At the recent COP26 climate talks, countries and companies largely focused on tackling climate change by <a href="https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/the-results-of-cop26/#:~:text=COP26%252520resulted%252520in%252520not%252520only,steel%252520and%252520aluminum%252520trade%252520agreement." target="_blank">decarbonizing the energy sector</a>. Such tactics include commitments to curb the finance of fossil fuel projects, address the challenge of methane emissions, and reduce the carbon intensity of industries like aluminum and steel.

Such agreements, while critical, are only part of the climate action equation, as <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/completing-the-picture" target="_blank">research suggests</a> shifting to renewable energy will eliminate just over half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. “Meeting climate targets will also require tackling the remaining 45 percent of emissions associated with making products,” the Ellen MacArthur Foundation concluded in a <a href="https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/completing-the-picture" target="_blank">2019 report</a>. “A circular economy offers a systemic and cost-effective approach to tackling this challenge.”

<h2>The role of packaging in addressing climate change risks</h2>

It’s clear the circular economy will never become reality without more innovations and efficiency in packaging. After all, packaging touches just about everything that passes through global supply chains. This is especially true in wealthier countries, or what the global NGO <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/about" target="_blank">Circle Economy</a> calls “shift countries.” Such nations are home to a minority of the world’s population but generate more than 40 percent of global emissions and drive about a third of global resource extraction. They also produce an astounding 11.6 billion metric tons of waste annually. 

In its <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/resources/circularity-gap-report-2021" target="_blank">2021 Circularity Gap Report</a>, Circle Economy found that only 8.6 percent of the world’s economy is actually circular — and the evidence suggests that ratio is declining, not increasing.

While those statistics are daunting, slashing global waste is still possible. “Countries can design for the future, eliminating excess resource use in packaging and product design, and prioritize the use of regenerative resources, for example by using biodegradable materials for packaging or certain product components,” the NGO concluded.

One company that is determined to drive innovation within the circular economy is Siegwerk, a global supplier of printing inks for packaging applications. <a href="https://www.siegwerk.com/en/circular-economy/our-partnerships.html" target="_blank">Partnering</a> with a bevy of organizations focused on recycling and circularity solutions, Siegwerk has committed to having 75 percent of all its sales enable circular packaging by enabling less, reusable, recyclable and renewable packaging.

The numbers alone make a strong case for why all companies should eschew virgin materials for packaging and take the necessary steps to use recycled content. “Plastic packaging that is made of recycled content has a 50 percent lower carbon footprint compared to one made of virgin material,” Alina Marm, Siegwerk’s head of global sustainability and circular economy, said during the recent <a href="https://www.henkel-adhesives.com/us/en/insights/all-insights/events-webinars/sustainability-days.html" target="_blank">Henkel Sustainability Days online forum</a>. “If you actually used a change model in how we use packaging and switch from single-use to reuse models, we see a benefit of 50 to 80 percent reduction in CO2, depending on what packaging substrate [is used].”

<h2>Rethinking plastic to close packaging’s climate action gap</h2>

Plastic is lightweight, low in cost, and can be shaped to encase and protect just about any product on the market. Thanks to these attributes, plastic has become more popular as a packaging material in the last half century. But the proliferation of single-use plastic has entrenched a linear “make-take-dispose” model that consumes vast amounts of resources and leaves a harmful scar on the environment, biodiversity and increasingly society — likely above the overall value plastic offers in a linear system. Circular economic models, on the other hand, respect the natural boundaries of the planet while minimizing waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. 

More global organizations have recognized this. “Net zero cannot be achieved by decarbonizing the energy sector alone,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) concluded in a <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/03/how-the-circular-economy-can-help-the-climate/" target="_blank">March 2021 report</a>. In a nod to the role that packaging can have in such a transformation, WEF offered this reminder: “Circularity is needed to tackle climate goals within the next decade.”

While greater focus on the circular economy is welcome, Marm of Siegwerk reiterates that the road ahead is a long one. “While change is rapid in respect to climate change, circular packaging is not addressing it all yet,” she said. “We have some climate action gaps. If you look at the global plastics emissions among the lifecycle of plastic, you see that only 9 percent result from the actual managed end-of-life scenarios, the remaining emissions caused by sourcing and converting.” That shows us that optimizing only for end-of-life is not sufficient — it must be paired with feeding that recycled material back into the system and using less overall. 

<h2>To cut global emissions, circularity must become the norm</h2>

The impact that the manufacture of packaging materials such as plastic has on the global environment will only surge in the coming decades if circularity — thought holistically — does not become the norm. According to the <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/how-circular-economy-can-help-nations-achieve-their-climate-goals" target="_blank">World Resources Institute</a>: “As the population and consumerism increases, so does the demand for materials. Emissions are likely to grow fast without changes to current production and consumption. For steel, cement, aluminum and plastics, emissions are predicted to rise by a factor of two to four by 2050.” For plastic alone, this means that 10 percent of the 1.5 degrees carbon budget will be needed. 

Marm is among the circularity thought leaders who say the role of global plastics manufacturing has been overlooked. “We’re to some extent neglecting the utter drivers for greenhouse gas emissions, whether it be extraction, raw material production or the conversion of packaging and hence limiting the potential circular packaging has,” she explained.

A circular economy model can actually create more opportunities for companies that are part of the global plastics value chain: “27 percent of all plastic packaging today is technically recyclable, not recycled, [but] technically recyclable. So we still have a way to go, giving us ample economic opportunity,” Marm said. 

<h2>The social case for accelerating toward a circular economy</h2>

The case for circularity is not solely an environmental or economic one. “Our economic model really builds on an exploitive capitalist model,” Marm explained. “I know these are harsh words, but think about one of the definitions of capitalism: It is the extraction of the surplus of value. We’re extracting from natural resources, but also very much from the human beings in our global community.”

While wealthier countries have successfully exported the make-take-dispose model globally, few developing nations have the waste management infrastructure necessary to absorb the high volumes of single-use waste now being produced within their borders. Many rely on self-employed refuse collectors to keep streets and waterways clean, but these individuals tend to be poorly paid and face significant health risks at work. “The informal sector, which covers a vast amount of our waste management, can actually source all the material that we need in the recycling space,” Marm said. “We’d better give them a better stake at the table.”

Further, many rich countries export their waste, further overburdening the waste management systems in poorer countries and forcing them to burn and dump — rather than recover — most of the waste they import.

Circle Economy’s 2021 Gap Report also emphasizes the importance the informal sector has in addressing these challenges. “Teaming up to create joint value and aligning the role of the decentralized labor sector with waste management processes will be necessary to reduce footprints and material use from both construction and demolition waste…and solid municipal waste,” the NGO concluded. “By introducing waste management infrastructure, halting waste-imports from shift countries and formalizing waste pickers — allowing them to work in safer conditions in processing facilities — these issues may be addressed.”

For Marm, the social and environmental cases are inextricably linked — and both make a compelling argument for a global rethink of waste. “If you just think about the sheer amount of waste that we’re producing in Europe and the U.S., and shipping off to other countries, well aware that they do not have the infrastructure, that they are going to carry the environmental, social and economic burden of our consumerism, seeing all this, I think it becomes evident why I’m pushing us to challenge the underlying economic model,” she said.

This article series is sponsored by Siegwerk Druckfarben and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credit: ink drop/Adobe Stock

The Circular Economy Has a Critical Role in Driving Climate Action

Recently, the Japanese automaker Nissan unveiled its 2030 vision showing what it says is a stronger commitment to electric vehicles (EVs) and the circular economy. The automaker will invest $17.6 billion over five years to electrify more vehicles with plans to create 23 electrified models by 2030, with 15 being all-electric. In addition, the automaker intends to reach a 50 percent electrification mix for the Nissan and Infiniti brands by the end of fiscal year 2030. 

“We are proud of our long track record of innovation, and of our role in delivering the EV revolution. With our new ambition, we continue to take the lead in accelerating the natural shift to EVs by creating customer pull through an attractive proposition by driving excitement, enabling adoption, and creating a cleaner world,” said Nissan COO Ashwani Gupta.

<h2>Advancing all-solid-state batteries</h2>

Nissan also plans to establish a global battery supply system to support the expansion of EVs. In fact, it is working on <a href="https://www.samsungsdi.com/column/technology/detail/56462.html?listType=gallery" target="_blank">all-solid-state batteries</a> (ASSB) and plans to release its proprietary ASSB by 2028. Plans also call for opening such a pilot battery plant in Yokohama, Japan, as early as 2024. The company anticipates decreasing battery costs with this approach to $75 per kilowatt hour (kWh) by 2028 and $65 per kWh subsequently. 

By working with its various partners, Nissan seeks to increase its worldwide battery production capacity to 52 GWh by 2026, and to 130 GWh by 2030, <a href="https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/nissan-ambition-2030-vision-to-empower-mobility-beyond" target="_blank">according to a press release</a>.

