Green Innovation Solutions

Wheel for Sustainable Business Innovation 🌎 The sustainability landscape is evolving rapidly, and businesses are increasingly expected to integrate environmental and social considerations into their innovation processes. However, traditional innovation frameworks often fall short by focusing solely on customer needs, financial returns, and technical feasibility, leaving critical planetary challenges unaddressed. A more comprehensive approach is needed—one that embeds sustainability at the core of value creation. The 130+ Value Proposition Types Wheel is a practical tool that helps organizations frame innovation efforts across four key dimensions: People, Planet, Profit, and Progress. It provides over 130 value types that businesses can leverage to ensure their projects contribute meaningful solutions to global challenges such as climate action, resource efficiency, social inclusion, and technological advancement. This approach shifts the focus beyond immediate customer needs to include long-term sustainability impacts across entire ecosystems. By using structured frameworks like this, companies can link their innovation projects directly to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), addressing critical issues such as climate resilience, biodiversity, and social equity. The tool also encourages the use of metrics to track progress, making sustainability-driven innovation more actionable and measurable across industries. It helps businesses unlock new forms of value while addressing both environmental risks and opportunities. The tool is adaptable to different phases of the innovation process, from identifying unmet needs to scaling solutions in the market. It guides organizations in understanding how their innovations create value in areas such as climate action, circularity, supply chain management, and stakeholder engagement. This makes it relevant for both B2B and B2C companies aiming to enhance their impact while future-proofing their operations. Originally developed by Explorer Labs, this tool has been referenced in the past and continues to remain highly useful as businesses advance their sustainability journeys. As 2025 begins, leveraging tools like this can help organizations move from incremental improvements to transformative solutions, embedding sustainability into innovation processes that deliver lasting value. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #innovation #SDGs

The energy grid is under immense strain from extreme weather, wildfires, and rising electricity demand. As these pressures increase, so does the need for smarter, more resilient and reliable energy grids.   Utilidata, a company that is part of Microsoft's Climate Innovation Fund portfolio, is redefining energy delivery through its AI platform, Karman. This technology empowers utilities to optimize energy delivery and make better decisions about how to manage the grid by, for example, storing electricity in batteries during off-peak hours and distributing it when it's needed. As a result, electric vehicles and solar panels become flexible, valuable assets that help meet grid demand.   Embedding AI directly into the grid infrastructure helps utility decision-makers make more informed decisions and better serve customers. This innovation highlights the power of AI to modernize critical infrastructure and transform the energy sector.

🛍️ Department Stores Are Becoming Curators of Conscious Consumption From conciergerie services to dedicated “Re-” corners — department stores are reimagining what it means to serve today’s customer. A standout example? Reselfridges at Selfridges London — a concept that seamlessly integrates resale, rental, repair, refill, and recycling under one roof. It’s more than a corner; it’s a commitment to circular fashion and a redefinition of luxury through sustainability. 🔁 Why this matters: For customers: • Convenience: Having repair, resale, and rental services within the store means fewer steps between intention and action. • Empowerment: Customers can participate in sustainability without compromising style or experience. • Personalization: The conciergerie model adds a human touch — guiding shoppers through their “re” journey with tailored support. For brands and retailers: • Extended product lifecycle: A chance to extract more value from each item produced. • Deeper engagement: Building relationships not just at the point of sale, but across the full life of the product. • Differentiation: In a saturated market, circular services elevate the store’s role from seller to sustainable facilitator. ⚠️ Of course, challenges remain: • Operational complexity: Managing inventory, authentication, repairs, and rentals requires new capabilities and partners. • Brand alignment: Not all labels are ready to embrace second life strategies — especially in the luxury sector. • Customer education: Circularity still needs a strong narrative to be fully understood and adopted. Still, the shift is undeniable. Department stores are no longer just places to buy — they’re evolving into ecosystems of experience, care, and conscious choice. Have you come across inspiring “Re-” corners in Paris or elsewhere? Let’s exchange notes 👇 #RetailInnovation #CircularFashion #CustomerExperience #Reselfridges #DepartmentStores #SustainableLuxury #RetailStrategy #londonretail #topretailexpert #realretail #retailconsulting #selfridges

