Jamaica | CIBUNET | Industry Resources, Economic And Business Development Interface

Innovations In Clean Energy, Materials, And Recycling Are Driving Progress Toward Apple’s Ambitious Environmental Goals

Apple has reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions by more than 55 percent since 2015, the company shared today in its 2024 Environmental Progress Report. The milestone marks important progress on the journey toward Apple 2030, the company’s ambitious goal to become carbon neutral across its entire value chain by the end of this decade. The goal centers on cutting emissions by 75 percent from 2015 levels.

“The proof of Apple’s commitment to climate action is in our progress: We’ve slashed emissions by more than half, all while serving more users than ever before,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “More hard work is ahead of us, and we’re focused on harnessing the power of innovation and collaboration to maximize our impact.”

Teams across Apple and its global supply chain have contributed to Apple 2030 and the company’s environmental efforts, driving innovations in clean energy and energy efficiency, materials, carbon removal, water stewardship, zero waste, and recycling. As Apple celebrates Earth Day with its customers around the world — including through curated environment-focused collections on podcasts, books, and more — here’s a look at 10 innovations, partnerships, and activities engaging customers and advancing global climate and environmental progress.

Paving the Way for Recycled Critical Materials

Apple’s work toward making products using only recycled and renewable materials has spurred innovation in sourcing and design — while driving major reductions in the company’s carbon footprint. This includes materials critical to the clean energy transition. Last year, 56 percent of the cobalt shipped in Apple batteries came from recycled sources, more than double the year before.¹ That includes the MacBook Air with M3, the first-ever Apple product to be made with 50 percent recycled material. And in another first, 24 percent of the lithium shipped in Apple batteries last year came from certified recycled sources. For both lithium and cobalt, Apple is sourcing from post-industrial scrap and post-consumer scrap from end-of-life batteries. The company has also made strides with copper, using 100 percent recycled copper in key thermal applications in iPhone 15 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro, as well as the Taptic Engine and printed circuit boards across many product lines in the last year. The progress demonstrates real potential for recycling to help meet the growing demand for critical materials in the future.

Slashing Manufacturing Emissions with Suppliers

The ongoing transition to clean electricity across Apple’s supply chain has driven the majority of emissions reductions so far, with Apple’s Supplier Clean Energy Program now supporting over 16.5 gigawatts of renewable energy around the world. And by prioritizing energy efficiency in collaboration with Apple, more than 100 supplier facilities achieved over 2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity savings last year. Together with additional energy savings — primarily associated with heat — these facilities avoided nearly 1.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions, up 25 percent from 2022. Apple is also working to address the direct climate impact of industrial processes, such as the manufacturing of flat-panel displays, which emits highly potent fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs). Every display supplier has committed to a high standard of F-GHG abatement, and Apple is engaging with them to track emissions and deploy state-of-the-art abatement equipment at manufacturing sites.

Designing to Remove Plastic

Apple’s journey to remove plastic from its packaging is fueled by innovation, using fiber-based plastic alternatives that still provide an unmatched unboxing experience for customers. In the last year, Apple reached a milestone with the release of its first-ever 100 percent fiber-based packaging in the new Apple Watch lineup and for Apple Vision Pro. Across every product Apple shipped last year, only 3 percent of the packaging was made from plastic. Teams continue to innovate — this week, Apple published a new white paper with the University of British Columbia’s BioProducts Institute that analyzes the challenges with current consumer packaging and explores more sustainable future solutions through the use of advanced fiber-based materials. And in partnership with RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Apple announced the development of a fiber-based alternative to the protective foams widely used in many types of packaging.

Partnering with Communities to Drive Change

As Apple accelerates work to address climate change, the company is also focused on supporting efforts led by communities experiencing disproportionate impacts. Through its Strengthen Local Communities program, Apple is providing a series of new grants to organizations worldwide that are taking action to protect the health and wellbeing of their communities. In the U.S., Apple is also supporting the growth of Justice Outside’s Network for Network Leaders program to promote the outdoors, environmental education, and environmental justice. Apple has also worked with the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya to support water harvesting and climate-smart agriculture by funding a rainwater catchment system at the Lewa school in Mutunyi and drip irrigation kits for farmers working to encourage more sustainable agriculture practices in their communities. This year, the company will build on this work with new support for Lewa’s community water access programs. And in Australia, Apple will extend its funding for the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT), an organization led by the traditional owners of Warddeken and Djelk Indigenous protected areas. Apple’s grant will support KKT’s Indigenous Women Rangers Program and conservation activities across the protected areas.

Spurring Industrywide Change with Reusable Filters

As part of the company’s commitment to zero waste, last year Apple completed the installation of reusable air filters at every one of its data centers worldwide. The shift avoids sending 25 tons of dirty filters to landfills each year — enough to fill an entire football field — and cuts fan energy use by 35 percent. Working together beginning in 2019 at Apple’s Reno data center, Apple and automotive filtration and technology company K&N prototyped and tested 20 versions of an all-new reusable filter design to meet high standards of performance and efficiency. Today the reusable filters are quickly becoming standard, not just for Apple but industrywide. Innovations like this have contributed to significant progress: In the last five years, Apple increased the diversion rate from its data centers from 64 percent to 90 percent.

Innovating for the Future of Recycling

Apple has engineered entirely new technologies to advance the field of electronics recycling — including disassembly robot Daisy, which can now take apart 29 models of iPhone into 15 discrete components, and recycling machines Dave and Taz, which are now deployed with a recycling partner in China. This year, Apple introduced a new product sorter to its asset recovery center in California, with the goal of automating the process to improve efficiency and productivity. Apple is committed to sharing the technology with recycling partners around the world as a low-cost, time-saving solution. As an additional efficiency improvement, the asset recovery center now employs autonomous mobile robots to help transport products and components around the facility. Through academic partnerships with institutions such as Carnegie Mellon, the company is also working to further harness the power of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and automation in recycling.

Building for a Greener Future

Apple’s commitment to design with the environment in mind extends beyond products and includes the construction of its buildings. Today, more than 100 of Apple’s retail stores, corporate offices, and data centers worldwide are certified through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), two internationally respected accreditation processes for sustainable buildings. The number continues to grow — currently, Apple is developing more than 18 million square feet of green building space globally. In 2023, a building in Apple’s Culver City, California, campus achieved LEED Platinum status, the highest possible rating, for significant energy and water savings, renewable power, and waste diversion. And the new Apple Battersea campus and retail store, located in London’s historic Battersea Power Station, diverted 99 percent of construction waste from landfill, while employing sustainable design elements and low-carbon materials.

Investing in Nature with High-Quality Carbon Removal Projects

In the roadmap to achieve its Apple 2030 climate goal, Apple is prioritizing direct emissions reductions across all operations and its supply chain. For residual emissions that are difficult to avoid with today’s available solutions, the company is investing in high-quality, nature-based carbon projects, including through its innovative Restore Fund. Building on a strong portfolio of sustainable forestry projects in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Conservation International, Apple has launched a new phase of the Restore Fund with Climate Asset Management, focused on creating a portfolio that pools regenerative agriculture projects with ecosystem conservation and restoration projects. This year, Apple suppliers TSMC and Murata joined the fund’s second phase with their own investment commitments. And today Apple is announcing the first set of regenerative agriculture projects the fund has invested in, which includes the development of olive and almond farms in Portugal, an almond farm in Spain, and a farm in Australia that is being converted from sugarcane to macadamias. The projects adhere to strict protocols to ensure water security and efficiency, and employ proven measures to improve soil quality and promote biodiversity.

Engaging Customers and Employees in Global Recycling

Last year, nearly 12.8 million devices and accessories were sent to new owners through AppleCare and programs like Apple Trade In — more than ever before. As of today, iPhone 7 still offers Trade In value. Apple will responsibly recycle products that no longer have value, and recover the valuable materials inside so they can live a new life in future products. From reboxing old devices to send back to Apple, to organizing a collection drive, to simply passing on an old iPhone to a family member, there are so many ways customers can contribute to Apple’s environmental goals. Customers can drop off their used Apple devices at any Apple Store location, or by visiting apple.com/recycle.

Celebrating Earth Day with Education and Action

Across Apple’s ecosystem, the company is offering opportunities for users to educate themselves on climate change and other environmental issues, take meaningful action in their communities, and celebrate Earth Day. On April 22, Apple Watch users can earn a limited-edition award by completing any workout of 30 minutes or more.

Customers can also attend Today at Apple programming featuring environmental leaders and visionary organizations in select Apple Store locations worldwide. In all stores globally, Apple Retail will also host a Pop-Up Studio titled Photograph Earth Like a Pro on iPhone, demoing features like macro photography and more on iPhone 15. This year, Apple will again collaborate with Dolores Huerta, social justice advocate and founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation, as part of the Challenge for Change learning series. Learners of all ages can participate in the challenge Create a Better World Through Environmental Justice, which offers thought-provoking discussion guides. And a new resource — 30 Creative Activities to Help the Environment — is designed to inspire new ways for people to take action in their communities.

On Earth Day and every day, Apple is committed to taking action to protect the planet and to inspire others — including Apple customers — to do the same.

NSF Launches Global Centers 2024 Competition in Partnership With Five Countries

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) joined partner funding agencies from Canada, Finland, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom in announcing the launch of the Global Centers 2024 competition, with the theme “Addressing Global Challenges through the Bioeconomy.”

Winning teams will be awarded up to $5 million to implement new Global Centers — international, interdisciplinary collaborative research centers that will apply best practices of broadening participation and community engagement to develop use-inspired research on the bioeconomy. The centers will also create education and workforce development opportunities for students and early-career researchers while enhancing diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across the global STEM enterprise.

“The Global Centers 2024 competition is a testament to NSF’s commitment to global partnerships that are advancing critical innovations in the bioeconomy and enabling new solutions to some of our most important global challenges,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. “I am especially excited about the range of international partners that are working together on this project. The shared values that underpin our commitments to robust research collaborations are fostering new breakthroughs and supercharging innovation at the frontiers of the bioeconomy.”

