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☆ Why Mark Cuban called 'B.S.' on a 'Shark Tank' company that was on track to bring in $14 million last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Like Cabinet Health, Cuban's company Cost Plus Drugs offers generic drugs at a fraction of the cost charged by major pharmaceutical companies. Cuban put those instincts to work on Friday's episode of ABC's " Shark Tank ," when the billionaire told sustainable wellness company Cabinet Health's founders he was suspicious of their lack of profit. Cabinet Health, which launched in October 2019, wants to reduce and eventually eliminate single-use plastics in medicine. The co-founders entered negotiations seeking $500,000 for a 2.5% stake in Cabinet Health, which would value the company at $20 million. He offered $500,000 for 10% of Cabinet Health, which would value the company at $5 million.

☆ Investors sit on a plastic waste ticking bomb
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Lisa Jucca | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

In the United States 73% of plastic waste ends up in landfills, where it takes up to 500 years to decompose. Using recycled plastic, while less energy-intensive than creating virgin plastic, can cost more overall. In March, 175 governments agreed to work out binding laws to end plastic pollution by end-2024. Reuters GraphicsFollow @LJucca on TwitterloadingCONTEXT NEWSRepresentatives of 175 countries endorsed in March a landmark resolution to develop international legally binding instruments to end plastic pollution. In 2008 the Netherlands introduced a packaging waste management levy.

☆ Walmart bans single-use bags in more stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —Walmart will eliminate single-use paper and plastic carryout bags at the register from stores in New York, Connecticut and Colorado this month. The company previously stopped giving out single-use plastic bags in New York and Connecticut and in some areas in Colorado. Plastic-bag bans reduce the number of these bags in stores and encourage customers to bring reusable bags or pay a small fee for paper bags. In New Jersey, a ban on single-use plastic and paper bags has meant grocery delivery services have switched to heavy-duty bags. Reusable bags — cloth totes or thicker, more durable plastic bags — aren’t a perfect solution, either, unless they are actually reused.

☆ This startup that makes green hydrogen more efficient and safer just raised $26 million. Check out the 20-slide pitch deck Hystar used to win over investors.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The company has developed technology to help create green hydrogen more efficiently and safely. A startup helping others make hydrogen more efficiently and safely just raised $26 million in a Series B funding round. The process is a chemical reaction that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen; hydrogen created this way is known as green hydrogen, in order to differentiate from other production methods. There is strong momentum for green hydrogen from both politicians and the public, Hystar CEO Fredrik Mowill told Insider. "Almost all of the losses in electrolyzers are a result of that resistance across that membrane," Mowill said.

LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - British fund manager Terry Smith accused Unilever (ULVR.L) on Tuesday of "virtue signalling" with its ethically-focused marketing, in his latest salvo against the consumer goods giant. Yet the company had recently added activist investor Nelson Peltz to its board. On Tuesday, Smith reiterated "we don’t know how well it (Hellmann's) would have grown without the (virtue signalling) 'purpose’", adding that "maybe Hellmann’s would be growing as fast or even faster without its ‘purpose'". The words virtue signalling were struck through in Smith's letter. "Shouldn’t we have some idea how Unilever and its management have performed before they are allowed to do any more acquisitions?

☆ Platinum prices are soaring. These buy-rated stocks with upside could be a way to cash in
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Weizhen Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Prices of platinum , which is used in everything from jewelry to fuel cells, are soaring. The Aberdeen Standard Platinum Shares ETF , the GraniteShares Platinum Trust and the iPath Series B Bloomberg Platinum Subindex Total Return ETN are among the funds that track the metal. The Aberdeen Standard Platinum Shares ETF, for instance, rose 10% — jumping over 20% in the last six months alone. It has the highest buy rating — from more than 75% of analysts — according to FactSet. Analysts give Glencore an average 17% upside to its current share price, according to FactSet data.

