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FROM THE EDITOR
Let’s face it: it’s been a rough year for sustainability.
“ Now, it is time to work harder than ever to touch every possible customer or interested person with not only our products and services, but our vision and purpose for a more sustainable future.”
It seems for every major step forward we take in our corporate or personal responsibilities to the planet’s resources, we hear about the can getting kicked two steps backward: Relaxed or abolished environmental regulations. Alaskan glaciers melting 100 times faster than previously thought. Storms and wildfires that destroy lives and economies, not “just” houses and forests. Supply chains disrupted by everything from weather to climate change to dangerously retro government policies. Policymakers that go full ostrich on us and refuse to acknowledge the overwhelming scientific truth that we’re pulling into the gate of the point of no return. There are two ways we can go: throw up our arms, think it’s too late and revert to old ways of sourcing and using resources. Or, dig in for a deeper fight that will result in truly sustainable economic and environmental practices that carry us through the next decades. We’re running with the ball at Sustainability Today, and bringing along our partners, Sustainable Brands. Those who attended SB ’19 in Detroit in June not only heard from dozens of speakers and panelists, but also saw many of the products and solutions that make business and life more sustainable. Sustainability is not only a business practice but a lifestyle, and it is in adopting a more sustainable lifestyle ourselves that we become more deeply committed to doing more with fewer natural resources — and to running cleaner, leaner operations. More businesses than ever have adopted complete policies, and start-ups push the envelope with their innovative products, designs and services. Now, it is time to work harder than ever to touch every possible customer or interested person with not only our products and services, but our vision and purpose for a more sustainable future. If we can connect our missions and stories with their hearts and imaginations, then we can change personal habits and buying choices. That’s what it will take — and it begins with knowing our customers better than ever. At Sustainability Today, we continue to bring you the success stories of organizations, influencers and visionaries who work tirelessly to change the way we use products, work and live more safely and sustainably, and relate to our environment. There are many. My personal favorite starts with a trivia question: “Who is the largest user and strongest proponent of solar energy in the world?” The answer: WalMart. By doing so, this staunchly conservative Arkansas-based company threw politics aside and triggered a wholesale corporate switchover to solar this decade. With our partners at Sustainable Brands, we will further explore how companies large and small, and each of us, can implement more and more practices that not only make for great headlines and booth displays at expos, but change lives … and the course of our planet. As you can see from this issue, it’s always going to be an exciting, diverse, informative ride — and one we continue to chronicle as a leading voice of sustainability, here and globally.
Robert Yehling Executive Editor
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
ASK FOR
contents COVER STORY:
10 Bear Grylls’ Newest Adventure By Robert Yehling Cover Photo: National Geographic/ Tito Herrera
8 By The Numbers 18 Meatless: Impossible 19 Cool Science 20 A Bright Future for Stadium Lighting 22 RiSE Up for Sustainability 26 The Best a Brand Can Get 30 The Circular Paper Economy 32 Greening Your Getaway 34 Taking a Closer Look at Electric Vehicles 38 Trees, Tech, and Climate Change
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Where do you want to be? Don’t take the same old journey. Be somewhere genuine. Be somewhere amazing. Be changed.
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Call for your free Visitor Guide 800.828.4244 | Vis itH e nd e r so nv il l e N C .org
e NUMB RS
by the
A look at the metrics shaping the technology market — and our lives From our food containers and cutlery to our bottles and grocery bags, we interact with plastic constantly on a daily basis. However, while the convenience of plastic is hard to argue, it comes at a definite cost. Visuals such as a sea turtle with a straw lodged in its nose, a seabird with a stomach full of plastic, or plastic found in creatures in the deepest ocean underscore the serious issues that arise when plastic ends up in our oceans. And, as shocking as those visuals may be, the stats themselves are equally difficult to comprehend. Let’s analyze the current epidemic of plastic’s negative effects on the ocean.
Global Plastic Production Expected to jump to
34 Billion Metric Tons by 2050 (Up from 2 million in 1950, 8.3 billion in 2017) Source University of Georgia Source European Commission
91%
1) Caps/Bottles/Lids 2) Cigarette Butts 3) Cotton Bud Sticks 4) Candy Wrappers/Chip bags 5) Sanitary napkins/towels 6) Plastic Bags 7) Stirrers/Straws/Cutlery 8) Plastic Cups and Lids 9) Balloons/Balloon Sticks 10) Food packaging
of Plastic Ends Up Unrecycled
Source Nationalgeographic.com
BY 2050, THE OCEAN MIGHT HAVE MORE PLASTIC THAN FISH IN TERMS OF WEIGHT
Coral is
85%
Source Cornell University
Sou rce euro parl .eur opa .eu
MORE LIKELY
to develop disease if it comes in contact with plastics
49%
Single-Use Plastic
6%
Other
Graphics: Freepik.com/vectorpocket, freepik.com, and vecteezy.com
SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
150
18%
non-plastic
OCEAN LITTER
27%
million metric tons of plastic in the ocean
plastic from fishing gear
4.8 TO 12.7
million metric tons added to the ocean each year Source European Commission
8
Top 10 Single-Use Plastics On Sea Shores
Source European Parlimentary Research Service
THE OPPORTUNITY
IS RIPE
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SUSTAINABLE BRANDS The Bridge to Better Brands
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Bear Grylls pauses in Panama during filming of Hostile Planet’s “Jungles” episode Produced in partnership with
Bear Grylls’
Newest Adventure
The Man Who Has Entertained Millions with His Zest for Adventure Now Gives Us the Animal’s Perspective
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
National Geographic/Tito Herrera
By Robert Yehling
Produced in partnership with
Not many places frighten Bear Grylls – nor do many situations bring him to tears. His televised survival missions on Running Wild with Bear Grylls and Man vs. Wild, harrowing trips with celebrities, and thirst for adventure bear out a simple fact: he is one of the few people on Earth who can be dropped into any of the most hostile, formidable climates and terrains and make it out. His engaging personality, brilliant intellect, and quick wit further draw us into his world, a world he is more committed than ever to presenting and preserving. Our own innate sense of adventure keeps us there. The man knows how to keep us in our primal instincts, even while watching him on TV.
Meerkat pup, feasting on a scorpion
National Geographic/Holly Harrison
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
In Grylls’ eyes, razor-sharp despite a week of shooting that began in the Arctic and ended in the Chilean desert, never has it been more important to expose us to the wilderness. In it, he says, we learn the keys to survival, adaptability, and growth as a species in these dangerous climate change times. Now, as the host of the new National Geographic Channel series Hostile Planet, which premiered on April 1, he’s going a step further, giving us the stories and perspectives of the greatest adapters of all – the animals making it work in a stressed environment.