The 2024 competition is an NSF-led activity, coordinated through NSF’s Global Center program with the NEH, and co-sponsored with five other countries’ science agencies: Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC); Finland’s Research Council of Finland (RCF) and Business Finland (BF); the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST); the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Science and Information and Communication Technology (MSIT) and National Research Foundation (NRF); and the United Kingdom’s U.K. Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Focused on the bioeconomy — the share of the economy based on products, services and processes derived from living systems — the 2024 competition will prioritize holistic, multidisciplinary projects, that demonstrate large-scale, international collaboration to advance science within the scope of the competition’s theme and may include research from any combination of disciplines supported by NSF. To achieve maximal outcomes and benefits, submissions are expected to integrate crosscutting objectives into the project’s research outlines and the proposed center’s framework. These include plans for public engagement, the collaborative generation of research activities, workforce development, education and strategies and anticipated impacts on the communities the center serves, clearly stated.

The Global Centers program encourages proposal submissions designed to enhance diversity within STEM, with priority given to teams whose projects involve the participation of historically under-represented or underserved populations, minority-serving institutions, primarily undergraduate institutions and/or two-year colleges. Proposals from Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdictions are especially encouraged.

Proposals solicited for this competition will fall under two overarching categories: “Leveraging Biodiversity Across the Tree of Life to Power the Bioeconomy” and “Biofoundries.”

Leveraging Biodiversity Across the Tree of Life to Power the Bioeconomy includes research on all manner of organisms and how they interact — from microbes to plants to animals — and the application of comparative genomics to identify similarities and differences that can be harnessed in novel biotechnologies and biomanufacturing processes.

Biofoundries include using the design-build-test-learn process in biology to facilitate iterative biological engineering — allowing researchers to test large-scale genetic designs and incorporate state-of-the-art approaches at the interface of artificial intelligence and statistical sciences to enhance the design process.

Examples of research areas encompassed by the two categories include data for the bioeconomy, biocomputing, microbial biodiversity, plant genomics, precision agriculture, green economy, economic and policy perspectives, ethical implications of bioeconomy technologies, metabolomics, bioengineering, synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, rapid prototyping of biological designs and biorefineries.

Global Centers program anticipates awarding 5 to 7 teams from the 2024 competition, with NSF and NEH supporting U.S.-based researchers up to $5,000,000 for four to five years. Foreign researchers will be supported by their respective country’s funding agency (NSERC, SSHRC, RCF, BF, JST, MSIT, NRF and UKRI) with similar amounts of funds.

The Global Centers 2024 competition is poised to create prominent, enduring, international centers of research excellence that generate crucial knowledge, empower communities and develop innovative solutions that address global challenges. Outcomes fueled by the 2024 class of Global Centers will also strengthen the foundations of international cooperation between partner nations and make valuable and unique contributions to key areas highlighted in President Joe Biden’s “Executive Order on Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe, and Secure American Bioeconomy” and the report developed pursuant to the order: Bold Goals For U.S. Biotechnology And Biomanufacturing.

To learn more about this funding opportunity and how to submit a proposal, visit the NSF Global Centers webpage.

NSF, NIH Partner on New Research to Develop RNA-Based Methods for Biotech Innovations

The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded over $12.7 million across nine research teams to understand better the untapped capabilities of ribonucleic acid (RNA) for potentially far-reaching biotechnology applications, from disease prevention in crops to cancer-fighting therapies. The nine teams will each receive $1 million to $1.65 million from NSF through the Molecular Foundations for Biotechnology (MFB) program, a joint effort of NSF in partnership with the National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). NHGRI plans to invest in additional projects to be announced later in 2024, which will focus on the development of novel technologies to investigate RNA biology.

“Innovative new modes of inquiry into the molecular-level structure, dynamics and function of RNA is expected to lead to significant biotech breakthroughs at the intersection of chemistry and biology,” says NSF’s Chemistry Division Director David Berkowitz. “By advancing this fundamental science, we open the door to new avenues of use-inspired research and applications that can benefit society and improve our quality of life.”

“We are excited to partner with NSF to support research into the structures, interactions, functions and applications of RNA,” says Carolyn Hutter, Director of the Division of Genome Sciences at NHGRI. “New tools and technologies that harness RNA research have the potential to transform the biomedical field and improve human health.”

RNA is a complex organic molecule that performs essential tasks within the biological and chemical machinery of all living cells. Although RNA was first identified nearly a century ago, many of its functional aspects are not fully understood or predictable. The nine research teams will explore RNA’s roles and actions with the goal of creating new RNA-based methods for treating cancerous cells, making crops more resistant to blight and disease, fighting viral infections like the common cold and more. The teams include experts in a range of fields from chemistry, biology and physics to mathematical modeling and machine learning. Their projects are expected to provide opportunities to partner with industry to translate knowledge gained in the lab into marketable new biotechnologies.

In addition to supporting the research, NSF’s investment will provide hands-on training for students and early-career researchers through mentorship, workshops and internships for high school and undergraduate students and other activities to expand and broaden participation in the U.S. STEM workforce.

The nine projects and teams are:
Next-generation Proximity Labeling Technologies to Map Subcellular Transcriptomes and RNA Interactomes in Living Cells with Nanometer Resolution (Stanford University) aims to create new technologies to enable scientists to quickly visualize where RNAs localize within living cells and identify other genetic materials nearby that could interact with the RNAs; these technologies could be useful in studying in-cell interactions in diseases such as cancer.

Stabilizing Hairpin Inserts in RNA Virus Induced Gene Silencing Vectors (University of Maryland, College Park and Silvec Biologics) will work to create stable RNA genomes that can be used as delivery devices to disable the bacteria that cause diseases in plants, such as citrus greening; a serious plant disease that impacts economically and agriculturally important citrus trees internationally and for which there is no cure.

Cracking the Codes: Understanding the Rules of mRNA Localization and Translation (University of Colorado Denver) aims to use recent developments in RNA sequencing technology to create a model capable of predicting protein output from a messenger RNA, which could have a broad impact on what we understand about how genes encode and transmit information.

Better Homologous Folding using Computational Linguistics and Deep Learning (Oregon State University and the University of Rochester) seeks to use artificial intelligence to develop faster and better algorithms and software tools to model RNA secondary structures, which has the potential for advancing therapeutic and diagnostic design.

Characterization of the Biogenesis, Uptake, and Cellular Response to the Ribonucleoprotein Cargoes of Extracellular Vesicles using EV-CLASP (Vanderbilt University) will work to increase our understanding of extracellular vesicle-derived RNAs, which could enhance our ability to understand RNA dynamics during cellular communication, which would help identify novel gene regulatory elements and develop ways to deliver RNA treatments into cells.

RNA Modifications of Frameshifting Stimulators: Cellular Platforms to Engineer Gene Expression by Computational Mutation Predictions and Functional Experiments (New York University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) aims to predict and model how two proteins can be generated from the same messenger RNA with the goal of applying that knowledge to limit how RNA viruses can use this mutation to infect humans or to develop new forms of drug delivery.

Evaluating and Advancing Cryo-EM for RNA Conformational Ensembles (Stanford University) will test whether cryogenic electron microscopy and computational methods can accurately visualize functionally critical features of RNA machines to create a validated toolkit that could help researchers develop models of a variety of RNA-based machines of biological or biotechnological interest.

Massively Parallel Identification of Translation Regulatory Sequences in Human and Viral mRNAs (Yale University) will take a systems-level approach to understand the various factors that impact the amount of protein synthesized from messenger RNAs, which could aid in designing new classes of therapeutic messenger RNAs.

Continuous Evolution of RNAs with Novel Functions in Mammalian Cells (Weill Cornell Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology) aims to overcome the challenges in deploying functional RNA into live cells, which could transform biotechnology, biomedicine and biology broadly by allowing scientists to develop and deliver RNAs that can bind to target proteins in living cells.

The MFB program is a cross-disciplinary initiative led by NSF’s Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences, with additional support from the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering and the Directorate for Engineering.

Saving an endangered species: New AI method counts manatee clusters in real time

Manatees are an endangered species with voracious appetites and often spend up to eight hours a day grazing for food in shallow waters, making them vulnerable to environmental changes and other risks.

Accurately counting manatee clusters in a region is important for designing safety rules for boaters and divers. But counting manatees is challenging.

Because manatees tend to live in herds, they often block each other when viewed from the water’s surface. As a result, small manatees are likely to be partially or completely hidden from view. In addition, water reflections may make manatees invisible, and they can be mistaken for rocks or branches.

While aerial survey data are used in some regions to count manatees, the method is time-consuming and costly, and its accuracy depends on factors such as weather conditions and time of day. Now, there’s a low-cost method that provides a real-time count to alert ecologists of threats.

U.S. National Science Foundation-supported researchers at Florida Atlantic Universityare among the first to use a deep learning-based crowd counting approach to automatically tally the number of manatees in a region, using images captured from CCTV cameras. The results, published in Scientific Reports, not only address the technical challenges of counting animals in complex environments but also offer potential ways of aiding endangered species.

To determine manatee densities and calculate their numbers, researchers used generic images captured from surveillance videos at the water’s surface. They then used a design matching the manatees’ unique shape to transform the images into manatee-customized density maps.

To validate their method and facilitate further research, the scientists developed a comprehensive manatee counting dataset published through GitHub for public access.