☆ 6 climate wins from 2022 that are worth celebrating
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sweeping climate legislation passed, climate candidates won, and animals got important protections. Here are six of the year's highlights in climate progress, according to experts. But through it all, there was encouraging progress on climate that's worth celebrating. Peter B. de Menocal, president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, told Insider that the event featured the first-ever Ocean Pavilion. "I want to invite other Indigenous communities in Ecuador and the world to join these collective fights happening in Amazonia," Lucitante previously told Insider.

☆ Amazon's plastic packaging was reportedly found thousands of miles away at illegal dump sites in India
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Amazon delivery packages from North America were found in illegal dump sites and mills in India. Plastic waste ends up in dump sites that emit vile odors and can pollute the air, Bloomberg reports. Amazon delivery packaging was also found mixed in with materials processed at sugar cane and paper mills in Muzaffarnagar, according to Bloomberg. Bloomberg's findings come three years after the Indian government lifted its ban on importing plastic waste due to the country's waste shortage, the India Times reported. The spokesperson also referred Insider to Amazon Second Chance, a guide for customers to understand how to recycle their Amazon packaging.

☆ I've missed my kids' birthdays and Christmas as a lifeboat volunteer. I can't bear thinking about someone going into the water without anyone to help.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Marc Shoffman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

He has missed work, birthdays, and Christmas Day to save lives at sea. Being an RNLI volunteer can create issues at work and requires a sympathetic bossI was once loading a truck while working for the window-plastics supplier when the pager went off. My RNLI work is all voluntary, but we get an allowance for travel and food. I've missed some of my three daughters' birthdays and couldn't drink at my sister's wedding because I was on call. This is the first Christmas I won't be volunteering, as I am doing the night shift at Gatwick.

☆ How AI Is helping to reduce landfill waste
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Sponsor Post | Created Ibm With Insider Studios | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

But circular economy models can provide smart examples and accessible starting points for how we can work toward avoiding a trashy future, so to speak. For an example of a perfect circular economy, look to nature. Waste management companies, in particular, have an opportunity to minimize landfill waste using artificial intelligence and automation technologies. Evaluating the potential of AI for waste sortingHera personnel analyze waste manually. "The experience with IBM Garage has allowed us to activate a particularly innovative solution in the field of waste collection, selection, and recovery," Zappoli said.

☆ UAE gets ducks in a row with chemicals reshuffle
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Dec 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The United Arab Emirates seems to have done a $4 billion deal with itself. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company on Wednesday acquired a 25% stake in $16 billion Austrian oil group OMV (OMVV.VI) from Mubadala, the UAE’s wealth fund. The UAE wants to pump more oil and list its gas business. But it also wants to sharpen its focus on petrochemicals, which forecasters have long singled out for its growth potential. At some point, ADNOC might consider using this clout to consolidate these various chemicals businesses even more closely together.

☆ Check out the 16-slide pitch deck the sustainable-healthtech startup Cabinet Health used to nab $17 million in new funding
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The sustainable-healthtech startup Cabinet Health just raised $17 million from Global Impact Fund. Check out the pitch deck Cabinet Health used to land its latest round of funding. Cabinet Health just raised millions of dollars in new capital for its mission to make medication refills more earth-friendly. Cabinet Health was founded in 2018 with the goal of eliminating single-use plastics from the pharmaceutical industry. Check out the 16-slide pitch deck Cabinet Health used to raise its most recent round of funding:

Marathon, and Valero's market valuations reached record highs in 2022; while Phillips 66 and PBF's are near highs reached in 2019. LESS CAPACITY, MORE PROFITSWhen the pandemic hit, big U.S. refiners closed numerous facilities that were less profitable than other operations. Processing capacity is expected to increase by 1 million bpd per day in 2022 and 1.6 million bpd in 2023, mostly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The margins to produce gasoline were consistently higher throughout 2022 than in the last several years as a result of the Ukraine war. A series of closures have caused U.S. processing capacity to decline even as refiners have become more profitable.