ASSB has a higher energy density than lithium-ion batteries, which currently power most EVs. Also, all-solid-state batteries don’t have the same safety concerns as lithium-ion batteries as they at lower risk of exploding or catching fire. Thus, cars with ASSBs theoretically wouldn’t need as many safety components, saving space. Therefore, these batteries could extend the range of EVs, save money, and reduce charging times to one-third; however, <a href="https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/us-storage-companies-quietly-grow-bets-on-solid-state-batteries" target="_blank">they are not commercially viable just yet</a>.

<h2>Long-term plans underway at Nissan</h2>

The automaker also plans to expand its battery refurbishing facilities beyond Japan by adding new plants in Europe around 2022 and the United States three years later, which could help to further the circular economy. Nissan’s recent announcements are in line with its vision to be <a href="https://global.nissannews.com/en/releases/nissan-sets-carbon-neutral-goal-for-2050" target="_blank">carbon-neutral by 2050</a>, a pledge that includes the lifecycle of its products. Nissan previously created a <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2011/nissan-enviromental-plan-sets-high-goals/72471" target="_blank">six-year environmental plan in 2011</a>. 

Clearly, these actions show how Nissan, <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/automakers-pivot-electric-vehicles/260086">as is the case with other automakers</a>, is placing electrification closer to the center of its long-term business strategy. Historically, Nissan and its luxury division Infiniti’s EV track records have been mixed. Infiniti currently has no electric vehicles in its lineup, but Nissan was early in introducing the all-electric <a href="https://thenewswheel.com/nissan-leaf-history/" target="_blank">Leaf</a> in late 2010. It quickly became the world’s top-selling EV, and over <a href="https://usa.nissannews.com/en-US/releases/release-ab66f6f7c90a629fe99aa9f76909130e-nissan-marks-10-years-of-leaf-sales-with-over-500000-sold-worldwide" target="_blank">500,000 units sold by its tenth anniversary</a>. 

When compared to its competitors, the <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/nissan/leaf" target="_blank">2022 Leaf</a> is relatively economical, starting at $28,375, but it has a range of only 149 miles. This is lackluster compared to other EVs on the market, including the <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/chevrolet/bolt-ev" target="_blank">2022 Chevy Bolt</a>, which touts a 259-mile range with a starting price of $31,995.

But Nissan is going beyond the Leaf. The automaker is about to release its second all-electric vehicle in early 2022, <a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/nissan/ariya" target="_blank">the Ariya</a>, with a starting price of around $40,000. The longest-range version of this crossover model has an estimated range of 300 miles and should hit the market in early 2022. The Nissan Ariya is offered in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive and features ProPilot 2.0, Nissan's semi-autonomous driving system.

<h2>The competition and future plans for EVs</h2>

As global demand for electric vehicles increases, many legacy automakers are shifting their manufacturing efforts to EVs, and Nissan is not alone in investing billions.

<ul><li>General Motors pledges to sell only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/28/business/gm-zero-emission-vehicles.html" target="_blank">zero-emissions vehicles by 2035</a> and have <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/gm-electric-vehicles/708701" target="_blank">30 new electric vehicle models by 2025</a>. </li>
	<li>Toyota, a leader in hybrids, is <a href="https://electrek.co/2021/09/09/toyota-investing-13-ev-batteries-while-lobbying-slow-everyone-else/" target="_blank">investing more than $13 billion in EV batteries</a>.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/ev-sustainable-cars-bmw/728196" target="_blank">BMW plans for EVs</a> to make up 50 percent of its sales by 2030 and already has several all-electric models on the market, including the iX SUV and i4 sedan.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a34043831/kia-build-more-evs" target="_blank">Kia intends to roll out 11 electric vehicles</a> by 2025 and already has two, the Niro EV and EV6. </li>
	<li>Ford is investing <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/ford-ev-commitment/719021" target="_blank">$22 billion in electrification</a> through 2025 and is introducing an all-electric version of the ever-popular <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/f150-lightning/723031" target="_blank">F150 pickup in 2022</a>.</li>
	<li>Also, all-electric U.S. automakers <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/if-rivian-becomes-tesla-pickup-trucks-then-adios-ice-engines/82616" target="_blank">Rivian</a>, <a href="https://www.lucidmotors.com/" target="_blank">Lucid Motors</a>, and <a href="https://www.tesla.com/" target="_blank">Tesla</a> have models on the market.</li>
</ul>Although Nissan’s recent announcements were certainly good news for the advancement of electrification, its plans for the upcoming this decade is fairly similar to its competitors. What could set Nissan apart this decade is its proprietary ASSB technology, especially if the automaker can quickly and successfully bring these batteries to market. 

Image credit of the <a href="https://www.nissanusa.com/ariya.html#C453_0_cmp_versiongrid_79a3" target="_blank">Ariya</a> via Nissan USA

Nissan Accelerates Electrification Strategy

It’s no revelation that human activity generates a lot of organic waste. Whether households are discarding food scraps and flushing toilets, or food and beverage companies generate waste byproducts to create the delights we consume — the results are that we are continually creating a lot of biomass we need to get rid of.

But rather than looking at our organic waste as something merely to be dealt with, increasingly, it’s something that offers tremendous opportunity. On aggregate, our organic waste streams serve as a potential gold mine of an energy source. 

According to Mike Theodoulou of <a href="https://www.suezwatertechnologies.com/applications/wastewater-treatment" target="_blank">Suez Water Technologies and Solutions</a>, with whom TriplePundit recently spoke, in the U.S. alone, there are 436 million gigajoules (GJ) of energy available that could be derived from wastewater treatment, landfills, manure, and other organic waste streams. Basically, the availability of cheap energy from all the bits we don’t want. 

To date, Suez alone via 46 installations of its anaerobic digester projects has generated the equivalent energy of powering 60,000 homes per year, while across North America there’s still tremendous untapped potential to expand. 

The energy we are talking about is renewable natural gas (RNG) derived from breaking down organic waste in anaerobic digesters. 

When organic waste is broken down in these digesters (see the accompanying picture of a Suez anaerobic digester) methane gas is the key output. Since methane is the essence of natural gas, when biogas from anaerobic digesters is upgraded to pipeline quality, resultant RNG can be injected into natural gas pipelines and sold into the energy markets. In short, waste becomes a revenue stream.

There are attractive additional financial benefits of producing RNG too. Producers not only realize the inherent value of the RNG itself, but also the value from renewable energy credits they generate with it. Key among these include renewable credits available under California’s <a href="https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/our-work/programs/low-carbon-fuel-standard" target="_blank">Low Carbon Fuel Standard</a> (LCFS), and RIN credits under the federal governments’ <a href="https://www.epa.gov/renewable-fuel-standard-program" target="_blank">Renewable Fuel Standard</a> (RFS) program. 

As a rule of thumb, Theodoulou, a senior product manager of anaerobic digestion technologies at Suez, told 3p that these energy credits are worth roughly five times the value of the RNG itself. Refiners and fuel importers are the buyers of these credits who must prove they are in regulatory compliance with blending the requisite percentage of renewables into their energy pipelines.

In short, producing RNG is an attractive opportunity for entities that must manage organic waste streams, and broadly, there are four main categories of customers who are candidates for establishing an RNG facility using anaerobic digesters. 

Municipalities who are in the business of wastewater and sewage treatment. Industrial entities like food and beverage or pulp and paper companies. Waste companies who haul away domestic waste and also private investors, who are interested in setting up a project, defining sources of waste and organizing financing and selling RNG into the market. Private investors, in fact, might sell to the other above-mentioned customers.

It’s worth noting too, that as well as generating revenue from both RNG and renewable credits, there’s another advantage that comes as a result of cost avoidance. 

If you are, for example, a food and beverage company, you are already having to pay someone to manage your waste stream. If you establish an anaerobic digester facility, at the same time as you are generating revenue from your waste, you no longer have to pay someone to manage it. This saving helps offset the cost of setting up the operation. 

All things considered, the return on investment in an RNG project is actually fairly rapid.

Theodoulou explained that for municipalities, it typically takes four to seven years for a project to reach its full payback, but for industrial customers that can be reduced to as few as two to three years. This is because again, they can immediately avoid existing costs like sewage surcharges they otherwise would have to pay. 

Where companies like Suez add value is putting it all together. They not only supply the anaerobic digesters, but they also assess the viability of the project by assessing the proper feedstock (inputs) while they also warrant the production of the biogas itself. This includes assuring the quality of the gas and the amount of gas a project will produce based on the amount of feedstock that is going in.

Theodoulou explained that in Europe, the market for this is already pretty competitive and well established. In North America, however, he foresees growth potential exists for at least the next 15 to 20 years. Attractive opportunities also exist in Central and South America.