SOCMA Unveils Key Findings From Contract Manufacturing Outlook Survey in The Specialty Chemicals Industry

Arlington, VA – The specialty chemical sector, despite facing challenges in 2023, is poised for a robust rebound in 2024, according to a first-of-its-kind Contract Manufacturing Outlook Report conducted by the Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA).rnrnThe report, which delves into the trends and expectations of specialty, custom and toll chemical manufacturers and their customers, reveals compelling insights that shed light on the industry’s trajectory.rnrn“SOCMA is uniquely positioned to compile and customize industry data for the specialty and fine chemicals market,” said Jennifer Abril, SOCMA President and CEO, “This report is a new component of the association’s industry intelligence resources designed to support domestic manufacturing of specialty chemicals and serve as a valuable resource for industry leaders in near-term and outyear planning.”rnrnThe survey collected information on issues such as high-demand chemistries and technologies, immediately available capacities in the industry, and labor, investment, and business trends.rnrnKey Highlights:rnrnAnticipation of Positive Outlook in 2024. Amidst an industry recession and destocking trends in 2023, specialty chemical manufacturers are showing resilience and optimism.rnrnStrategic Investments and Business Growth. The data further indicates a strong emphasis on capital investments among both tollers and their customers.rnrnReshoring and Collaborations in North America. Post-pandemic, there is a discernible push for reshoring chemical products and fostering greater manufacturing collaborations in North America.rnThe SOCMA Contract Manufacturing Outlook Report illuminates the resilience and strategic focus of the specialty chemicals industry, providing actionable insights for stakeholders navigating the evolving landscape. For more information and to purchase the full report, visit https://www.socma.org/commercial/manufacturing-outlook/rnrnSurvey MethodologyrnrnSOCMA’s 2023 Contract Manufacturing Outlook Report was prepared by Vault Consulting, LLC.rnrnResponses are categorized by Market, Company Type, Geographic Location, and Revenue. The revenue categories are based on 2022 North American Revenue (or the respondents most recently completed fiscal year).rnrnAbout SOCMArnSolely dedicated to the specialty and fine chemical industry, SOCMA builds commercial connections, supports safe manufacturing and operations, and advocates for regulatory and legislative policies for the batch and specialty chemical sector. Our members play an indispensable role in the global chemical supply chain, providing specialty chemicals and services to vital markets ranging from aerospace and electronics to pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Learn more at www.socma.org

For the First Time in 100 years, Charmin is Reinventing the Square for the Perfect Tear

CINCINNATI–Charmin has been secretly testing a big innovation for their Ultra Soft rolls. Some lucky consumers have even gotten it in-store through a secret test. But now, for the first time, Charmin is ready to talk about reinventing the square.

Charmin has reinvented the square by replacing the traditional perforation line with a scalloped edge to provide a better, smoother tear, and launched Smooth Tear as part of the Ultra Soft category to offer a more enjoyable go.

“This is something the toilet paper category hasn’t seen, and we’ve spent more than five years perfecting the technology and design behind it,” said Rob Reinerman, Charmin Vice President, Procter & Gamble. “At Charmin, we’re all about delivering a better bathroom experience and delivering superior products with the best performance, ultimately delivering value to our consumers. It’s why we keep innovating and investing in performance.”

Many consumers often get frustrated when they’re unable to get a clean tear, resulting in additional toilet paper usage and potential waste. This innovation aims to deliver an even and clean tear every single time, addressing multiple pain points that are experienced when using toilet paper. Charmin Ultra Soft Smooth Tear enables getting just the right desired amount, does not tear during dispensing and leaves a clean smooth cut.

“Consumers’ #1 complaint to our call centers over the years has been the uneven tears from the square shape,” said Gregg Weaver, Senior Scientist, Procter & Gamble. “The uneven tear is a result of straight perforations that don’t match the direction that consumers pull sheets and where the toilet paper is hung in the bathroom. The new Charmin wavy perforation ensures that you’re able to tear smoothly no matter where and how you tear.”

Charmin Ultra Soft Smooth Tear is rolling out this month in stores nationwide. Visit Charmin.com for more information about Charmin’s commitment to help all people #EnjoytheGo.

About Procter & Gamble
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

Alan Danzis, MSL New York, 917-580-0585, Alan.Danzis@mslgroup.com

Source: Procter & Gamble

Dow wins in multiple categories at the 2023 R&D 100 Awards

MIDLAND, Mich. – Dow (NYSE: DOW) recently won five R&D 100 Awards, including three R&D 100 Product Awards, R&D Researcher of the Year for 2023 and a special recognition for Corporate Social Responsibility. Marking its 61st year, the R&D 100 Awards program is universally recognized as a highly prestigious accolade within the research and development (R&D) community. This program pays tribute to innovative pioneers and their impactful contributions to science and technology.

“We are very proud that Dow has earned recognition on the R&D 100 list for twelve consecutive years, and over that timeframe the Company’s products, people and technologies have received 59 cumulative awards – the most of any company,” said A.N. Sreeram, senior vice president, Research & Development, and chief technology officer for Dow. “Team Dow strives to develop more differentiated products and solutions for our customers while solving societal needs and creating value for our shareholders.”

The R&D 100 Awards program is open to corporate, government, and academic R&D organizations across the globe. First established in 1963, the R&D 100 Awards is the only science and technology awards competition that recognizes new commercial products, technologies and materials for their technological significance that are available for sale or license.

This year, Dow continued its winning streak by securing three awards in the Mechanicals/Materials category, which comes after having 10 solutions showcased in the finalists round. Dow’s Dr. Bharat Indu Chaudhary received the inaugural ‘R&D Researcher of the Year Award’ in the R&D 100 Professional Award category for his recent accomplishments in the design of the SI-LINK™ DFDF-5451 NT Faster Moisture Curing Ethylene-Silane Copolymer, which enables game-changing improvements in performance.

In addition to the award winners, Dow received special recognition in the Corporate Social Responsibility category for combating geographic inequality in remote areas by erecting high-standard basketball courts from waste bicycle tires.. This honors an organization’s efforts to be a greater corporate member of society, from a local to global level.

Read more about our 2023 R&D 100 Award-winning products and innovations:

Solventless Antimisting SYL-OFF™ SL 184 Release Coating is a technological advancement that solved the long-standing misting issue, enabled extreme speed production of Pressure Sensitive Adhesive labels with excellent coating performance. Fast curing, low release force at both low and high peel speeds, reduces downtime for a variety of applications such as pressure sensitive laminates.

DOW ENDURANCE™ HFDD-4201 Compound for Cable Systems is a fully formulated polymer compound for high voltage insulation designed for use in underground and undersea power cables up to 500 kV (500,000 volts). It is a novel, more sustainable, patented cross-linkable polyethylene formulation that provides more than 70% reduction in methane byproduct versus incumbent materials.

DOWSIL™ TC-4083 Dispensable Thermal Pad delivers a transformative combination of high thermal conductivity, excellent dispensability with patented thermal stability. This helps drive thermal management in 5G base station, ADAS and self-driving chipset for ever-increasing communication capacity and connectivity, the future of mobility to prevent deaths and injuries and improve driving comfort.

Visit Dow’s website for additional information on the Company’s commitment to Sustainability, R&D and ID&E, and to explore the Company’s consolidated 2022 Intersections Progress Report.

The full list of winners may be viewed on R&D World.

About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance leadership to achieve profitable growth and help deliver a sustainable future. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 37,800 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $57 billion in 2022. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

SWANA Recognizes Four Outstanding Safety Program

The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is honored to recognize the recipients of the 2023 SWANA Safety Awards. This year’s winners are Anne Arundel County, MD, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Waste Management Services for Biggest Safety Improvement; City of Goodyear, AZ, Public Works Department for Workplace Wellness Program; City of Tacoma WA, Solid Waste Management for Best Safety Innovation, and Leck Waste Services for Best Safety Training Program.

This is the inaugural year for both the Workplace Wellness Program and Best Safety Training Program awards.

“During the pandemic, we looked at companies’ Covid responses and recognized those who addressed concerns for our essential workers and kept them healthy during a troubling time,” said Suzanne Sturgeon, SCS Engineers’ Safety Manager and SWANA National Safety Committee Chair. “It’s important now to look beyond that, and we made the decision to recognize how wellness programs contribute to health and safety of employees and how effective and multi-faceted safety training programs provide employees with various opportunities for learning and growth.”

SWANA would like to thank Fire Rover, Environmental Solutions Group (ESG), Safe Fleet, and SmarTruck HD for their support of this year’s Safety Awards program and for their ongoing commitment to improving industry safety.

Biggest Safety Improvement

Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works
The 2023 SWANA Safety Award for Biggest Safety Improvement goes to the Anne Arundel County, MD, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Waste Management Services. By harnessing the expertise of frontline employees through its Safety Leaders program, the Bureau of Waste Management Services fostered a truly collaborative approach where each level contributed from their unique vantage point to develop a comprehensive and effective safety program. The result was an unprecedented milestone for the bureau of eliminating any OSHA reportable injuries for 23 months.

Workplace Wellness Program

City of Goodyear logo
The 2023 SWANA Safety Award for Workplace Wellness goes to the City of Goodyear, AZ, Public Works Department. This is the first year that this award has been presented. The City of Goodyear subscribed to the Whole Employee philosophy, encompassing the spirit, heart, mind, and body with the goal of achieving ultimate satisfaction and maximum contribution. This led to greater worker engagement and a 95 percent overall job satisfaction rate.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the exceptional accomplishments of our Goodyear Solid Waste Team in winning the inaugural Workplace Wellness Award from SWANA,” said Sumeet Mohan, Goodyear’s Public Works Director. “This recognition underscores our team’s unwavering commitment to prioritizing the well-being of our employees. By effectively implementing our comprehensive health and wellness programs, we have reduced health risks and enhanced the overall quality of life for our workforce. I would also like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our Safety, Risk, and HR teams, whose collaborative efforts were instrumental in achieving this remarkable milestone. Together, we will continue to foster a supportive and thriving workplace environment.”

Best Safety Innovation

City of Tacoma, WA logo
The 2023 SWANA Safety Award for Best Safety Innovation goes to City of Tacoma, WA, Solid Waste Management. How does an organization change the safety culture? For the City of Tacoma, it was via a Safety Coordinator Program that provides individuals with entry-level training in the field of occupational safety for a one-year term. This has helped decrease their days away, restricted, or transferred (DART) rate by 44 percent and on-the-job injuries and incidents by seven percent.

“The City of Tacoma Solid Waste Management Division has committed to making Safety every employee’s responsibility,” said Lewis Griffith, Solid Waste Management Division Manager for City of Tacoma. “I am proud of the great innovative ideas and the positive changes to our safety culture that our team has been able to accomplish as people in all roles, from drivers to solid waste workers to administrative staff have stepped up and embraced our ‘Safety Starts With Me’ motto.”

