Environment+Energy Leader

12/01/2025

The FDA has withdrawn its 2024 proposed rule that would have required mandatory asbestos testing for talc-containing cosmetics. The decision follows extensive public feedback raising scientific, regulatory, and legal challenges—including conflicting asbestos definitions across federal agencies and questions about FDA’s authority under the FD&C Act.

The withdrawal does not remove FDA’s responsibility under MoCRA to create standardized asbestos detection methods. With past investigations identifying asbestos in cosmetics marketed to young consumers, pressure for updated testing requirements remains strong.

Read the full report:
https://hubs.la/Q03Wc0CN0

Listen to the Sustainability Soundbites episode covering this story:
https://hubs.la/Q03Wc1B-0

12/01/2025

Project Categories for 2026:
⚡ Energy Innovation
🌎 Environmental Impact
💻 Digital Transformation

If your organization has measurable results in any of these areas, now’s the time to showcase them.
🔗 https://hubs.la/Q03VcBmc0



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11/26/2025

PJM’s latest summer peak reached 160 GW — the highest since 2011. With capacity prices rising, organizations are searching for predictable value.

GridBeyond’s Dec. 4 webinar breaks down how its ELRP Price Floor Program guarantees $73,000 per MW-year and returns 100% of revenue to participants.

Register for the session: https://hubs.la/Q03VNB8_0

11/25/2025

This Thanksgiving week, our team is taking a short pause—and reflecting on what this audience made possible. Sustainability Soundbites passed 20,873 downloads, and our coverage reached readers worldwide, from North America to Asia.

We’re also hosting two important webinars to close 2026:
• Dec. 3 – Infrastructure Monetization™ with Redaptive and Nuveen
• Dec. 4 – GridBeyond’s $73K/MW-Year ELRP Price Floor Program

Read the full message:

E+E Leader reflects on a year of global readership growth, rising podcast engagement, expanding partnerships, and a thriving awards program as we pause for Thanksgiving.

11/25/2025

Socomec is expanding its North American footprint with a $10 million facility in Suwanee, Georgia, adding around 300 new jobs and increasing U.S. production of critical electrical infrastructure technologies. The new site will support switching, UPS/energy conversion, monitoring, and storage systems used across data centers, healthcare, and industrial facilities.

Read more: https://hubs.la/Q03VrYwW0

Listen on Sustainability Soundbites: https://hubs.la/Q03VrYhF0

11/24/2025

Sixteen U.S. universities earned a spot in the QS Sustainability Top 100 for 2026, highlighting the country’s expanding impact on climate research, governance, and sustainability education.

UC Berkeley, Stanford, NYU, Penn State, and MIT all scored near the top globally, with U.S. institutions dominating QS’s environmental research metrics. Many earned high marks for governance and social impact thanks to climate action plans, community resilience work, and transparent ESG structures.

Campus operations remain a mixed picture—NYU and Berkeley score above 94 in environmental sustainability, while others lag in emissions reduction, energy management, and waste performance.

🔗 Full article: https://hubs.la/Q03VcfSw0

🎧 Podcast: https://hubs.la/Q03Vck5P0

11/24/2025

California has applied more than 15 million pounds of PFAS-based pesticides over six years—introducing “forever chemicals” into farmland, soils, and water systems at a scale that researchers now say has long-term environmental consequences.

EWG’s new statewide mapping shows PFAS pesticides used across 58 counties, especially in Fresno, Kern, San Joaquin, and Imperial. Studies show PFAS can move deep into soil, contaminate groundwater, accumulate in crops and livestock feed, and travel long distances through agricultural dust.

Scientists are raising concerns as PFAS is already detected in 400+ water systems, wildlife like river otters and fish, and California’s most productive agricultural regions.

