Nintendo announces it will recognize same-sex partnerships even though Japan doesn’t
The Japanese video game company Nintendo has announced that it will extend marriage benefits to employees who are in same-sex partnerships.
Business
This archive collects stories about businesses — from startups and local enterprises to multinational corporations — taking meaningful action on social, environmental, and economic challenges. These reports highlight moments when commerce and accountability intersect in constructive ways.
U.K.’s opens its largest carbon capture project which will turn 40,000 tons of CO2 into baking soda
The $24 million investment has been completed by U.K.-based Tata Chemicals Europe, one of Europe’s leading producers of sodium carbonate, salt and baking soda, and they expect it to lower their carbon emissions by more than 10%.
World’s first commercial sand battery begins energy storage in Finland
Sand-based thermal energy storage is stepping out of the lab and into real communities, and the implications reach well beyond Finland. A steel tank packed with ordinary sand captures surplus wind and solar energy as heat, then pipes warmth through a district heating network serving homes and public buildings — at under €10 per kilowatt-hour, using no rare materials. With nearly half of Scandinavian homes already connected to district heating, this technology has a ready path to scale. For communities facing long, cold winters, affordable heat storage like this could become a quiet cornerstone of the clean energy transition.
Google to automatically delete abortion clinic visits from users’ history
Activists have said decisions like these could be important if the government begins seeking personal information in order to charge people who’ve had, sought or facilitated abortions.
Zuva Petroleum starts rolling out EV chargers at its petrol stations in Zimbabwe
The first site was launched on the 30th of June in Harare.
Kenyan engineer invents method to turn plastic waste into sturdy construction bricks
Nzambi Matee’s Nairobi-based company, Gjenge Makers, produces a variety of different paving stones, which are already being put to use to line sidewalks, driveways, and roads.
Airbus flies first helicopter with both engines burning 100% green fuel for the first time ever
Sustainable aviation fuel just powered both engines of an Airbus H225 helicopter at the same time — a first for any rotorcraft, anywhere. Earlier tests had only run SAF in one engine at a time, so flying twin engines on 100% SAF marks a real leap toward proving the fuel works under the demanding, variable loads helicopters face. Airbus says SAF at full concentration can cut CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional jet fuel, and the company is aiming to certify 100% SAF across its commercial aircraft and helicopters by 2030. For missions like search and rescue or medical evacuation, where batteries can’t yet deliver, this is one of the most promising paths to cleaner skies.
Zero-emissions hydrogen cargo airship prototype planned for 2025
H2 Clipper claims it’ll cost a quarter of what today’s air freight services cost per ton-mile, making it an economically disruptive way to move bulk cargo as well as an opportunity to decarbonize trans-continental logistics operations.
Energy Dome launches world’s first CO2 battery energy storage facility in Sardinia
These “CO2 batteries” can store renewable energy over long periods and release it quickly, at less than half the cost of big lithium batteries.
Japan successfully tests giant turbine that generates renewable energy using deep ocean currents
During future tests, developer IHI Corp is hoping to generate two megawatts, with the hopes of kicking off commercial operations in the 2030s, Bloomberg reports.