He stresses that although there are of course compelling reasons to set up anaerobic digesters for environmental reasons (significant CO2 and methane that would otherwise vent to the atmosphere is avoided), “a project does have to stand on its own from the financial aspect.”

At the moment, renewable energy credits certainly help establish the financial case, but in the future, he believes projects could function without them. For example, using RNG at point of generation to fuel fleet vehicles is a possible scenario where localization establishes viability without need for any extraneous regulatory mechanisms. 

Image credit via Suez Water Technologies and Solutions

Turning Waste into Energy Holds Big Opportunities

The dust is still settling on the climate negotiations at <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-how-cop26-finally-recognised-the-latest-ipcc-climate-science" target="_blank">COP26</a>. The Senate is <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/19/house-passes-biggest-climate-investment-in-us-history-.html" target="_blank">debating</a> the biggest climate change bill ever. Most Americans, however, do not name climate action as a top priority. But new data from <a href="https://cdd.stanford.edu/2021/a1r-climate-and-energy/" target="_blank">America in One Room</a>, a program of Stanford University’s Center for Deliberative Democracy and nonprofit partner Helena, suggest that the reality is more nuanced.

<h2>Climate change isn’t an issue in a vacuum</h2>

Researchers continue to poll the American public for shifting attitudes on climate change, and that shift is noticeable, but it’s also showing an increasing polarization. In May 2021, Pew Research released results indicating <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/05/26/key-findings-how-americans-attitudes-about-climate-change-differ-by-generation-party-and-other-factors/" target="_blank">deep divides between generations</a>, with younger generations, even those leaning or identifying as Republican, backing action on climate change. But as an indication of the polarization of the issue, in a later poll, Pew found that people identifying as <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/06/08/most-americans-support-expanding-solar-and-wind-energy-but-republican-support-has-dropped/" target="_blank">Republican are also less enthusiastic</a> about pursuing renewable energy —this despite the fact that red states like Texas have reaped a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-06-09/texas-renewables-defy-gop-backlash-with-20-billion-in-projects" target="_blank">financial windfall</a> from it.

America in One Room found in its climate and energy project that, if people from all points on the spectrum were allowed the space to have in-depth deliberation about the problem and the solutions, they tended to move in the same direction. 

The two-day workshop, the largest controlled experiment of its kind, was held in September 2021 — after the release of the latest IPCC report and heading into COP26. Nearly 1,000 randomly selected Americans gathered to discuss climate change in depth. The participants included 54 percent female, 51 percent college-educated, 35 percent from the South, 18 percent from the Midwest, and ran the gamut in age, race and political beliefs. 

Californians and Texans were oversampled to allow researchers the ability to evaluate the differences between the biggest blue and red states. “On almost every question,” Jim Fishkin, Director of the Stanford Center for Deliberative Democracy told TriplePundit, “the participants from the two states moved in the same direction: toward strong majority support for climate action… It is striking to me that the largest red state and the largest blue state ended up after deliberation with so much agreement on what needed to be done.” In particular, he added, the areas that ended up being closest were for solutions such as eliminating coal, oil and natural gas, and developing new sources of nuclear power. 

The organizers noted that the deliberation led to greater consensus, in part, because it didn’t treat climate change as operating in a vacuum. “We believe deliberative polling is just a better, more rigorously scientific and representative method of gauging public opinion than traditional survey and siloed workshops,” Henry Elkus, founder and CEO of Helena, told 3p. 

Getting at the polarization issues nationally meant looking at climate in a wider context. “They considered policy proposals within the context of global U.S. economic competitiveness and the impact of certain policies on low- and middle-income Americans,” Elkus said. “Through this lens, climate action isn’t something that needs to supersede other priorities, but rather, can be part of integrated solutions that address the evolving and very interconnected challenges we grapple with today.” Thus, just like sustainability within a corporation, when it is integrated throughout operations rather than a standalone program, it’s more likely to be effective and long-lasting. Climate change impacts every segment of the economy, so isolating it silos the solutions as well as the problem.

<h2>Make it personal</h2>

Americans have drawn further apart on not only what actions to take on climate change, but whether climate change is happening at all. But as the impacts are felt more intensely at the individual level, denial that something has changed is harder to support. Impacts such as <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-is-hitting-farmers-hard/" target="_blank">sharp uptakes in insurance payouts from farmers</a> and the <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/09/16/the-wests-historic-drought-in-3-maps-3/" target="_blank">multilayered effects</a> of the “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-a-megadrought.html" target="_blank">megadrought</a>” in the western U.S., among others, affect individuals and communities. When <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/29/houston-is-experiencing-its-third-500-year-flood-in-3-years-how-is-that-possible/" target="_blank">massive floods</a> arrive at your house three years running, you notice.

Further, the process was set up to enable conversations. Ahead of the workshop, participants received a <a href="https://cdd.stanford.edu/2021/a1r-climate-and-energy/" target="_blank">64-page briefing document</a>, which presented the pros and cons of different policies for achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including phasing out of fossil fuels, introduction of a carbon tax and methane standards. The larger groups were split into subgroups to discuss the issues over two days, reconvening at the end to share their results and ask questions of a panel of experts. The uptick in support for action was notable. For example, when Californians and Texans were asked whether the U.S. “should take serious action to reduce greenhouse gases in our atmosphere because waiting to do so is taking an irresponsible risk with our kids’ future," <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GlcdHK7DeTjd8MSv8StHDnCMY736w1JY/view" target="_blank">Californians went from 72 percent to 80 percent in support, and Texans went from 67 percent to 79 percent</a>, running almost even with each other.

Elkus found the levels of agreement encouraging. “I think it was striking to see everyday Americans arrive at conclusions around climate proposals that seem to confound the policymakers tasked with solving these challenges,” he told 3p. “Across the board, with incredible nuance and depth, participants arrived at compelling solutions to some of the greatest challenges we’re collectively facing.”

Making climate change personal is not only about the impacts it has on the individual, but it is also about individuals coming together to find the solutions. What seem like intractable problems are not in reality: They are political problems rather than technical ones. The organizers of the workshop hope that participants will become more civically engaged as a result of their experience. “We are driving the message that Americans are not irreconcilably divided,” Elkus said, “and can come together to create meaningful inputs for decision makers around these issue areas.” Fishkin added that the deliberative methodology used can drive depolarization. As the Senate debates the massive climate bill, they could take a page from a deliberative playbook and get in one room tackle climate change.

Image credit: Adobe Stock

Political Polarization Over Climate Change Isn’t as Bad as You Think

Fleet electrification is now at a point we might call “technological and economic maturity.” As it relates to electric vehicles (EVs), they’re becoming increasingly affordable, cost effective, capable, and able to perform nearly all the functions of ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. 

Full vehicle electrification means zero tail pipe emissions, and this fundamental transformation of powertrain technology can, and will, yield a similarly transformational moment for the planet, as vehicle exhaust emissions are greatly reduced, and air quality improves.

While it’s not yet possible to replace every ICE vehicle in the world with an EV, one area ripe for change is fleets. Whether it’s a multinational delivery company, or your local county government, organizations all over North America are seeing the long-term benefits of adopting EVs into their fleets. Our <a href="https://www.merchantsfleet.com/services/adoptev/">Adopt EV</a> initiative at Merchants Fleet is aimed at helping organizations plan for this critical transition.

<h2>ICE cars and truck = bad air</h2>

One of the biggest vehicle segments of polluters in the world is ICE fleets. Every day, millions of ICE vehicles take to the roads and highways of the world to deliver the goods and services that support our modern societies. For any company with a fleet, transitioning away from emissions-heavy vehicles to zero emissions and trucks offer a huge, proportional decline in greenhouse gas emissions. For these companies, the fastest path to meeting corporate environmental goals is integrating EVs into their ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategies. 

<h2>ESG and electrification</h2>

ESG is often referred to as sustainability in a business context, but it’s also directly related to a company’s business model; that is, how its products and services contribute to sustainable development. It’s also about a company’s growth and risk management – as in how it manages its own operations to minimize negative impact.

As organizations adopt and embrace the global ESG push, EVs will play a key role. The speed, simplicity, and effectiveness of adopting EVs can be illustrated in the following examples. 

Imagine a mid-sized bakery that delivers bread in a city. The bakery might have several ICE delivery vans that bring baked goods and breads to restaurants and various customers, but it also wants to align with ESG goals it has set for itself. In the short term, the bakery might not have the ability to quickly reinvent a more sustainable way to make bread or the time to source sustainably farmed raw materials. But switching to an An EV-based fleet, which can be done relatively quickly, not only has an immediate benefit for their town’s air, but also almost instantly provides the bakery with a big checkmark in the ESG column, and gives them more time to evaluate better, more sustainable ways to produce their goods. 