Best Safety Training Program

Leck Waste Services
The 2023 SWANA Safety Award for Best Safety Training Program goes to Leck Waste Services. This is the first year that this award has been presented. Leck Waste Services used a proactive approach towards training and provided employees with electives that they could use to build their careers. This resulted in better employee retention and decreases across the board for recordable incidents, days away from work, workers’ compensation, and auto liability.

“Leck Waste Services is honored to be recognized by SWANA,” said Corporate Health and Safety Compliance Director John Andel. “We are grateful for the opportunity to acknowledge the dedication and contributions of our team towards improving the overall safety of the waste industry.”

Leck Waste Services has previously won a 2020 Best Safety Innovation Award and was recognized with an Honorable Mention in 2021.

The 2023 SWANA Safety Award winners will be recognized in a ceremony at WASTECON in Boston, Massachusetts, and present on their programs as part of the Safety Summit occurring during the conference.

For more information, visit https://swana.org/community/awards-scholarships/safety-awards.

ABOUT SWANA
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) is an organization of more than 10,000 public and private sector professionals committed to advancing from solid waste management to resource management through their shared emphasis on education, advocacy and research. For more than 60 years, SWANA has been the leading association in the solid waste management field. SWANA serves industry professionals through technical conferences, certifications, publications and a large offering of technical training courses.

Parents and Teens Agree: College Students Need More Know-How on How to Clean

The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) is kicking off its Class of Clean: Parents Weekend, urging all parents to start the conversation with their kids on the importance of cleaning before they head off to college.

According to a new survey released by ACI and conducted by Wakefield Research, parents and their teens are syncing up on at least one thing – nearly 3 in 4 college parents (74%) admit their kids are not completely prepared to clean on their own. Kids surveyed don’t disagree with parents about cleaning preparedness either. In fact, according to ACI’s 2022 survey of college students, 72% feel less than completely prepared to navigate the responsibility of cleaning on their own.

Sixty-four percent of parents surveyed this summer expressed at least some concern that their college kids don’t know how to use cleaning products effectively.

While the biggest obstacles parents cite for college kids’ cleanliness are lack of motivation (56%) and lack of time (46%), more than 1 in 4 parents (26%) worry their kids do not have the proper cleaning supplies or know-how. This lack of knowledge shows a greater need for a cleaning education.

The American Cleaning Institute’s Class of Clean: A College Student’s Guide to Cleaning offers resources to educate college students on proper cleaning, laundry and hygiene practices. As part of Class of Clean Parents Weekend, ACI is building on these resources to offer guidance to parents on how to start cleaning conversations with their children.

“Students are usually ready to hit the books as they head to college, but they’re not always fully prepped to wash their clothes and clean their rooms,” said Brian Sansoni, ACI Senior Vice President, Communications. “ACI’s Class of Clean provides easy-to-follow tips and tricks to keep college students clean and healthy in their dorms and all around campus.”

The Laundry 101 guide is the first resource parents and teens should tackle together as parents predict stinking sheets and dirty clothes will be the first mess to pile up in the dorm rooms. In fact, the 2023 ACI survey found:

Nearly half of parents (49%) predict their college kids will bring home laundry expecting someone else to do it for them.
More than a third (36%) think their kid will wear dirty clothes because they forgot to do the laundry.
Almost 1 in 4 (24%) suspect students will go a semester without changing their sheets!!!
The Class of Clean program is part of ACI’s larger Cleaning is Caring initiative. As the leading voice of the cleaning product industry, ACI is dedicated to communicating the connection between cleaning and health and safety and provides consumers with the tailored guidance and resources they need to keep themselves healthy and clean.

The Class of Class is online and smartphone friendly: visit www.cleaninginstitute.org/classofclean.

The American Cleaning Institute® (ACI – www.cleaninginstitute.org) is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry® and represents the $60 billion U.S. cleaning product supply chain. ACI members include the manufacturers and formulators of soaps, detergents, and general cleaning products used in household, commercial, industrial and institutional settings; companies that supply ingredients and finished packaging for these products; and chemical distributors.  ACI serves the growth and innovation of the U.S. cleaning products industry by advancing the health and quality of life of people and protecting our planet. ACI achieves this through a continuous commitment to sound science and being a credible voice for the cleaning products industry.

Methodological Notes:
The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) College Parents Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 500 US parents of college undergraduates, between June 15th and June 22nd, 2023, using an email invitation and an online survey.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.4 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

ACC Welcomes Senate Bill to Save Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards

WASHINGTON — The American Chemistry Council welcomes the introduction of bipartisan legislation by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tom Carper (D-DE), and James Lankford (R-OK) to extend the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) program, which is set to expire on July 27th.

ACC and its members are long-time supporters of CFATS because it is critical to the security of our industry and the nation. Passing the Senate bill will provide much needed regulatory certainty for CFATS, which will help support the chemical industry’s ongoing investments into enhancing security.

The following statement in support of the bill can be attributed to Chris Jahn, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACC:

We commend Chairman Peters and his colleagues for their commitment to national security and to protecting the chemical industry, which is vital to the health and well-being of our nation. CFATS has helped industry and the federal government enhance security for chemical facilities, workers and communities and has proven to be a practical and effective regulatory program. ACC and its members support stability for the CFATS program, and we urge Congress to act quickly to prevent these important safeguards from expiring.

American Chemistry Council
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) represents the leading companies engaged in the multibillion-dollar business of chemistry. ACC members apply the science of chemistry to make innovative products, technologies and services that make people’s lives better, healthier and safer. ACC is committed to improved environmental, health, safety and security performance through Responsible Care®; common sense advocacy addressing major public policy issues; and health and environmental research and product testing. ACC members and chemistry companies are among the largest investors in research and development, and are advancing products, processes and technologies to address climate change, enhance air and water quality, and progress toward a more sustainable, circular economy.

Learn more at: https://www.americanchemistry.com/chemistry-in-america/news-trends/press-release/2023/acc-welcomes-senate-bill-to-save-chemical-facility-anti-terrorism-standards

From Racing Hearts to Waves of Nausea, Zevo Confirms 71% of Americans Suffer From Bugxiety

CINCINNATI–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Although the average home has more than 100 kinds of bugs living in it1, most Americans are woefully unprepared to deal with them. Why? Turns out the majority of the population (71%) suffer from a fear of bugs2 – or what Zevo dubs “bugxiety.”

Procter & Gamble’s (NYSE: PG) Zevo recently conducted a 2023 survey to learn more about consumer attitude toward bugs and how they respond to being around the little critters. Ready for some interesting findings?3

More Americans ratedtheir anxiety of bugs (46%) higher than theiranxiety of getting fired (44%)
Fourteen percent of Americans said they wouldn’t marry someone who suffered from bugxiety
And there are even a handful of people who confessed to crashing their car to escape from bugs!
Despite the high number of Americans with bugxiety, most are in a reactive mode when it comes to bugs. Thankfully, Chetan Parekh, Vice President & General Manager of Zevo at Procter & Gamble says Zevo has a proactive and effortless solution. “Bugs are inevitable, especially in the summer months, but our best-selling Flying Insect Trap continuously attracts and eliminates a variety of flying insects without disrupting your daily life – and helps you achieve a whole new level of clean and calm.”

Given fear and stress are commonly associated with bugs instead of the zen you can get from Zevo, it is no surprise that bugs impact everyday life. Many respondents shared their extreme reactions to spotting bugs at home and even at work. Survey respondents admitted*:

“I’ve ran down the street screaming at the top of my lungs, looking like a fool in front of a lot of people.” – 34 year old male

“I would not go back into my office at work (because I saw a roach) until a coworker showed me the corpse of that bug.” – 49 year old female

For those who suffer from bugxiety, bugs aren’t just “bugging” them. Forty-eight percent of Americans say it directly affects their daily life in more ways than one.4 For example, 1 in 3 Americans thought about burning their home after finding bugs.5 Crazy, right? However, there are effortless alternatives to help those suffering from bugxiety feel some relief and achieve a whole new level of calm. No need to react with fear or stress (or practice relaxation techniques!): just plug or spray and walk away.

So how can Zevo help Americans’ stress fade when bugs invade without having to touch the creepy crawlies?

Flying Insect Trap: Great for those who can’t stand flying annoyances, Zevo’s Flying Insect Trap uses a special blue & UV light system to attract and trap flying insects (e.g., house flies, fruit flies and gnats) on a strong adhesive pad, which can be easily removed and disposed of via a pull tab.
On-Body Mosquito + Tick Repellent: New On-Body repellent provides odorless, non-sticky and complete protection against mosquitos and ticks for up to 8 hours, so you can enjoy the outdoors unbothered by bugs and without the ick of traditional bug sprays.
Insect Killer Spray: For those who freak out when they see creepy-crawly pests, Zevo Insect Killer Sprays offer complete protection against spiders, roaches, ants and more. Simply spray directly on unwanted bugs and watch while Zevo targets and shuts down biological pathways found in insects, not in people or pets. Wipe away with a clean cloth or paper towel with no residue left behind…and that’s it.
Got Bugxiety? Zevo It! All of Zevo’s products are available for purchase online at zevoinsect.com and at the retailers you love across the U.S. To find a local retailer that carries Zevo products, visit Zevo’s store locator. For more information, visit Zevo online or connect on Facebook and Instagram and show us how you #ZEVOit.

About Zevo™

Launched in 2017, Zevo provides smart insect control products that kill bugs in and around your home in a different way. Part of Procter & Gamble, Zevo’s suite of household insect sprays, plug-in trap systems, and On-Body products control crawling, flying, and stinging insects, and are made to bother bugs, not your family. Zevo products are available for purchase online at zevoinsect.com and at all major retailers across the U.S. For more information, visit Zevo online or connect on Facebook and Instagram.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.comfor the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.

Methodology

Undertaken by Maru Public Opinion, this study was conducted by its sample and data collection experts at Maru/Blue 26th April – 2nd May, 2023 among a random selection of 1,066 adult Americans aged 25-50 who are Maru Springboard America online panelists. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 3.0%, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals when compared to the data tables are due to rounding.