Gelada, Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
National Geographic/Miguel Willis
Nubian ibex, resident of steep terrains and cliffs
National Geographic/Matthew Wright
Produced in partnership with
“One of the things I’ve gained from traveling around the world for all of these years and doing all of these shows is that I have seen the hard, ugly end of climate change, and the effects it has not just on wildlife, but on the wilderness,” Grylls said, his eyes darting, ever alert to people and surroundings in all 360 degrees of a not-so-wild suite at Pasadena’s posh Langham Hotel. “I think Hostile Planet is smart because it really follows stories, rather than saying, ‘Oooh, look how lovely this is.’ It actually follows the hard reality of what these animals are going through, and the effects of having to live through these changing environments and changing terrains, more extreme droughts and fires and heat and all of that. It’s been a humbling process to not only work on this show with its team, but also just to be able to tell the stories of these animals. “We see so many people debating climate change. ‘Is it real? How bad is it, really?’ Obviously, the best way is to let the animals tell the stories. It’s heartbreaking – really heartbreaking. I don’t often have tears when I’m taking people out on the other shows, but to see these animals? Really heartbreaking.” To say Grylls is a champion of environmentalism, conservation, sustainability, and wilderness education understates his value to the planet. The 44-year-old British Special Air Service (SAS) honorary lieutenant SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | SUSTAINABILITY TODAY
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Produced in partnership with
Bear Grylls’ Newest Adventure
colonel and former survival instructor is the world’s leading TV personality advocating the wilderness and the animals in it, thanks to the booming success of Man vs. Wild (2006-12), Running Wild (2014-Present), and his 2012 autobiography, Mud, Sweat and Tears, a runaway bestseller. His resume is so packed with feats it’s almost ridiculous: a second-degree black belt in Shotokan karate, taken to deal with relentless bullying at school (in Mud, Sweat and Tears, he famously quips, “And the bullying? It stopped.”). Then, he attended prestigious Eton College and spent four years as the SAS’ most elite survival expert, only to receive a medical discharge after breaking three vertebrae in a parachuting accident, and summited Mt. Everest. Produced in partnership with
After all of that, he turned 24. Since, he has mastered three languages, married his wife of 19 years, Shara Cannings Knight, circumnavigated the British Isles on a jet ski, hosted the world’s highest hot-air balloon dinner party at 25,000 feet, parasailed above Mt. Everest in 60 degrees below zero temperatures, climbed remote peaks in Antarctica, and embarked on hundreds of other adventures into which we were invited via TV. And he’s been the U.K.’s Chief Scout – the head of the Scouting program – for eight years.
A species of Cordyceps taking over a dead ant, Rio Claro Reserve, Colombia
National Geographic/Justin Maguire
Produced in partnership with
An ocelot, one of the most beautiful animals in the Peruvian Amazon
Now, he’s switching gears and delivering the stories of animals who must contend with the most hostile environment they’ve known for millennia, reminding us of the fragility of the planet – and the need for mankind, businesses, and technology to keep innovating and working tirelessly on behalf of it. “One of the reasons they asked me to get involved is that they know I’m going to understand a little bit the survival traits needed for these animals to survive what they’re now battling,” Grylls said. “That includes change in terrain, change in climate, and change in some of the predators. I’ve developed an appreciation for the value of
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Sloth in a flooded Brazilian forest
National Geographic/Cristian Dimitrius
He started off with solo missions to the most forbidding places and climates, like Man vs. Wild and the aptly-named six-episode Escape from Hell. In Running Wild with Bear Grylls, he brought along some friends whose power in the world seemed to vanish when faced with survival challenges. Among them were President Barack Obama, tennis great Roger Federer, actors Kate Winslet, Ben Stiller, Michelle Rodriguez, and Michael B. Jordan, along with NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
National Geographic/Miguel Willis
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Bear Grylls’ Newest Adventure
resilience and resourcefulness and adaptability as a survivor myself. It’s key. It’s powerful when you see animals. I watch them and think, ‘Wow, they are really, really thinking like a survivor.’ They’re probably not thinking; they’re instinctively adapting. That’s raw nature, isn’t it?” Produced in partnership with
Grylls’ love for the Hostile Planet crew is evident. He’s enthralled with their strippeddown, raw, unintrusive approach to filming animals. Unlike animal docs dating back to the famed Disney pieces of the 1950s and 1960s, there is no written script. Crews set up and wait for the shot that continues the story. They waited five weeks for a jaguar. They waited another six to film a crocodile snapping down on big prey. They watched hatchlings tumble over a cliff – and, in some cases, die. “One of our biggest rules is to let nature be nature; we do not interfere at all,” show producer-directorcinematographer Mateo Willis said. “Even though we want to save an injured chick, we don’t. We don’t want to do anything to impact the natural order. Produced in partnership with
Bear Grylls and the Hostile Planet crew present the stories of animals of all sizes, in all environments. The stars of the series include (top to bottom) an elephant herd in Amboseli National Park, Kenya; two bull hippos fighting for space in a shrunken watering hole in Katavi National Park, Tanzania; and an American bison during rutting season in Custer National Park, South Dakota. National Geographic/Tom Greenhalgh National Geographic/Tom Greenhalgh
Produced in partnership with
National Geographic
“We wanted to follow the lives of animals as they live in the modern world,” Willis continued. “Obviously, part of that is adapting to a changing world. We just want to show the reality. We don’t want to preach to people. We have a footprint, too, but we want people to engage emotionally with these animals, feel deep respect for the amazing ways they overcome the challenges of being in the natural world. By
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National Geographic/Matthew Wright
SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
Produced in partnership with
Bear Grylls’ Newest Adventure
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
Part of the legacy of Bear Grylls’ work, and that of the Hostile Planet crew, is they will go to any extreme — and the world’s most extreme locales — to get the best shot. Left, NatGeo cameraman Tom Walker films meerkats in the rain-parched Kalahari Desert. Right, fellow NatGeo cameraman Cristian Dimitrius shoots immersive photography during the Amazon’s rainy season. Produced in partnership with
National Geographic/Holly Harrison
making that emotional connection through storytelling and dramatic scenes, we hope to encourage a deeper appreciation. We won’t be able to stop climate change, but we can all do something – even using one less plastic cup a day can help, and it gives you something to feel good about, doing something, instead of feeling hopeless.” While Hostile Planet isn’t a climate change show – it’s an animal show – Grylls and Willis feel the best way to vest themselves into the production is to present the animals’ lives in ever-toughening conditions, show the impacts of climate change, and let viewers sort it out through the eyes of the animals. Which is why they hired Grylls. “We know it’s happening, climate change – the world is a lot different than it was even ten years ago. But people go on with their lives as if nothing’s happened, most are doing nothing about it…. But again, watching the animals, they will change and adapt and do whatever it takes to survive, to carry on,” Grylls said. “But the heartbreaking thing is sometimes, even with all of their adaptation and survival skills, they just cannot adapt. Then you have extinction, which none of us want.”