Similarly, a giant international plastics company might not have the advanced engineering technologies to make plastics from renewable raw materials. But what it can do is offset its emission footprint by adopting the hundreds if not thousands of EVs it will use to deliver product across the globe. 

In almost every case, converting to EVs allows a company to say with conviction that “we are truly doing something big for sustainability,” without disrupting every component of their day-to-day operations.

<h2>Change is easy</h2>

The EV revolution is here, and this technology is only getting more powerful, efficient, and affordable. The sooner that you, the local bakery, and the large multi-national plastics maker begin to leverage this technology, the sooner you can start saving money, make your business more sustainable, and position yourself as an industry leader. Converting even a small percentage of ICE vehicles on the road today to a zero-emission powertrain can result in truly remarkable results for both your business and the planet.

Trusted EV experts can help organizations navigate the EV adoption journey by implementing implementation frameworks to both strategically and logistically prepare the organization for the electrification of its fleet and a sustainable tomorrow.

Guest articles reflect the opinions of the bylined authors and not necessarily those of TriplePundit’s editors and writers.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/2JvEjF0tf50">Andrew Roberts</a> via Unsplash

Fleet Electrification: Fostering Continued Growth Is More Important Than Ever

Whether or not the Omicron variant turns out to be as deadly as earlier iterations of the COVID-19 virus, it should send up red flags for stakeholders in the grocery store business. Frontline retail workers are <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/karens-retail-workers/120861" target="_blank">already stressed</a> by a never-ending stream of negative customer interactions related to pandemic safety, and Omicron is a reminder that the threat of a mental health crisis looms larger with every fresh wave of infection.

<h2>A closer look at mental health among grocery workers</h2>

Almost two years into the pandemic, the physical risk of COVID-19 transmission in retail stores and other indoor spaces is well understood. Far less measured is the impact on mental health, and a new study of grocery store workers in Arizona seeks to close the gap.

Authored by a team of public health, worker health and retail marketing researchers at the University of Arizona, the study was published last September in the academic journal <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00333549211045817" target="_blank">Public Health Reports</a> under the title, “Essential but Ill-Prepared: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects the <a href="https://theconversation.com/grocery-workers-suffer-the-mental-health-effects-of-customer-hostility-and-lack-of-safety-in-their-workplace-171664" target="_blank">Mental Health of the Grocery Store Workforce</a>.”

The study consists of an online survey completed by 3,344 grocery store workers in July 2020. The research team worked with United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 to solicit participation from the union’s 24,000 workers in Arizona. More than 90 percent of the respondents reported regular interaction with customers.

<h2>Workplace safety and mental health</h2>

The online format of the study may not convince skeptics, but the results strongly suggest that all retail stakeholders need to review and reinforce their COVID-19 safety protocols even as scientists learn more about the Omicron variant.

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In the Arizona survey, 20 percent of the respondents “exhibited signs of severe anxiety and depression” as the pandemic stretched into its first summer. The research team also notes that “for grocery workers, we found that the levels of anxiety and depression are more than twice the national average.”

The authors conclude that “the COVID-19 pandemic has placed grocery store workers on the front lines of essential services but left them largely ill-prepared to safely navigate their interactions with coworkers and customers, which greatly increases their risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2.”

They also observe that grocery workers tend to be economically disadvantaged, which amplifies the risks.

“Work environments that require frequent interactions with people outside one’s household, coupled with a lack of adequate support services, render this group vulnerable to negative physical and mental health consequences,” they explain.

<h2>Retail stakeholders can clean up their acts</h2>

The authors present two steps that grocery stores and other retail businesses can take to improve employee perceptions of their safety, leading to improved mental health outcomes.

One is to ramp up their workplace COVID-19 safety rules and enforce them, rather than relying on voluntary compliance.

“Both safety trainings and administrative controls increase employees’ perceptions of their employers’ commitment to their safety, which can motivate them to follow safety protocols and reduce transmission risks in the workplace,” the research team explains.

The second step, clearly necessary with the Omicron threat looming, is to ensure that all employees have access to COVID-19 vaccines, as a means of bolstering safety assurances.

<h2>Preparing for the Omicron variant</h2>

Both of these steps are fraught with challenges.

The <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/retailers-workers-vaccine/718486" target="_blank">COVID-19 vaccine</a> side of the solution should be simple, but it is not. Some employers did step up during <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/business-covid-19-vaccine/718616" target="_blank">the earliest months of vaccine availability</a> in 2021, but almost a year has passed and employers still need to proactively challenge misinformation, including politically charged ideology.

That is a very tall order. Even as the population of unvaccinated adults shrinks, the demographics of the unvaccinated have come into sharp focus. Reaching out to disadvantaged communities and people of color is only part of the solution.

As of May 2021, the Kaiser Family Foundation’s <a href="https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/poll-finding/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-profile-of-the-unvaccinated/" target="_blank">KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor</a> noted that “the unvaccinated group are younger, more likely to identify as Republicans or be Republican-leaning, and more likely to have lower levels of education and lower incomes than the vaccinated population.”

That survey occurred during the early months of vaccine availability. By late May, 62 percent of adults had been vaccinated. Younger adults had only just become eligible, which may have accounted for some of the age disparity.

In September, KFF noted that concern over the Delta variant was one of the factors motivating more unvaccinated adults to get vaccinated. Ethnic disparities in vaccination rates have also eased alongside concerted outreach efforts, but the political divide has sharpened.

As of late September, the KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor reported that 72 percent of adults had received at least one dose of a vaccine. Racial and ethnic disparities all but disappeared, but “large gaps in vaccine uptake remain by partisanship, education level, age, and health insurance status,” KFF noted.

If the Omicron variant does prove to be a lethal menace similar to that of Delta, employers should be prepared to encourage and assist more unvaccinated employees to get their shots.

<h2>Workplace safety and patriotic duty</h2>

Employers are beginning to recognize the impact of <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/post-covid-workspace/721716" target="_blank">COVID-19 safety concerns</a> on employee well-being. Many <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/covid-19-retailers/120976" target="_blank">took action in the early months of the outbreak</a>, even as former President Trump continued to downplay the impacts of the pandemic.

However, the workplace safety side of the solution is also complicated by the political divide over COVID-19 vaccination.

Even with clear protocols in place, employers and their workers must still deal with noisy, rude and all too often <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/retailers-politicians-wearing-masks/120896" target="_blank">violent backlash from customers</a> and clients who refuse to believe that COVID-19 is, in fact, a public health crisis.

Given the factors identified in the KFF survey, the prospects for toning down the backlash are slim. However, corporate leaders could make a difference, by exerting their financial muscle on elected officials who continue to thwart efforts to get the pandemic under control.

Public messaging could also make a difference. Vaccine refusers are singularly focused on their individual rights, regardless of the risk they pose to others — even to members of their own families. In consideration of the political divide over vaccination, corporate leaders could position their brands behind public health messaging that focuses on the common welfare as a patriotic goal. That could help diffuse and redirect the emotional underpinnings of vaccine refusal, at least to the extent they are rooted in politics.

The appeal to patriotism may not motivate hard core refusers to get their shots, but it would add some much-needed clarity to the debate over vaccine mandates. After all, the U.S. Department of Defense requires a long list of vaccines for active duty troops as well as for Reserves and National Guard, and that list that now includes COVID-19.

Given the cascade of supply chain crises linked to the pandemic, COVID-19 prevention really is a matter of national security. Any adult American shopper should be willing to rally around that flag.

Image credit via <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/GVSnfgZet54" target="_blank">Philippe Beliveau</a>/Unsplash

As Omicron Rises, Frontline Workers Face New Risks

The economic data suggests that this holiday season <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/consumers-spending-less-this-holiday-season-retailers-are-still-raking-billions-1654204" target="_blank">is a mixed bag</a> for companies so far, but for countless U.S. families, the bag, or should we say cupboards, are empty. Food banks from <a href="https://apnews.com/article/food-banks-hunger-inflation-a3d8f4ed0c4842fc3927710f11207c9e" target="_blank">Oakland</a> to <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/espanol/el-sentinel-in-english/os-ex-english-food-banks-increase-central-florida-20211101-44slpzgyjzahzcgkqvrbhh4s3a-story.html" target="_blank">Orlando</a> to <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2021/11/30/philadelphia-food-banks-demand-inflation-supply-chain" target="_blank">Philadelphia</a> are <a href="https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/11/29/orange-county-food-bank-in-need-of-donations-as-need-for-food-doubles-pre-pandemic-numbers/" target="_blank">struggling</a> to keep up with demand. Their employees and volunteers face an uphill climb as surging food prices and ever-present supply chain snags are making it more complicated for them to help families still trying to get back on their feet while the pandemic still lingers. 

