Read the full story at Packaging Dive. The U.S. EPA has approved a cleanup plan for the northern portion of the San Jacinto River Waste Pits, a Superfund site near Houston. McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp., a WM subsidiary, and International Paper are responsible for the site cleanup. Cleanup for the northern pits had been delayed by numerous rounds of draft plans and disagreements between the EPA and the companies over how to manage the remediation.

Read the full story at Retail Dive. Stanley 1913 has launched a take-back program for customers to recycle their used steel and stainless steel products at no cost, per a company press release.vCustomers can go to the Stanley 1913 website to log their products, generate a pre-paid shipping label or QR code, and send back used merchandise. The program offers customers a discount of $5 on new purchases and accepts up to four eligible items per individual annually.

Read the full story at Packaging Dive. Plus, Mondi expands high-contrast digital printing, Stora Enso’s SBS goes high end, and Fiberdom joins Kiefel in blowing the lid off dry molded fiber.

Read the full story at ESG Dive. Thirty-six percent of large businesses in the U.S. and Europe have aligned their capital expenditures with sustainability goals despite a pullback in the U.S. and other countries from environmental protection efforts including combating climate change, Risilience found in a survey. Many companies have woven sustainability into corporate strategy by advancing decarbonization plans, Risilience said.

Read the full story at Trellis. Polyester and other petrochemical materials continue to dominate the fashion fiber mix. Even companies touting certified cotton often rely on it for a tiny share of overall materials, limiting real impact. Without stronger commitments to sustainable cotton, soil health, climate resilience and smallholder farmer livelihoods will continue to deteriorate.

Read the full story at Manufacturing Dive. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it will prioritize reviewing new chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act, designated for use in data center projects or manufacturing covered components for the facilities’ computing machines and hardware equipment. The action aims to streamline the permitting process as well as support President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at boosting data center infrastructure and accelerating the development of new artificial intelligence systems in the United States.

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. Fracking was supposed to lower Pennsylvanians’ electric bills. Instead, they’re higher than ever—and they’re about to get worse.

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. Recent deadly swirls from dry open fields have prompted scientists to examine how climate change contributes to hard-to-predict dust storms in Illinois and neighboring states.

Download the report. Despite experiencing its slowest pace of growth since 2020, the clean energy industry’s growing importance to the broader economy was more apparent than ever in 2024. This trend was expected to continue as clean energy accounted for larger and larger shares of energy industry jobs and the nationwide workforce. But recent policy decisions to revoke incentives, cancel permits, and target the industry with new red tape and legal hurdles threatens future growth and, increasingly, the health of the U.S. economy at-large.

Read the full story at Utility Dive. Generative AI models are able to produce effective retrofit decisions but do less well identifying which ones can produce the best result most quickly and at the least cost, according to analysis by researchers at Michigan State University. The study, “Can AI Make Energy Retrofit Decisions? An Evaluation of Large Language Models,” is one of the first to examine how large language models, or LLMs, perform in determining efficient and effective building energy retrofits.

Read the full story at Canary Media. Duke wants to build gas plants, but clean energy advocates argue that solar, battery storage, and demand response could help alleviate growing strain on the grid.

Read the full story at Trellis. While sustainability experts remain skeptical about stakeholder management’s effectiveness, corporate affairs professionals believe authentic dialogue builds trust best. Sustainability professionals can work with corporate affairs practitioners to drive credibility and impact. Instead of relying on newer engagement methods like AI, returning to the fundamentals of open dialogue may work best.

Read the full story in Ars Technica. Porsche is synonymous with sports cars in which the engine lives behind the driver. From the company's first open-top 356/1—which it let us drive a couple of years ago—to the latest stupendously clever 911 variants, these are the machines most of us associate with the Stuttgart-based brand. And indeed, the company has sold more than a million 911s since the model's introduction in 1963.

Read the full story at Trellis. CEOs can be powerful catalysts for sustainability, though meaningful change can also come from middle management. IKEA’s example shows that companies can grow revenue while cutting absolute emissions, proving that “climate smart is cost smart.” While most CEOs are committed to sustainability, many remain silent out of fear of greenwashing accusations.

Read the full story at e360 Digest. Marine life is thriving on unexploded bombs and sunken ships left over from the world wars, according to two new studies. The first study looked at a dump site for World War II bombs in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of northern Germany. Researchers found that crabs, starfish, and other sea creatures were drawn to the hard exteriors of discarded V-1 flying bombs, German cruise missiles used in the Battle of Britain...

Read the full story at Grist. In 2013, California launched its cap-and-trade program, a carbon credit market that allows companies and governments to engage with offset projects that incentivize investments in planting trees, preserving forests, or even supporting solar farms. The idea is to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credits for nature-based projects. Initially, the Yurok Tribe expressed interest in joining the program.

Read the full story at Trellis. It’s no surprise that public discussions of sustainability often cover processes, workflows, product specifications, supply chains and metrics. Those are all incredibly important and they’re clear, measurable ways to hold organizations accountable. Yet at the most basic level, impact isn’t driven just by strategy or technology — it’s driven by people.

Read the full story at Grist. Look at the packaging of any food or consumer item in the U.S., and there’s a good chance you’ll see a black-and-white decal: the iconic “chasing arrows” recycling symbol, along with the web address how2recycle.info. As you might guess, the labels are meant to tell consumers how they can recycle the boxes, wrappers, and cans that they buy.

Read the news release. IKEA U.S. announced the launch of a food waste collection pilot that gives new life to food scraps and furthers the company’s goal of zero organic food waste by 2030. The pilot comes following an investment from Ingka Investments (the investment arm of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer) in Vanguard Renewables, a national leader in organics recycling.

Gas turbines outside the xAI data center in Memphis. AP Photo/George Walker IV by Chunrong Jia, University of Memphis; Abu Mohammed Naser Titu, University of Memphis, and Namuun Batbaatar, University of Memphis Even before an Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence company opened a data center in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, air pollution was so bad that residents of a nearby neighborhood…

Read the full story at Inside Climate News. More than a decade after West Union, Iowa, tapped geothermal energy, the town’s heating and cooling network is a “celebrity” among clean energy advocates.

Read the full story at Canary Media. A new Conservative Energy Network poll found that two-thirds of likely voters support more transmission lines to boost clean energy and grid reliability.

Read the full story at Trellis. Bayer’s independent advisory council brings together experts in agriculture, health and sustainability to guide strategy. The company faces steep challenges, from slashing Scope 3 emissions across thousands of suppliers to navigating farmer pushback and political headwinds. Companies in other sectors consult with independent advisors, but this type of council is unusual in Big Pharma.

Read the full story at e360. After years underestimating the risks posed by climate-fueled disasters, the U.S. home insurance industry is in turmoil. In vulnerable areas, rising insurance costs are upending housing markets and communities, as homeowners scramble to try to find insurance they can afford.

Read the full story from Frontiers. Scientists have discovered that pollen is a hidden source of natural medicine for honeybees. Symbiotic bacteria called Streptomyces produce antimicrobial compounds that fight deadly bee and plant pathogens. Bees collect these bacteria along with pollen and store them in hives, creating a natural defense system. This could lead to new, sustainable ways of protecting both pollinators and crops.