Lyft’s IPO filing reveals there’s still a long road to sustainable transportation | Greenbiz

Lyft’s IPO filing reveals there’s still a long road to sustainable transportation | Greenbiz

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Lyft’s co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer — two entrepreneurs with environmental-leaning and transportation-planning(ish) backgrounds — finally “made it” in the Silicon Valley sense.  On Friday, the ride-hailing company filed an S-1, indicating that it plans to go public soon. This particular document is often times the first glimpse at a private company’s financials and overall plans, and Lyft’s S-1 doesn’t disappoint.  The main thing that the S-1 reveals to me is the yawning gap between the founders’ vision of Lyft as a sustainable transportation company and the reality that Lyft faces in operating a ride-hailing company that relies on individual gas-powered vehicles in an ultra-competitive market.  Lyft’s founders write: “It’s time to redesign our cities around people, not cars.”

Simple Design Changes Could Make YouTube Better for the Planet, Researchers Say

Simple Design Changes Could Make YouTube Better for the Planet, Researchers Say

ByThe Circular Economy Team

YouTube is where preschoolers go for their Baby Shark fix. It’s where beauty bloggers rejoice as they unbox their new favorite lipstick. As it turns out, the website—my 3-year-old niece’s one and only true love—also contributes to climate change in a fairly significant way.  YouTube emitted an estimated 11 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2016, according to scientists at the University of Bristol who are presenting their research Thursday at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. That’s greater than Amsterdam’s annual footprint. The good news, the researchers say, is that simple design changes could help these services reduce this carbon footprint. In fact, YouTube could reduce its emissions by up to 551,000 tons, by simply allowing viewers to use the app with an inactive screen when, say, they’re streaming music.

The Most Sustainable Companies In 2019

The Most Sustainable Companies In 2019

ByThe Circular Economy Team

As political and business leaders gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, a roster of the most sustainable companies is also enjoying a moment in the spotlight.  The list, the Global 100, ranks large corporations across the globe on their performance reducing carbon and waste, their gender diversity among leadership, revenues derived from clean products, and overall sustainability. In its 15th year, the ranking is compiled by a Canada-based sustainability-focused financial information company and magazine, Corporate Knights, beginning with a list of about 7,500 companies, all of which generate more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

A sustainable and recyclable thermoelectric paper

A sustainable and recyclable thermoelectric paper

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Thermoelectric materials, capable of transforming heat into electricity, are very promising for converting residual heat into electrical energy, as they convert hardly usable or nearly lost thermal energy in an efficient way.  Researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) have created a new concept of thermoelectric material, published in the journal Energy & Environmental Science. It is a device composed of cellulose, produced in situ in the laboratory by bacteria, with small amounts of a conductive nanomaterial, carbon nanotubes, using a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy.

The 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies | Barron’s

The 100 Most Sustainable U.S. Companies | Barron’s

ByThe Circular Economy Team

How much of a company’s journey toward sustainability is driven by the personal passions of its CEO? Based on the conversations Barron’s had recently with several corporate chieftains, quite a lot. That’s one of the insights from our second annual sustainability ranking of public companies.  Consider Voya Financial (ticker: VOYA), the insurer and retirement-savings company that vaulted to No. 6 this year from No. 46 last year. Even before Voya separated from Dutch parent ING and went public in 2013, its CEO was already…

Aldi targets 100% sustainably sourced soy by 2025

Aldi targets 100% sustainably sourced soy by 2025

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Supermarket chain Aldi has pledged to source 100% sustainably certified soy across its supply chain by 2025, including soy used as animal feed.  With the world’s population widely expected to grow to more than nine billion people by 2050, demand for protein and, therefore, soy, is set to grow exponentially.  Announced on Thursday (28 March), the commitment will see Aldi work to ensure that all the soy used in its products and throughout its own-brand meat, fish, egg and dairy supply chains comes from “deforestation-free” sources” within the next five years.  The retailer will initially purchase credits through the global Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS) to verify that its suppliers are “actively engaged” with responsible production techniques and are producing soy to the RTRS’s accreditation standards.

Sustainability: Commission presents a reflection paper on a more sustainable Europe by 2030

Sustainability: Commission presents a reflection paper on a more sustainable Europe by 2030

ByThe Circular Economy Team

Announced as a follow-up to President Juncker’s 2017 State of the Union Address, today’s Paper forms part of the EU’s firm commitment to deliver on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including on the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. By reviewing the breadth of challenges for Europe and presenting illustrative scenarios for the future, the Paper seeks to steer the discussion on how these goals can be best achieved and how the European Union can best contribute by 2030. Building on what has been achieved in recent years, these scenarios highlight that further action is needed if the EU and the world are to secure a sustainable future in the interest of citizens’ well-being.