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.
Earlier this month, Nike announced the winners of its Circular Innovation Challenge, which called for new products using Nike Grind — Nike's ground-up post-factory and post-consumer materials — and new technologies to advance footwear recycling.
A growing number of forward-thinking companies have set about redesigning urban mobility solutions to meet the needs of modern cities and their citizens — from Lyft committing to providing carbon-neutral ride-sharing nationwide; to the growing popularity of electric bikes and scooters for personal mobility; to Ford’s work on everything from autonomous and connected vehicles to roads, parking and public transit solutions to
Well known as a technology engine — with a global network of 200,000+ startups that has powered a 1000+ innovation/startup competitions and challenges — YouNoodle might not be the first company you think of for advice on corporate sustainability strategy. But as the industrial era is replaced by a more entrepreneurial society, YouNoodle is helping brands and organizations keep up with disruptive innovation — and the sustainability space could certainly use more of that.
Consumers report that the prevailing reason why they buy bottled water is "convenience." Anyone can search online for the nearest gas station, coffee shop or nail salon, but when it comes to thirst, what options does one have? Open Google Maps and search “water fountain” — or ask Siri or Alexa, “Where can I fill up my water bottle?” No one has ever indexed the locations and prices of clean water around the world ... until now.
Feeding the world is no new challenge, but with an expanding global middle class, what has made the problem worse in recent years is a new appetite for rich, resource-intensive foods. The demand for protein is increasing in China and even in mostly vegetarian India, who account for much of the increasing strain on land, animal and water resources. Thus, the global food system must account not just for not only an increasing population, but also a growing class of consumers with demanding palettes and greater purchasing power.
Although developments in the field of artificial intelligence began around the 1950s, its capacities have significantly increased in the recent years. Owing to factors such as the development of faster computers, availability of open-source software and the access to vast amounts of computational data, AI has now branched into machine learning (ML), probabilistic predictions, chaos theory and evolutionary computation. Investing in artificial intelligence courses, therefore, prepares people to undertake not just one, but many AI applications.
The exhibit industry is one of the most wasteful on the planet. Just take a look at the end of most conferences and trade shows, and you’ll see floors and dumpsters filled with plastics, banners, janky aluminum and other non-sustainable materials. Back in March, the Sustainable Brands team saw a clever, sustainable booth-building system and reached out to the designer, Boothster, to collaborate on sustainable stage designs and booths for SB’18 Vancouver.
Today at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Sustainable Development Impact Summit, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and WEF committed to help solve world hunger by 2030 through the innovative application of technology. HPE and WEF are calling on public and private organizations to join them in an open collaboration to find solutions that will eliminate food insecurity; and sustainably, nutritiously and inclusively feed a growing population.
The milkman is making a come back. In a dozen or so communities around the U.S., dairy trucks sporting happy cows and nostalgic farm scenes are showing up at doorsteps to drop off fresh milk, cream, butter and eggs. Is that a sustainable strategy? And what does it do to promote sustainability?
New research from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) finds that a transition to a circular economy in China’s cities could make goods and services more affordable for citizens while reducing the impacts normally associated with middle-class lifestyles. The findings are being presented today at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China.
This week, SAP UKI announced plans to work with partners to pilot a “Plastics Cloud,” which will collect existing and live data from across the plastics supply chain to spark new ideas for waste reduction. The Plastics Cloud will use the power of SAP Leonardo, including machine learning, to compile information which can be used to forecast trends in plastics purchasing and recycling, enabling services to meet demand. Data could also be shared with consumers to help them understand their own plastics impact.
Cross-Posted from Collaboration. On Thursday, Dr. Victor Santiago Pineda — a globally recognized disability rights expert, President of World Enabled and Director of the Inclusive Cities Lab at the University of California Berkeley — shared his vision for socially inclusive, smart cities of the future in a keynote address at the Smart City Expo LATAM Congress 2018 in Puebla, Mexico.
FoodShot Global today launches a new investment platform aimed at accelerating food system transformation through an annual challenge — a call for “Moonshots for Better Food” that will create a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable food system worldwide. FoodShot is a nonprofit, global consortium of mission-aligned venture funds, banks, corporations, universities and foundations. A combination of equity and debt funding will be awarded to innovative businesses, while a GroundBreaker Prize of more than $500,000 in philanthropic capital will be awarded to researchers, social entrepreneurs and advocates.
The Kubota tractor parked out front is the first tip-off that Michael Crooke is not your typical executive. While other startup founders might sport a Tesla, Crooke’s home office in Ojai is a far cry from Silicon Valley. Step over the welcome mat with the Pearl Izumi mark, look up at the Patagonia surfboard in the rafters, and you realize this little converted garden shed is like a history lesson in Crooke’s path from Navy SEAL to being a leading figure in sustainable business.
Chipotle Mexican Grill announced this week that the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation will sponsor the first Chipotle Aluminaries Project, a seven-month-long accelerator program designed to help growth-stage ventures with a shared vision to cultivate a better world take their businesses to the next level.
Earlier this month, adidas by Stella McCartney launched its Fall/Winter 2018 sustainable women’s activewear collection, paying tribute to the power of nature. Designed to equip female athletes whatever the weather, the animal-inspired pieces serve as a reminder that everyone can do their part to protect the world around them. The campaign features supermodel Ming Xi as its new global ambassador who is charged with bringing the brand’s continued mission of LESS IMPACT = MORE POWER to life.
A new app is eliminating our last excuse for breaking our diet: Pinto aggregates nutrition information from over 100,000 of the most commonly eaten foods in the US and creates personalized nutrition labels that focuses specifically on the ingredients and nutritional information users are concerned about.
Today, MBDC — the world’s foremost advisors in material health, product design and the Cradle to Cradle Design® framework co-founded by William McDonough and Michael Braungart — is proud to support C&A as the world’s first retailer to offer Cradle to Cradle Certified™ GOLD denim jeans.
I have been an executive for large fashion companies most of my career. I held senior management positions in buying and production in Footwear and Accessories for multi-chain retailers. It was not clear to me at the time, but truth be told, I played a part in the explosion of fast fashion and mass consumerism, as we know it today.
It’s estimated that nearly 8 million tons of plastic flow into our oceans every year; even more goes into landfills. While there are many great companies focused on recovering this plastic, there is one developing a plan for what to do with those millions of tons after the cleanup is done.