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
National Geographic/Cristian Dimitrius
Beyond the physical aspects, Hostile Planet drives to the root of Grylls as a communicator. He loves to tell stripped-down stories that impact our instincts, intellects, and emotions in a compelling way. Not an easy task. Mud, Sweat and Tears is comprised of more than 125 such stories, all as crisp as a songwriter snapping off three-minute radio tunes – but a hell of a lot deeper. Now, he’s working on a series that takes him back to his childhood. “As a kid growing up, I used to be glued to so much of the natural history shows, like Planet Earth and Blue Planet, but it was always a kind of spectacle of, ‘Wow, this is beautiful...’ And that is how Hostile Planet is, and sometimes it works out, and it’s an amazing triumph,” he said. “And you’re rooting for them: ‘Go! Go! Go!’ And then sometimes it’s heartbreaking and really tragic. But that is the nature and the reality of the world of natural history. “We’re showing life on the edges. Not just the spectacular, beautiful stuff, but really on the edges and how hard it is for many animals – it’s often the unsung, the ones you don’t even think about, in the world – to work together as a family to survive. And we see so many of the traditional ones. There’s a lion going to hunt whatever. We’ve kind of flipped it. There’s the
gazelle, the little baby gazelles in the grasslands, where something like 50 percent don’t last longer than an hour, because they’re surrounded by hyenas and everything. Some of them survive – but how? Seeing it from that angle, for me, was mesmerizing,” Grylls added. Grylls is riding the peak of his incredible 21st century contribution to entertainment and education. Running Wild has just moved to NatGeo after five years on NBC. Hostile Planet is airing in April and May. He’s flying high in the ratings, and flying deep in humility, always looking for someone else to credit or another animal to feature, always looking out for others. Best of all, his most recent work has been soundly endorsed by the toughest audience in his world. “I have a family who are very cynical. I have three young boys, and my wife sees lots of our TV shows, and she’s a hard audience to please. And she’s been texting me – they’ve seen some of these clips – and they’ve just been going, ‘Unbelievable! And I haven’t cried watching a TV show for a long time.’ That’s a good sign.” ■ Robert Yehling is the Founding Editor and Senior Writer for Innovation & Tech Today, and the Executive Editor of Sustainability Today.
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Meatless: Impossible Produced in partnership with
How Impossible Foods made a healthier, more environmentally-friendly burger possible. By Anthony Elio I have been a consistent meat eater for the majority of my adult life. For any given restaurant run, it would be an absolute rarity if I ordered anything that didn’t contain some combination of beef, pork, or chicken. However, for the New Year, I decided to test my own abilities of self control and try out a vegetarian diet. While the first week of January went fairly simply, I had totally forgotten about the major event that would soon take place: a business trip to Las Vegas (a place not well known for self control). However, it was that very trip where I discovered a ray of hope for meatcraving vegetarians: the Impossible Burger. Produced in partnership with
Completely composed of plants, the Impossible Burger truly lives up to its name. The contents of a typical Impossible Burger are heme, sugars, vitamins, wheat protein, potato protein, xanthan, konjac, coconut oil, and soybeans. This combination has allowed for it to have the taste and texture of a typical beef burger, only with entirely different ingredients. Produced in partnership with
On the surface, the Impossible Burger appears to be a response to the many objections potential meat eaters may have. Two of the most common reasons you’ll hear when it comes to vegetarianism are ethical and health reasons, both valid in their own right. But, looking past those justifications, one must also consider the environmental effects of meat production. The Guardian has reported that every 100 grams of beef produced results in 105 kilograms of greenhouse gases, as opposed to tofu, which produces less than 3.5 kg. The Guardian also cited new research showing that while dairy and meat supply 37 percent of protein and 18 percent of calories, their production is responsible for 60 percent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. It is this lack of sustainability that Impossible Foods, creators of the Impossible Burger, is looking to change. This mission is clearly paying off, as choosing an Impossible Burger over its beefy counterpart is the equivalent of saving 18 miles of driving emissions. And, thanks to the hard work of Impossible Foods founder Dr. Patrick O. Brown and his team, the Impossible Burger is growing in popularity, available in 5,000 restaurants spread out across the U.S., Macau, and Hong Kong. Even major chains such as White Castle have embraced the meatless burger trend, testing an “Impossible Slider” in certain locations. This popularity will likely continue to assist Impossible Foods’ sustainable trajectory. As Dr. Brown told TIME, “We’re not going to address the problem by telling people to change their diet – that’s never going to work. Instead, we have to produce foods that consumers prefer over what they’re getting today from animals.” While society’s carnivorous desires may make an entirely plant-based burger a hard sell, it’s clear that Impossible Foods is on the right track towards changing how we think about meat. With the hard work and scientific innovations seen with something like the Impossible Burger, vegan food (long the laughingstock amongst traditional meat eaters) has potential to make it to the mainstream. A healthy, sustainable Impossible Foods barbecue, complete with plant-based burgers and meatless chili fries might seem far fetched in our meat-loving culture. But it’s not impossible. ■
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
BROUGHT TO YOU BY POLYSCIENCE
Cool Science How Innovations in Industrial Chilling are Helping Fight Climate Change Take a moment to reflect on your typical day. It might start with taking a shower, checking the weather app on your smartphone, and scheduling errands such as a routine doctor’s visit. You might hop in your car to drive to work, and later cook dinner using a sous vide circulator. It may surprise you to know that precision temperature control equipment plays a role in all those routines. From measuring the viscosity of your shampoo to cooling the injection molded plastic in your cell phone, to powering the equipment used in medical tests or prescription eyeglasses, the science of temperature control plays an essential part in most of our daily activities. “The need for temperature control can cross your day in so many ways,” says Philip Preston, President of PolyScience®, which manufactures liquid temperature control solutions from refrigerated circulators and recirculating chillers to probe-type coolers that are used in cold traps of vacuum systems. “It’s an extremely broad range of applications.” With so many industries relying on temperature control, the impact of this technology is equally as widespread. And that impact can be problematic. According to a 2015 report by Griffith University, refrigerant gases have a considerable Global Warming Potential (GWP), “about 140 to 11,700 times that of carbon dioxide.” PolyScience® is addressing this environmental issue with its latest industrial chilling technology, the DuraChill® line. This new series of chillers uses R290, a natural and non-toxic refrigerant-grade propane which exhibits excellent thermodynamic performance without the ozone-depleting greenhouse gases.
The DuraChill® line also provides improved maintenance control, thanks to a smart system that automatically changes its own filter once a month (or more frequently depending on the environment). “There’s enough filter material to keep the chiller happy for two years of operation,” Preston explains. What’s more, an innovative UV light system helps eliminate the need for algicide chemicals, another toxin associated with industrial chillers. “It is my personal belief that we should be an environmentally responsible company,” Preston says. “We’ve taken steps that have reduced our energy consumption annually while increasing production. And we formalized our commitment to environmental concerns through the achievement of the ISO 14001 certification.” That certification matters. The current American standard for coolant accepts the use of RH14, a potent greenhouse gas with high GWP. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 environmental management standards provide a stricter framework for environmental impact. And while ISO 14001 standards are not mandatory in the United States, PolyScience® has adopted them as a critical requirement. “I believe that we should not only provide the highest quality products, but we should leave a minimal footprint in doing so,” Preston says. With innovations like DuraChill®, PolyScience® is able to help businesses across numerous industries reduce their footprints as well. ■ To learn more about PolyScience®, DuraChill® and other innovations, visit PolyScience.com.
SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | SUSTAINABILITY TODAY
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Produced in partnership with
A Bright Future for Stadium Lighting Produced in partnership with
In an effort to be more sustainable, the Seattle Mariners partnered with PlanLED to install LED lights in their home stadium.
By Charles Warner & Alex Moersen
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
During The Seattle Mariners installation, PlanLED showed the comparison of the 1st base side with LED lights against the 3rd base side, which still had the old Metal Halide lights. Comparison was done with the outfield lights off.
