Skip to main contentSkip to navigation

The science behind sustainability solutions

This editorially independent series explores new research relevant to solving corporate sustainability challenges and unpicks the lessons business can learn from this new thinking. Learn more about the sponsor of this series here
  • Beyond meat chicken fork

    The science of sustainability: what we've learned from artificial photosynthesis and synthetic meat

    Bruce Watson
    As our blog, The Science Behind Sustainability Solutions, wraps up, here’s a look back at some of the most innovative solutions to current world problems
  • Cars are seen at the Grade II listed BP petrol station designed by Eliot Noyes in the 1960s at Birstall, central England January 7, 2015.

    Can high-tech photosynthesis turn CO2 into fuel for your car?

    Researchers around the world are developing artificial photosynthesis to turn carbon dioxide and sunlight into liquid fuel
  • The cracked earth on the bottom of the Paljurci dam, near Bogdanci in southeastern Macedonia. This year, farmers all over the Balkans are turning to God for help with the drought.

    Companies aren't doing enough to prevent catastrophic climate change, new report finds

    Companies must set more aggressive targets to give earth a fighting chance at avoiding irreversible damage, according to a UK nonprofit
  • Isle Royale is down to three wolves in its once-plentiful population, but should humans introduce breeding stock – or let nature take its course?

    Isle Royale wolves are nearly extinct, putting an ecosystem in jeopardy

    With only one mated wolf pair and their pup left on Isle Royale, the National Park Service grapples with whether to introduce new wolves to restart the population and allow research to continue
  • A faint view of the landmark Arc de Triomphe is seen through a foggy haze in the French capital of Paris.

    New studies link pollution to a variety of health risks

    A raft of recent studies detail how air pollution might be linked to ailments from severe flu to ADHD
  • A scientist at work during an IVF process as almost 2,500 women of reproductive age in the UK could potentially be helped by new IVF techniques aimed at curbing inherited mitochondrial diseases, a study has shown.

    3-parent IVF: Why isn't it available in the United States?

    The UK approved a ‘three-person baby’ law this week, but the life-saving reproductive technology is still met with resistance in the US
  • Unboiling an egg?

    'Unboiling' an egg could lead to innovations in agriculture and healthcare

    The researchers’ goal is straightforward and ambitious: to affect the lives of one billion over the next decade.
  • lab meat

    Technology is ready for synthetic foods. Are you?

    The technology that can be applied to create artificial foods and food ingredients has rapidly outstripped consumer interest
  • Artificially Coloured MRI Scan Of Human Brain

    Your brain on climate change: why the threat produces apathy, not action

    ‘Our brain is essentially a get-out-of-the-way machine,’ says Harvard psychology professor Daniel Gilbert
  • Mark Browne

    Inside the lonely fight against the biggest environmental problem you've never heard of

    An ecologist has released an alarming study showing that tiny clothing fibers could be the biggest source of plastic in our oceans. The bigger problem? No one wants to hear it
  • Flood Wall Street

    What businesses need to know about the latest climate science

    For many business leaders, climate change action seems expensive in the short term. But new reports from show it’s a long-term bargain
  • food packaging stacked on top of one another, containing salad and pasta

    Chemicals in some household plastics linked to child asthma risk

    New research from Columbia University finds children exposed to a substance found in common household plastics are 70% more likely to develop asthma. What are companies doing to phase it out?
  • man on motorcycle, still from video game

    Fact-checking three new shocking sustainability studies

    A spate of research has found that several practices thought to be environmentally neutral aren’t. But how much should we trust the findings?
  • Scientist

    Science and sustainability goals: what researchers want businesses to know

    If companies are to help reach key climate targets and keep the world a viable place to do business, executives need to take a broader view – and pay attention to the latest science
  • People walk on planks in the flooded St. Mark's Square in Venice on November 26, 2010. The high water, a combination of high tides and a strong Scirocco wind in the Adriatic Sea, stood at 111 centimeters early on November 26. The city has for years been wrestling with the problems posed by the threat of rising sea levels.             AFP PHOTO / ANDREA PATTARO (Photo credit should read ANDREA PATTARO/AFP/Getty Images)

    The business cost of climate change: what the science says

    Companies experience massive losses from extreme weather — and climate risks aren’t leaving
  • Volunteers with Habitat for Humanity building a home in Joplin, Missouri, 2013.

    'Not all about the bloody return': how social programs affect employees

    Growing body of research shows that employees at companies with CSR programs are more satisfied with their jobs, work harder, and relate better with customers
  • pac-man

    Game on: could gamification help business change behaviour?

    Companies like Nike, Ford and Google are using gamification to shift peoples behavior, increase their skillsets and engage them with innovation
  • Green buildings

    Healthy buildings: why workers are demanding sustainable offices

    Companies that ignore the environmental and social impacts of their buildings could risk miserable workers and low productivity

  • The New York skyline by night

    Too big to save: why commercial buildings resist energy efficiency

    Many commercial buildings still aren’t making
    simple changes that could save big bucks, new research finds. Here’s why – and what must be done to fix the problem
  翻译: