What Microsoft’s new app says about the digitalization of sustainability

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations are increasingly important decision-making criteria for organisations to measure their activities and report progress.  When an organisation chooses a strong ESG profile, it demonstrates strong commitment, both to codes of practice and corporate values, and to current and potential investors and lenders. It is a mark of distinction among competition, and supports an organisation’s attractiveness to employees and customers, presenting a key financial incentive. Whereas, a lower ESG profile or performance will increasingly suggest apathy towards the interests of wider society – whether intentional or not.  Accountability is a powerful element in purchasing decisions, particularly in complicated and lengthy supply chains. Consumers want to know the background of service providers. Both employees and customers expect companies to stand for something with a positive social impact. For example, more than six in ten younger consumers closely consider a company’s ethical values and authenticity before buying their products.

Although criticised by some, energy from waste is seen as a vital component of the UK’s waste management system. Chris Elliott looks at where it fits as we transition to a circular economy.
It’s one of the burning issues in the quest for a circular economy: is incinerating waste a good thing or not?
On one side of the argument, there are those who believe it can be a useful way of making energy, and that it’s preferable to landfilling. It’s also a way of destroying waste that cannot be managed in any other way, because the material involved is dangerous, such as infectious bio-wastes from hospitals, or hazardous wastes from industry.

A group of international researchers led by the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in Netherlands used 3D printing to create a living material made of algae that could lead to sustainable energy production on Mars as well as a number of other applications, a TU Delft press release explains. The researchers used a novel bioprinting technique to print microalgae into a living, resilient material that is capable of photosynthesis. Their research is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.