With 150 years of history in the United States, baseball still looks and plays very similar to how it did when it first originated. With that kind of consistency, it may be surprising for such a traditional game to be a driver for change in the modern era. Enter the Seattle Mariners in 2015. That year, T-Mobile Park (formerly known as Safeco Field), where the Mariners play, became the first Major League Baseball park to install LED field lights. Working with PlanLED, who has since worked with a variety of other fields and stadiums, T-Mobile Park pioneered a new era of energy efficiency in sports. The decision was based on two main principles: improved sustainability and visual experience. However, it wasn’t a decision made without risks. “There was some hesitancy,” said Mariners’ Senior Director of Construction & Planning Ryan van Maarth. “I think everybody wanted to switch to LED field lights, but no club wanted to be the first ones to do it in fear of messing up or making a mistake or
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
compromising the play on the field. We stepped out on a ledge; we took a very objective approach to it. We had contingency plans in place, executed it, and we were the first in baseball. And since then, several others are following.” And following they are. The New York Yankees are among those that have also installed LED lights. Outside of the MLB, the Portland Trailblazers and the Denver Nuggets both collaborated with PlanLED to install LED lights in their arenas as well. This is clearly the direction sports stadiums are heading. “MLB is going that way, and we’re not the only company out there doing it,” explained Gary Chittum, VP of marketing at PlanLED. “There are a lot of sports companies out there and they’re doing almost every stadium. I would expect Major League Baseball, within the next five years, to be completely LED.” The benefits of this shift have been clear, at least in the case of T-Mobile Park, on the tiers of visual experience and sustainability.
Visual Experience LED lights have the ability to bring a much more natural lighting to the field, which enhances the experience of a night game for both the players and fans alike. “We went from our old system that had 3,700 Kelvin on the color temperature range to over 5,000,” van Maarth explained. “The color rendering index went from 60 to 80. So what that means is that the light that we have here in the ballpark is a better representation of more true natural daylight.” As any baseball fan knows, the game is one of superstition, where oftentimes players don’t like anything messing with their “mojo.” That was part of the concern with the initial idea to install LED lights. Would it adversely affect the player experience? Would players blame low batting averages on the lights? Would outfielders lose pop flies? However, so far the feedback has been positive. Chittim actually had the opportunity to speak directly with Mariners right fielder Nelson Cruz about the new lights. “He was
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
Produced in partnership with
(Above) PlanLED retrofitted Yankee Stadium in 2015, replacing 884 HID lights with 692 individually addressable GigaTera SUFA A LED fixtures. (Bottom row) The Seattle Mariners invited the Sustainability Today team to T-Mobile Park (formerly Safeco Field) to see their innovative lighting solutions firsthand.
saying that for the first time in his career he could pick up the spin of the ball in a night game. In the daylight, he could always see the spin on the ball … We’ve tried to get as close to daylight as we can. The uniformity and the levels in here are as close as you can get.” Van Maarth confirmed: “All the player feedback we got from the new system is great … They feel like they can see the ball better. They feel like they just have a better opportunity to play more naturally.”
Sustainability While player and fan experience is important, the sustainability benefits of LED lights is really where they shine. When T-Mobile Park switched from metal halide lights to LED, the facility saved 60 percent energy consumption on gas use alone. Additionally, while the old lights only lasted a few years and ended up in landfills, LED lights are the opposite, lasting years at a time and being completely recyclable.
The fan experience, too, is enhanced. Not only can fans also see better with the new lights, the stadium can add different elements for different events. “There are event mode settings now,” van Maarth said. “Our lights are automatic on, automatic off. We can individually address them. They can flash and flicker with different events. When we win, the lights flicker and everybody celebrates – it’s great.”
“Almost everything is recyclable,” Chittim explained. “This is not gas in glass; this is not mercury that they’re pulling out that you have to treat and take to a landfill. And that’s what they had to do with the old lights that they had here … With the limited use that they have here, these lights will be the last set of lights ever bought; this will last as long as the stadium.” The sustainability efforts of the Mariners landed them the Green Glove Award in 2017,
dethroning the San Francisco Giants after a nine-year reign. As Mariners Senior Vice President of Ballpark Operations Trevor Gooby told MLB.com, “We have worked hard over the years to make T-Mobile Park one of the ‘greenest’ ballparks in pro sports.” Along with their efforts to reduce waste via recycling and their “urban garden” which provides fresh vegetables and fruits to concessions, the MLB also cited T-Mobile Park’s energy-efficient LED lights as a reason why the organization received the award. T-Mobile Park is a shining example of the many benefits of LED lighting, even in energyintensive facilities such as arenas. With multiple organizations across multiple sports leagues adopting more energy-efficient practices that not only enhance player and fan experience but also help save money and energy, the future for LED lights in stadiums is bright. ■ SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | SUSTAINABILITY TODAY
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RiSE Up for Sustainability Produced in partnership with
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SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
How one Nevada festival is raising the standards for sustainable events. By Brooke Robinson
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Co-founders of RiSE Festival Jeff Gehring and Dan Hill, along with co-owner Dave Alberga, in front of the iconic RiSE signage. (From left to right: Jeff Gehring, Dan Hill and Dave Alberga)
“ RiSE is very committed to the health of our planet; that’s why we have a ‘Leave No Trace’ policy.”
Festivals aren’t known for their cleanliness. An image comes to mind of a lush, green field, decimated by trash and debris left behind by careless festival attendees. That’s where RiSE is different. Since 2014, RiSE has been striving to create an experience built on the idea of mindfulness, healing, and sustainability. Located in the Mojave Desert, about 25 miles south of Las Vegas on the Jean Dry Lakebed, RiSE was the first organization in the United States to announce a lantern festival. Since its start, founders Dan Hill and Jeff Gehring knew that this festival had to have a focus on sustainability: “It was very important to us that people could come to RiSE and not only go on a personal adventure, but also feel like they weren’t contributing to polluting the environment,” noted Hill. Offsets and Renewable Energy So what makes RiSE stand out from other festivals? For starters, it’s committed to being powered solely through solar energy. A large part of on-site power, from cooking equipment to stage equipment, is sourced through solar batteries. In addition, for every vehicle used in the setup and cleanup of the festival, Hill and Gehring purchase carbon offsets. They also encourage participants to counteract their travel to and from the festival with carbon offsets. SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | SUSTAINABILITY TODAY
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Festival attendees write messages of inspiration on each lantern. The lanterns float just a short distance before landing and being collected by a clean-up crew.
Festival Activities Beginning mid-afternoon, participants listen to an awesome array of live music. Later, under the moonlight, they prepare their lanterns. Attendees then release their RiSE sky lanterns into the night air, each with handwritten messages, prayers, or resolutions inscribed inside. Together, they ascend by the thousands, bringing the night sky to life. The result is the sum total of each participant’s unique experience — a living, breathing work of art created by everyone who attends. Low-Impact Lanterns When building the RiSE sky lanterns, Hill and Gehring’s primary mission was to design a lantern they could control and recover. Therefore, all lanterns were made with a short burn and flight time. They extinguish after a total of seven minutes; two minutes of which is pre-launch and five minutes of which is in the air.