Little relief is in sight, though <a href="https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/giving-tuesday-is-super-bowl-for-atlanta-community-food-bank" target="_blank">this week’s Giving Tuesday</a> has offered a lift to some food banks. But overall, that's a blip in assistance, not a spike.

Companies that want to assist but are in need of ideas on how they can help can take notes from this northern California tech company.

San Francisco-based <a href="https://www.afresh.com/" target="_blank">Afresh</a> operates a platform that harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to help grocery retailers run their fresh food supply chains run more efficiently. If deployed successfully, Afresh’s AI can help grocers reduce their losses from perishables that end up spoiling; and in turn, the technology can help keep food out of landfills, saving money for retailers and companies alike.

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Now, the four-year-old company seeks to pay it forward. Afresh and its employees recently adopted a Bay Area food bank. Going beyond cash donations, the company has also pledged to help the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank with volunteers once a week. Afresh employees volunteering their time will allow the food bank’s staff to deploy other volunteers to other food banks and pantries that are struggling with boots on the ground as they meet increased demand.

“We can’t run our local food pantries or provide our vital services like home-delivered groceries without volunteers. The pandemic caused not only a huge increase in need but also a shortage of volunteers,” said Katy Mann McKnight, Director of Community Engagement at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, in an emailed statement to TriplePundit. “We are so grateful to Matt Schwartz [the company's CEO] and the Afresh team for being the first company to adopt a food pantry and provide us with the ability to focus our efforts on other locations and programs. We hope this partnership will inspire other companies to do the same.”

The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank <a href="https://www.sfmfoodbank.org/about/" target="_blank">currently distributes</a> about 1.3 million meals a week to 52,000 households – 20,000 more than before the pandemic. As with other food banks that serve <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/delta-variant-food-banks/727406" target="_blank">regions with a high cost of living</a>, such organizations won’t see a reduction in demand anytime soon as many families cope with accumulated back rent and mortgages. 

As is the case across much of the U.S., California’s re-opening this past summer masked continuing problems. While some people have been moderately or untouched by pandemic’s economic impacts, food banks are clearly facing continuing support needs by a larger number of people who are still harder-hit than before last year’s COVID-19 shutdown. Continuing that high level of financial and logistical support is essential for effective food bank operations and crucial for supporting the large numbers of local food-insecure families across the country.

Image credit via San Francisco-Marin Food Bank <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/91r8poy2ht6np3m/AABPfbbpwJGgiRbwavNkOdLva?dl=0" target="_blank">press room</a>

Food Banks Are Struggling to Meet Demand: Here’s How One Company is Stepping Up

It’s difficult to fathom, but <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/sanitation/index.html" target="_blank">roughly 2 billion people</a> around the world don’t have access to basic sanitation, including toilets and wastewater systems. <a href="https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/global-sanitation-crisis/" target="_blank">According to Water.org</a>, “More people have a mobile phone than a toilet.”

The <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" target="_blank">U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> lay out an actionable agenda for improving the equity and sustainability of our systems. Ensuring <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal6" target="_blank">universal access</a> to water and sanitation, <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/" target="_blank">ending poverty</a>, <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal13" target="_blank">tackling climate change</a>, and <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5" target="_blank">achieving gender equality</a> are central to this agenda. 

With less than a decade left to achieve the SDGs — and <a href="https://www.iisd.org/articles/sdg-setback-tremendous-covid-19-accelerates-slide" target="_blank">setbacks related to the coronavirus pandemic</a> threatening to derail progress — it’s past time to take concerted, strategic action to push forward on key equity issues. 
<figure role="group"><img alt="South African school children use outdoor hand washing station" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="4d6f3ede-40fd-41a6-ad2c-76a28b46ee6e" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/South%20African%20school%20children%20use%20outdoor%20handwashing%20station.png" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>WaterAid, Tsogang Water and Sanitation, and Kimberly-Clark are working together to install clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) facilities at or near schools across South Africa. Here, schoolchildren use outdoor handwashing facilities at Ramauba Secondary School in the northwest part of the country. (Credit: WaterAid/Eben Liebenberg)</figcaption></figure><h2>Putting humanity at the center of product design offers an opportunity for businesses to create long-term, sustainable change </h2>

As we look ahead, businesses have a clear role to play in helping to address these SDGs, specifically in the way products are designed, with a focus on affordability, accessibility, availability, and acceptability for a diverse array of people at every socioeconomic level in our society. 

Product development traditionally focuses on what consumers need, what the business requires to meet its standards and generate a profit, and what’s possible through science and technology. This approach delivers consumer-centric innovation (at least to those who can afford it), with quality products that meet shoppers’ needs. But what if product designers and innovators considered the needs of all of humanity? What if businesses solved the biggest problems facing humanity in an economically viable way?

As the chief scientist and technical vice president at Kimberly-Clark, it’s my job to figure out what’s next for the company and how we can continue to develop products that provide better care for a better world. I am proud that we make essential products like children’s diapers, menstrual pads and tampons, and incontinence products that overcome social stigma, alleviate embarrassment, and give people greater control of their lives. 

At Kimberly-Clark, we’re on a mission to <a href="https://www.kimberly-clark.com/en-us/esg/2030-ambition" target="_blank">advance the well-being of 1 billion people</a> in underserved communities around the globe by 2030 with the smallest environmental footprint possible. We’ll only accomplish that by inspiring diverse, inclusive, empowered, passionate people — inside our company and beyond. 

That ambition may seem far-fetched to some, but to change the world, we first need to change our minds. We all have the potential to become billionaires if we stop defining a billionaire as someone who accumulates a billion dollars and start defining it as someone who helps a billion people.   

And I believe <a href="https://www.3blmedia.com/news/who-wants-be-billionaire" target="_blank">we can all become billionaires</a> through “humanity-centric innovation.” This is about solving the biggest problems for humanity in an economically viable way. It’s about moving our businesses from being consumer-centric or even human-centric enterprises to focusing on the greatest needs of humanity and solving these problems to benefit every single person, and ultimately every living thing on Earth for generations to come.  

<h2>Embrace a breakthrough mindset</h2>

We need a breakthrough mindset to make this happen. Breakthroughs come about by asking: What is impossible today, but if it could be done, it would fundamentally change our lives for the better?

A great example of where all of this could come together is in a menstrual pad or a roll of toilet paper. Imagine a world where a used product is worth more than a new product. Imagine if we could access the bio-data and bio-materials in these products with a high degree of data security and bio-ethics. What could it tell us about human health and wellness, and how could that data improve the lives of people all around the world? 

Imagine if your toilet paper could tell you if you had the onset of colon cancer, or if a panty liner could send a signal to a smartphone with information about ovulation, pregnancy, a urinary tract infection or a sexually transmitted disease. 

If a used product is worth more than a new product, products could be given away for free. Anyone needing period products would have access to them so they could go to school, be empowered, realize their potential, and help us to achieve gender equality.

Now, imagine if the products were not only free, but if they could also generate income for their users who could choose to sell their bio-data or bio-materials to pharmaceutical companies to cure diseases. Or what if this data and these materials could provide a source of donations to advance medical science and improve human health? Ultimately, if a used product is worth more than a new product, there is greater incentive to recycle, which fuels the circular economy and helps reverse global warming.

This type of humanity-centric innovation will help us apply exponential technologies and new business models to ordinary products to solve problems like ending poverty, improving human health, mitigating climate change, and achieving gender equality.  
<figure role="group"><img alt="Demonstrating Proper Handwashing in South Africa - Increase Access to Hygiene Through Humanity-Centric Innovation" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="48f75c83-36a6-4fe8-80af-1e604c467fa4" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Demonstrating%20Proper%20Handwashing%20in%20South%20Africa%20-%20Increase%20Access%20to%20Hygiene%20Through%20Humanity-Centric%20Innovation.png" width="1000" height="670" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>Mrs Ratshisevhe NC, a senior educator who is responsible for sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health at Ligege Secondary School in South Africa, teaches good handwashing practices at the school's new handwashing station. (Credit: WaterAid/Eben Liebenberg)</figcaption></figure><h2>Explore new solutions that expand access to sanitation and empower women and girls </h2>

While many of the product innovations I mentioned above are not possible today, there is still a critical role for businesses to play in thinking differently about how they can help to address some of the world’s most critical challenges and push new solutions forward. As an example, Kimberly-Clark recently came together with our foundation, our Kotex brand and the nonprofit <a href="https://www.toiletboard.org/" target="_blank">Toilet Board Coalition</a> to create the Women in the Sanitation Economy <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/women-entrepreneurs-sanitation/728901" target="_blank">Innovation Lab</a>. 

Launched in 2020, this targeted incubator aims to cultivate and catalyze women-led, early-stage businesses within the sanitation economy. What’s really different about the Innovation Lab is it empowers women entrepreneurs to solve sanitation challenges in their own communities — where they are the true experts — while engaging Kimberly-Clark mentors in a way that shows our teams how important this work is and how it impacts people. It also provides our employees with a way to use their talents and skillsets to help lift others up.

