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
As we head into the most gluttonous week of the year here in the U.S., it’s helpful to be reminded that companies large and small continue to churn out new technologies in the ongoing war against food waste – both at the business and consumer level.
On Tuesday, day 2 of New Metrics ’16, Greg Norris of the International Living Future Institute, Jane Abernethy of HumanScale, John Pflueger of Dell, Johanna Jobin of Biogen and Daniel Aronson of Valutus discussed the next stages of the business world’s efforts to become Net Positive.
RB, the leading consumer health and hygiene company behind brands such as Lysol, Durex, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Scholl, and Clearasil, has launched a startup programme on crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.
Commodity production drives two-thirds of tropical deforestation worldwide, and tracing those commodities has proven difficult.
This year, the U.S. election fell in the midst of the United Nations climate negotiations (COP22). While the results have led to some unease and uncertainty, they certainly haven’t halted commitments and funding for renewable energy and other climate change solutions.
I’ve yet to meet a corporate CSO or sustainability team member who told me that they really look forward to filling in their annual sustainability questionnaires. In fact, the opposite is almost unanimously true. It’s not that questionnaires don’t have their place per se; they absolutely do. But it seems like every new framework comes with yet another set of (different) questions, requiring participants to input sensitive company information into a ‘black box’ mechanism in order to get a single number or rating in return.
Volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are a major issue for oil and gas, chemicals, food and pharmaceutical industries. During the storage of ethereal liquids such as fuels and solvents, vapors can create a toxic, flammable or even explosive ‘cloud.’ In the past, oil and gas companies have fit their storage tanks with internal floating roofs made of assembled plates. The systems are efficient, but have high set up costs and can require significant maintenance work. French startup Elbé Pétro has developed an alternative technology inspired by duckweed – small aquatic plants that free-float on still water ponds – to help address chemical evaporation in storage tanks.
Closed Loop Fund (CLF), a private sector investment fund that finances recycling infrastructure and sustainable manufacturing technologies to advance the circular economy, released its first public progress report. Details reveal investment opportunities in the recycling industry that deliver clear environmental and financial returns for cities, companies, and private investors, despite the headwinds of low commodities prices.
Visionary architect and designer William McDonough - founder of William McDonough + Partners and McDonough Innovation, and co-author of the seminal text of the sustainability movement, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things - has proposed a new language of carbon that was published today in the scientific journal, Nature. The new language recognizes the element carbon as an asset, not an enemy, and defines a paradigm for carbon to be used safely, productively and profitably.
Following a five-year search for more sustainable and healthy hair care solutions, this month Cris Dios, cosmetologist and co-founder of Laces and Hair, recently launched Brazil’s first range of 100 percent natural hair colour solutions. As well as nourishing hair fibres without fading them, they are an excellent solution for people who suffer allergic reactions to products containing chemicals.
An association of global electricity companies, the Global Sustainable Electricity Partnership (GSEP), is offering their expertise to development finance institutions and other international organizations to jointly identify electricity technology investments that can help countries reduce their carbon emissions on schedule in accordance with the Paris Agreement goals.
With car sharing becoming an increasingly popular solution for cities and millennials, automakers are finding new ways to standout in a crowded market. Last week, David Plouffe, chief strategic adviser of Uber Technologies Inc., announced intentions to create a new market and assist smart cities with developing better transportation systems. While at a technology forum in Taipei, Plouffe explained that a lot of Uber clients aren’t taxi users, and that the company gives opportunities for drivers to create an extra income for themselves, outside of their main careers.
If there’s any force greater than whatever propelled Donald Trump into the Presidency, it’s economics. Nobody, not even a President Trump, can stop all movement toward the clean economy. The reason is simple: It’s now cheaper to cut carbon and use renewable energy than to keep the status quo. Don’t get me wrong. Today is a very hard day for many Americans. I know I am fearful about our democracy and threats to human rights of all kinds. I also believe some critical structural problems in our system badly need to change (like the electoral college, profit- and clicks-driven news media, and money in politics).
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has launched a new version of its Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI), a cradle-to-gate scoring tool that measures and communicates the environmental performance of thousands of materials used in creating apparel, footwear and home textile products.
Fast fashion has followed a trend similar to the fast food chains that inspired its name - explosive growth, massive popularity, and then consumer skepticism. Turns out that having access to clothes en masse mere days after the latest runway shows requires production practices that aren’t healthy for societies or our planet. Just like factory farming and consuming Whoppers and fries consistently isn’t healthy or sustainable, inexpensive clothing meant to be worn once or twice and constantly replaced isn’t much better for us.
Today, sportswear leader adidas and environmental organization Parley for the Oceans unveiled the first football and running performance products made from upcycled marine plastic waste, recovered via Parley’s interception and cleanup operations in coastal areas of the Maldives.
Two startups are advancing their solar power solutions in big ways: Arcadia Power, an online renewable energy company, has launched the first nationwide community solar program in the United States; and solar lighting and power systems provider d.light has secured a total of $30 million in funding this year for off-grid solar.
Habit, a new startup at the intersection of nutrition, technology and food delivery, will offer personalized nutrition solutions for the likely millions of Westerners who have yet to find a 'diet' that works for them.
Apparel company Kering has launched a new curriculum to help fashion students understand the environmental impacts of their designs, just days after the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) partnered to embed systems thinking and circular economy into the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum across Europe.
It’s no secret that "denim is a dirty business.” But does this mean our love affair with denim is over? To open the KingPins 2016 Amsterdam Show on October 24, 10 leaders transforming the denim industry were invited to answer one question: Is the scary part of hazardous chemicals on the way? The day, dubbed the “Transformers,” invited a range of perspectives from the chemical industry, along with manufacturers, brands, and industry coalitions - and while there was certainly some debate, common themes emerged.