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This results in the majority of lanterns flying just 700 meters downwind of the launch location, with a maximum of 2.4km in rare cases. In addition, the lanterns are 100 percent biodegradable and arrive on-site without plastic wrapping to further lessen their environmental footprint. These lanterns are constructed exclusively for RiSE events and are only available through participation in such events. The patented design was created to optimize the safety of participants, the local community, and the protection of the environment. Overall, the customization of the sky lanterns and their general and in-flight characteristics maximize attendees’ enjoyment while protecting the local community and ecology. Leaving Few (Carbon) Footprints When starting the RiSE Festival, the cofounders undertook the mission of producing a
large-scale event that was environmentally responsible and sustainable. “RiSE is very committed to the health of our planet; that’s why we have a ‘Leave No Trace’ policy.” Right after each event ends, cleaning crews work through the night to pick up every lantern and piece of trash at the venue, as well as preexisting trash in the area. RiSE cleaning crews retrieve 99.9 percent of the lanterns within 72 hours of the launch. The organization truly is committed to leaving the venue and our earth cleaner than it was before they began. RiSE Festival leads as an example to other large-scale events. From being an event almost entirely powered by solar energy to designing the RiSE sky lanterns to be 100 percent biodegradable to policies regarding post-event clean up, RiSE has created a uniquely sustainable festival that other large-scale events would be wise to emulate. ■
Electric Car Charging Safety Some of the best-selling EV Charging Stations are not safety-tested and certified
A
fter deciding to buy a plug-in electric vehicle, often the next decision is to purchase a Level 2 charging station for faster charging at home. The technical name as defined in the National Electric Code for these products is EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment), commonly called charging stations. Safety might not be the first consideration when selecting a charging station, but safety is actually the most important thing to consider. The primary function of a plug-in vehicle charging station is to provide electrical safety for the operator and electrical infrastructure throughout the charging process and specifically to address the risks of fire and electric shock. The good news is charging an electric vehicle is actually very safe and easy when done with proper, independently safety-certified equipment. The challenge is that not all charging stations on the market are independently safety tested and certified. When a charging station manufacturer develops a new product, or makes even a minor change to an existing product, they should send samples to a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL), such as Intertek (ETL mark) or Underwriter’s Laboratory (UL mark). Safety engineers at these labs perform months of extensive safety testing that the products must pass before they can be safety certified and made available to the public for sale. Only products with these marks appearing on the manufactured product’s rating plate are safety certified. Look for these (ETL or UL) certification marks on the station itself when shopping for a charging station:
Do a quick experiment in your own home: look around at the electrical appliances purchased from a reputable source and you will see they are all marked with a safety label. If you find a product that plugs into the wall that is not marked, you might want to consider not using it.
Be Cautious of These Things:
Deceptive Markings - Some manufacturers use officiallooking marks such as the CE logo. If you only see a CE mark then the product has not been independently certified. CE is a self-certifying mark and it should not be trusted in the US, Canada, and Mexico. A CE mark in addition to the UL or ETL mark is acceptable. Do NOT use a product that only has a CE mark.
Uncertified Products are being sold by what seems like a reputable seller - Buying the product from what seems to be a reputable seller doesn’t mean the charging station has been safety certified. Most large home improvement retailer stores like Lowes and Home Depot have standards in place that require NRTL certification for electrical appliances. However, there are online retailers, such as Amazon, direct sellers, and sources from outside the United States that DO carry and sell unlisted products. Deceptive Claims - When selecting a charging station, if you are unsure about the NRTL certification status of a product, reach out to the product supplier and ask them to provide confirmation that the product you are interested in is NRTL (UL or ETL) certified. Non-Grounded Plugs - If you are purchasing a plug-in charging station, NEVER buy a station with a NEMA 10-30 or 10-50 plug. The NEMA 10-30 and NEMA 10-50 style outlets do not have an earth ground connection. There is NO possibility that a charging station delivered with one of these plugs is properly NRTL safety certified. One of the key safety functions of a charging station is providing an earth ground connection to the vehicle. This assures the vehicle body is safely grounded during charging. For more information: www.ClipperCreek.com/Safety
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Are Brands Stepping Up to Make the Moral Statements That Our Country’s Leaders Refuse to Take a Stand On? By Patricia Miller Marketing is the business of calculated risks. A campaign needs to be impactful, familiar yet new, and it needs to get people talking about the brand. Of late, the most effective way to accomplish those goals is through “woke” advertising, a trend that capitalizes on popular social movements to sell products to a younger and more socially aware demographic. The only problem with embracing the counterculture? Brands run the risk of alienating the culture they’re rallying against.
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In 2019, Anheuser-Busch made some bold moves. The beverage giant spent upwards of $50 million advertising their different brands during Super Bowl LIII. One ad for Budweiser featured the company’s iconic Clydesdale horses hauling a wooden wagon through rolling wheat fields while Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind” played in the background. The song seems to ask us when things will change for the better, before the commercial implies that the change has already begun. As the view widens, we see the wheat field is also a wind farm, with towering turbines gently blowing in the breeze. It’s a lovely scene juxtaposing an iconic brand against a modern backdrop. It sounds like a great decision from a public relations standpoint: the brand supports environmental awareness. Conversely, the brand does not support coal or oil energy production, which could alienate consumers in areas that rely on those industries to fuel their economy.
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During Super Bowl LIII, Budweiser doubled-down on their sustainability efforts, promoting their use of clean energy, namely wind, to brew their products.
In 2018, Nike partnered with Colin Kaepernick to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their “Just Do It” campaign. The campaign was met with a lot of backlash. At the same time, Nike almost immediately sold out of their Kaepernick jerseys.
What if you’re a corn farmer and your favorite brand of beer boasts they’re no longer using corn syrup to brew their beverages? (Another Anheuser-Busch marketing move.) With so much room for controversy, why are companies willing to make these risky decisions? It’s part of a marketing tactic in which socially aware brands align their ideals with those of their “woke” customers (those who are more social-justice oriented). In a broader sense, it’s corporate sustainability. Companies have to use their resources more effectively to ensure there’s a future for their consumers, and more so, they need to ensure the company still exists to capitalize on that future. They’re using controversy to create conversations, build brand awareness, and illicit favor with younger demographics so they can stay in business. In 2018, Nike partnered with Colin Kaepernick to celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of their “Just Do It” campaign. NFL quarterback Kaepernick is best known for refusing to stand during the national anthem as a show of solidarity with oppressed African American communities. “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything,” Kaepernick implores during one of his Nike commercials. The young athlete lost endorsements over his political statement
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The Best a Brand Can Get
and has accused NFL owners of colluding to keep him from being signed to a new team after his contract with the San Francisco 49ers ended in 2016.
conversations that children will have themselves, on playgrounds and around lunch tables. It’s phenomenal branding, but it’s also part of a deeper movement. Are brands stepping up to make the moral statements that our country’s leaders refuse to take a stand on?
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The NFL won’t touch him, yet Nike, a brand with huge ties to commercial sports, is willing to make him their spokesperson. It’s not Nike’s unending commitment to social justice that spurred the partnership, but rather a well-curated marketing campaign targeting their changing demographic. Not only is Nike’s audience more racially diverse than it used to be, it’s younger than it once was. Two in three Nike customers are under 35 years old, according to sports industry analyst Matt Powell.
Let’s talk about Levi-Strauss & Co. In September of 2018, the company announced they would partner with Everytown for Gun Safety in support of gun violence prevention. Translation (for some)? “Levi is anti-gun and anti-second amendment!” This despite their CEO being a former U.S. Army Officer who advocates responsible gun ownership. His support of criminal background checks on gun sales resulted in a serious backlash from gun enthusiasts.
