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VTT — the Technical Research Centre of Finland — is helping to solve the global plastic waste problem with a project called PlastBug, a mobile container unit that removes plastic waste from ocean areas and converts it into material for other uses.
"Our idea is to design a mobile container where microbes degrade plastic waste to valuable products like fuels or chemicals," says Kari Koivuranta, Principal Scientist at VTT.
PRESS RELEASE -
Philadelphia, PA & Boulder, CO – August 29, 2018 - Braskem (BM&FBOVESPA: BRKM3, BRKM5 and BRKM6; NYSE: BAK; LATIBEX: XBRK), the largest thermoplastics polyolefins producer in the Americas and the leading producer of biopolymers in the world, and Only Natural Pet, America’s leading brand of natural pet supplies, together announced a new sustainable pet food packaging initiative utilizing Braskem’s sugarcane based I’m greenTM biopolymer. Only Natural Pet is integrating at least 30% bioplastic packaging material into every bag of its recently launched line of Mindful Meals dry dog food, directly supporting Only Natural Pet’s ongoing commitments to environmental sustainability and carbon reduction.
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CVS Health today released new data showing that the company's real-time benefits program, powered by its proprietary engine, Script Intelligence , can save CVS Caremark pharmacy benefit management (PBM) members between $120-$130 per prescription fill. The company found that, when provided with access to member-specific pharmacy benefit and formulary information at the point-of-prescribing, prescribers are often switching a member to a lower cost covered drug when available.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Over his more than 30 years in the business, Mike Saltzberg has seen firsthand how sustainability has grown to be of equal consideration with technical performance and cost in the development of new biomaterials.
Saltzberg is the Global Business Director for Biomaterials at DuPont Industrial Biosciences, the team that ideates and develops products derived from bio-based materials. Among their innovations is DuPont™ Sorona®, a partially plant-based fiber increasingly used in apparel and carpet.
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Humana Inc., one of the nation’s leading health and well-being companies, today released its 2016-2017 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. In the comprehensive report, Humana, for the first time, announces the company’s alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), becoming one of the first U.S. health insurers to commit to the international targets.
PRESS RELEASE -
Imagine lifting a bag of flour or a watermelon over your head up to 4,600 times a day as part of your job – that is similar to what some Ford employees do every day as they work to build vehicles around the world.
Repetitive motions like those can lead to fatigue and injury for workers, but now Ford is rolling out a new wearable technology globally called EksoVest that helps reduce injury risk in some plant workers after a successful trial in two U.S. plants.
PRESS RELEASE -
Newtrition®, BASF’s human nutrition brand invites innovators and entrepreneurs worldwide to participate in the first-ever Newtrition Health Innovation Challenge.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The rise of natural health products and cosmetics has set off a flurry of research and development to discover the next great breakthrough for skin care or for specialized foods that provide an energy boost when you need it most. From shampoos and natural medicines to herbal teas and healthy spreadable fats, Earth’s biodiversity is providing the inspiration for a growing number of consumer goods. What began as luxury products for high-end shoppers have now gone more mainstream, as ingredient-savvy consumers look to natural alternatives in our chemically saturated stores.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The U.S. healthcare sector is the second most intensive commercial user of energy. Hospitals are one of the largest energy users, contributing 8 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through the purchase of healthcare goods and services, and produce more than 4.67 million tons of waste each year. Realizing the significance of these impacts, NewGen Surgical was started in 2012 with a vision to make single-use medical devices more sustainable through their redesign and material inputs.
PRESS RELEASE -
Unique biotechnological procedure for using gaseous waste as a source for raw materials
Technology with potential for applications in the chemical industry
BASF Venture Capital GmbH is to invest in LanzaTech, a biotech company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Using special microbes, LanzaTech has developed a technology for gas fermentation that first enables ethanol to be produced from residual gases containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. By re-using waste streams instead of incinerating them, industrial companies can reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
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Johnson & Johnson today released its 2017 Health for Humanity Report, demonstrating its approach and the considerable progress it has made toward an ambitious social, environmental and governance commitment to advance the Company’s mission to drive better health for all.
Looking across all Johnson & Johnson’s business practices, the Company shares important disclosure about how it supports good health for patients, consumers, employees and local communities on a global scale. The report tracks how Johnson & Johnson is striving to eradicate and prevent disease, reimagine how care is delivered, and put a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of all people around the world.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Questions — and asking the right ones — are at the heart of Patricia Wang’s role as design researcher in WorkSpace Futures for Steelcase Inc. These days, the biggest question Wang faces is just as complicated and ambiguous as it is important: How can Steelcase encourage employees to get to a future state that is better both for them and for the planet?
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
As we get ready to judge our semi-finalists next week in the 2018 Sustainable Brands Innovation Open, we wanted to check in with last year’s competitors to learn about the impacts they continue to have on the business world. Here, we catch up with Toxnot.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
As we get ready to judge our semi-finalists for the 2018 Sustainable Brands Innovation Open, we wanted to check in with last year’s competitors to learn about the impacts they continue to have on the business world. Here, we catch up with our 2017 winner, Detroit Ento.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Earlier this year, the Global Fashion Agenda released the CEO Agenda for the fashion industry, which highlights the “efficient use of chemicals, water and energy” as a core priority for immediate implementation. However, while chemical management is listed high on this agenda, time and again, the importance of this topic is not reflected in key conferences and events.
NEW METRICS -
“Organizations rely on a diverse set of ‘capitals’ to function effectively,” says Emma Ringström, Sustainability Manager, Pulp and Performance Chemicals at AkzoNobel. By measuring these, she says, “We can find ways to make the most impactful improvements and ultimately increase business value.”
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Three new goals to enhance the circular economy for plastics and reduce packaging waste have been announced by leading U.S. plastic producers including BASF, Dow, DuPont and Braskem.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
People of all ages are more aware of their impact on the planet’s limited resources and ecosystem health than ever before. Packaging is of particular concern, prompting this year’s Earth Day theme: end plastic pollution.
“I’d like more people to take care of the Earth,” said Yasmine, a 7th grader in the Garden Club at Montgomery Middle School in San Diego, CA. Fellow club member Daisy, also in 7th grade, agrees. “People can use more reusable bags instead of plastic,” Daisy added. “We have lots of reusable bags at home. When we do get plastic bags, we reuse them.”
PRESS RELEASE -
DuPont Industrial Biosciences (DuPont) and Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) announced the opening of the world’s first biobased furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) pilot production facility in Decatur, Illinois. The plant is the centerpiece of a long-standing collaboration that will help bring a greater variety of sustainably sourced biomaterials into the lives of consumers.
Nearly one-tenth of the world’s oil is used to make the plastic products we use every day. From shampoo bottles to frozen food containers, fossil-fuel-based plastics are virtually impossible to avoid because of a lack of commercially available alternatives — a significant gap in the marketplace that DuPont and ADM’s new biobased FDME will help address.
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Donations, Educational Materials from SC Johnson Help Protect the Most Vulnerable Against Mosquito-Borne Diseases