Cleantech
The latest products, services and cleantech applications and how they are tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental issues.
Jaguar Land Rover, Tesla Harness Renewables to Reduce Impacts, Tackle Energy Security
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.
GE, UC Davis, Winesecrets Are Turning Recycled Rainwater into Wine
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.
The Tipping Point: South Pole Group on RECs, the SDGs and the Future of Renewable Energy
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.
Clean200 Update: China Continues to Lead Clean Energy Economic Expansion
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).
How a German Startup Is Making the ‘Magic of Light’ Affordable in Developing Countries
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."
McKinsey: Embracing Resource-Efficient Tech Innovations Could Yield $1T for Global Economy
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.
Trending: Auto Industry Giants Invest in New Energy Vehicles
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.
Southern Water Partners with Veolia to Turn Sludge into Renewable Energy
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.
What Does Big Data Mean For Sustainability?
Everything around us is impacted by big data today. The phenomenon took shape earlier in this decade and there are now a growing number of compelling ways in which big data analytics is being applied to solve real-world problems.
Trending: Fetzer, BillerudKorsnäs, Intel Tap into IoT to Optimize Operations
Despite the hype around Internet of Things (IoT), it’s helping more and more brands streamline operations and meet ambitious sustainability goals. First, Fetzer Vineyards, a leader in regenerative winegrowing, is slated to meet its 2020 water efficiency goals two years ahead of time thanks to a new water metering technology by APANA, Inc. that will allow the vineyard to intensify its water conservation efforts.
Under-Employed, Under-Inclusive and Under Threat: How WEF Sees the World in 2017
Economic inequality, societal polarization and intensifying environmental dangers are the top three trends that will shape global developments over the next 10 years, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2017. Collaborative action by world leaders will be urgently needed to avert further hardship and volatility in the coming decade. In this year’s annual survey, some 750 experts assessed 30 global risks, as well as 13 underlying trends that could amplify them or alter the interconnections between them. Against a backdrop of mounting political disaffection and disruption across the world, three key findings emerged from the survey:
New EPA Regs Will Require Natural Gas Industry to Come Clean About Toxic Pollution
Today, in response to a petition by 19 environmental and open-government groups, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released proposed regulations that will require natural gas processing plants to start publicly reporting the toxic chemicals they release.
Indian Chemical Firm Makes Carbon Capture Breakthrough Turning CO2 into Baking Soda
Whether it be turning food scraps into cold-pressed juices or transforming PET waste into raw materials or converting beer waste water into batteries — just a few of the latest examples of the circular economy at work — companies are increasingly finding unique ways to transform and repurpose their waste, byproducts and emissions.
As Renewables Reach Grid Parity, Questions Arise Surrounding Investment and Demand
With its potential to combat global climate change, the clean energy industry has experienced significant — and rapid — growth over the last decade. And according to the World Economic Forum, things are only looking up. As it stands, renewables, more specifically wind and solar, are fast becoming just as competitive as fossil fuels, and businesses have been taking note.
DOE Awards LanzaTech $4M for New Low-Carbon Jet & Diesel Demo Facility
The Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has awarded 2015 SBIO winner LanzaTech, a carbon-recycling company, $4 million to design and plan a demonstration-scale facility using industrial off gases to produce 3 million gallons a year of low-carbon jet and diesel fuels.
The SDGs: Who Is Leading the Way One Year Later?
Every 15 years, the United Nations gets together to determine its next steps in bettering the earth and the people on it. In late 2015, this took the form of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs focus on climate action, decreasing poverty, increasing access to health, reducing inequality, and increasing sustainable development, in both rural and developed areas, over the next 15 years. Although the goals appear broad and ambitious, the UN aims to further the advancement of people while protecting and fostering the health and wellbeing of the planet.
Startup Bringing Environmental Concerns Home by Linking Them to Personal Health
A number of data platforms have emerged in recent months that aim to help give organizations an eagle-eye view of issues such as deforestation and climate resilience, but one startup is using the power of data to engage individuals who have yet to understand how global environmental problems may be affecting them personally.
PG&E Becomes First US Energy Company to Pilot Methane-Detection Device
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has officially become the first U.S. energy company to pilot a methane-detection device.
Could Siemens’ Blockchain-Based Microgrid Project Foster an Energy-Sharing Economy?
Siemens and New York-based startup LO3 Energy have announced that they are partnering up to make the energy-sharing economy a reality through the development of microgrids that use blockchain technology to enable local energy trading.
Solar Roadways Will Soon Drive Energy Production on Four Continents
French engineering giant Bouygues Group is making a convincing case for reinventing the wheel, rolling out four new solar road projects across four continents that could change the way we drive by 2018. Colas SA, a subsidiary of Bouygues Group, has designed solar panels that are rugged enough to withstand the weight of an 18-wheeler truck — and are currently building them into road surfaces in France. Colas has been performing research and laboratory tests over the past five years and now plans to construct 100 test sites to further test the new technology before commercializing it in 2018.