This work builds on our <a href="https://www.news.kimberly-clark.com/2021-11-16-Kimberly-Clark-and-its-Toilets-Change-Lives-Program-Brings-Clean-Water-and-Sanitation-Solutions-to-7-Million-People-Across-15-Countries" target="_blank">Toilets Change Lives</a> program that we launched in 2014 in partnership with Water For People, WaterAid and Plan International in response to the global sanitation crisis.

<h2>Find synergy between your personal purpose and your work</h2>

When I think about these big societal issues like ending poverty, tackling climate change, achieving gender equality, and providing access to clean water and sanitation, I always think about my own personal accountability to take action, and why it’s up to each one of us to commit to making lives better. 

About 24 years ago, I learned my wife was pregnant with our first child, and I started reflecting on what I had accomplished in life, what I had not accomplished yet, and what I wanted my legacy to be. I then crafted my personal purpose statement, which has been my North Star ever since. My personal purpose is to help create businesses that improve people’s lives, and to help raise children who live a life fulfilled. 

I’m fortunate that my personal purpose is in complete harmony with Kimberly-Clark’s purpose of Better Care for a Better World — and finding ways to fulfill my own purpose while delivering on my company’s both drives and inspires me. 

It is time for each of us to stop thinking of ourselves as employees of institutions and to ask how we motivate our institutions to work for us to make the world a better place. In the 20th century, institutions hired individuals. I predict that in the 21st century, individuals will hire institutions to enable humanity-centric innovation, fulfill personal purposes, and make us all billionaires. 

So, what’s your personal purpose? What’s your moonshot? I truly believe if you dream it and believe it, you can achieve it. Just remember, if you don’t paint your masterpiece then it won’t get painted. No one can paint it but you!

This article series is sponsored by Kimberly-Clark and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image credits: Water F

or People/Grover Quiroga and WaterAid/Eben Liebenberg

Making Lives Better Through Humanity-Centric Innovation

The transportation sector is the single largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States, <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions#industry" target="_blank">according to the EPA</a>, having dislodged electricity generation from the top spot in 2017. It will likely remain the chief emissions offender too, because while GHGs from electricity generation have fallen compared with 1990 levels, emissions from transportation activity are still edging upward.  

As this trend continues, sharper focus will fall on the need for emissions reductions from the transportation sector. Though total transportation emissions also include those from planes, trains and ships, over half of the sector’s emissions come from road vehicles alone. 

Of that portion, medium- to heavy-duty trucks have the most impact, contributing a full 20 percent of road transportation emissions while representing just 5 percent of all registered vehicles. Decarbonize these, and substantial GHG reductions can be realized. 

Happily, momentum is building to make this happen, spurred on by various cities, states, the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/22/fact-sheet-biden-administration-advances-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure/" target="_blank">U.S. federal government</a> and the business community. 

<h2>Decarbonizing corporate fleets is a key tool to reduce global emissions</h2>

Black &amp; Veatch, a leader in clean energy, engineering and transportation infrastructure, <a href="https://www.bv.com/resources/2021-corporate-sustainability-goal-setting-and-measurement-report?utm_medium=partner&amp;utm_source=association&amp;utm_campaign=decarbonization&amp;utm_content=triplepundit" target="_blank">surveyed executives at 420 Fortune 1,000 companies</a>, and 89 percent of them said reducing GHG emissions is an organizational goal. Over half (53 percent) also indicated that electrifying their vehicle fleets is a primary strategy to cut emissions. 

Augmenting that effort is <a href="https://nj.gov/governor/news/news/562020/approved/20200714a.shtml" target="_blank">pressure from state governments</a> that are making zero emissions vehicles (ZEV) mandatory at some point on the horizon. But while the signposting toward cleaner transportation seems clear, fleet decarbonization will not happen overnight. 

“To convert a fleet to zero emissions by 2030 or 2040 would be considered an aggressive goal,” said Maryline Daviaud Lewett, director of business development for transformative technologies at Black &amp; Veatch. “It takes five to 10 years to convert a medium to large size fleet, so to reach a 2030 goal, you need to start now.” 

Even starting today, fleet managers have much to consider, not least of which is figuring out which zero-emission technology will best fit their operation. 

Unlike the passenger vehicle market, where electric vehicles (EVs) have been on sale for around a decade with choices growing robustly each year, zero-emission fleet transportation vehicles are really just beginning to emerge. As the technology in this space evolves, hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will come into their own alongside battery EVs, because for some classes of vehicle, fuel cells will be more suitable.  

<h2>EVs or hydrogen fuel cells? What works best and where</h2>

In general, EV power trains work best in predictable environments where temperate climates prevail, as those systems excel over shorter range hauls with flatter terrain. They’re also better suited for lighter weight vehicles, up to Class 6 — which, for context, includes single-axle trucks and school buses.

Conversely, FCEVs are advantageous for longer range cycles, performing better in colder climates and in circumstances where repeatedly negotiating steep grades with heavy payloads is expected. Class 8 trucks — think: large semi-trailer trucks — would be ideally suited to FCEV power trains. 

There are further considerations fleet managers must consider, though, even once they figure out which zero-emission vehicle platform will likely work best. As things stand today, they face a zero-emission fleet market still in its infancy, with commensurate limitations. 

<h2>Scaling zero-emission fleets in an emerging market</h2>

For the moment, EV technology is further along. There is a higher degree of standardization in charging infrastructure, for example, along with increasing vehicle choice either available now or in the near-term pipeline. 

There’s a lot of business interest in EVs, too. For example, Amazon has <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/27/rivian-electric-vehicle-maker-backed-by-amazon-files-for-ipo.html" target="_blank">invested in the EV company Rivian</a> and committed to purchase 100,000 electric delivery trucks from the startup. In addition, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/03/17/976152350/from-amazon-to-fedex-the-delivery-truck-is-going-electric" target="_blank">the major international logistics companies</a>, Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL and even the U.S. Postal Service, have all made commitments to introduce electric trucks for their “last-mile” deliveries.

Even Class 8 vehicles can be fully electric on predictable short-range routes. Via a public-private partnership, the <a href="https://www.act-news.com/news/act-expo-2021-north-americas-largest-deployment-of-class-8-battery-electric-trucks/" target="_blank">Joint Electric Truck Scaling Initiative</a> announced in August will deploy 100 fully-electric Class 8 trucks made by Daimler and Volvo. These will serve the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles in California, connecting them with nearby distribution centers. The project is slated to displace 690,000 gallons of diesel fuel a year, while reducing pollution in the disadvantaged communities those routes traverse.  

But while EVs forge ahead, “hydrogen is a bit behind regarding the technology adoption rate in the US,” Daviaud Lewett told TriplePundit. “Things are not standardized, and the infrastructure is expensive.” Progress is nonetheless being made in the FCEV space. 

Black &amp; Veatch has built 18 hydrogen stations in California, where the nation’s hydrogen filling stations tend to be concentrated. Yet for FCEVs to gain traction and become an important part of the zero-emission fleet, the U.S. needs more fueling stations as well as reliable hydrogen supplies in distributed locations, ideally green hydrogen. 

<h2>The road forward for hydrogen fuel cells</h2>

Sourcing hydrogen itself is a tough nut to crack, with a carbon footprint of its own to consider. Most hydrogen produced today is derived from natural gas, with <a href="https://afdc.energy.gov/fuels/hydrogen_production.html" target="_blank">production centralized in just three key U.S. states</a>. Additionally, since natural gas is mostly methane, which is itself a greenhouse gas, only if it involves carbon-capture can it be seen as a suitable bridge fuel known as “blue hydrogen.” The most promising source, however, is green hydrogen. 

Green hydrogen is derived from the electrolysis of water: the process of splitting off hydrogen atoms from H20 in an electrolyzer. Though energy intensive, if done with 100-percent renewables, the process would result in zero-carbon emissions. Ultimately, site level electrolyzers are foreseeable, reducing the current reliance on centralized sources. 

There are several pilot programs running for renewable hydrogen around the world, but as a reference, even conventionally sourced hydrogen <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-natural-gas-reforming" target="_blank">cuts emissions in half</a> compared with the diesel and gasoline it replaces in FCEVs, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. 

Beyond solving for hydrogen sources, FCEVs face another fundamental challenge: There are no large truck fleets currently on the market. <a href="https://www.octa.net/Bus/Hydrogen-Fuel-Cell-Electric-Bus/Overview/" target="_blank">FCEV buses are just now coming into the mix</a>, which will help with moving people, and Daviaud Lewett predicts truck fleets could follow in about three to four years’ time.

