen fuel power systems in the US from 2020, a move that will not only create new jobs, but also drive forward the shift away from fossil fuel-dependent vehicles.
In an effort to further reduce its carbon footprint, Southern Water is turning to sewage to boost renewables generation. At present, the water and sewage company generates 17 percent of its electricity demand from 16 combined heat and power (CPH) sites, with total renewable electricity generation currently totaling 48.3GWh. With new Veolia combined heat and power (CPH) engines installed at its treatment facilities in Hampshire and Kent, Southern Water will be well equipped to expand its renewables portfolio.