🔗 Read the full breakdown: https://hubs.la/Q03V6_Vp0

🎧 Listen on Sustainability Soundbites: https://hubs.la/Q03V6-CZ0

11/23/2025

Maryland’s updated reconstruction estimate for the Francis Scott Key Bridge has risen to $4.3–$5.2 billion, reflecting a year of accelerated design work, global materials inflation, new federal pier-protection rules, and significantly expanded structural requirements.

The earliest estimate issued in spring 2024 was only a placeholder to unlock federal emergency relief funding—produced before engineering teams had vessel-impact modeling, material pricing, risk contingencies, or supply-chain data.

Today’s estimate factors in:
• New pier-protection systems mandated by federal safety standards
• A much longer 1,665-ft main span
• Steel and concrete cost volatility
• Nationwide cement shortages
• Inflation across highway construction markets (up 72% in five years)
• Bonding and insurance requirements

MDTA will continue pursuing the ship owner for damages and applying insurance proceeds to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

🔗 Full article: https://hubs.la/Q03V6HxF0

🎧 Listen: https://hubs.la/Q03V6wsm0

11/22/2025

Air Liquide has added its first hydrogen-powered heavy-duty trucks to its fleet in the Netherlands—marking a meaningful shift from pilot demonstrations to real commercial use. The new MAN hTGX hydrogen ICE trucks, operated by Schenk Tanktransport, will serve customers throughout the greater Rotterdam region.

This deployment is supported by the Dutch SWiM funding program, which helps scale hydrogen vehicle adoption alongside fueling infrastructure. With the EU tightening CO₂ standards for trucks and requiring a 45% emissions reduction by 2030, hydrogen is becoming an important option for long-range, high-payload transport needs where batteries face limitations.

🔗 Full article: https://hubs.la/Q03TZgQp0

🎧 Podcast version: https://hubs.la/Q03TZj5J0

11/21/2025

Pirelli and McLaren have collaborated on a notable step forward in sustainable automotive engineering: the first supercar tires containing more than 50% sustainable materials. The new P Zero models—R, Trofeo RS, and Winter 2—launched with McLaren’s W1 hybrid supercar and are certified by Bureau Veritas under ISO 14021.

Engineered specifically for the W1’s extreme performance profile, the tires were developed using advanced virtual modeling and validated through extensive track and winter testing. This partnership highlights how sustainability is now being integrated into high-performance design from the start rather than retrofitted later.

Read the full article:
https://hubs.la/Q03Tw-kM0

Hear the audio version on Sustainability Soundbites:
https://hubs.la/Q03Tx1KC0

11/21/2025

BioMADE, the State of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the Iowa State University Research Park have broken ground on a new 15,000 sq. ft. pilot-scale biomanufacturing facility that will play a critical role in rebuilding U.S. production capacity for biobased chemicals, fuels, and advanced materials.

Designed to reduce reliance on overseas scale-up infrastructure, the facility will house 5,000- and 10,000-liter fermenters, lab space, and advanced downstream processing equipment. Governor Kim Reynolds and national security leaders emphasized that biomanufacturing isn’t just an economic opportunity—it’s a strategic priority for America’s competitiveness.

The project is part of BioMADE’s growing Pilot Plant Network, with public–private funding commitments totaling more than $40 million.

Read the full article →
https://hubs.la/Q03TwKV20

Hear the Sustainability Soundbites audio edition →
https://hubs.la/Q03TwS7v0

11/20/2025

Duke Energy Foundation has awarded $300,000 to 13 Florida organizations working on coastal restoration, reforestation, wildlife care, and community resilience.

Highlights include:
• Major tree-planting efforts with One Tree Planted
• Habitat restoration with The Nature Conservancy
• Urban resilience planning with the University of Florida Foundation
• Coastal recovery work with Tampa Bay Watch

These projects build on more than $3.8 million in statewide environmental investments since 2020.

Read the full article:
https://hubs.la/Q03Tr5L_0

Listen to the Sustainability Soundbites recap:
https://hubs.la/Q03Tr68S0

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