<h2>The bottom line: Decarbonizing fleets is challenging, but it’s more than doable</h2>

In short, there are a lot of moving pieces involved in decarbonizing fleet vehicles in a young and still evolving market. Fleet operators who want to make the switch have to plan carefully to select the right technology and the right vehicles while considering infrastructure needs, especially if they want to bring EV charging or hydrogen filling stations on site. For fleet EV charging, it can take up to 18 to 24 months to build out the onsite charging infrastructure, including getting the requisite power supply from local utilities. But it will likely be increasingly advantageous to make the effort.

The bottom line, Daviaud Lewett told us, is “the total cost of ownership of a zero-emission fleet is already competitive with conventional fleets.” But since there are greater upfront costs, government investment can spur things along. “Where there are subsidies and grants available, things are moving fast,” she said. 

It’s also encouraging to note also that major oil and international energy companies are getting involved in the zero-emission fleet vehicle space, which brings a final thought: If incumbent energy companies are prepared to invest in technology that allows for the decarbonization of fleets, there is promise in the possibility that the world can transition from the legacy technology of the internal combustion engine to a zero-emission fleet future.

This article series is sponsored by Black &amp; Veatch and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team. 

Image credit: Daimler (<a href="https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaSite/en/instance/ko/Electric-vehicles-from-Daimler-Trucks--Buses-prove-their-capabilities-in-customer-use-worldwide-more-than-7-million-kilometers-driven.xhtml?oid=47398028" target="_blank">press use only</a>)

Zero-Emission Corporate Fleets May Be Closer Than You Think

One obstacle standing between electric vehicles (EVs) and the commercial market is the length of time it takes to recharge the battery. However, EV charging times have been steadily shrinking as the technology improves, and a new chip from the firm Navitas Semiconductor could kick the fast-charging trend into high gear.

<h2>EV charging and the disappearing gas station</h2>

Charging time is not an issue for fleets that can park when not in use at privately-owned garages, lots and depots. The time issue mainly applies to fleets that need to rely on public charging stations. A long EV charging time can easily add an unwelcome layer of complexity onto scheduling and route planning.

Fortunately, concern over access to public charging station is beginning to fade. Improvements in battery range enable new EVs to stay on the road longer without recharging, and today’s electric vehicles can charge faster. A sharp, ongoing increase in the number of public charging stations also makes it easier for fleet vehicles to recharge on-the-go.

In fact, public EV charging stations are rapidly becoming more available than gas stations. That is especially evident in urban areas, where “gas deserts” are occurring as real estate trends push local pumping stations out of city centers.

Analysts at The Rocky Mountain Institute argue that the gasoline gap can be <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/ride-hailing-services-evs/718341" target="_blank">can be filled</a> by EV charging stations. They suggest that automakers, ride-hailing companies and other electric vehicle stakeholders work to ensure that charging stations are built in urban low-income communities.

Consolidation in the gas stations sector has also had <a href="https://cleantechnica.com/2021/11/15/more-ev-charging-stations-than-gas-stations-then-what/" target="_blank">an impact on gas availability</a> outside of cities, forcing drivers to travel farther in search of fuel. As the 20th century drew to a close there were about 200,000 gas stations in the U.S. Now there are only 150,000, many of which are co-located with convenience stores.

The co-location strategy has been a lifeline for the remaining gas stations, but it requires more land, limiting site selection for new locations.

In addition, the convenience factor is not exclusive to gas stations. EV charging creates many more opportunities for adding convenience to daily routines. For example, Ikea <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2013/ikea-doubles-down-ev-charging-stations-retail-stores/50556" target="_blank">was an early adopter</a> of EV charging for shoppers, and the U.S. Department of Energy has been working with numerous corporations to add <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/how-workplace-ev-charging-and-electrified-corporate-fleets-can-become-even-cleaner/85181" target="_blank">workplace charging stations</a>. Drivers with home charging stations can also enjoy the convenience, comfort and safety of refueling at home, rather than detouring to a gas station. 

<h2>The rise of EV fast-charging</h2>

Corporations seeking to burnish their sustainability credentials are <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/coalition-electric-vehicles/120836" target="_blank">especially interested</a> in growing the nationwide EV charging network. From a logistics and operational point of view, the only remaining obstacle is charging time. Despite recent improvements in fast-charging technology, there is still a wide gap between the time it takes to recharge EV batteries when compared to filling up a gas tank.

That is about to change with a new generation of technology improvements. One example is <a href="https://navitassemi.com/navitas-semiconductor-honored-at-ces-2022-innovation-awards/" target="_blank">Navitas Semiconductor</a>. The company recently introduced a new iteration of its power-integrated circuit used in mobile charging, from hand-held devices to electric vehicles.

Navitas is marketing the award-winning chip under the name GaNFast. Instead of the conventional silicon-based formula, GaNFast is based on gallium nitride, a crystalline material known for superior switching speed and conductivity performance.

“GaNFast integrated power ICs use next-generation GaN to replace legacy silicon chips and enable up to 3x faster charging and 3x more power in half the size and weight for mobile fast chargers, consumer electronics, solar inverters, data centers and electric vehicles,” Navitas states.

A companion technology, GaNSense, is designed to build even more efficiency into the fast-charging system.

<h2>From smart phones to electric vehicles</h2>

Though the impact on charging times for electric vehicles has yet to be demonstrated, Navitas has documented the performance of the GaN platform on small handheld devices. The company claims that its “ultrafast” charger using GaNSense can take a smartphone with a powerful 4,500 mAhr battery from zero to 100 percent charged in just 17 minutes.

Meanwhile, it looks like fleet managers will soon be able to trim their calculations for charging times at public EV charging stations.

Tesla has been grabbing media attention with its “Supercharger” network of fast-charging stations, but activity has also been bubbling up outside of the spotlight.

In one especially interesting development that has an impact on EV charging times, the Department of Energy notes that the level of power available at <a href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1210-november-1-2021-sixty-percent-electric-vehicle-dc-fast-charging" target="_blank">DC fast-charging ports</a> has increased dramatically. Earlier DC (direct current) ports were capped at 50 kilowatts. Now they routinely exceed that mark, which some reaching as high as 350 kilowatts in the U.S.

Legacy engineering firms are also contributing to the trend. The global company ABB, for example, is behind the increase in 350-kilowatt charging stations in the U.S., and it recently launched its <a href="https://new.abb.com/ev-charging/terra-360" target="_blank">“Terra 360” charging station</a> with 360 kilowatts of power.

ABB introduced the new EV charging station in Europe and reportedly plans on bringing it to the U.S., so the Department of Energy may have to revise its DC charging port figures again.

According to ABB, the new charging station can provide up to four electric vehicles with a full charge in less than 15 minutes.

For those topping off a battery, the charging time is even more attractive. ABB claims that the new station will add 100 kilometers of travel (about 62 miles) in less than three minutes of charging.

The new station is designed for commercial fleets as well as workplace or customer charging.

As gas stations continue to disappear, fleet managers have all the more incentive to begin planning their operations around electric vehicles and charging stations.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/O63S96_qn8c" target="_blank">Michael Fousert</a> via Unsplash

Faster EV Charging: Yet Another Reason to Convert Your Fleet to Electric Vehicles

With online shopping carts already brimming with Cyber Week deals, 2021 is poised to be a record holiday spending season, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/articles/us164630_2021-holiday-retail-survey/DI_2021-Deloitte-holiday-retail-survey.pdf" target="_blank">retail survey</a>, which polls U.S. consumers and executives heading into the retail sector’s most important months. But as American families continue to grapple with the effects of the pandemic and worsening inflation, the season will be brighter for some than others. 

More than 11 percent of respondents, mostly from low-income households, don’t plan to spend anything at all this holiday season. That’s double the rate Deloitte recorded in 2020 and the highest it’s seen in a decade. Meanwhile, high-income households have seen their holiday spending power increase, another stark reminder of how the pandemic and related economic disruptions have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/23/coronavirus-is-exacerbating-economic-inequality-in-the-us.html" target="_blank">worsened inequality in the U.S.</a> and <a href="https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/covid-19-increasing-global-inequality" target="_blank">globally</a>. 

“Perhaps the most sobering fact about the holiday shopping season is that low-income groups continue to suffer,” Oleksandr Yampolskyi, director of retail and wholesale group leader at Deloitte Ukraine, said of the findings <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/ua/en/pages/press-room/press-release/2021/holiday-retail-sales-consumer-survey-2021.html" target="_blank">in a statement</a>. “Their average holiday spending has decreased almost twofold in the last two years.”

<h2>“Layaway angels” help make seasons bright</h2>

<a href="https://www.payawaythelayaway.org/about-us" target="_blank">Pay Away the Layaway</a>, a nonprofit that pays off layaway balances for children’s gifts, clothing and necessities during back-to-school season and the holidays, is once again looking to ensure that every child has something to smile about this season, regardless of their background. 

