The Brief

Accenture and Planet Labs partner up for satellite monitoring

Planet Labs is a satellite geo-image company that monitors what’s happening on Earth from above. Using its data, Accenture will be able to trace supply chain strategies and more accurately assess climate chain risks. READ MORE

Colgate and NASA team up for sustainable products in space

The toothpaste company and the space agency are looking into how they can make teeth hygiene more sustainable in a microgravity setting. Testing will be occurring at the International Space Station. READ MORE

Irizar’s ieTram EV to be installed along London bus route

The Spanish company’s zero-emission buses will soon be rolling down the streets of the capital after Transport for London announced the purchase of a 20-strong fleet. One small adaptation: the EV manufacturer had to put the steering wheels on the right side for the first time. READ MORE

GREEN STEEL ON THE HORIZON

For centuries steel has been forged thanks to the burning of fossil fuels, most notably coal. And for centuries, steel production has been one of the biggest carbon emitters on the planet. A recent tally pegged the industry to 10% of the world’s carbon.

This is what makes the recent partnership between green steel company Electra and the US’ largest steel group in the world, Nucor Corporation so exciting. The new partnership is going to allow Electra to scale, thereby popularising their new method of steel production that has no carbon dioxide emissions: its Low-Temperature Iron solution uss low-grade ores and renewable electricity.  PRIMARK As one of the most enduringly popular fast fashion brands on the British high street, Primark has received its fair share of flak over the years for being unsustainable. Happily, it’s turning around its bad record. According to a recently released Sustainability and Ethics Progress Report, the company is on track to transition to 100% sustainable clothes by 2030. It has also unveiled its Primark Sustainable Cotton Programme, which seeks to promote smart cotton growing methods as well as increased recycling.

 SHEIN 2022 was the year Shein. With $10bn in revenue, it became the biggest clothing brand in the world. In 113 different countries, it was the most Googled clothing brand. Unfortunately for the planet, the Chinese company has an atrocious ESG record: nail varnish that poisons, employees working 75-hour shifts in rooms with no fire exits, just over $500 a month to make 500 pieces of clothing a day. And this is not even mentioning the 10,000 different products it has on offer – all cheap and all with a very short shelf life.