☆ I styled Anna Sorokin while she was on house arrest. She was way funnier than her 'Inventing Anna' character, and her taste in fashion and art is incredible.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He styled Anna Sorokin for an interview from her home, where she is on house arrest. Anna Sorokin, or Anna Delvey, as she was known as in her scamming days, is different from the character on "Inventing Anna." At the time, I had watched only the first half of "Inventing Anna" — just bits and pieces here and there. When we got there, there was a whole glam team of makeup artists and hairstylists who got to work on Anna and Kenneth. Pop culture has the ability to make anyone into an entire brand, and Anna has pop culture's attention.

☆ UK government eyes ban on single-use plastic plates and cutlery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Single-use plastic cutlery, plates and other items are set to be banned by the UK government and replaced by biodegradable items as it seeks to tackle the country’s – and the world’s – growing plastic waste problem. The Financial Times reported that the UK Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey will announce firm plans in the coming weeks. The government said 1.1 billion single-use plates and 4.25 billion items of single-use cutlery are used in England each year, equivalent to 20 plates and 75 pieces of cutlery per person. The European Union banned single-use plastic plates, cutlery, straws, balloon sticks and cotton buds last summer. In the US, California put in place sweeping new restrictions on single-use plastic in June, requiring all single-use packaging and plastic single-use food serviceware be recyclable or compostable by 2032.

Negotiators from EU countries and the European Parliament aim to strike a deal on the world-first law on Tuesday evening - after which, both sides would need to formally rubber stamp it. The EU scheme would require companies importing goods into Europe to buy certificates to cover the CO2 emissions embedded in those products. The aim is create a level playing field between overseas firms and domestic EU industries, who must buy permits from the EU carbon market when they pollute. The tariff is part of a package of EU policies designed to help the world avoid disastrous climate change by cutting EU emissions 55% by 2030 from 1990 levels. Separate EU negotiations later this week will seek a deal on the centrepiece of that package - a reform of the EU carbon market.

Pantone recently announced its 2023 Color of the Year: Viva Magenta. SKIP AHEAD Viva Magenta home products | Viva Magenta kitchen products | Viva Magenta beauty products | Viva Magenta apparel and accessoriesAs many sought to do with the 2022 Color of the Year, Very Peri, you may be interested in incorporating Viva Magenta into your wardrobe or home. Viva Magenta home productsThis expert-recommended rowing machine from Hydrow has a Viva Magenta option available for pre-order that is set to ship in February 2023, according to the brand. Pets can get in on the Viva Magenta trend with this plush bed, available in a color close to the new Pantone Color of the Year. Viva Magenta apparel and accessoriesPantone offers a handful of products in Viva Magenta, including this long keychain.

☆ Factbox: Conservation targets proposed for halting nature loss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

REUTERS/Dan Koeck/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Countries negotiating a global deal to halt nature loss are considering 24 potential conservation targets during this month's U.N. biodiversity summit in Montreal. TARGET 3 - PROTECTED AREASUnder this central goal known as the "30-by-30" target, countries would agree to protect at least 30% of their land and sea territories by 2030. TARGET 14 - POLICYThis target proposes including biodiversity and conservation in national policies, regulations, planning, and poverty eradication strategies, as well in environmental impact assessments. TARGET 16 - SUSTAINABLE CONSUMPTIONHere, negotiators seek to suggest or require national policies, laws or regulations that would encourage consumers to make sustainable choices. TARGET 21 - EQUITABLE REPRESENTATION AND INCLUSIONThis settled target aims to make sure that conservation strategies represent all genders and indigenous communities.