ACI: EPA Maintains Safer Choice Status of Essential Chemistry Used to Make Detergents

The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) applauded a decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reject a petition requesting increased testing and changing the safety status of a key chemistry used to make concentrated detergent unit-dose packets and sheets from its Safer Choice program.

At issue was a call from a single cleaning products manufacturer and non-governmental organizations for the EPA to require more human and environmental health testing under Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the polyvinyl alcohol (known as PVA or PVOH) used in laundry and dishwasher detergent packets and sheets. The petitioner also requested that regulators inappropriately act by removing the “green” designation PVA currently has from the agency’s Safer Chemical List, which denotes its safe use in detergent products.

“We commend EPA for sticking to the science on the use of polyvinyl alcohol film in laundry packets and automatic dishwasher detergent tablets and rejecting the petitioners’ requests,” said Kathleen Stanton, ACI Associate Vice President, Technical & International Affairs.

“In denying the petition, the EPA’s published response in the Federal Register provides a cogent analysis of the scientific facts that are readily available. It is highly critical of underlying research and arguments put forth by the petitioners and cites a significant number of easily findable studies demonstrating the safety and biodegradability of PVA that the petitioners overlooked or ignored. The EPA’s extensive response should be sufficient to settle this quite conclusively in favor of PVA’s safe and sustainable use.”

EPA denied the petitioners request to change PVA’s status on the Safer Chemicals Ingredient List (SCIL) to indicate future removal. Quoting directly from EPA’s comments:

“The petition does not demonstrate that PVA fails to meet the Safer Choice criteria. The supporting data cited in the petition relied on a study estimating the persistence of PVA and several studies on the health and environmental impacts of microplastics, rather than the soluble PVA used in Safer Choice-certified products. EPA notes that only certain PVA structures are allowed for use in Safer Choice-certified products.”
“EPA identified data not discussed in the petition that provides a clear weight of evidence showing that PVA structures used in Safer Choice-certified products meet the Safer Choice Standard.”
In announcing its decision, the EPA also stated that:

The petition “…does not set forth the facts establishing that it is necessary for the Agency to issue” a rule ordering manufacturers to fund and conduct additional health and environmental safety testing on PVOH.
The petition …“does not demonstrate that existing information and experience on PVA used in laundry and dishwasher detergent pods and sheets is insufficient to determine or predict human health and environmental risks from such use of PVA.”
“The petitioners failed to acknowledge the nature and extent of existing data and articulate why these data are insufficient.”
The petition …“fails to establish that testing of PVA is necessary to develop sufficient information. EPA also finds that the petitioners’ request for the EPA to require third-party oversight of PVA testing is outside the scope of what can be requested under TSCA section 21 and cannot be granted.”
“No evidence of toxicity or bioaccumulation potential for the soluble form of PVA used in detergent pods and sheets has been presented in the petition to the extent necessary to warrant EPA initiating a TSCA section 4 action.”
In addressing petitioners’ claims that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standards governing biodegradability of PVA are insufficient, EPA clearly stated:

“The OECD biodegradation test conditions are more conservative than real world conditions in [wastewater treatment plants] and are appropriate tools for predicting biodegradation of PVA.”
“The Agency identified peer-reviewed literature using OECD Guideline studies showing PVA chemical structures used in laundry detergent packets are readily biodegradable.”
Background:
More than 50 years of published science including extensive reviews by regulatory agencies around the world (including the EPA itself), have supported the safety of PVA/PVOH.

PVOH is a key enabler of more sustainable cleaning products. Detergent packets contain highly concentrated cleaning formulas encased in a water-soluble film, which is made of PVA/PVOH.

These films are designed to dissolve completely in washing and dishwashing machines and then flow down the drain with the wash water.
The films used in detergent packets, along with the ingredients they encapsulate, are safe to use in the home and meet rigorous test methods to ensure they fully dissolve and biodegrade quickly in wastewater treatment after use.
The PVOH used in detergent products is accepted by the U.S. EPA Safer Choice program and other strict ecolabeling organizations around the world.
For science-based information on the use of PVOH film in detergent products, visit https://www.cleaninginstitute.org/pvoh.

The American Cleaning Institute® (ACI – www.cleaninginstitute.org) is the Home of the U.S. Cleaning Products Industry® and represents the $60 billion U.S. cleaning product supply chain. ACI members include the manufacturers and formulators of soaps, detergents, and general cleaning products used in household, commercial, industrial and institutional settings; companies that supply ingredients and finished packaging for these products; and chemical distributors. ACI serves the growth and innovation of the U.S. cleaning products industry by advancing the health and quality of life of people and protecting our planet. ACI achieves this through a continuous commitment to sound science and being a credible voice for the cleaning products industry.

CGTN: Infrastructure, Vaccines and Space: China-Arab Sci-tech Cooperation

BEIJING, Dec. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China-Arab cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, space and health has been continuously developed in a sustainable manner.

China has vowed to accelerate the development of the China-Arab inter-governmental science and technology innovation cooperation mechanism.

CGTN_Covid_Vaccine
CGTN_Covid_Vaccine
The country will implement more partner projects, and continue to improve the sci-tech capabilities of Arab states.

Lusail Stadium: first China-built World Cup venue
Lusail Stadium, the main venue for this year’s World Cup, was constructed with China Railway Construction Corporation as the main contractor.

Shaped like a date palm bowl or an enamel lantern, the stadium will host the World Cup final, scheduled for December 18.

It is the first time a Chinese company has built a World Cup venue, which is featured on the new 10-riyal banknote of Qatar.

“The Lusail Stadium is by far the world’s largest, most advanced and most complex professional football stadium built to FIFA standards,” Li Chongyang, head of the Chinese side of the engineering team, told the China Media Group (CMG).

Lusail Stadium, which can host 80,000 spectators, shows Chinese enterprises’ technical capabilities and service levels, Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy for 2022 FIFA World Cup, told CGTN.

China-UAE joint vaccines projects
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) helped China with the clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine and later established localized production lines.

In 2020, the UAE approved registration of an inactivated vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm.

“The UAE was the first country to approach a Chinese vaccine,” Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, the UAE ambassador to China, told CGTN. “The production facility can produce 200 million doses per year. The vaccine is not for the UAE, not for China, but for the rest of the world.”

Space cooperation
China is pushing forward space cooperation with countries participating in the BRI.

China and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding on March 16, 2017, sharing the scientific data in space cooperation.

The two then jointly unveiled three lunar images acquired through cooperation on the relay satellite mission for Chang’e-4 lunar probe, according to the China National Space Administration.

In 2018, the China-Arab States BDS/GNSS Center, the first overseas center for China’s indigenous Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), was inaugurated in Tunisia. BDS-related cooperation expanded to more Arab states in 2021 as they agreed to implement more pilot projects.

In addition, Kuwait’s national satellite team looks forward to cooperating with China.

Link: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-12-10/Infrastructure-vaccines-and-space-China-Arab-sci-tech-cooperation-1fDKJNs4QuI/index.html

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1965838/CGTN_Covid_Vaccine.jpg

SOURCE CGTN

Deloitte: New Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator Designed to Bring Industries Together to Advance the Clean Energy Transition

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2022 – Deloitte’s Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator is designed to bring together networks of supply-side and demand-side players to share costs and drive economies of scale, to help make a clean hydrogen economy in the U.S. a reality.

Deloitte’s 2022 study, “Low-Carbon Industrial Hubs: Driving Deep Decarbonization for Industry,” found that surveyed companies who collaborate in hubs see up to a 95% reduction in the capital investment required when compared to individual companies deploying carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) by themselves.

Deloitte is uniquely positioned to provide policy, tax and regulatory insight; strategic road-mapping and project management office support; business and operating model design services; hydrogen usage project design and execution; grant application and related incentives support; information technology and operational technology design, accounting and assurance services; and ecosystem facilitation.

Deloitte’s Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator is designed to be plug-compatible with virtually any combination of existing participants, including other professional services organizations.

Deloitte’s new Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator offers unique approach to supporting hydrogen growth

Why this matters

According to the International Energy Agency, hydrogen is one of the biggest innovation opportunities to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050, a widely accepted global target to avert the worst effects of climate change.

Although the push for decarbonization is gaining momentum, traditional strategies and methodologies are largely unable to address the majority of emissions for some sectors. Abatement solutions like clean hydrogen and CCUS remain cost-prohibitive for most companies to pursue on their own. Establishing low-carbon hubs in strategic geographical areas across the U.S. aims to further long-term decarbonization and help mitigate the effects of climate change.

Low-carbon hubs accelerate decarbonization for hard-to-abate sectors
“Hard-to-abate” sectors account for more than 30% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, and this number is only expected to grow as other industries make progress on their sustainability goals, according to Deloitte’s May 2021 report, “Leading in a Low Carbon Future.”

These sectors — heavy industry, such as chemicals, metals and mining; building materials and heavy road transport; as well as shipping and aviation — have some of the most challenging pathways toward emissions reduction, creating increased urgency to find new strategies to offset emissions.

According to the Deloitte study, “Low-Carbon Industrial Hubs: Driving Deep Decarbonization for Industry,” low-carbon hubs can provide a cost-effective way for companies in hard-to-abate industries to accelerate their decarbonization efforts; demonstrate action on climate change to customers, investors and other stakeholders; and spur tipping points in low-carbon technology innovation. Deloitte found that surveyed companies that collaborate in hubs tend to have a more effective pathway for deep emission reductions.

Collaboration can help reduce emissions at a lower cost
Deloitte research identified hub models that can help maximize cost synergies, economies of scale and emissions reductions. Deloitte found that CCUS hubs with hydrogen, or “Industrial Hubs,” are often the most comprehensive, combining CCUS infrastructure with hydrogen from fossil sources to create an ecosystem of multiple reinforcing solutions for downstream utilization or export.

The benefits of participating in hydrogen hubs are fairly clear: compared to individual companies that deploy CCUS by themselves, lower emission industrial hubs can help companies and industries reduce emissions by approximately 50%, at a cost that is 20% to 95% cheaper than when pursued alone.

