Climate Solutions News

How Can Retailers Drive Health & Sustainability?In this insightful conversation, Mike Barry, former Head of Sustainability at M&S and co-founder of The Planeatry Alliance, discusses how retailers and food companies can align human and planetary health. He breaks down the complexities of the food system, explains why retailers hold the key to large-scale change, and explores the role of technology, data, and AI in making sustainable shopping effortless.Barry also highlights the biggest challenges facing the food industry, the importance of government intervention, and why businesses need to move beyond ESG targets to deliver real impact.🔍 Topics Covered:✅ How food choices affect both personal and environmental health✅ The role of retailers in making sustainability simple✅ Why technology (AI, digital twins, and data platforms) is key to change✅ The future of sustainable food shopping

In this insightful interview, Charlie Stewart, content strategist at Exceptional, discusses the often-overlooked environmental impact of digital marketing and PR activities. Digital campaigns, powered by energy-intensive data centers, now contribute 2.5-3% of global carbon emissions—surpassing the aviation industry.Charlie highlights key findings from the report From Words to Actions: Reducing the Climate Impact of Your PR and Digital Marketing Activity, co-authored by Exceptional and Thinking Hat Media. He emphasizes the need for marketers to rethink strategies, focusing on efficiency and sustainability. Key topics include: • The environmental cost of data centers in digital campaigns. • How to make marketing campaigns more efficient and impactful. • Avoiding greenwashing and embracing transparency in sustainability claims. • Practical steps for reducing the carbon footprint, such as using energy-efficient formats and targeting high-engagement platforms.Charlie also explores the dual role of PR in influencing behavior and amplifying positive change while addressing its potential misuse in greenwashing.Listen to the full interview to learn actionable steps marketers can take to make their campaigns more sustainable while driving results.Link to Report:Download From Words to Actions here: exceptional.marketing/digital-sustainability

Europe’s Critical Raw Material Challenge: Can Innovation Lead the Way?Europe’s transition to clean energy faces a major obstacle: dependence on imported critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium, copper, and graphite. A new report, A Critical Raw Material Supply-Side Innovation Roadmap for the EU Energy Transition, highlights how Europe’s share of global mineral production has dropped from 25% to under 7% over 40 years, intensifying the need for domestic supply.The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets ambitious targets: 10% of mining, 40% of refining, and 25% of recycling to be met domestically by 2030. However, progress has stalled due to permitting delays and local opposition.Technological innovation offers hope. Geothermal direct lithium extraction projects by Vulcan Energy in Germany and Eramet in France could meet 7% of Europe’s lithium demand. Low-carbon graphite production could supply 40% of EU needs while cutting emissions by 90%. Advanced technologies like bio-leaching for copper, AI-powered exploration, and tailings reprocessing could further boost domestic production while reducing environmental impacts.Key environmental concerns include high GHG emissions, water-intensive mining, and waste from tailings. The report urges EU policymakers to accelerate funding, streamline permits, and support innovation to reduce import reliance and secure a sustainable clean energy future.The full article on which this discussion is based can be found at https://climatesolutions.news/news/europes-critical-minerals-crunch-can-innovation-bridge-the-supply-gap. It also contains a link to the original, detailed research document.

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, talks to Ita Kettleborough, Director of the Energy Transitions Commission about the outcomes of COP29 in Baku. Ita shares her insights into the summit’s mixed results, highlighting significant progress in clean energy deployment worldwide, such as Indonesia’s coal phase-out commitment and China’s accelerated emission goals. However, she also emphasizes the challenges in negotiations, particularly around climate finance and Article 6. Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil, Ita discusses the critical steps needed to align international commitments with rapid technological advancements, including more detailed NDCs, clarified financial frameworks, and renewed efforts to transition from fossil fuels.

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, speaks to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp.Hitting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require investment in over 100,000 startups, according to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp. The organisation is the largest accelerator in Europe. It has run more than 150 accelerators in 20 countries since 2010 and has worked with a portfolio of over 1700 companies so far.Visit www.climatesolutions.news/spotlight for more interviews and climate tech innovator overviews.

For centuries, the Dutch have been pioneers in innovative solutions, especially when it comes to managing the constant threat of rising water levels. As a low-lying country, the Netherlands has been at the forefront of engineering feats like dikes and canals that have safeguarded its lands from the encroaching sea. Today, with climate change accelerating and the world grappling with the consequences of rising sea levels, the Dutch are once again stepping up. Their long history of battling water has made them natural leaders in climate tech innovation, creating a vibrant ecosystem where startups can develop groundbreaking solutions to global environmental challenges.In modern times the Netherlands has transformed into a hub for cutting-edge climate tech startups, with Dutch innovators at the forefront of this essential industry.The discussion is based around the following Opinion piece authored on Climate Solutions News by Jaap Bastiaansen from Nexus Climate: https://climatesolutions.news/opinion/be-more-dutch-climate-innovators-can-learn-from-the-netherlandsThis discussion is created by AI using NotebookLM.