⚡️Farewell to Swern ⚡️Say Welcome to "eCarbonyls" (aka eSwern) - Yes, we have a little surprise for you from our lab at the University of Greenwich A Swern without the surprisingly pungent smell during work-up? A Swern at room temperature? A Swern where you don’t need to dry your solvent, can go grab a coffee, and still get your aldehyde clean, often without even a column? Yes, we have that in stock for you! Our latest work in Chemical Science Journal introduces eCarbonyls, a metal-free electrochemical oxidation of alcohols that mimics the selectivity of the classical Swern reaction while avoiding its cryogenic conditions or oxalyl chloride. Using a simple thioether mediator and electricity, we deliver aldehydes and ketones in yields of up to 98% under mild, scalable, and sustainable conditions, compatible with flow electrolysis for multigram synthesis. Congratulations to Conall Molloy and Simon Kaltenberger (co-first authors) on this electrifying achievement, and thanks to Katherine W. and Lee Edwards for their valuable insights. 📘 Read the full open-access article: https://lnkd.in/g2ix5F9N #GreenChemistry #Electrosynthesis #FlowChemistry #SustainableSynthesis #ChemicalScience #Electrochemistry Greenwich Research and Innovation

🌿 Artificial Leaves Turn CO₂ into Valuable Hydrocarbons! 📍 Date: May 2025 🏛️ Developed by: UC Berkeley & University of Cambridge 📎 Reference: Nature Materials - Artificial Leaf for Hydrocarbons A remarkable leap in green chemistry and carbon capture: Researchers have engineered perovskite-based artificial leaves using copper nanoflower catalysts that efficiently convert CO₂ into ethylene and ethane — key building blocks for fuels and plastics. 🔬 This breakthrough mimics photosynthesis with engineered precision: ☀️ Sunlight-powered chemical conversion 🧪 Copper nanoflowers for high-yield CO₂ catalysis ♻️ Sustainable hydrocarbon synthesis without fossil inputs 🌍 These “artificial leaves” are a futuristic fusion of materials science and climate technology – promising a carbon-negative solution to hydrocarbon production. 💬 How close are we to seeing such bio-inspired tech scale up for real-world impact? #ArtificialPhotosynthesis #MaterialsScience #CopperCatalysts #Perovskite #GreenEnergy #CO2Reduction #ClimateTech #Innovation

Overview of Green and Sustainable Manufacturing Processes: • Green and sustainable manufacturing focuses on creating products through processes that minimize environmental impacts, conserve energy and natural resources, and ensure safety for employees, communities, and consumers. The goal is to balance economic growth with environmental stewardship and social responsibility. • The 12 principles of green chemistry provide a framework for designing new chemical processes responsibly, reducing environmental footprints, and improving the safety of processes and products. • The American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute’s Pharmaceutical Roundtable has identified process mass intensity (PMI) as a key metric for evaluating and benchmarking sustainability efforts, moving beyond traditional metrics like E-factor and atom economy. • PMI is a key green chemistry metric. It tells you how much total material you use (including solvents, reagents, etc.) to make a unit mass of product. PMI = Total mass input (kg) / Mass of product (kg). • The aspirational goal for a green and sustainable manufacturing route is achieving a "zero-waste" process. • Hong Ren, Kevin Maloney, and colleagues demonstrated a green and sustainable manufacturing process for Gefapixant Citrate (MK-7264), achieving a low PMI, short synthetic sequence, high overall yield, minimal environmental impact, and significantly reduced API costs.   Limitations of Supply Process for Gefapixant Citrate 1:  • The process did not meet key success criteria for commercial manufacturing, including lead time, cost, process mass intensity (PMI), and robustness. • It involves a longest linear sequence of 11 steps, a high PMI of 366, a low overall yield of 16%, and a high API cost. • Several reactions in the route are unsuitable for commercial manufacturing due to the use of hazardous reagents and unsafe conditions. Advantages of green and sustainable commercial process for Gefapixant Citrate 1: • Reduced the process from 11 steps to 6 steps. • Achieved a significantly improved overall PMI of 78. • Increased overall yield from 16% to 60%. • Developed a more practical and cost-effective manufacturing route. • Replaced hazardous alkylation and two highly toxic chemicals, making the process safer and more robust. • Successfully demonstrated at >300 kg scale for the production of Gefapixant Citrate (1). Refer to the following OPRD journal articles for a detailed understanding of Green and Sustainable Manufacturing Processes • Org. Process Res. Dev. 2011, 15, 912–917;  https://lnkd.in/gqNMmBur   • Org. Process Res. Dev. 2011, 15, 898–899;  https://lnkd.in/gASy6Aax • Org. Process Res. Dev. 2020, 24, 11, 2445–2452; https://lnkd.in/gf69nFhu   #SntheticOrganicChemistry #SustainableProcessDevelopment #GreenChemistry  #ManufacturingProcesses #API

Scientists convert plant and wood waste into useful chemicals for perfumes, medicines, and green materials A recent study reveals a breakthrough in turning lignin — a natural, complex organic polymer found in wood and plants — from waste into valuable chemicals without relying on fossil fuels. Lignin is usually discarded in huge amounts during paper production and other agricultural processes, with around 100 million tonnes wasted annually. Until now, breaking down lignin has been difficult, requiring high temperatures and expensive processes that weren’t eco-friendly or cost-effective. Scientists have discovered a new enzyme that can efficiently break down lignin compounds at mild conditions, unlocking its potential to produce useful chemicals used in plastics, perfumes, and medicines. This could significantly reduce reliance on petroleum, a major source of pollution and climate change. By converting lignin into renewable materials, this innovation points to a greener, more sustainable future with fewer fossil fuel emissions and better human health.