FRANKFURT, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Advent International has finalised negotiations to purchase Saudi Basic Industries Corporation's (2010.SE) (SABIC) polycarbonate sheets business, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. The transaction is an add-on acquisition for Advent's existing portfolio business Roehm, with which it plans to develop a multi-polymer business, one of the sources said. An official announcement regarding the sale of the SABIC business, known as 'functional forms', is expected later on Wednesday, the same source added. Polycarbonate sheets are transparent thermoplastics that absorb minimal moisture, making them resistant to impact damage as well as water damage, flames and chemicals. DSM sold its engineering materials for 3.85 billion euros to Advent and German chemicals company Lanxess, announced late in May.

☆ An activewear startup backed by Michael Jordan's son hit its first fundraising goal. Here's how Äktiiv plans to take on Lululemon and Nike.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Äktiiv products are biodegradable and made from plants. The Portland, Oregon, startup Äktiiv, which rhymes with black sleeve, launched its first products on Kickstarter in November and recently hit its fundraising goal. Cash from the campaign will be used to scale the company, including its marketing. But there's a twist: Äktiiv products are biodegradable and made from plants, not materials derived from oil or plastics. Similarly, Äktiiv products are designed to be worn in the gym, not while running errands.

☆ Countries split on plastics treaty focus as UN talks close
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Valerie Volcovici | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The High Ambition Coalition of over 40 countries, including EU members, Switzerland, host Uruguay and Ghana, wants the treaty to be based on mandatory global measures, including curbs on production. That approach contrasts with the country-driven pledges advocated by countries including the United States and Saudi Arabia. Critics say such an approach would weaken a global treaty. Industry representatives at the talks touted the essential role of plastics in daily life, calling for the treaty to focus tackling waste rather than measures to sap production. Environmental group Greenpeace said that without a strong treaty, plastic production could double within the next 10 to 15 years, and triple by 2050.

☆ Holiday gift giving is rife with waste. Here’s how to give greener, according to experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the holidays are an opportunity to transition to a greener way of living, while also maintaining some level of creativity. But after the excitement is done, the leftover boxes, plastics and paper usually end up in greenhouse-gas-emitting landfills or waste incinerators. And the amount of plastic usually included with holiday presents is enormous, not only in the wrapping, packaging and shipping, but the products themselves. Use recycled or reusable wrapping paper: If you have old newspapers or recycled paper lying around, repurpose them for wrapping. Make homemade gifts: Instead of buying presents, be creative and devise do-it-yourself gifts, which can make it more personal.

☆ Replacing plastics with seaweed: 2022 Earthshot Prize finalist on making packaging sustainable
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailReplacing plastics with seaweed: 2022 Earthshot Prize finalist on making packaging sustainable2022 Earthshot Prize finalist Pierre Paslier joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to discuss his sustainable packaging company Notpla, which replaces plastic with seaweed.

☆ This California city asked where its recycling went. The answer wasn’t pretty.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Saqib Rahim | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

In recent years the global plastic trade has shrunk amid new controls by rich and developing countries alike. U.S. plastic waste exports to Asia fell to 330 million pounds in 2021, according to government data, half their 2017 level. But even these reduced volumes, environmental groups charge, can overwhelm developing countries that lack the facilities to manage them. In May, city staff asked to divert some of Palo Alto’s waste streams to facilities in Louisiana and Southern California. The second lesson, City Manager Ed Shikada said, is that Palo Alto can’t transform the global recycling system alone.

☆ The exec behind Adidas' partnership with Kanye West just released a biodegradable sneaker expected to be a 'game changer' for the industry
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Matthew Kish | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Unless shoe, which will retail for $139, was made in partnership with Natural Fiber Welding, which makes various materials from natural products, including plants and minerals. While other brands, including Allbirds and Camper, have worked with Natural Fiber Welding, Unless is the first to build a shoe from top to bottom with its materials. "What's unique about what Eric has done in the footwear industry is paid attention to every single component of the shoe," Natural Fiber Welding President Steve Zika told Insider. In April, Natural Fiber Welding announced an $85 million Series B investment round. Its investors include industry giants such as Ralph Lauren and Allbirds.

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