Lower emissions industrial hubs can serve a variety of geographies across the U.S., each with their own unique industry configurations and addressable emissions profile. Deloitte also found that emissions reduction benefits driven by hubs extend to downstream customers who benefit from the lower emissions footprint of products supplied by the hub. Locally produced hydrogen can also help with energy security, while creating new business models and jobs.

The time is right in the U.S. market
Significant action at the federal level is accelerating the development of a viable hydrogen economy in the U.S. and positioning the country as a global low carbon hydrogen leader.

In June 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy announced its intent to accept applications to award $8 billion in funding for the development of regional clean hydrogen hubs that demonstrate the production, processing, delivery, storage and end-use of clean hydrogen via its H2Hubs program.
In September 2022, the DOE further elaborated that the initial $7 billion of this funding will be awarded to at least six to 10 regional clean hydrogen hubs through a competitive bidding process that will conclude by summer 2023, with awards ranging from $400 million to $1.25 billion.
The formation of hydrogen hubs is expected to help drive towards the DOE’s “earth shot” objective of bringing the cost of clean hydrogen production to $1 per kilogram within the next decade and contribute to achieving DOE’s goals for H2@Scale, which provides an overarching vision for how clean hydrogen can enable energy pathways.
In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 providing historic investments to combat climate change and create clean energy solutions, including an additional boost to the U.S. clean hydrogen economy through a new tax credit of up to 30% of eligible capital costs, collectively estimated at over $13.1 billion. The IRA also extends and enhances incentives for hydrogen fueling stations.
Services approach drives progress throughout the hydrogen economy

The Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator projects are part of Deloitte sustainability, climate, and equity a practice serving clients as they define a path to a more sustainable future. Building upon years of sustainability and climate client service, Deloitte is assembling one of the largest global networks of sustainability experience including an investment of US$1 billion in client-related services, data-driven research, and assets and capabilities. Globally, Deloitte is involved in multiple hubs, working with consortium leaders on feasibility studies, business cases, connecting supply and demand centers, and supporting acceleration.

Through Deloitte’s Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator, companies can benefit from a unique approach to supporting hydrogen growth no matter where they are in the journey. Comprehensive, end-to-end services generally focus on strategic development, as well as the construction of hubs, technology implementations, and insight into the current policy and regulatory environment driving the hydrogen economy.

Deloitte services include:

Strategy: Deloitte specialists evaluate and help prioritize the impact of trends and uncertainties in the market, make recommendations related to organizations’ strategies and operating models, and shape public policy in support of hydrogen market development.
Operations: Through the Low-Carbon Hub Accelerator, Deloitte can help execute on strategy by implementing and — where appropriate — operating the capabilities, processes, technologies and infrastructure to bring low-carbon hubs to life.
Finance: Deloitte can provide support and recommendations on policy, accounting and tax, and also recommend ways to leverage the evolving capital market transition and U.S. government grants and incentives to increase sustainable investments and optimize cost and capital structures.
Reporting: Deloitte can provide advice and recommendations related to ESG readiness and integrated reporting, including related governance and controls.
Key quote
“Over the past five years, we’ve seen a steady acceleration by companies in all sectors in their efforts to decarbonize the value chains in which they operate. Combined with new government funding and policies for developing low-carbon hubs, this momentum provides a rare catalyst to attract private investment and scale up quickly, particularly within hard-to-abate industries. While low-carbon hydrogen is quickly – and finally – showing itself to be one of the key, viable lynchpins to achieve bold societal climate goals, we might only get there if companies embrace a collaborative, cross-industry approach to accelerate the energy transition.”

— Geoff Tuff, principal and U.S. hydrogen practice leader, Deloitte LLP

Connect with us on Twitter at @Deloitte4Energy or on LinkedIn at @GeoffTuff.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world’s most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today’s marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte’s approximately 415,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com.

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee (“DTTL”), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as “Deloitte Global”) does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the “Deloitte” name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms.

SOURCE Deloitte

CONTACT: Alyssa Weir, Public Relations, Deloitte Services LP, +1 585 238 3371, alweir@deloitte.com

KPMG in Canada and MaRS Discovery District launch Climate Impact Accelerator to bring together Corporate Canada and startups to take action on climate change

TORONTO, – Today KPMG in Canada and MaRS Discovery District launched the Climate Impact Accelerator, a collaboration designed to significantly advance Canada’s innovation agenda by bridging the gap between Corporate Canada and the country’s start-up ecosystem.

The program matches KPMG in Canada clients looking for technology-driven climate solutions to cleantech startups in the MaRS ecosystem that are ready to scale up. The goal of the program is to implement climate innovation solutions on a large scale quickly by building stronger networks between startups and corporations and governments.

“Often, startups and corporates don’t talk to each other, and they tend to operate in silos,” says Yung Wu, CEO of MaRS Discovery District. “This collaboration brings together their complementary capabilities and helps bridge the gap in Canada’s innovation ecosystem. In today’s economy, there’s no one stakeholder that has the ability to solve the climate crisis on their own, so together with KPMG in Canada we’re creating strong coalitions with the Climate Impact Accelerator. It’s time to move beyond pilot projects and towards creating sustainable models that will move Canada’s innovation agenda forward.”

“Canada is home to more than a dozen of the top global cleantech companies, second only to the United States,” says Armughan Ahmad, President and Managing Partner, Digital, KPMG in Canada. “It has one of the most highly educated populations in the world, and its technology workforce grew at a rate faster than the U.S. in the past year. Our innovation economy represents 12 per cent of GDP but it’s growing three to six times faster than the rest of the economy. Canada clearly has a strong foundation in research and innovation, but we’re lagging in commercialization. The Climate Impact Accelerator helps solve that disconnect. KPMG in Canada’s collaboration with MaRS Discovery District is a real step forward in bringing Canadian innovations to market.”

The World Intellectual Property Organization ranked Canada 16th out of 70 countries in its 2021 Global Innovation Index in 2021, but when it comes to business sophistication and knowledge and technology outputs, Canada’s ranking falls to 20th and 23rd,, respectively.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Canada has the highest share of innovative firms, but its projected GDP per capita growth is only 0.7 per cent from 2020-2030 and 0.8 per cent from 2030-2060, placing Canada last in a ranking of 38 advanced and G20 countries.

The Climate Impact Accelerator seeks to boost economic growth and advance commercialization in Canada’s cleantech innovation economy by combining the client base and advisory expertise of one of Canada’s largest professional services firms with MaRS, North America’s biggest innovation hub. The collaboration has the potential to be scaled to other areas such as financial services, healthcare, environmental, social and governance (ESG) and retail.

“The ventures we have at MaRS are creating solutions to some of our most pressing challenges such as climate change, and they’re creating immense value for corporations, governments and Canadians. Our collaboration with KPMG offers a way for startups to partner with large organizations to realize their full potential and take those solutions to market in a meaningful way,” adds Mr. Wu.

“The innovation economy is driving the future of Canada, and organizations are looking for cutting-edge solutions to achieve their goals in areas like ESG and digital transformation. While large corporations and governments have the will and the financial resources to innovate, they sometimes lack the agility of startups, so that’s where we come in – by pairing them with nimble partners that share similar visions and goals and can implement technology quickly and at scale. KPMG in Canada’s collaboration with MaRS is an impactful new way for us to help our clients commercialize innovations in climate change and beyond,” notes Mr. Ahmad.

BrainBox AI is a Montreal-based startup from the MaRS portfolio participating in the Climate Impact Accelerator. The company specializes in artificial intelligence software that optimizes HVAC Systems to make buildings more energy efficient and greener.

“Partnering with corporations and governments through the Climate Impact Accelerator allows us to demonstrate how our game-changing AI technology can be used on a large scale to help reduce emissions. This program helps us find the right corporate partners quickly and efficiently. We are looking forward to working with governments and companies and help them cut their energy usage by enabling building owners to significantly reduce their carbon footprints,” says Sam Ramadori, Chief Executive Officer of BrainBox AI.

Jan De Silva, President & CEO of the Toronto Region Board of Trade notes that initiatives like the Climate Impact Accelerator will help businesses and governments realize their climate goals more quickly while advancing economic growth and competitiveness in regional innovation centres.

“It takes everyone, working in unison, to hit go on addressing our global climate crisis and unleashing the economic potential of climate innovation in Toronto Region. Partnerships like this bring together Toronto’s strong corporate foundation and start-up community to push forward on real and long-term solutions. I hope the Climate Impact Accelerator model becomes a playbook for other cities. I can also ensure that we, at the Board, will continue to support driving the climate economy.”

About KPMG in Canada
KPMG LLP, a limited liability partnership, is a full-service Audit, Tax and Advisory firm owned and operated by Canadians. For over 150 years, our professionals have provided consulting, accounting, auditing, and tax services to Canadians, inspiring confidence, empowering change, and driving innovation. Guided by our core values of Integrity, Excellence, Courage, Together, For Better, KPMG employs more than 10,000 people in over 40 locations across Canada, serving private- and public-sector clients. KPMG is consistently ranked one of Canada’s top employers and one of the best places to work in the country.

The firm is established under the laws of Ontario and is a member of KPMG’s global organization of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International, a private English company limited by guarantee. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. For more information, see home.kpmg/ca.

About MaRS Discovery District
MaRS is North America’s largest urban innovation hub. A registered non-profit, MaRS supports high-growth startups and scale-ups tackling key issues in health, cleantech, fintech and other sectors. In addition, MaRS convenes all members of the tech ecosystem to drive breakthrough discoveries, grow the economy and make an impact by solving real problems for real people — in Canada and around the world.

SOURCE KPMG LLP

CONTACT: For media inquiries: Roula Meditskos, National Communications and Media Relations, KPMG in Canada, (416) 416-549-7982, rmeditskos@kpmg.ca; Andrew Yates, MaRS, Discovery District, ayates@marsdd.com, 647-302-1257

URBAN-X, the platform by MINI for startups reimagining city life, announces JVP as its new venture partner

Munich/New York. The new partnership between MINI and JVP invests in, builds, and scales emerging and fast-growth companies from Seed to Series B that are shaping the future of cities through novel climate- and urban-focused technology solutions. The joint venture between MINI and JVP will fuel the next generation of URBAN-X.

