Brittany Peterson
LAS VEGAS (AP) — At this year’s CES Tech Show in Las Vegas, the bright green, speckled foliage of the Pothos plant stood out against the flashy sprawl of electric vehicles and smart products. A particular version of this familiar houseplant has been bioengineered to remove 30 times more indoor air pollutants than a typical houseplant, according to the Paris-based company Neoplants that created it. according to.
Customers are already on the waiting list for seedlings that are still in the nursery.
Neoplants founder and CEO Lionel Mora is a passionate ex-Google employee who sings a little differently than the other founders at electronics conventions, creating a vibe that technology can solve anything. Consumption needs to be addressed before people can turn to engineering solutions, he said. But “when it comes to innovation, we believe biology is the way to go because it’s sustainable by design,” he said.
As countries grapple with how to limit global warming and conserve natural resources and biodiversity, more companies are stepping up their own efforts to build sustainable supply chains and curb emissions. increase. Like Neoplant, tackling environmental issues is their whole raison d’etre.
Companies and startups attending CES were exposed to these wide-ranging initiatives. Austin-based Pivet showcased a biodegradable phone case. Electric watercraft company Candela has unveiled a 28-foot electric speedboat. Ukrainian start-up Melt Water Club has announced a method of water purification using freezing.
The Department of Energy even had a booth — Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm spoke with the Associated Press ahead of Friday’s keynote address.
Granholm said he was excited about a variety of technologies at CES and beyond, from John Deere’s latest electronic farm equipment to battery storage using alternative materials such as sodium salts, both of which are funded by the Department of Energy. He said he helped provide
Granholm also spoke about expanding the use of clean energy, including some forms of hydrogen, nuclear fusion and geothermal energy, highlighting the latter as an opportunity for the oil and gas industry.
“If they use fracking to get to the oil and gas, it’s possible that the same technology could be used to extract the heat under their feet,” she said.
It may be some time before the oil and gas industry moves away from extracting fossil fuels. Meanwhile, more companies are getting serious about reducing emissions. Greenswap founder Ajay Varadharajan says the first step to reducing emissions is to fully understand them. The Dutch company plans to help online grocers and food delivery services keep track of their supply chains and their ‘Scope 3’ carbon footprint.
Varadharajan created an algorithm that derives information about various edible products from published research papers. This allows you to assign a carbon footprint to every food barcode. The algorithm then uses information about the product’s cultivation techniques and packaging to fine-tune that number.
Using GreenSwapp’s app, CES attendees were able to scan the barcodes of various milk containers on display and instantly compare their carbon footprint. The company claims this works with any food item that has a barcode.
The information is useful for conscious consumers, but the real impact will come when food companies use it to track emissions, Varadharajan said.
Some companies may wish to share information with their customers. But he explained that he expects many to use it internally for possible regulation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission will soon require US publicly traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions. The largest companies may be required to disclose Scope 3 emissions related to their supply chain. If finalized, the United States will join a growing number of countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, in requiring large companies to disclose this information. The European Union is finalizing reporting standards.
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company didn’t have a booth this year, but they did demonstrate the new tires on a blue and yellow plastered vehicle that drove around Las Vegas.
The company currently has the largest market share of consumer replacement tires in the United States. The new demo tire contains 90% sustainable materials and has improved rolling efficiency, so the tire saves energy even in electric vehicles.
Goodyear did not specify how much carbon would be saved in the new tire-making process, or how much energy would be saved through rolling efficiency.
“It really depends on the type of vehicle and the type of tires you use,” says CEO Rich Kramer.
But the company’s raw material line seems to be heading in the right direction. Many materials are used in tires, and this new material has gone from petroleum products to surplus soybean oil to maintain flexibility. . Improves grip and fuel economy with silica from rice husk waste residue. The list goes on and on, but Kramer says the tire is an important step towards the company’s goal of achieving zero emissions by 2050.
But sourcing these materials in bulk is a problem, he said.
“Can we get them on a large scale so that we can increase production? So how do we change the manufacturing process for that? Told.
Sean Nyquist of the Forest Stewardship Council, which works to certify sustainable rubber, said Goodyear’s rubber sourcing still needs improvement.
“In the last 20 years, we’ve seen significant deforestation as a result of natural rubber,” he said, increasing demand for rubber from trees instead of laboratory-made synthetic rubber.
Goodyear’s rubber procurement follows the guidelines of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber. Nyquist says this is an important step, but third-party certification adds further validity to its sustainability claims.
Several tire companies are following a similar path, he said. The tires that Pirelli manufactures for his version of his BMW X5 plug-in have his FSC certification, ensuring that the rubber is ethically sourced, including forestry and labor practices. increase.
There may be no easy way to reduce emissions and build sustainable supply chains. But one place where U.S. companies might get more help now is the record federal money available to decarbonize buildings and transportation through the Inflation Reduction Act. Granholm says he believes the incentives to reduce energy usage and expand the technology are strong.
“There are policy innovations and technological innovations.
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Associated Press writer Suman Naishadam contributed from Washington.
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The Associated Press is supported by The Walton Family Foundation for its coverage of water and environmental policy. AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment.
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For more information on CES, please visit https://apnews.com/hub/technology.
