Energy & Infrastructure

At the Erb Institute, our students collaborate with students across campus—from both other schools and other programs. By nature, they are curious and driven to make a difference in the world using their business acumen and sustainability smarts. We sat down with ‘Erber’ Iulia Bleanda-Mogosanu, who has been working on a team that is building a prototype single-stage distillation unit. This apparatus has the potential to desalinate water in coastal communities that are deteriorating because of insufficient access to fresh water. This is a cool story in itself, but we also wanted the scoop on the genesis of this idea and Iulia’s role.

If you ask most people what they think of blockchain applications or cryptocurrency, the response is usually a blank stare of utter bafflement. Well, this week on Sea Change Radio, we are going to try to make some sense of this arcane concept because our guest today, Paul Gambill, has devised a carbon dioxide removal marketplace which incorporates blockchain applications. Gambill explains how his new startup, Nori, uses blockchain applications, how it plans to ramp up into a vibrant marketplace of buyers and sellers, and why he believes this could actually help reverse the effects of climate change.

I am very excited to announce that Cisco’s Bangalore campus is now using solar power generated by two new offsite solar installations located in Karnataka, India. Cisco recently signed two solar power purchase agreements (PPAs) that will collectively deliver 85,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable electricity every year to the local electric grid where our Bangalore campus is located.

Less than three months after the selection of São Paulo, Brazil as the third city of the urban health initiative Better Hearts Better Cities, the Novartis Foundation announced the creation of a network of global and local implementation partners. They will co-design interventions to address São Paulo’s urban priorities to improve local cardiovascular health, including health education, lifestyle community programs, care coordination and standardization according to up-to-date clinical guidelines, and incorporating digital health tools into screening and care for high blood pressure.

Citi today released its 2017 Global Citizenship Report, highlighting efforts made in the last year to responsibly provide financial services that enable growth and progress. This report includes numerous examples of how, through our core business and with our philanthropic efforts, we are helping address complex and pressing issues such as global warming and social inequality.

SC Johnson announced today that it is ranked No. 71 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Top 100 List of the largest green power users from the Green Power Partnership. SC Johnson is using nearly 117 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which represents almost 63 percent of its total power needs.

AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company, released its 2018 Sustainability Report, a comprehensive publication that details the company’s global efforts toward reducing its environmental footprint through its 10-year old, industry-leading global sustainability program, AEG 1EARTH.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) announced that it released its annual Sustainability Report Card in observance of Earth Day. Each year Tetra Tech reports its progress towards increasing sustainability in its projects, across its operations, and in the community. The Company measures 27 metrics across a suite of categories, including Health & Safety, Human Resources, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Improvements were recorded in 20 out of 27 metrics tracked.

With many of Avery Dennison’s solutions made from paper, maintaining a sustainable paper supply is vital to our business success and achieving our long-term sustainability goals. In fact, we’re aiming to use 100% FSC-Certified paper for all of our products by the year 2025.

Bloomberg was yesterday awarded the ‘Corporate Workplace’ award at the annual British Council of Offices (BCO) Awards in London, which recognize excellence and innovation in workplace design. The award, which was accepted by Catriona Henderson, Head of Facilities for Bloomberg, EMEA and Simona Bencini, Partner & Architect, Foster + Partners, was judged by a panel of industry experts from the engineering, property, architecture, construction and design sectors who praised the Bloomberg project for “taking office building sustainability to unmatched levels of excellence.”