With 55 percent of the world’s population living in cities and urban areas accounting for almost three-quarters of all carbon dioxide emissions, innovation in cities is a cornerstone in the global fight against climate change. With this partnership, MINI and JVP will leverage their global networks, strong strategic partnerships, and entrepreneurship expertise to support new ideas and innovators through URBAN-X as they pioneer new technologies in cities across the globe.

“URBAN-X is committed to supporting the most promising innovators along their journeys as they move from idea to impact,” said Johan Schwind, Managing Director at URBAN-X. “Through this exciting new partnership with JVP, URBAN-X will have even more tools at our disposal to accelerate the development and deployment of transformative climate and urban technology solutions.”

The URBAN-X platform combines the expansive network of world-class design, engineering and brand expertise from MINI and the BMW Group with decades of investment experience, including $1.6 billion under management, at JVP. Startup founders will have access to a global network of public and private partners and receive hands-on guidance with customer discovery and engagement, product development, talent acquisition and brand and network-building. Seed to Series B companies worldwide are encouraged to apply. Applications to join the program are accepted on a rolling basis and interested startups can apply at https://www.urban-x.com/apply/.

“Climate tech is the new major technological revolution that is impacting every dimension of our life. It is more than just about alternative energy or innovative mobility. When fintech and healthtech meet climate tech, foodtech and ag tech or when cyber defends the climate –by bringing all the tech ecosystems together, we can change the way we eat, the way we live, and help save our planet.” Said Erel Margalit, Founder and Executive Chairman of JVP and Margalit Startup City. “The various subsectors of tech – together – can make the difference, changing the future of our world and the future of cities. It is time for public and private leaders across the globe, from Israel to America to Europe to Asia and beyond, to join forces in bringing in a new paradigm for building technology that protects the planet.”

URBAN-X will be located in Newlab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Margalit Startup City NYC, an international innovation center. The Margalit Startup City model is a recognized thematic ecosystem that brings together public, private and social impact stakeholders. Areas Margalit Startup City has focused on to date include FinTech, FoodTech, AgTech and Cyber. The model provides a platform for comprehensive engagement with the latest technologies, academic research and policy makers to enact real change.

Launched by MINI in 2016 as part of their innovation and brand strategy practice focused on improving city life, URBAN-X has since invested in more than 71 startups across the globe. To date, four URBAN-X portfolio companies have been acquired and 88% of companies have gone on to raise their next round of capital.

“MINI was built on the foundation of innovative and sustainable urban design. With this heritage, we recognize the indispensable role that entrepreneurs, technologists and designers play in the vitality and longevity of our cities,” said Stefanie Wurst, Head of MINI. “In this next phase of URBAN-X, we’re proud to continue engaging with the most innovative minds within the business tackling some of society’s toughest challenges.”

About URBAN-X

URBAN-X is the platform for founders reimagining city life. Built by MINI in 2016, URBAN-X partners with startups to build bold technology solutions for a sustainable planet. Breaking from traditional startup program molds, URBAN-X provides entrepreneurs from Seed to Series B with individualized and tailored support that accelerates growth and builds successful businesses for the next generation of climate- and city-focused innovators. Core to its platform, URBAN-X offers world-class engineering and design resources, industry-leading investment capital from our venture partner JVP, a global network of investors, policymakers, corporate strategies and end-customers, and premier educational content for a global network of founders. Find URBAN-X on Twitter & Instagram at @urbanxaccel and on Facebook at facebook.com/urbanxaccel.

About JVP

JVP is an internationally renowned venture capital fund based in Israel. Established in 1993 by Dr. Erel Margalit, JVP has raised to date $1.6 billion across 10 funds, and has been listed numerous times by Preqin, and other rankings, as one of the top-ten consistently performing VC firms worldwide. JVP has built over 160 companies, leveraging a broad network of partners and market expertise to help companies become global market leaders. Among the pioneering firms of the Israeli venture capital industry, JVP has been instrumental in building some of the largest companies out of Israel, facilitating 12 Initial Public Offerings on NASDAQ including CyberArk Software (NASDAQ: CYBR, $3.6 billion mkt. cap.), QLIK Technologies (NASDAQ: QLIK, then $2.5 billion mkt. cap.) and Cogent Communications (NASDAQ: CCOI, $2.3 billion mkt. cap.). https://www.jvpvc.com/

In case of queries, please contact:

Urban-X related inquiries:

Molly Hendriksen
E-mail: molly.hendriksen@berlinrosen.com

MINI related inquiries:

Franziska Liebert, Communications MINI
Tel.: +49-89-382-28030
E-mail: franziska.liebert@mini.com

Andreas Lampka, Head of Communications MINI
Tel.: +49-89-382-23662
E-mail: andreas.lampka@mini.com

Jennifer Treiber-Ruckenbrod, Head of Communications MINI and BMW Motorrad
Tel.: +49-89-382-35108
E-mail: jennifer.ruckenbrod@bmwgroup.com

Canada Launches Call for Proposals for Indigenous-led Clean Fuels Projects

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 11, 2022 – Clean fuels, such as advanced biofuels and hydrogen, play an essential role in contributing to Canada’s plan to reach net zero by 2050. Recognizing the unique opportunities that clean fuels present for Indigenous businesses and communities, the Government of Canada is helping grow their domestic production capacity while strengthening the economy, creating good, sustainable jobs and supporting workers in the natural resource sectors.

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, today launched a call for proposals for Indigenous-led projects to build new or expand existing clean fuel production capacity in Canada.

As a component of the Clean Fuels Fund, this dedicated Indigenous Call for Project Proposals targets new production and feasibility projects at the commercial scale and in advanced states of readiness. Projects for the production of clean liquid or gaseous fuels — such as hydrogen, advanced ethanol and renewable diesel — are eligible for consideration.

Selected projects are expected to enable emissions reductions while benefitting Indigenous communities, leveraging private sector investments, creating jobs and improving gender and diversity in the clean fuels sector. Indigenous businesses, communities and organizations are encouraged to apply.

A single application can be submitted for feasibility studies and/or production projects. Feasibility and front-end engineering design studies can receive up to 75 percent of eligible costs to a maximum of $5 million, while production projects may receive support of up to 50 percent of total eligible costs to a maximum of $150 million each.

The $1.5-billion Clean Fuels Fund supports the growth of domestic production capacity of clean fuels. It also supports the implementation of proposed Clean Fuels Regulations and delivers on the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada.

Applications for the call for proposals for Indigenous-led projects will be accepted until funding is no longer available.

Quote

“Indigenous businesses are bringing forward innovative solutions in the clean fuels space. Our government is partnering with them on these innovative projects to make Canada a global supplier of choice for clean fuels.”

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Natural Resources

PepsiCo Beverages North America Invests $35 Million to Help Close Gap In Recycling Access through investment in Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund

PURCHASE, N.Y., Jan. 20, 2022 — PepsiCo Beverages North America (PBNA) announced today a $35 million investment with Closed Loop Partners that will create the “Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund,” an innovative circular economy initiative to advance new small-scale, modular recycling systems in communities across the U.S. The fund aims to increase recycling in areas with no or limited access to recycling, reducing waste and unlocking a new supply of recycled plastic (rPET), among other valuable materials, to support PepsiCo’s pep+ (PepsiCo Positive) sustainable packaging goals.

“As companies – including PepsiCo – set ambitious goals to use more recycled content in their packaging, there is more need than ever for partnerships and investments to increase recycling in the U.S. We need to develop the infrastructure that makes recycling available to more Americans so we can recover the high-quality material that can be used in our packaging,” said Jason Blake, Chief Sustainability Officer and SVP at PepsiCo Beverages North America. “Through pep+, our end-to-end strategic transformation, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. As the exclusive investor in the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund, we are actively driving the changes needed to transform the US recycling system and move towards a circular economy.”

Closed Loop Partners will use the investment to deploy small-scale modular Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in underserved communities that currently lack access to larger municipal MRFs. This gap in access is typically due to a lack of funding or geographic proximity to facilities that process the materials. The smaller, local MRFs lay the groundwork for the future of recycling, introducing a new way to meet and adapt to the various needs of communities across the U.S. These modular recycling systems are smaller and less capital intensive than traditional large-scale recycling facilities, reducing the need for the costly transportation of recycled materials to larger MRFs outside of the area. The small-scale MRFs will help recapture valuable recyclables––paper, plastic, glass, and metals––reducing waste sent to landfill and unlocking a new supply of recycled materials. Each individual system creates the capacity to recycle at least 8,000 tons per year of materials, including keeping 400 tons of rPET in circulation every year. They are also expected to yield higher quality plastic while also reducing the costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the longer distance transportation of the materials.

This investment reinforces PepsiCo’s desire to create a world where packaging never becomes waste and to increase recycling rates in the United States. It aims to support PepsiCo’s goal to cut virgin plastic from non-renewable sources across our food and beverage portfolios by 50% by 2030.

“This first-of-a-kind investment from PepsiCo ushers in a new future for local recycling, empowering communities across rural America and small cities to reduce waste and harness the value of their recycled commodities,” says Ron Gonen, Founder & CEO of Closed Loop Partners. “By closing the loop on these commodities, which can then re-enter local manufacturing supply chains, we are better equipping communities with the tools needed for resilience against a globally changing climate, while also creating new revenue opportunities and jobs. We look forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with PepsiCo to build and strengthen circular supply chains.”

