On 20 May 2019, the University of Exeter declared an environment and climate emergency. This was in response to reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and others about the impacts of global warming and pressure from staff and students to take action. The university felt a particular responsibility as it has many academics working on combatting climate change.
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For the sustainable development of humanity, future efforts are necessary to develop effective technologies to reduce fossil fuels. Solar-driven hydrogen production from water splitting can be an attractive way to supply clean energy. However, the efficiency of the water splitting is limited by the reaction at the anode. Therefore Qiuhua Liang investigated some promising anode materials that may help improve the efficiency of the water splitting. The reaction that takes place at the anode is called oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is often regarded as the main bottleneck in water splitting because it is a so-called four-electron transfer process. The efficiency of the OER relies heavily on the anode material. Qiuhua Liang found some anode materials that may increase the efficiency of the OER.
Poland also wants Brussels to investigate whether the behaviour of Russia’s Gazprom has stoked European gas price rises. The Commission has already agreed to study both issues, but not committed to take immediate action. EU leaders on Thursday struggled to agree a common response to soaring energy prices, which have exposed familiar rifts over the bloc’s climate change goals and divided countries on whether the price crunch warrants an overhaul of EU energy market rules. The European Commission last week published a “toolbox” outlining the national measures governments can take and said Brussels would look into longer-term options to address price shocks. EU leaders debated those options on Thursday. Most EU countries have already drawn up emergency action plans to shield consumers, including energy tax cuts and subsidies for poorer households. Their final summit conclusions invited countries to urgently use the toolbox “to provide short-term relief to the most vulnerable consumers and to support European companies”.
Washington State University researchers have developed a sustainable wastewater treatment system that relies on electron-producing microbial communities to clean the water. The work could someday lead to reduced reliance on the energy-intensive processes that are used to move and treat wastewater, which accounts for as much as two percent of the total electrical energy consumption in the United States.
Burberry has added two new science-based sustainability targets to its responsibility strategy, which will see the retailer strive to significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
By embedding sustainability, Nestlé believes it has the power to create lasting change across its business – and well beyond. How does a global food company embed sustainability across every one of its brands, supply chains and international operations? For Nestlé, the answer lies in recognising that its business would not exist without the produce and labour of communities around the globe.
Companies are increasingly aligning their sustainability strategy with their business strategy according to our latest Webranking research. Communicating proactively about sustainability and demonstrating that it is fully integrated into the corporate strategy helps position a company as an attractive investment and employer.