2020 was one of Pay Away the Layaway’s “biggest years ever” as donors rallied behind families struggling amidst the pandemic, founder Lee Karchawer <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/layaway-angels-during-pandemic-220420178.html" target="_blank">told Yahoo Life last year</a>. The organization calls its supporters “layaway angels” — a term that includes individuals who make small donations online, high-profile donors like television personality <a href="https://publicaffairs-sme.com/ExchangePost/2020/12/23/exchange-shoppers-holiday-wishes-come-true-with-more-than-66000-in-layaways-paid-in-full/" target="_blank">Montel Williams</a> and Dallas Mavericks center <a href="https://www.mavs.com/payaway2020/" target="_blank">Dwight Powell</a> who step up to clear hundreds of layaway balances at a time, and corporate donors that leverage their networks to benefit the nonprofit. 

T-Mobile is one of the backers looking to make 2021 another banner year for the organization. Every year, the mobile company rallies its employees, customers and fans to support an outstanding nonprofit in a campaign it fittingly calls <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/news/campaign/season-of-giving-2021" target="_blank">Season of Giving</a>. Past beneficiaries include <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/news/press/giving-tuesday-2018" target="_blank">Feeding America</a> and <a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/t-mobile-giving-tuesday-2017/" target="_blank">Team Rubicon</a>, and this year T-Mobile is brightening the holiday season for hundreds of families with Pay Away the Layaway. 

“We chose Pay Away the Layaway because we understand how much of a financial strain the pandemic has put on families,” the company told TriplePundit in an email. “This year Americans are anticipated to experience the greatest insecurity toward holiday spending in the last decade. Pay Away the Layaway is an amazing organization working to make a difference for families in need by paying off their layaway balances that include gifts for their children, such as games, toys, books, backpacks, clothes and coats.” 

T-Mobile will donate up to $1 million to Pay Away the Layaway, including a $250,000 initial donation to pay off layaway balances at military exchanges and Burlington Stores on <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/news/campaign/season-of-giving-2021" target="_blank">Giving Tuesday (Nov. 30)</a>. T-Mobile customers can support the campaign through click-to-give on the T-Mobile Tuesdays app, triggering a $1 donation for each click up to $300,000, and anyone can contribute $5 to the campaign by re-tweeting the brand handle’s <a href="https://twitter.com/TMobile/status/1465606640120606726?s=20" target="_blank">#TMobileGivesBack</a> post, up to $200,000. 

The campaign, which runs from Nov. 30 through Dec. 14, is also an annual favorite among T-Mobile employees. “Employees across the country [are] fired-up to make a difference,” the company told 3p. “They are passionate about and support their local communities.”

Each T-Mobile employee gets $20 to give to their chosen charity each year through Benevity, and the company is also matching employees’ personal contributions to Pay Away the Layaway up to $250,000. Employees can also volunteer for their favorite local nonprofits to benefit Pay Away the Layaway, with T-Mobile matching employee volunteer time with $10 in charitable contributions per hour, up to $2,000 a year. 

“Our Season of Giving is all about coming together during a time of year that should be joyous, but is often challenging for far too many families …. and we want to make a difference for those who may need a little help,” Janice V. Kapner, T-Mobile chief communications and brand officer, told 3p. “We want it to be easy for everyone to help give back, so just one click or tweet can really make a difference. It’s community supporting community – and we hope everyone will join us!”

<h2>Setting the stage for more engagement </h2>

Will a paid layaway balance solve the persistent challenges of wealth and income inequality in the U.S.? Of course not. But it can make the season a bit more special for a child in need, and that’s a victory in itself — not to mention a compelling conversation-starter when it comes to helping people think differently about what their neighbors may be facing in these still highly uncertain times. 

“We're grateful and thrilled to spread joy alongside T-Mobile this holiday season,” Pay Away the Layaway founder Lee Karchawer told 3p. “Knowing we will make thousands more children smile this year with T-Mobile's support is a dream come true. This partnership will change lives like we've never been able to before, all in the name of creating a kinder, gentler world.”

For T-Mobile, this season of generosity complements year-round efforts to build more equitable systems in response to the pandemic — including <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/business-digital-divide-education/729196" target="_blank">Project 10 Million</a>, an investment of more than $10.7 billion to provide free internet and free mobile hotspots for underserved children in partnership with school districts.

As a values-driven company — as highlighted in its most recent <a href="https://www.t-mobile.com/content/dam/t-mobile/assets/pdf/T-Mobile_CSR20_10921.pdf" target="_blank">Corporate Responsibility Report</a> — T-Mobile says it is committed to doing good this (and every season), which means not only doing right by its customers, but also others of those in need.

This article series is sponsored by T-Mobile and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team.

Image courtesy of Pay Away the Layaway

This Campaign Looks to Brighten the Holiday Season for Families Still Struggling Amidst the Pandemic

The UN climate summit in Glasgow may be over, but the debate over next steps has only just begun. As world leaders consider where to go from here, it’s important to remember that action, not commitments, will ultimately determine the success or failure of our global climate strategy — a strategy that requires the engagement of not only national governments, but companies and individuals as well.

The private sector has shown it can be a powerful engine for change but it’s the passion and ingenuity of the corporate workforce that keeps that engine humming. And therein lies the rub, for many companies have struggled to keep employees engaged — a task now further complicated by the pandemic. More than a year of isolation has left people feeling more disconnected from their employers and their sustainability work. And Zoom happy hours, while quite nice, aren’t going to bridge the gap.

Employee engagement is not a novel concept. For decades, companies have seen it as a valuable tool for securing and retaining talent, increasing productivity and improving their bottom line. Now, amid the public’s rising concerns about climate change and other environmental issues, employee engagement has also become an essential tool for implementing corporate sustainability strategies.

The good news is people want to be part of the solution. A <a href="https://www.earthshare.org/earthshare-white-paper-the-new-business-imperative/" target="_blank">2019 survey of the Fortune 1000</a> found that half of employees wanted to see environmental protection and other worthy causes somehow reflected in their job responsibilities. And yet, the same survey also found that only a quarter of employees actually felt that their company’s stated commitments were connected in any way with their day-to-day work.

Employees are rightfully demanding more transparency and accountability from their employers, and when they don’t feel they’re getting it, they’re increasingly embracing activist tactics. In recent years we’ve seen several high-profile examples of employee activism in the technology, apparel and consulting sectors — cautionary tales for any company that wishes to avoid similar conflicts.

The pressure for companies to step up their game is unlikely to abate any time soon. Today, Generation Y makes up the largest portion of the U.S. labor force, and 70 percent of them expect their employers to take an active role in addressing issues like climate change and social justice. Moreover, Generation Z, which is just now entering the job market, is more racially diverse and better educated than previous generations, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/05/14/on-the-cusp-of-adulthood-and-facing-an-uncertain-future-what-we-know-about-gen-z-so-far-2/" target="_blank">shares many of Generation Y’s positions on environmental and social issues</a>.

Young Americans want their employer to be an agent of change, not a barrier to it. But business leaders need to offer more than lip service to prove their bona fides, they need to foster a culture of environmental stewardship — at every level of their institution.

At World Wildlife Fund (WWF) we identified three pillars upon which companies can build an effective employee engagement program. First, equip employees with the information they need to understand sustainability issues — how they impact their business as well as their daily lives. Second, provide meaningful ways employees can put this information into action — at work and at home. And third, incorporate philanthropy — both employee giving and corporate funding — to maximize the employees’ impact and incentivize participation through creative match and grant programs.

It’s not just about dollars. Employees can give, volunteer or lend their voices to the growing chorus of people calling for change. The important thing is they feel connected to the work and empowered to be a part of the solution.

Deloitte is one corporate partner laying the path for this employee journey. As part of its strategy to reach net-zero by 2030, Deloitte has set out <a href="http://www.deloitte.com/worldclimate" target="_blank">to drive responsible climate choices within its organization and beyond</a>. WWF worked with Deloitte to develop a <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/climate-impact-assessment.html?nc=1" target="_blank">climate impact assessment</a> to help people learn more about the impact of the food they consume, the products they purchase, and the way they travel. Employees can determine their climate impact and, more importantly, unlock positive climate actions they can take today to live more sustainably.

When employees are given the big picture and are able to see their company’s role in it, they then become empowered to carve out a meaningful role for themselves. And by bringing employees into the fold and acknowledging them as key stakeholders in corporate sustainability efforts, companies can spur exactly the kind of productivity and innovation needed to drive large-scale, transformational change.

So, there you have it. Even in these uncertain times, millions of employees across America are eager to roll up their sleeves and get to work. They have the will. Who will show them the way?

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/lSegRSDBMLw" target="_blank">Tim Foster</a> via Unsplash

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We report the business case for sustainability.

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