This announcement comes on the heels of a $15 million PBNA investment in Closed Loop Partners’ Leadership Fund, a private equity fund that seeks to acquire and grow companies, including those in the packaging value chain, to strengthen recycling infrastructure and build circular supply chains that keep materials out of landfills. These investments are part of a long history of PepsiCo partnering with Closed Loop Partners to make strides on material recovery and infrastructure advancements:

In 2021, PepsiCo became a founding partner of Closed Loop Partners’ Composting Consortium, managed by their Center for the Circular Economy. The Consortium brings together leading voices in the composting ecosystem in the United States to identify the best path forward and pilot industry-wide solutions to increase the recovery of compostable food packaging and drive toward circular outcomes.
In 2014, PepsiCo became a founding member of the Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund, which has provided investments that cities, counties, and businesses in the U.S. use to take the steps necessary to move recycling to the next level, including new trucks for pick-up/hauling and cutting-edge technology to make materials recovery facilities work more efficiently.
Through American Beverage’s Every Bottle Back Initiative, PepsiCo is an investor in Closed Loop Partners’ Beverage Fund, which seeks to improve the collection of the industry’s valuable plastic bottles so they can be made into new bottles using rPET. This fund partners with other beverage companies, as well as nonprofits and NGOs like The Recycling Partnership and WWF to reduce their plastic footprints, improve recycling access, provide education to residents, and modernize recycling infrastructure in communities across the country.
As the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund begins investing in community recycling, municipalities across the U.S., as well as local haulers, can reach out to Closed Loop Partners if they are interested in exploring a small-scale, modular MRF in their community.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $70 billion in net revenue in 2020, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, Tropicana, and SodaStream. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 23 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales. Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Convenient Foods and Beverages by Winning with Purpose. “Winning with Purpose” reflects our ambition to win sustainably in the marketplace and embed purpose into all aspects of our business strategy and brands. For more information, visit pepsico.com.

About the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund at Closed Loop Partners
The Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund is a circular economy initiative managed by Closed Loop Partners and funded by PepsiCo, aiming to finance and deploy small-scale, modular Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to increase recycling in communities with no or limited access to recycling, reduce waste and unlock a new supply of recycled plastic. Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm comprised of venture capital, growth equity, private equity, project-based finance and an innovation center focused on building the circular economy. The firm’s business verticals build upon one another, bridging gaps and fostering synergies to scale the circular economy.

To learn about the Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund, visit Closed Loop Partners’ website.

FIASI and Fordham University Call for Student Research Papers on Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG Investing in Fixed Income

NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Fixed Income Analysts Society (FIASI) in collaboration with Fordham University’s Center for Research in Contemporary Finance and the O’Shea Center for Credit Analysis and Investment are inviting research applications for the 2nd Annual FIASI-Gabelli School Student Research Competition on environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investments and innovations. This co-branded competition invites undergraduate and graduate students to submit their ongoing original research on the topic of sustainable finance in fixed income or related markets1. Although the primary focus of this competition is to encourage student research on ESG in the fixed income market, research papers on the application of ESG principles in related markets but still relevant for fixed income will also be accepted. The purpose of the competition is to raise awareness of environmental, social and governance-based principles of investing in the fixed income markets as a research area, address challenges and opportunities associated with the integration of ESG in fixed income, promote the further development of ESG in the design of fixed income investments as well as corporate innovations and to gain more visibility for and encourage conversations among students, academics, as well as practitioners.

The competition will recognize up to eight research papers in year 2022, with each winning submission receiving an award of up to $5,000 and recognition at the annual FIASI ESG in Fixed Income conference scheduled to be held on or about April 21, 2022 and April 22, 2022 (Earth Day 2022). Payments will be made directly to the recipients. This grant does not in any way preclude subsequent publication of the research in the journals of the recipients’ choice. The recipients should agree to acknowledge this grant in all publications and presentations, and to present the research at a mutually convenient date following the FIASI conference. For reference, last April, three competition winners were announced, each receiving a monetary award in the amount of $2,000, and the winners were invited to present their research papers at a virtual event hosted jointly by FIASI and Fordham.

This year, the Competition is being expanded to include schools with business programs in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area and students in this region are welcome to submit their research for the competition. Examples of student submissions include PhD. dissertations, Masters theses, Honors program theses, or any similar researches. Research papers coauthored between students and faculty are also welcome. Submissions from undergraduate, master, and PhD students will be evaluated in separated pools and awards will be chosen independently from these pools.

All submissions should consist of the following:

A cover page with title, names of authors, addresses and affiliation;
An abstract of up to 150 words;
A research paper;
A copy of (each) researcher’s resume.
A review committee will select the winners from the submitted proposals. In making its selections, the committee will seek input from colleagues at both FIASI and the Gabelli School of Business finance area. The review committee will consist of members drawn from the academic community as well as the fixed income industry.

Research papers will be judged on the basis of the originality and relevance of the research question as well as the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the research methodology.

Applicants should submit their proposals to Ms. Pamela Huang (phwang4@fordham.edu) by March 18, 2022. Decisions will be made before on or about April 15, 2022.

The competition is co-funded by the Fixed Income Analysts Society and Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business.

Additional questions or inquiries should be directed to Lauren Nauser, Executive Director, FIASI at nauser@fiasi.org.

1 Submissions from both full-time and part-time students will be accepted. The research should reflect the student’s own analysis and should contain a disclaimer that the research is not in any connected to or derives from a previous or current employer.

SOURCE Fixed Income Analysts Society (FIASI)

EU And The US Announce A Global Pledge To Slash Methane

LUXEMBOURG, – We are pleased to share the second of the COP26 Glasgow Chronicles series, bringing you updates on the activities and key messages that the members of the European Committee of the Regions are delivering at COP26. This second issue includes major COP26 developments and new pledges and additional press coverage.

Let’s first start with a short recap on the conclusions of the World Leaders Summit which took place on 1 and 2 November. More than 100 world leaders promised to end and reverse deforestation by 2030, in the COP26 climate summit’s first major deal. The countries who have signed the pledge – including the EU, most EU Member States, Canada, Brazil, Russia, China, Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the US and the UK cover around 85% of the world’s forests. The full list of countries having joined the end to deforestation pledge can be found here. This commitment will be backed by public and private funding, which amount to $12bn and $7.2bn respectively.

The second major takeway of the COP26 opening is the EU and the US announcing a global pledge to slash methane. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and US President Joe Biden made the announcement on Tuesday. The Global Methane Pledge has been signed by 103 countries so far, including major emitters such as Brazil, Nigeria and Canada. The objective is to limit methane emissions by 30% compared with 2020 levels. You can find out all details in this BBC report.

It must be noted that none of both pledges are actually binding. Nevertheless, it seems COP26 is bringing new hope since ‘Pledges to limit greenhouse gas emissions made so far at the Glasgow climate conference could keep world temperature rises to below 2C’, writes The Times.

DAY 4. Wednesday 3 November the COP26 has been the Finance Day in which a sticking number of central bank governors, senior industry leaders, head of multilateral financial institutions, and finance ministers have discussed the potential of public and private funding for the race to a net zero, climate resilient world. Countries have agreed to the disposition of $130tn of private finance in order to create, develop and implement science-based solutions to climate change. Furthermore, commitments were also made to support developing countries in facing the various challenges that climate change poses on their countries. The main aim of these initiatives was to facilitate developing countries’ access to funds in order to unwrap their climate plans. In addition, to create and ensure common standards, 36 countries favored the creation of a new international body, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

DAY 5. End of Coal in Sight at COP26. The 4th of November has been the Energy Day in Glasgow. The focus is on accelerating the global transition towards green and sustainable energy sources. The UK COP26 presidency reports that ‘at least 23 countries have made new commitments today to phase out coal power, including five of the world’s top 20 coal power-using countries’. Read the press release here.

Local Governments and Municipal Authorities Constituency (LGMA) Daily Briefings.

The members of the LGMA constituency can follow daily updates on the progress of the negotiations at COP26. For that, you must register to the Multilevel Action Pavilion.

The first daily briefing took place on 2 November. Click here to watch it. The second one took place today, 4 November. The image above summarises the key milestones of the LGMA constituency as the representative group of cities and regions in the UN system. LGMA has three main areas of focus. First, multilevel must become the new normal, where national or supranational bodies work hand in hand with local and regional authorities and actors. Second, the localization of appropriate financial means to foster sustainable, integrated urban and territorial development. Third, action must be just for all, not leaving anyone behind.

Rural areas have also been on the spotlight on November 4 at COP26 as the OECD organised the event ‘Rural Regions – realizing the net-zero opportunity’. The objective was to demonstrate that rural areas are central to the green and just transition and assess how rural regions can benefit from the opportunities of the transition towards a net-zero economy. National rural policies must adapt to the different needs within the large variety of rural, remote and mountain areas in order to develop six key areas including the deployment of renewable energies, capacity-building, land-use and ecosystem services, circular and bio-economy, decarbonising transport, and evidence based policy making.

On press coverage today November 4, Spanish Europa Press publishes the first statement of Juan Espadas on COP26. The Mayor of Seville, Chair of the CoR’s ENVE commission and Green Deal Going Local working group, and one of the members of the European Committee of the Regions’ (CoR) official delegation to COP26 stressed that “The climate crisis is here, and it is an existential threat to humanity. At COP26, we must bring the voice of the many cities and regions that are working tirelessly to fight the climate emergency”.

Also, the Czech Republic’s environmental web portal Ekolist shares an opinion article by the Mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib, who stresses the city’s will to move towards carbon neutrality, making the city greener, reducing waste production, increasing waste recycling rates and developing sustainable modes of energy production. The Mayor of Prague announces his participation at COP26 and the presentation of a resolution of the Pact of Free Cities together with the Mayor of Budapest, in an event that is to take place on November 10 in Glasgow where the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, will also be present. The Pact of Free Cities is a cooperation agreement between the mayors of Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest – Zdeněk Hřib, Matúš Vallo, Rafał Trzaskowski, and Gergely Karácsony respectively – signed on 16 December 2019 at Central European University in Budapest.

DAY 6 Preview. On 5 November, the CoR will have two members speaking at COP26.

Markku Markkula (FI/EPP) will speak at the ‘Climate Adaptation Event’ at 11:30 (Brussels time) organized by Westphalia.

Emma Nohrén (SE/Greens) will participate to the event ‘The Role of Academies of Science in Climate Change Policy Action’ which will take place at 12:00 (Brussels time) in the South Africa Pavilion in Glasgow. Please click here to register for this virtual Zoom event

Do not forget to click here to download the CoR official delegation and key messages to COP26 and visit our COP26 web portal.

SOURCE European Union – Committee of the Regions

« Prev
1
2
3
4
…
12
Next »

CHEMICALS & SCIENCE : View Posts