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It’s a move that’s paid off. Nike reported an immediate increase in sales after their campaign with Kaepernick. They released their “icon” jersey with Kaepernick’s name emblazoned on the back on February 20th. Ten short hours later, the jerseys sold out. Appealing to the next generation, known as Gen Z, is a smart move for advertisers. Those born after 1996 account for 61 million people, almost two-thirds the size of the baby-boomer population. Perhaps that knowledge also accounts for Gillette’s foray into controversial marketing, with the release of their online ad addressing toxic masculinity.
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acknowledge that brands, like ours, play a role in influencing culture.” The company’s statement offers a glimmer of hope that beyond the lucrative nature of the ad is some semblance of self reflection. The brand which became famous for its “The Best a Man Can Get” campaign may have realized cultural attitudes about masculinity are shifting and to stay relevant they would have to change as well.
The two-minute commercial sparked considerable outrage from the online community, with many deeming it intentionally inflammatory and accusing it of piggybacking on the “man-bashing” #metoo movement to gain market share.
Gillette, for the first time in its 118-year history, will focus on removing sexist ideals from its marketing. They’re also asking men, collectively, to be more thoughtful about the decisions they make and the way they interact with the world and with each other.
The ad depicts news anchors denouncing sexual harassment and juxtaposes those voices against examples of sexism in mainstream entertainment, acknowledging the culture of misogyny that continues to shape our views on gender. By recognizing that gender norms aren’t the “norm” anymore, the company shines a spotlight on its own sexist past.
“As a company that encourages men to be their best, we have a responsibility to make sure we are promoting positive, attainable, inclusive, and healthy versions of what it means to be a man,” noted the company on their updated website.
In a statement on the company website, Gillette said of the advertisement: “It’s time we SUSTAINABILITY TODAY | SPRING/SUMMER 2019
But, that’s okay, because those people were not the company’s target demographic; it was the millions of young people participating in March for Our Lives. Levi-Strauss is targeting the kids who faced a record number of gun-related violent attacks in 2018, with incidents in the U.S. occurring, on average, once every eight school days.
Stella Artois, another Anhuser-Busch company, partnered with Water.org to provide clean drinking water to developing communities.
Are these social-justice themed advertisements meant to make a buck or change the world? Maybe a bit of both. These ads are starting conversations. They’re conversations that children will hear their parents having. They’re
Levi rightly assumes that young people who are dealing with the horrors of lax gun laws will soon have the power to vote and the power to buy. And who will earn their hard-earned dollars? Maybe the company that was openly sympathetic to, and engaged with, their cause. Not only does the campaign illicit more discussion around the topic, it strikes an emotional chord for people involved in the debate. Any successful marketer will tell you, rule number one for resonating with your consumers is creating an emotional connection. The young, racially-diverse, well-educated people listening to these conversations will shape the world with their buying decisions and with their ideals. It’s up to companies to decide whether they will be a part of that conversation or remain in silent ambiguity. And if they choose to remain silent, they may not remain for much longer. ■
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The Circular Paper Economy Produced in partnership with
By Renee Yardley With the omnipresence of media in our everyday lives, humans are more exposed than ever to their own environmental impacts. The most recent figures from the EPA show that Americans produce more than four pounds of trash per person per day.
Furthermore, paper collection and recycling are far more energy efficient than producing fiber from virgin sources, and paper is one of the most recycled materials on the planet. According to the most recent stats from the American Forest & Paper Association, 96 percent of Americans have access to communitybased paper recycling options.
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Considering modern consumers are more environmentally aware than their predecessors, many do care about living more sustainable and mindful lives. According to Nielsen’s recent global sustainability report, 81 percent of respondents feel strongly that companies should help improve the environment by implementing programs to this effect.
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Are Current Paper Systems Sustainable?
Circular Opportunities for Paper The impacts of human consumption on the environment have led many to advocate for a circular economy where use of renewable materials, re-use of raw materials, and recycling factor into manufacturing systems for new products. As opposed to a traditional “one and done” linear economy model, in a true circular economy, new products are created from old products and manufacturing requires fewer natural resources and has a minimal impact on the environment. As evidenced in a 2018 study carried out by the Swedish Environmental Research Institute on the environmental impact of various materials, paper has a comparatively lower environmental impact throughout its life cycle,
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from raw sourcing to production to waste management. Responsibly sourced paper originates from managed forests which are replenished, and raw materials for paper products can also be sourced from recycling systems – post-consumer paper can be reused to create new paper up to 5-7 times. For instance, the full life cycle of Rolland’s Enviro line of paper products embodies the circular economy. A life cycle assessment (LCA) undertaken by research and consulting firm AGÉCO revealed Rolland’s manufacturing to have a lower environmental impact than other paper production processes in the North America.
Low biodegradability and an inability to be recycled efficiently results in synthetic materials having less “circularity” than materials like paper. Although paper systems do have less of an environmental impact than those related to synthetic materials, the bottom line is that recycling is a complex and evolving industry. Changes in government regulations, world markets, and recycling standards can all impact paper recycling (and by extension impact the sustainability of paper systems as a whole), but a high paper recyclability rate coupled with techno-economic innovations and paperfocused government initiatives (like REMADE projects aimed at improving manufacturing efficiency of paper) all suggest that paper systems are on their way to becoming sustainable. Renewable materials like paper should have an increased role in our consumption systems to contribute to a more sustainable society, and undoubtedly paper materials will be a part of humanity’s sustainable future. ■
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How Boston-based blogger Alison Abbott is helping travelers live a sustainable lifestyle while exploring exotic destinations. By Patricia Miller For designer and entrepreneur Alison Abbott, sustainability is more than a buzzword. She’s turned her passion for conservation into a successful career as a content creator and an adventurer who is always eager to share how she’s minimalizing her carbon footprint. What initially began as an eco-friendly home remodeling website quickly turned into a platform for conveying helpful travel tips to the eco-conscious explorer. Abbott’s ambition is to help travelers “renovate” their journeys and their lifestyles to reflect their passion for conservation. She encourages her readers to buy locally, reduce their carbon footprint, and make sustainability an integral part of their vacation planning. Produced in partnership with
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Abbott takes her advice a step further by encouraging travelers to avoid more popularized destinations and take a chance on lesser-known locales, so as not to strain over-saturated tourist ecosystems. We spoke with Abbott to learn about her journey and discover how she motivates her audience to live their lives in sustainable shades of green. Sustainability Today: Green with Renvy offers more than just travel advice; it also offers tips for living a more sustainable lifestyle. When did environmental stewardship became such a core focus of your life? Alison Abbott: Well, I’ve certainly taken a circuitous route to get where I am today. After college, I started designing clothing and lifestyle items manufactured in the Philippines. That certainly was where I fell in love with travel because I was back and forth quite a lot to Asia. But I think when you have children, it sort of presses the reset button on beginning to think about everything that’s going on around us and certainly their future and what they eat and just how they’re going to develop. So, that was probably where I began thinking about all of this.
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(Top Left) Alison Abbott with members of the Bio-Sierra Cooperative in Columbia. The Coop markets products for indigenous Colombian artisans. (Top Right) Peru’s Amazon Landscape. (Bottom Left) A woman bags cacao leaves in a market outside of Clalca, Peru. Abbott purchased the leaves to help reduce the symptoms of altitude sickness as she hiked the Lares Trail. (Bottom Right) A storyteller in the Halawa Valley on the Island of Molokai carries on the cultural traditions of the local people. His story was one of the many experiences Abbott enjoyed during a Hawaii Small Ship voyage from UnCruise Adventures.
