The latest products, services, design approaches and business models that are helping organizations of all sizes deliver on their sustainability ambitions and establish a new business as usual
Inventive circular solutions to the world’s most pressing problems continue to stream in, with entrepreneurs and researchers across North America uncovering creative new ways to transform food waste into drivers of sustainable change.
The renewable and electric vehicle markets may be growing at an unprecedented rate, but approximately 1.3 billion people around the world still live in communities where power generation is restricted and access to electricity is virtually non-existent.
The European Commission has launched the pilot of a new framework for sustainable buildings in partnership the World Green Building Council.
Putting sustainability at the heart of the fashion industry is no easy feat, but key players across the value chain continue to demonstrate that they’re up to the task. Building on the success of its Flyknit process, which allows synthetic yarn to be woven into practically seamless shoe uppers, Nike has unveiled its latest sartorial innovation: Flyleather — a sustainable leather material made with 50 percent recycled leather fiber.
Earlier this week, financial services group Discovery outlined the growth in scale and impact of its Vitality Shared-Value Insurance model. Since launching Vitality 20 years ago, Discovery has invested considerably in building a platform that serves a global network of insurers, providing access to the Vitality brand, product offerings, technological innovations, actuarial and data insights and program assets. The Global Vitality Network now operates in 16 countries across North America, Europe, pan-Asia, South Africa and the United Kingdom, serving around 10 million clients through seven insurers.
It’s easy to see why Israel refers to itself as the “startup nation.” With a population of just 8.4 million people, the success of its small-to-scale business landscape is widely acknowledged as something of a miracle, home to more startups than any other country in the world. Today, Israel has more Nasdaq-listed companies than any country outside the US and China. It also has more venture capital per capita. In 2016, Israeli startups raised a record $4.8 billion in venture funding, and saw exits worth $9.2 billion. If you want help in starting a business – especially if it’s tech-based – heading to Israel is a safe bet right now.
During Climate Week NYC, international nonprofit The Climate Group, a member of the We Mean Business coalition of nonprofits working with global businesses to take action on climate change, announced the launch of a new business campaign designed to fast-track the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and infrastructure.
In the northwestern city where I live, when you walk out the door, the first thing you see is smoke. It blankets trees and houses, it hangs thick in the air, it covers the foothills, it seeps out from between buildings; it hangs, illuminated by streetlights at night. The shroud of smoke over the sun means less people are enjoying the great outdoors, but there’s one thing that hasn’t changed: People are still driving to work. Regardless of how much air pollution we have to contend with, the economy must go on. Yet this same economy is contributing to climate change.
With rising corporate commitments and shifting regulatory requirements, companies across Europe are looking for ways to quickly advance renewable energy and sustainability initiatives. To help accelerate the pace, Schneider Electric has announced an expansion of its New Energy Opportunities (NEO) Network™, a growing community of forward-thinking corporations committed to buying and developing renewable energy and cleantech around the world.
In the lead-up to Climate Week NYC 2017 next week, organizer The Climate Group has announced that The Estée Lauder Companies, Kellogg Company, DBS Bank Ltd and Clif Bar & Company are the latest to join its
Eco-design is now synonymous with new product development (NPD). Sustainable businesses and brands have understood that to remain resilient and competitive, product eco-design must be at the heart of their corporate strategies. This requires a considerable amount of buy-in and commitment across every level of an organization and requires a disruptive approach to business-as-usual practices and procedures. Quantis is helping to lead this seismic shift, working with industry leaders to integrate sustainability at every level, driving systemic change with action informed by solid, science-based metrics.
While alternative materials have largely been dominating the discussion around the future of fashion, startups and industry heavy hitters are like are now looking to 3D-printing technology to revolutionize the apparel market.
William McDonough + Partners are bringing the Cradle to Cradle revolution to Latin America with the launch of ‘Project Legacy’ at Colombia’s Universidad EAN in the El Nogal district of Bogotá. The project will see the construction of a 20,000 square meter building that will illustrate the possibilities of design for the circular economy and the integration of a Cradle to Cradle-focused curriculum into the university’s business and engineering programs.
Scrappage schemes seem to be popping up almost daily as auto manufacturers across the UK and Europe ramp up efforts to drive polluting vehicles off the roads in anticipation of tightening governments regulations on air quality and emissions.
A pioneering new sustainable homeware and accessories brand has emerged on the market and is ready to radically transform the way furniture is made forever. Materials sourcing is where digital furniture startup Pentatonic sets itself apart from its industry counterparts, with its line of contemporary designer homeware fabricated entirely from post-consumer waste.
U.S. commercial buildings could cut energy use by 29 percent on average by taking full advantage of controls technology and implementing a few other base energy-efficiency measures, according to a new study from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Commercial buildings account for 20 percent of U.S. energy use and produce 50 percent or more of a city’s greenhouse gas emissions (75 percent in New York). If we want “smart cities” to be more than just an catchy phrase, this is an opportunity we must seize.
Jeans are a sartorial staple for consumers around the world, but denim is a ‘dirty’ business. The production process generates a considerable amount of waste water, which is often released — untreated — back into the environment, contaminating water sources and soil with chemicals and heavy metals. Poor practices and lack of regulation are having a negative impact on the health of local populations, with communities near denim manufacturing hubs demonstrating significantly higher instances of reproductive and fertility problems, as well as chemical poisoning.
2017 marks the dividing line. This is the year U.S. companies must decide whether they will make and keep sustainability initiatives outside of any federal mandate to do so. With the current administration’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and weakening of the EPA, a governmental push towards environmental sustainability is virtually nonexistent.
BASF and bse Engineering have signed an exclusive joint development agreement for BASF to provide custom catalysts for a new chemical energy storage process. The process will enable the economically viable transformation of excess current and off-gas carbon dioxide into methanol in small-scale delocalized production units.
In response to changing consumer preferences for ‘cleaner,’ healthier products, food and beverage giant Coca-Cola is ramping up efforts to uncover new non-sugar sweeteners for its portfolio of beverages and snacks. But instead of heading to the lab, the company is outsourcing its R&D, turning to the public to come up with a naturally sourced, low-calorie sugar alternative that mimics the taste of sugar.