Sustainability

Qidong – September 07, 2026 -- Covation Biomaterials LLC (CovationBio) has produced its first on-spec commercial batches of Xatryx.T bioTHF and Xatryx® bioPTMEG at its 50,000-ton Qidong plant, four months after the facility's mechanical completion in April 2026. The company simultaneously unveiled the world's first athletic insole made with a non-food bio-based material, developed with insole brand INSITE®, at the NW Materials Show in Portland, Oregon on September 2-3, 2026.

Gröningen – September 07, 2026 -- The Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU) is funding a roughly €300,000 renovation of the 17th-century Rittergut Edelhof manor in Gröningen, Saxony-Anhalt, installing one of Germany's first water-ice thermal storage systems in a historic building. The project, underway since late last year, is scheduled for completion by April 2028 and aims to return residential use to a building vacant since the 1990s.

Water-ice storage cuts heating energy demand by up to 50 percent

A heat pump extracts energy from water until it freezes, supplying heat during sub-zero temperatures without large battery storage. Scientific project lead Prof. Dr. Harald Garrecht said this system works alongside a roof-integrated heat-recovery unit that draws warmth from the environment above freezing, together cutting required heating energy by up to 50 percent.

Shanghai – September 07, 2026 -- Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC) named the first two vessels in a four-ship series of 38,000 DWT multipurpose heavy-lift carriers built for Chipolbrok, marking the shipbuilder's entry into the multipurpose heavy-lift vessel segment.

Each vessel carries three 350-ton cranes for combined 700-ton lifts

The naming ceremony took place on Aug. 28. Each vessel measures 182 meters in length, 30 meters in beam and 17 meters in depth, with a design draft of 9.8 meters and a service speed of 14.5 knots. Classed by DNV, the ships feature a full-length open deck, two extra-long cargo holds with a maximum length of 76.8 meters, and adjustable tweendecks for cargo flexibility. Three in-house-developed 350-ton cranes are fitted on each vessel, with two capable of tandem lifts totaling up to 700 tons.

Gislaved, Sweden – September 07, 2026 -- Axjo Group, a Swedish provider of recycled polymer packaging solutions, has acquired French company Eco-Tourets, converting the firm's Villeneuve-sur-Yonne site into a logistics and sales hub for the French market.

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne site becomes Axjo's local hub near Paris

The site, located south-east of Paris, will initially support faster deliveries and closer customer collaboration for Axjo Group in France. The move follows Axjo's earlier establishment of Axjo GmbH in Cologne, Germany, this year, as the Group pursues stronger local presence across Europe.

Boulder, Colorado – September 04, 2026 -- Odyssey Energy Solutions has secured $74 million in new financing, combining $27 million in equity with $47 million in debt, to expand its platform financing distributed renewable energy projects across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

New investors join round to fund solar and battery procurement infrastructure

The equity tranche drew new backers Broadscale Group, FMO, and Al Mada Ventures, alongside existing investors Union Square Ventures, Equal Ventures, Abstract Ventures, Twelve Below, FJ Labs, MCJ, and Transition Ventures. Debt financing came from British International Investment, BIO, the Facility for Energy Inclusion via Cygnum Capital, and the Energy Entrepreneurs Growth Fund via TripleJump.

TOKYO – September 04, 2026 -- Gurunavi, Inc. will operate a dedicated pavilion, "JAPAN WOOD x CRAFTSMANSHIP," at MAISON & OBJET PARIS 2026, running September 10-14 at Paris Nord Villepinte, showcasing over 40 Japanese wood products alongside live craft demonstrations aimed at driving decarbonization and ESG-linked procurement in European markets.

Buffalo, N.Y. – September 04, 2026 -- The University at Buffalo has put eight new 40-foot battery-electric transit buses into service, marking the first phase of a diesel-to-electric transition for its Stampede fleet, which carries approximately 16,000 passengers daily.

Electrification of first eight buses is projected to cut 5,984 metric tons of CO2 equivalent

UB, transportation provider WeDriveU and fleet electrification specialist Zenobē estimate the shift will deliver a 55.6% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared with diesel-powered service, equivalent to removing roughly 1,395 cars from the road.

South Jordan, Utah -- September 01, 2026 -- Opalescence Whitening launched Opalescence Go Advanced, a prefilled take-home whitening tray built on a redesigned UltraFit tray that eliminates the outer placement tray used in prior generations. The company, which markets itself as the top-selling professional teeth whitening brand worldwide, said the new product ships ready to use directly from the package. Opalescence has whitened more than 150 million smiles globally since its formula first reached the dental market 35 years ago.

HONG KONG -- Aug. 31, 2026 -- Himel won the Green Technology – Manufacturing category at the Hong Kong Business Technology Excellence Awards 2026 for its NERIO Series wiring devices. The award recognized NERIO's paint-free manufacturing process, which removes a conventional coating step from production of the switches. Himel general manager Wenjie Qi accepted the recognition on behalf of the company. The award was announced Aug. 31, 2026.

Paint-free manufacturing removes a production step from everyday switches

NERIO's core technology eliminates the paint layer typically applied during manufacturing of wiring devices, a change Himel positioned as reducing the environmental footprint of a product category not usually associated with sustainability claims. The Hong Kong Business Technology Excellence Awards judge entries on innovation and new benchmarks in technology across manufacturing sectors.