Sustainability News and Trends – January 2022

Posted by | Fuld & Company

For the latest and most important sustainability news and developments from November and December 2021 please see below for all the key stories.

For a PDF version of this news please download here.

National Governments’ Announcements

A summary of the key announcements by national governments in relation to sustainability is as follows:

Companies Making Sustainability Linked Acquisitions & Investments

Some of the key sustainability linked acquisitions and investments have been made by the following companies.

Key Sustainability News

A summary of the key sustainability news that has occurred over the past month is listed below.

10 DECEMBER 2021: HOSPITALITY

McDonald’s has launched its first sustainable restaurant branch in UK with the target of net zero carbon emissions

• McDonald’s, the famous fast-food restaurant chain, has debuted the first of its net zero carbon restaurant in Market Drayton, England, that will use British sheep wool for insulation instead of man-made materials
• The unit will serve as a blueprint for other sites, and will use renewable energy from two wind turbines and 92 square meters of solar panels lowering the use of energy from grid
• McDonald’s has ensured net zero emissions during the construction phase of the restaurant and has pledged to continue to maintain the same standards in its routine operations as well

08 DECEMBER 2021: AIRLINES

Etihad Airways has launched a new reward programs for customers who make conscious choices for environment sustainability

• Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways announced the launch of its ‘Conscious Choices’ sustainable scheme for climate conscious consumers
• The initiative includes a range of sustainable initiatives offered by the Etihad Guest program, set to roll out in early 2022, where Etihad’s frequent flyer program members can also benefit from the choices they make while flying or on the ground
• The airline also plans to support national parks in Peru and Indonesia by expanding its offsetting programs

07 DECEMBER 2021: MINING

Newmont has issued a ‘Sustainability-Linked Bonds’ public offering as the first company in the mining sector to take this step towards green financing

• Newmont Corporation, the world’s largest gold mining company, has become the first company in the mining industry to issue sustainability-linked senior unsecured notes
• The step taken by the company is in alignment with its financing strategy towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) commitments
• The pricing of this $1.0 billion public offering with aggregate principal amount of 2.600% sustainability-linked bonds was announced to close on December 20, 2021

02 DECEMBER 2021: FASHION

MycoWorks introduced a vegan leather alternative for the high fashion industry as a step towards saving the planet

• To save more animals, MycoWorks, a California-based biomaterials company, has come up with vegan alternatives to leather – the ‘mushroom leather’, calling it the sustainability gamechanger
• The company has come up with the idea of saving the planet by replacing animal leather with plant leather, made using mycelium, a material grown from fungi, which can be engineered to look and feel like calfskin or sheepskin
• The material delivers the same emotional response as animal leather, and has recently made its debut in the high fashion industry as an exclusive Hermès handbag

02 DECEMBER 2021: TECHNOLOGY

Wunderman Thompson Commerce has partnered with Vaayu to develop a sustainability practice for reducing businesses’ carbon footprint

• Wunderman Thompson Commerce, an IT service management company, has established ‘Sustainable Commerce Practice’ in partnership with Vaayu, a ’clean tech’ company, to helps businesses measure their environmental impact
• The partnership will run from December 2021 to the 4th quarter of 2022 and will provide businesses with real-time data-driven insights to help them reduce carbon emissions across their impressive global retail portfolio
• The companies will work with retailers and brands to reduce the carbon emissions of their digital commerce propositions

18 NOVEMBER 2021: ENERGY

UAE and Russia have signed a ‘declaration of intent’ to jointly work towards hydrogen development, supporting their net zero pledges

• Two Asian members of the OPEC+ alliance, UAE and Russia, have collaborated on hydrogen development with the aim of delivering clean energy strategies under their net zero carbon emissions pledges
• The countries will jointly engage in the manufacturing of equipment for the production, liquefaction and use of raw hydrogen and fuel mixtures
• The collaboration between the two countries, both pioneers in environmental conservation, aims to achieve sustainable development requirements

18 NOVEMBER 2021: PACKAGING

British packaging and paper MNC, Mondi, has announced huge investment plans for establishing an evaporation plant to increase the sustainability in pulp production

• Mondi, a British multinational packaging and paper group, has announced investment of €20 million, to make the company’s pulp production even more efficient and sustainable
• The company has made the investment to increase the sustainability of its Frantschach, Austria-based 140-year old pulp production mill, which is expected to be commissioned and constructed by the end of 2023
• The investment, taken as a step towards a sustainable future, is driven by the need to make the most efficient use of wood as a primary material

17 NOVEMBER 2021: TECHNOLOGY

SustainLife has introduced a new software to help businesses cover their carbon footprint and environmental impact

• SaaS startup, SustainLife, has launched a new beta software – ‘sustainability-as-a-service’ – helping companies manage and measure their carbon footprint and reduce their environmental impact
• The company raised $7 million in pre-seed funding, which it plans to use for the continuing development of the platform
• The company has brought out the beta version for customers including Dame, You.com and the Sustainable Cannabis Coalition

For a PDF version of this news please download here.

Tags: Sustainability