⛰️ Enviro Futures #11

Happy Monday 👋

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has pledged approximately $8B in financial aid for the upcoming year to support farmers and producers in adopting sustainable agricultural practices. Globally, farming and livestock activities are responsible for roughly 60% of land degradation. Revo Foods, based in Austria opened the world's largest factory for 3D-printed food this week while introducing a new whole-cut mycelium salmon fillet. Swiss Academy of Sciences identified that record heat in the summer resulted in Swiss glaciers witnessing unprecedented melting during the summer recording a 2.5% loss. Amidst growing scrutiny of misleading green claims in the United Kingdom, Tesco and Sainsbury's have come under fire for their take-back schemes for soft plastic recycling. Despite promoting these programs as environmentally friendly, investigations have revealed that 70% of the collected plastic waste is ultimately incinerated. Furthermore, the EU postponed the implementation of a law aimed at preventing the import of products linked to deforestation, drawing criticism from environmental groups but relief from affected businesses.

🌱 Food Systems

🏞️ USDA Announces $7.7 Billion for Conservation Assistance in 2025. The USDA announced up to $7.7B in financial assistance for fiscal year 2025 to help producers adopt conservation practices on working lands.

🧪 Revo Foods Unveils the World's Largest 3D-Printed Food Factory. Revo Foods, a company specializing in 3D-printed food opened the world's largest factory for 3D-printed food and introduced a new whole-cut mycelium salmon fillet.

🌱 Indonesian Firm Expands Plant-Based Offerings for Asia's Functional Food Market. Sima Arome, an Indonesian company producing flavor extracts and essential oils, is ramping up its plant-based offerings to tap into the growing demand for functional products in Asia.

🌊 Oceans and Water

❄️ Swiss Glaciers Suffer Massive Ice Loss Amid Record Heat. Swiss glaciers experienced unprecedented melting during the summer, with August seeing the greatest ice loss on record, despite high snowfall earlier in June. High temperatures in July and August led to a loss of 2.5% of their volume this year.

♻️ Environmental Services

🗑️ UK Supermarkets Misleading on Soft Plastic Recycling. The take-back schemes by UK supermarkets Tesco and Sainsbury's to recycle soft plastics have misled consumers, with 70% of this waste being burned instead.

🚍 DOE Extends Deadline for $500M CO2 Transportation Infrastructure Program. The U.S. Department of Energy extended the deadline for its $500M Carbon Dioxide Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation program for projects across the United States.

♻️ Borealis Joins the Finnish Circular Economy Initiative. Borealis, an Austrian raw materials company joined the Finnish government's Circular Economy Green Deal as one of the first participants.

🐟 Forestry and Fishing

🌳 EU Postpones Deforestation Law Implementation. The European Commission postponed the implementation of a law aimed at preventing the import of products linked to deforestation, drawing criticism from environmental groups but relief from affected businesses.

👗 Textiles

👕 California Tackles Fast Fashion Waste with New Textile Recycling Law. California governor Gavin Newsom gave a green light to Senate Bill 707, known as the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 fueled by industry experts stressing the need for a federal waste policy to avoid "fragmented" state-level regulations.

👗 Sri Lankan Garment Exports Rise in First Eight Months of 2024. Sri Lanka's garment exports rose by 2.3% to $3B in the January-August 2024, while textile exports declined.

💰 Environment Deals

🧪 ADNOC to Acquire German Chemical Giant Covestro in $12.9 Billion Deal. ADNOC, through its subsidiary ADNOC International, signed an agreement to acquire the German chemical manufacturer Covestro for $12.9B. 

🥤 PepsiCo Expands Multicultural Snack Portfolio with $1.2B Siete Acquisition. PepsiCo acquired Siete Family Foods, a Mexican-American food company founded in 2014, for $1.2B to expand its multicultural snack portfolio.

🦗 Entosystem Secures $58M Funding for Expansion. Entosystem, an insect farming company raised $58M from investors Idealist Capital, Sanimax, and Fondaction to expand its production capacity and build a second commercial plant.

🌾 AgroSpheres Secures $37M in Series B Funding. AgroSpheres, a biobased solutions company in the agricultural industry, secured a $37M Series B funding led by Zebra Impact Ventures' Regenerative Growth I strategy.

🔩 Metal Recycling Startup Secures $21M Series A Funding. SUN METALON Inc., a company with innovative metal recycling technology, secured a $21M Series A funding.

Thank you for reading. Have a great week ahead!
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