Energy & Infrastructure

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) and IGS Solar have started construction on a solar energy project at the Hormel Foods Swiss American Sausage Company facility in Lathrop, Calif. The project is slated for completion in July.

Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy (RAE) have formed a joint venture called Monarch Bioenergy to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) across Smithfield’s hog farms in Missouri. This partnership converts manure collected from Smithfield farms into RNG, while simultaneously delivering ecological services and developing wildlife habitat. Once complete, all Smithfield company-owned finishing farms in Missouri will have the infrastructure to produce RNG, resulting in approximately 1.3 million dekatherms of RNG annually, which is the equivalent to eliminating 130,000 gasoline vehicles.

Lockheed Martin today released its 2018 corporate sustainability report, “The Science of Citizenship.” The peer-recognized report details the corporation’s approach to sustainability, which incorporates sound science and future-oriented thinking to address pressing environmental, social and governance issues.

Disruptive changes in today’s global energy landscape shape a new economy that is hyper-efficient and low-carbon. In this new energy paradigm, efficiency becomes a lever for profitability and growth – and more companies are taking notice. Already, 96 percent of companies have energy efficiency technology. The pace of adoption in renewables and energy storage has also accelerated: up 11 percent from the previous year. While technology may be an enabler, many companies struggle to translate these investments into long-term growth.

On April 18, 2019, OMV, the international integrated oil and gas company based in Vienna, published its 14th Sustainability Report. The OMV Sustainability Report provides a detailed overview of the company's sustainability performance, along with its activities, achievements and challenges.

Yesterday, a group of leading companies convened by CESPEDES and The World Environment Center with sponsorship of Dow Chemical, ECOLAB and Coca-Cola FEMSA, gathered to share best practices and initiatives to address challenges for sustainable water management, calling to action to accelerate partnerships between private sector, civil society and governments to guarantee water access in safe conditions for everyone.

Pioneering entrepreneurs from leading global innovation hubs are using their digital savvy expertise to accelerate the transformation of the power industry. After disrupting sectors such as retail, marketing, and transport, start-up companies are now working increasingly closely with electricity utility companies including CLP to change the world of energy.

Integrated Eco Strategy (IES) and Toxnot announce a new partnership designed to integrate their respective materials transparency platforms. This partnership enables manufactures to quickly and efficiently share building product ingredient data and meet the requirements of certifications such as the Living Building Challenge (LBC) and Declare in new, powerful ways. Both companies are partners with the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), an environmental NGO that administers the LBC, the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings.

Andy Hoffman is a 2019 recipient of the RRBM award for his work on “Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate“. The book seeks to understand why people are rejecting the science on climate change and what the science says about how to overcome that schism.