Edition #3 | Environment Forward
Decarbonized Google searches, regenerated fashion, climate tech, and electric vehicle trends.
Hi Y’all, Greetings from Austin, TX, where it’s finally starting to feel a little bit more like fall, even though we don’t have any fall foliage. The U.S. Forest Service does a good job summarizing why leaves change colors. In Edition 3 of my Environment Forward series, I’m excited to dive into topics ranging from electric vehicles (EV’s) to upcycled fashion, with climate software and data centers in between. And if you need a weekly dose of EV-related cuteness, check out #FrunkPuppyFriday on Twitter (Spoiler Alert: you’ll find adorable pictures of pets riding in a Tesla front trunk (AKA a frunk)). Be sure to drop me a line to let me know your thoughts and what you’ve been reading lately.
Is everyone buying a Tesla?
In 2021, U.S. consumers purchased 83% more EVs than in 2020. Perhaps like me, you’ve also noticed an uptick in Teslas on the road – they seem to be everywhere in Austin, TX. Tesla accounted for more than 70% of EV sales so far this year. While Tesla currently has market share, automakers are working to roll out more competition, including Ford with the upcoming electric F-150. Personally, I haven’t yet jumped on the EV bandwagon, but I’m closely watching the space and look forward to seeing what Tesla’s competitors roll out.
Image credit: Cartar Baran
Your Google search is being decarbonized
Google has set targets to operate their data centers with 24/7 clean energy by 2030 and provided insight into how they plan to achieve this. While many large corporations are setting aggressive decarbonization targets as they work towards net-zero, it's always encouraging when companies provide visibility into how they're going to get there.
Image credit: PC Mag
Carbon meets software
Climate and decarbonization software startups are raising a lot of capital and are currently a hot investment. As more companies and cities are tracking their carbon emissions and setting metrics, software developers are seeing new opportunities to develop solutions. It will be exciting to see what innovations emerge, but for now, I remain a bit of a skeptic. Quantifying carbon emissions and setting metrics is very data-driven, so any software solution will only be as good as the data that's fed into it.
A new form of fashion: Regenerated
French designer Marine Serre has created a niche in the fashion industry driven out of a passion for waste reduction. In this video interview with Marine, I was inspired to catch a glimpse of her upcycled room and learn how she uses a repeatable process to fabricate unique garments. Her "Regenerated" designs utilize upcycled waste fabric and vintage garments to create new designs, bringing some much-needed circularity to the fashion industry.
Nicole Sullivan is the Climate Services Manager at CarbonBetter. When she's not working on sustainability reports and helping clients to decarbonize, she's busy reading about the environment or is outdoors exploring it. Connect with her on LinkedIn and drop her a line to let her know what you thought about these stories and share what you're reading.