My kids are starting to feather their own nests now, so that was probably 25-30 years ago. From there, I started renovating houses and looking into ways that we could do it sustainably. I wanted to get all these resources out to people and that was when I started Green with Renvy. It was an interesting process trying to learn all about blogging and the web because it definitely was not part of my background. I was more of an artist and designer. So that’s how that whole piece of it started.
Sustainability Today: What tips would you offer travelers to make their own journeys more sustainable? AA: Eco-friendly travel is a popular catchphrase right now and there’s a lot of greenwashing going on. I spend a lot of time on the internet researching different travel companies, looking at the hotels they use, if they employ local guides, seeing what’s local, and trying to eat the local foods. Traveling during the shoulder season is a super way to try and make
(Main image) Abbott loves vibrant colors and textures, as evidenced in this photograph she captured of a traditional Rajasthan dance during one of her Indian glamping adventures. (Bottom Left) Abbott receives a blessing for a master weaver in Peru’s Choquecancha. (Bottom Right) In this excursion along Alaska’s Inside Passage, Abbott traveled with AdventureSmith Explorations to navigate where larger ships dare not go.
your travel a little bit more responsible because it helps all these people that are operating restaurants, just to keep them in business yearround. There are also a few different apps I use. One of them is called Happy Cow, which is a really good food app for traveling. It gives you information about restaurants and what’s local in the area. If traveling in the states, there’s a company called Edible and they have magazines around the country that focus on the sustainability movement. Those are available online. So, usually if I’m traveling in the U.S., I’ll look to the closest city and see if they have an issue of the magazine. They feature lots of local restaurants and chefs and are a great resource for finding locally-sourced food and places to eat. Sustainability Today: You were recently designated as one of 2018’s Best Boomer Travel Blogs. What sets your site apart from the competition? AA: I think the adventure piece is definitely
unusual and the eco-friendly part of it is something that not everybody is doing. I also like to travel to places that are not on everyone’s radar. With over-tourism and the problems taking place right now in places like Peru and Barcelona, where you find people out in the streets protesting that tourists are coming to their destinations, the places I pick are with that in mind, and it creates an interest that I think people are curious about. A lot of the time, the first question everyone asks me is where I’m going next. I might not have the answer to that – and they are always a little bit surprised when I tell them. Because of that, they are interested in following where I’m going and seeing what I post and what the places are all about. Perhaps they’ll consider that destination in the future. Sustainability Today: How do you choose which place you want to visit next? AA: I do a lot of research, as I said. I love looking through cookbooks that are very heavily
story-oriented. I would be happy taking a cookbook to bed as my nighttime reading and often find places through them. Naomi Duguid wrote a cookbook, Burma: Rivers of Flavor, and I couldn’t wait to get to Myanmar after I read that because her photography was so incredible and the flavors sounded amazing. So, oftentimes, that’s one of the resources that I use to find places that are a little bit unusual. Sustainability Today:What is the main message you hope to convey to your readers? AA: I hope people will take the time to think about traveling responsibly. I think it’s something people can incorporate into their travel plans very easily just by doing a little research and supporting local artisans and makers, food growers and restaurateurs, and travel guides. Those are easy things to do when you travel, and I think they make a huge difference in the local economy and help these smaller places or indigenous cultures continue to survive and be sustainable. So, that’s the takeaway I’d like people to think about. ■
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It’s no secret that electric vehicles have a number of environmental benefits; however, it’s important that we take a critical look at this technology, rather than blindly follow it as our environmental savior. By Alex Moersen
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“We will not stop until every car on the road is electric.” – Elon Musk This quote, credited to what many consider the Father of the Electric Car Craze, paints a picture for an electric future. While it may be some time before every car on the road is electric, there is a definite trend in that direction. According to Statista, over 1.93 million electric vehicles were in use, worldwide, in 2017, up from 1.18 million in 2016. Produced in partnership with
While Elon Musk may have pioneered the trend, his feelings about electric cars aren’t completely unique. Carlos Ghosn, former CEO of Renault-Nissan, was once quoted, “The time is right for electric cars – in fact, the time is critical.” The excitement around electric cars makes sense. Electric vehicles (EVs) are much more eco-friendly than their gas-guzzling counterparts. A focus on EVs reduces our dependence on fossil fuels. EVs are also being made more affordable as more and more companies are producing them. In fact, a number of mainstream automobile manufacturers have pledged to go full electric. In 2017, Volvo pledged that all of their vehicles produced after 2019 would be electric or hybrid. That same year, Jaguar made the same pledge starting after 2020. Big rig trucks are also moving in the direction of electric. Even Harley Davidson has been developing an electric motorcycle. However, with any popular technology, it’s important to take a critical look. Electric vehicles have become popular for their low emissions, but how low is their environmental
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(Top) Illustration showing battery pack re-use system. (Bottom) Re-used Toyota Camry Hybrid battery packs store energy generated by solar panels in an innovative distributed energy system now online at the Lamar Buffalo Ranch field campus in Yellowstone National Park. Photos Toyota USA
impact, really? Emissions is just one part of the equation. In the case of EVs, two main issues to consider are a concept called “well-to-wheel” emissions and the end-life of EV batteries.
Well-to-Wheel Emissions Well-to-wheel emissions is an overarching term which includes the greenhouse gases and air pollutants that are emitted to produce the energy being used to power an EV. While EVs don’t run on gasoline, the energy they run on has to come from somewhere. Vehicle emissions can be divided into two general categories: air pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). In the case of conventional vehicles with an internal combustion engine, pollutants and GHGs are emitted directly through the tailpipe, as well as
through evaporation from the vehicle’s fuel system and during the fueling process. On the other hand, what is so intriguing about EVs is that they produce zero tailpipe emissions, significantly lowering their direct emissions. This is where well-to-wheel emissions come in, including all pollutants and GHGs related to fuel production, processing, distribution, and use. For gasoline, this involves the extraction, refinement, distribution, and use of petroleum. On the other hand, most electric power plants produce emissions, too, and those emissions should be taken into account when considering the environmental impact of EVs. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, fully electric vehicles emit an average of 4,450 pounds of CO2 each year. For comparison,
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Taking a Deeper Look at Electric Vehicles
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(Left) Audi tests factory vehicles powered by used lithium-ion batteries from electric cars. After the batteries have been taken back, they can continue to be used sensibly and sustainably. Photos Audi
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conventional cars emit over twice as much annually. While EVs do produce fewer emissions, it is important to remember that this isn’t a perfect technology. People should not blindly assume that EVs are a no-emission super-technology. In order to truly be carbon neutral, EVs would need to get their energy from renewable energy resources. This means utilizing solar-powered charging stations or connecting your home to a local wind farm or installing solar panels on your home. Where your energy comes from affects the emission impact of your EV. Currently, across the U.S., 35.24 percent of energy comes from natural gas and 27.52 percent comes from coal. Alternatively, only 6.86 percent, 6.6 percent, and 1.6 percent of energy comes from hydro, wind, and solar power respectively, meaning that EVs are only as sustainable as their energy source.
