In Switzerland, coffee giant Nespresso has partnered with watchmaker Hublot to create wrist watch elements from used coffee grounds and pods. The material is being used in Hublot’s Big Bang Unico Nespresso Origin timepiece. The project is one of several in Nespresso’s Second Life program, which looks for opportunities to repurpose waste from coffee into […]
In Brazil, Novonor has confirmed a takeover offer from private equity investors Apollo and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company for its shares in petchems, plastics, and bioplastics producer Braskem. According to Reuters, Novonor owns a 38.3% stake in Braskem. State-owned energy giant Petrobras holds 36.1%, with the remaining 25.6% held by private investors. The bid […]
In Austria, wood-based fibers maker Lenzing Group is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its biorefinery and coproduct brand LENZING Acetic Acid Biobased. Since its launch on May 4, 1983, the business has become one of the “leading and most trusted” biobased acetic acid providers, finding applications in cleaning agents and food ingredients. To mark the […]
In Boston, synthetic biology firms Octarine Bio and Ginkgo Bioworks have partnered to produce compounds in the tryptophan pathway. Specifically, the two will jointly engineer a strain for producing violacein, a naturally occurring bis-indole pigment with potent bioactive properties. The collaboration may be expanded to other tryptophan-derived compounds. According to the companies, most textiles are […]
In Pennsylvania and Georgia, Trinseo and RWDC Industries are developing paper and board packaging solutions using polyhydroxyalkanoates dispersion technology. Non-recyclable packaging materials, such as extruded polyethylene laminates and fiber processing with fluorochemicals, are facing rising regulatory and consumer pressure. PHA dispersion technology can be used to create water-based barrier coatings that are recyclable in traditional […]
In the Himalayas, a war veteran and double amputee is scaling the world’s tallest peak, from which he hopes to toast the coronation of King Charles and tee off a biodegradable golf ball. Hari Budha Magar, who in 2010 lost both legs to an Afghanistan IED attack, has completed acclimation and will launch a summit […]
In France, Emma Watson is lending her celebrity magic to her family’s vineyard business by jointly launching a gin brand with her brother Alex. Called Renais, the wine-inspired gin is produced near Domaine Watson, her family’s Chablis, France vineyard. It is produced through distillation of wine grape skins, lees, botanicals, linden flowers, cubeb berries and […]
In London, venture capital firm Agronomics has invested £1 million ($1.3 million) in cultivated pet food maker Good Dog Food. The veteran cellular ag investor brought the total funding round to £3.6 million and gained a 42.4% stake in GDF. Agronomics estimates food for companion animals comprises nearly 25% of US meat production. Good Dog […]
In Colorado, popular clog brand Crocs has pushed back its targets for achieving net zero operations from 2030 to 2040, calling the revised timeline “still ambitious” but “more… realistic.” The company said in an ESG report that it had set the 2030 target before completing a key acquisition and finishing a comprehensive study of its […]
In Switzerland, researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology have developed a mostly biodegradable drone that could be used to monitor remote eco-systems scientists can’t—or shouldn’t—physically access. Such inexpensive, low-impact tools could be useful in monitoring the effects of climate change, according to the team from the organization’s Laboratory of Sustainability […]
