Day: April 3, 2018

Fashion & beauty products

How H&M Is Leading the Charge in Sustainable Fashion

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Read the full story in Forbes.

In a 124-page report, [H&M] outlined its history, strategy and trajectory on leading the charge for sustainability in fashion. It’ll also be launching the seventh edition of its Conscious Exclusive Collection—a line that uses 100% regenerated nylon fiber and recycled silver—on April 19th with Christy Turlington Burns as its face. After a string of controversies over a racially insensitive image and a copyright lawsuit, this announcement looks as if it is trying to temper the public outcry. Though, to its credit, fostering an eco-friendly mindset has been a longstanding policy.

 

Colleges and universities, Communicating science, Publications

Telling the Story of Research Toolkit

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Download the toolkit.

Changing funding patterns mean that the long term growth of the research enterprise requires effective, strategic communications about the value of university-led research.

Yet there are a variety of obstacles that complicate communicating research value. Institutions need to communicate research to a much broader set of stakeholders who may have different interests, priorities, and levels of understanding. And faculty are not always effective at communicating their research to lay audiences.

Chief research officers (CROs) are often thrust into the spotlight as the primary advocate for the research enterprise, and they find themselves overwhelmed by the marketing and communication challenges. While they recognize the importance of their role in improving research communications, they want and need to have more effective tools and tactics for doing so.

To support CROs and their staff in articulating the value of research and maximizing the impact of communications efforts, the University Research Forum has developed the following toolkit to accompany the 13 tactics outlined in our national meeting study, Telling the Story of Research.

Environmental health, Publications

What Makes an E-Cig Taste Good May Also Make It Toxic

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Read the full story at LiveScience.

With names like “Banana Pudding,” “Blueberry Cinnamon-Streusel Muffin” and “Butter Crunch,” the flavoring ingredients in electronic cigarettes sound not only harmless but immensely appealing. But some of the liquids used in e-cigarettes may in fact have highly toxic effects on human cells tested in a lab, a new study reveals.

Researchers in North Carolina found that some of the ingredients used in so-called “e-liquids” are more toxic than nicotine alone and many of them are more toxic to human cells than the main ingredients in these liquids, which are propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin, according to the findings, published today (March 27) in the journal PLOS Biology.

Food waste, Supply chain

App that cuts food waste in the supply chain gets $2M in funding

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Read the full story in Supply Chain Dive.

AgShift, which has developed an app-based method of inspecting produce throughout the supply chain, has raised $2 million in a seed round of funding, according to AgFunder News.

The publication said fresh produce is inspected for criteria such as freshness, damage, size and color to make sure it meets industry and USDA specifications. AgShift founder Miku Jha said the current inspection process is time-consuming and subjective. This leads to inconsistency of quality arriving at the final destination, which ultimately leads to food waste.

​The app can photograph a fruit such as a strawberry to see how much red is in the photo to determine how much shelf life is left. It also can measure size and how much bruising the fruit has to determine its USDA grade, cutting in half the time it takes for each item to be inspected.

U.S. EPA

Scott Pruitt’s Dirty Politics

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Read the full story in the New Yorker.

How the Environmental Protection Agency became the fossil-fuel industry’s best friend.

EVs, Green business

Inside UPS’s Electric Vehicle Strategy

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Read the full story in the Harvard Business Review.

Passenger electric cars get all the press, especially when someone launches one into space. But something important is going on in the world of commercial vehicles as well. Last year Tesla announced it would produce an electric long-haul big rig. PepsiCo, Walmart, and UPS promptly committed to buying a few hundred. More recently, UPS made an important announcement about its plans to roll out 50 new midsize electric delivery trucks in Atlanta, Dallas, and Los Angeles.

Environmental law, Publications, Sustainable communities, Water

2017 Water Efficiency and Conservation State Scorecard: An Assessment of Laws and Policies

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Download the document.

The Alliance for Water Efficiency and the Environmental Law Institute have released a five-year update to the 2012 Water Efficiency and Conservation State Scorecard: An Assessment of Laws and Policies. As with the 2012 State Scorecard, the 2017 update reviewed, scored, graded states for laws supporting water conservation and efficiency. In addition, the 2017 report added a new component for climate resiliency planning and performed a parallel evaluation, scoring, and grading process.

Green infrastructure, Sustainable communities

With a Green Makeover, Philadelphia Is Tackling Its Stormwater Problem

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Read the full story at e360.

In a major initiative, Philadelphia is building an extensive network of rain gardens, green roofs, wetlands, and other infrastructure to capture stormwater. The goal is to prevent runoff from overwhelming sewers and polluting waterways and to help green America’s fifth-largest city.

Materials science, Sustainable design

New material made from desert sand could offer low-carbon alternative to concrete

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Read the full story from Dezeen.

A team of scientists in the UK have developed a biodegradable construction material made from desert sand – a resource that has until now been useless for construction.

Awards & contests, Green business

12 Asian Entrepreneurs Win $10K for Low-Carbon Mobility, Plastic Waste, Energy Ideas

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Read the full story at Sustainable Brands.

UN Environment has awarded seed funding to twelve young people with business ideas on how to foster energy-efficient, low-waste and low-carbon lifestyles. Each of the winners of the Asia Pacific Low Carbon Lifestyles Challenge will receive US$10,000 and mentorship to help bring their ideas to fruition.

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