End of Life There is one key question that has loomed over the EV industry since its inception: what to do with the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) when they wear out. If unfamiliar with the concept of a lithium-ion battery, look no further than the smartphone in your pocket. A LIB is a type of rechargeable battery often used for portable electronics, and also used in EVs. While these batteries are rechargeable, they do
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not last forever, and eventually their ability to hold a charge will deplete. What happens after that is a bit complicated. The Guardian reported that in the EU, as few as five percent of lithiumion batteries are recycled. Not only do these batteries carry a risk of giving off toxic gases if damaged, but core ingredients such as lithium and cobalt are finite and extraction can lead to water pollution and depletion. (However, it should be acknowledged that at least part of the reason for the low recycle rate of LIBs is that many old electronics get stowed away in the bottom of drawers.) Because of this low recycling rate, certain regulations are being established to motivate EV manufacturers to take more responsibility for their product’s end-of-life processes. In the EU, the makers of batteries are required to finance the costs of collecting, treating, and recycling all collected batteries. This has even led to certain partnerships between manufacturers and recycling companies. Umicore, a battery recycling giant in Europe, has deals with both Tesla and Toyota to recycle their batteries. Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t end there. While commercial smelting processes can easily recover many metals, like cobalt and nickel, they can’t recover lithium – that costs extra. In June 2017, Morgan Stanley forecasted no recycling of lithium in the decade ahead, and that there risked being insufficient recycling
infrastructure in place when the current wave of batteries die. “There’s a difference between being able to do something and it making economic sense,” explained Jessica Alsford, head of Morgan Stanley’s global sustainable research team. It would seem that the finances and infrastructure just aren’t quite there for full recycling capabilities, at least not yet. In the meantime, the answer could be reusing. Nissan, for instance, partnered with power management firm Eaton to have its car batteries reused for home energy storage. Aceleron, which was recognized by Forbes as one of the 30 most exciting tech startups in Europe in 2017, also believes in the reusability of these batteries. According to the startup, car batteries can still have up to 70 percent of their capacity when they stop being good enough to power electric vehicles, which makes them perfect for functions such as home energy storage. Aceleron has a patented process for breaking down, testing, and repackaging the batteries for home use. It’s a reminder that technology needs to be viewed through a critical lense. While EVs, and those who develop them, have helped curb emissions, it’s important to acknowledge the weaknesses of this new technology. It is only by this constant scrutinization that we’ll be able to achieve a more sustainable future. ■
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Trees, Tech, and Climate Change Produced in partnership with
An inside look at the technologies protecting our nation’s forests.
By Patricia Miller It could be turtles at risk, or frogs, or different species that need special consideration.” Produced in partnership with
She continued, “We now can take water from the pool and have DNA testing to say, ‘From this vernal pool there are all sorts of species in there. So, let’s not harvest in that area. Let’s go over here, where there isn’t that type of impact.’ The technology is just so cool in terms of how we can manage things now.”
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From paper goods to lumber and wildlife habitat to recreation, our forests provide value in countless ways. However, forest management is a complex science. It requires advanced technology, collaboration, and an eye toward sustainability. Forest management has advanced rapidly since the days of lumber mills and surveyors. The sector is exploding with technological advancements that are improving data collection, enhancing efficiency, and helping to maintain the delicate forest ecosystems on which we rely. One technology being implemented throughout the forestry industry is LIDAR, a remote sensing method which uses light to measure distances. Forest management services can now use LIDAR to map forest canopy surfaces, tree structures, and underlying forest topography.
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Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, shared her insights on the technology’s applications: “LIDAR helps people see how things are being managed, which is really important so they see this emerging transparency in the supply chain. The technology is increasingly being used to help us understand biodiversity needs as well, because you can’t send people everywhere all the time. LIDAR is just an amazing tool for a forest manager and planner.” The forestry sector is also using DNA testing to chart biodiversity within forest ecosystems. For example, DNA sampling from vernal pools tells researchers how many species exist in a certain location and helps them make better decisions for the health of the forest. Abusow explains, “We have to understand where we can harvest trees because some of these vernal pools are really rich in biodiversity.
Drones are also playing an active part in forest maintenance as unmanned aerial surveillance systems (UAS) become more affordable and accessible. Chief of the USDA Forest Service Vicki Christiansen spoke about the life-saving value of UAS: “In our wildland fire response, having good data about the active fires… is really important. Putting people in harm’s way to gather that intelligence is not something we want to expose people to. So, using UAS is escalating our abilities in wildland fire response and in many other natural resource applications.” Vegetation management is another area benefiting from innovation. Christiansen explains, “We need to thin these forests through timber and hazardous fuel sales. Now, we can put up virtual boundaries.” She continued, “We can write the prescriptions [for thinnings] electronically on handheld devices… we can do that all digitally and we don’t have to mark with paint.” Between digital thinning prescriptions, UAS fire intelligence, DNA sampling, and LIDAR, the forest sector is embracing advanced technologies with open arms. But forest management requires more than managing trees, it requires managing people. Coordinating 25,000 full-time employees and 10,000 seasonal hires is no simple feat. Christiansen knows firsthand the challenges of effective communication among so many
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(Opposite page) Kathy Abusow, president and CEO of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. (Top Left) Several female leaders gathered to speak at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative in Denver, Colorado to share their strategies for bringing more diversity into the forestry sector. (Top Right) Chief of the USDA Forest Service Vicki Christiansen (Bottom) The USDA Forest Service, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and Project Learning Tree host various training programs throughout the year to educate children and adults about the importance of sustainable forest management.
workers. “It is a challenge to stay real-time coordinated and communicate… We’ve come a long way since the start of the Forest Service when we had to string telephone lines to just have one conversation, maybe once a week. Now, we take full use of our technology.”
multiple stressors… extended drought, a changing climate, and much longer fire seasons. Our scientists have studied this and we have at least a 78-day increase in fire seasons than we did just 15 years ago. We need to really look at our climate adaptation,” noted Christiansen.
In the United States, there are over 766 million acres of national-, private-, state-, and tribalowned forest lands. Managing employees to maintain and oversee that much acreage requires significant coordination. Christiansen said of the challenge: “We are a networked organization. We can’t operate just as one unit at a time, so it’s a real priority of mine, and at the Forest Service that we stay connected internally… It’s only together that we can leverage what is the conservation challenge of our time.”
The sector is working thoughtfully to mitigate the impacts of environmental stressors. Christiansen remarked on the Forest Service’s approach to climate adaptation: “We think about resiliency and how we can be adaptable… There’s really good science that indicates this risk, so we’re trying to anticipate ahead of time what treatments, even what kind of species we plant, that will help us maintain these forests.”
At the core of forest management is conservation, a word which has taken on new significance in the era of climate change. “The forest sector as a whole needs to look at the health and resilience of our forests. We have
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The Forest Service has instituted several programs to bring more money and fresh ideas into the sector. Their Wood Innovations Grants funding program, for example, encourages the creation and adoption of new technologies to reduce management costs, promote economic health, and improve forest health while
supporting long-term management of National Forest systems. Another program, Project Learning Tree, aims to raise awareness among children of the importance of forest conservation and management. Abusow spoke about the program during our recent interview: “Project Learning Tree (PLT) is a program we are very proud of and want to grow. Anyone interested in supporting PLT can donate to our website, PLT. org. We will take all the support we can get to help grow the next generation of future forest and conservation leaders.” Ultimately, the mission of the U.S. Forest Service is one that every person should support. Its goal is to maintain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands for the benefit of current and future generations. It’s a message of conservation, and surprisingly, one that will require everevolving technological innovation to ensure its success. ■
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