Excited to share our latest work in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering on #biomass valorisation to chemical intermediates through #sustainable #chemical #manufacturing, a collaboration between Griffith University (Jim Mensah now at ANSTO, Karen Wilson and I), RMIT University (Deshetti Jampaiah and Suresh Bhargava), The University of Queensland (Muxina Konarova and Mohamad Ahmed), and University of Plymouth (Lee Durndell). Exsolution of nickel (Ni) from a NiAl-LDH (layered double hydroxide) precursor creates highly dispersed Ni #nanoparticles that are active and selective for the stepwise #hydrogenation and #hydrogenolysis of #furfural to 2-methyl tetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF). 2-MTHF is used as a #green #solvent in pharmaceutical/fine chemical synthesis, a fuel additive, and in electrolyte formulations for lithium batteries, with an estimated 2030 market value of US$4.7 billion by 2030! Increasing the hydrogen pressure from 10 to 25 bar switches the product selectivity to tetrahydrofuryl alcohol (THFA), itself a valuable chemical intermediate for polymers, coatings, and pesticides. This work was funded by the Australian Research Council and business.gov.au. https://lnkd.in/gzqPiRV5 RMIT CAMIC Griffith Science and Environment Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology AIBN American Chemical Society

“Power Quality in the Age of Renewables” The power grid we know and rely on is changing. As renewable energy sources like solar and wind increasingly come online, the traditional balance of the grid is being tested. Power quality—once a fairly straightforward equation in stable, centralized systems—is now subject to a host of new challenges. Harmonic distortion, voltage fluctuations, and even transient instability are creeping in at levels that can disrupt sensitive industrial processes. For instance, variable frequency drives (VFDs), commonly used in modern manufacturing to enhance efficiency, are highly susceptible to harmonic interference. When left unchecked, harmonics can cause these drives to overheat, reduce equipment lifespan, and even trip critical systems offline. Similarly, the rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) often leads to voltage variability that standard equipment wasn’t designed to handle. Add in the increasing use of power electronics—like inverters—and you’ve got a cocktail of potential power quality headaches. So what’s the path forward? Next-generation power factor correction (PFC) technologies are stepping up to the challenge. Dynamic PFC systems that respond in real time to load changes, advanced harmonic filters (AHF), and voltage stability systems are becoming essential tools. Coupled with smarter, data-driven monitoring solutions, these advancements allow us to adapt to a grid that no longer behaves in the neat, predictable patterns of the past. As we transition to cleaner energy sources, understanding and mitigating these power quality issues is the key to keeping the lights on—not just literally, but also economically, as power disruptions can lead to costly downtime and equipment failure. #PowerQuality #ElectricalEngineering #RenewableEnergy #GridStability #HarmonicDistortion #EnergyEfficiency #PowerFactorCorrection #SustainableEnergy #IndustrialPower #VoltageControl #SmartGrid #CleanEnergy #GreenEnergy #EnergyManagement #ElectricalTesting #Transformers #ACBTesting #VoltageStability #PowerGrid #ElectricalMaintenance #TechSolutions #ResilienceEngineering #CarbonReduction #EnergyInnovation

Researchers at South Dakota State University have developed a plastic-like material made from grapevine waste that biodegrades in just 17 days. The key ingredient is cellulose, a natural polymer found in the woody stems (or canes) pruned from grapevines each year. These canes are typically discarded or burned, but scientists discovered they’re rich in cellulose, making them ideal for creating eco-friendly packaging films. The resulting material is stronger than conventional plastic, transparent, and flexible, yet it breaks down rapidly in soil with no toxic residue. According to the study published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the films biodegrade completely within 17 days under soil moisture conditions of 24%. That’s a dramatic contrast to petroleum-based plastics, which can linger for centuries and shed harmful microplastics along the way. This innovation not only tackles plastic pollution but also transforms agricultural waste into a valuable resource. It’s a glimpse into a future where packaging might vanish as quickly as it appears, without harming the planet.