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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Part one of this two-part discussion on The Future of Certification was, in my opinion, the most interesting discussion I attended at SB’16 Copenhagen. This was in part due to the thought-provoking questions and comments coming from the audience, but also due to the openness and honesty of the panellists in the face of some rather critical queries.
Being a conservationist today means more than being a steward of the land; it requires an understanding of the ecological balance between man and animal, industry and ecology, necessary to maintain the health of the whole. The American Forest Foundation (AFF) works with family forest owners in 13 Southeastern states where currently, there are 224 forest-dependent species listed as endangered or threatened, with 293 more that could be listed in the near future. These same forests support nearly 1.1 million people in rural communities with employment and supply raw material for consumer wood products globally.
Nestlé and Unilever are helping set the standard for sustainable agriculture, according to a survey of over 150 global sustainability heads conducted by Pure Strategies. The responses identified these firms as the leaders and revealed that farm-level engagement is a top priority across industries such as apparel, home and personal care, and life sciences.
Our theme this year at Sustainable Brands has been “Activating Purpose” – exploring and applauding the ways brands are authentically walking their talk when it comes to pursuing purpose beyond profit – and we are thrilled that the list continues to grow.
Engineers from the University of Colorado Boulder (CUB) have developed a bio-manufacturing process that uses a biological organism cultivated in brewery wastewater to create the carbon-based materials needed to make energy storage cells. The process could represent a win-win by reducing expensive wastewater treatment costs for beer makers while providing manufacturers with a more cost-effective means of creating renewable, naturally derived fuel cell technologies.
As much of the Southeast U.S. is still cleaning up from Hurricane Matthew, the country’s 13th billion-dollar weather disaster this year, a new Ceres report ranks the nation’s largest insurance companies on their responses to escalating climate risks, including severe weather events. The report finds that while more U.S. insurers are improving their disclosure and management of climate risks, most are still giving it minimal attention, both in terms of risks and opportunities.
Six European startups have been selected as finalists for the third Green Alley Award, a prize that rewards business models and products that can improve resource conservation. Waste-reducing apps, a food packaging system, and a CO2-absorbing urban “tree” are among those in the running.
In the past, H&M has faced criticism for labor issues in its supply chain and its “fast fashion” business model that relies on high rates of consumption.
The way the majority of the world’s economy works is ‘linear’. We take materials out of the earth, make them into marketable goods that we consume, and dispose of the goods when we’re done with them. It’s a system that accelerated since the onset of the Industrial Revolution, when there was an abundance of cheap and easily accessible natural resources. Mass production made a lot of sense at the time and has since arguably raised our standards of living exponentially.
Nespresso has announced a second wave of its Limited Edition Grand Cru SULUJA ti South Sudan coffee, representing continued progress in rebuilding South Sudan's coffee industry, and a $6 million joint investment with the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) in a landmark collaboration to support coffee farmers in East Africa.