Our current economic model is wasteful, idle, lopsided and dirty. It is WILD. But we believe a transition is underway to a circular, lean, inclusive and clean economic model. We call it CLIC™. By investing in low-carbon and clean-tech innovation, as well as in carbon-intensive companies that are transitioning to net-zero, we can pave the way to a better future. A future that focuses on a triple bottom line: planet, people and profit.
Can whales help cool the temperature of our planet? A whale’s body can store up to 33 tonnes of harmful carbon dioxide. When they die and sink to the ocean floor, all that carbon is stored there for centuries...
Watch video
Oceans are the source of at least 50 per cent of all oxygen produced on Earth. Yet industrial fishing, offshore oil exploration and using the ocean as the world’s dumping ground for plastics and harmful chemicals have placed this fragile ecosystem...
Read more
A revolution in retail recycling? Unwanted goods create mountains of waste and cost retailers hundreds of billions of dollars.
Watch video
Hundreds of billions of dollars are wasted in customer returns.
Read article
Intriguing technologies are emerging which could lead to zero emissions aviation.
Watch video
The long haul to zero emissions aviation. Intriguing technologies are emerging which could lead to zero emissions aviation. Bio and synthetic fuels are viable, but still expensive and not perfectly clean.
Read article
The world is choking on plastic waste. Less than nine per cent of it is recycled, but an emerging industry promises to change all that. The FT’s Charlotte Middlehurst discovers how chemical recycling...
Watch video
Investors are getting excited about chemical recycling, but campaigners see it as a distraction
Read more
If renewable energy is going to provide a steady source of energy to power grids, we need to find ways of storing it. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the dominant technology, but new rivals are emerging.
Watch video
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power are now becoming viable alternatives to fossil fuels. But for electricity grids, constantly matching supply with demand becomes much harder when you strip out coal and gas-fired plants that provide...
Read more
The coronavirus pandemic is a tragedy, but the FT’s Martin Sandbu believes it could also be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to rebuild better economies that work for everyone.
Watch video
The pandemic has brought the economic polarisation seen in many countries sharply into focus. We’ve seen many of those in humbler occupations that we all depend on marginalised by Covid-19.
Read more
Patagonia and Stella Mccartney have been singing the tune of ethical fashion for a few decades, but it wasn't until the past few years that some of the most exciting innovations in environmentally conscious fashion have been launched.
Watch video
Could the second-hand clothes market help support a circular economy? With over 80 billion garments being produced every year and garments only being worn 7 times before being thrown away, the fashion industry has a massive negative environmental impact.
Read more
Aluminium is lightweight, durable, and 100% recyclable. It’s also a key input for numerous industries. But today, the aluminium sector contributes about one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Watch video
Amidst the growing appetite among companies and investors for disclosure of environmental, social and governance data, the London Metal Exchange plans to launch a platform which trades ‘low-carbon’ aluminium.
Read more
After a tumultuous 2020, Lombard Odier's Kristina Church looks ahead to what investment trends we can expect to see in 2021, and shares insights into how new regulations in sustainability will impact businesses.
Watch video
Start up, Dendra Systems, aims to restore ecosystems and biodiversity using AI and drones. With the ability to analyse an entire ecosystem down to a blade of grass, Dendra Systems hopes to restore and reforest areas around the world that have been damaged
Read more
The world is continuously looking for alternative protein sources. The FT’s Paris Bureau Chief Victor Mallet discovers how insect protein is reinventing the food chain and alleviating pressure on feeding the animals that feed the world.
Watch video
As the world’s population rises, the demand for animal protein in particular is increasing the strain on the environment. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in insect protein companies.
Read more
Our economy is in danger of cannibalising itself. Our planet's natural capital - soil, forests, water sources, minerals - is being depleted at a rate that is unsustainable. A shift if needed, but how?
Watch video
Behind that unassuming façade, WISErg has spent the past decade working on a potential solution to one of the world’s biggest challenges to sustainability: how to process food waste.
Read more
In the Covid-19 era, employers are looking at a range of innovations aimed at making workplaces safe. These range from materials that can puncture and kill viruses, to germicidal ultraviolet irradiation, to viral furnaces.
Watch video
As economies return to work, a range of technologies are emerging to keep us safe from the coronavirus. Some are high-tech, expensive and still at the experimental stage, while others involve adjusting existing technology.
Read more
Agriculture’s entire food chain could account for up to 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Watch video
It sounds at first like science fiction: giant machines that suck carbon dioxide directly out of the air.
Read more
How Denmark's Chr. Hansen is using natural products in the transition towards a sustainable economy
Read more
Alice Ross, the FT’s Deputy News Editor outlines the impact agriculture is having on the environment, and what can be done to alleviate the damage.
Read more
Agriculture’s entire food chain could account for up to 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
Watch video
The coronavirus pandemic prompted a huge drop in carbon emissions. As the travel industry begins to rebuild and the summer holiday season hits its peak, how do we ensure a green recovery?
Read more
From bacteria to blue whales and from fungi to flowers, the loss of Earth’s biodiversity and the subsequent damage to our ecosystem is one of the top ten dangers facing society today.
Read more
There is limited time left to reduce emission levels and mitigate climate change risks, but the path to net zero will bring with it significant investment opportunities
Read more
A post COVID world is one that will look quite different to a pre-COVID world.
Watch video
It seems inevitable, in the short-term at least, that Wuhan will be remembered most widely outside of China as the city at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak.
Read more
Recycling precious metals and minerals from used electronics can help make today's consumption patterns more environmentally sustainable.
Read more
Digital solutions could be the key to producing more food while protecting the environment
Read more
The consumer movement against plastic food and beverage packaging is gathering momentum, and companies are beginning to respond.
Watch video
From homeworking to healthcare, Covid-19 has forced society to adapt in ways that should endure
Read more
For all its horror, the pandemic may change our habits when nothing else could
Read more
When it comes to green issues, many of us assume it’s activists and campaigners who will change the world. But the FT’s Gillian Tett believes that as the responsible investing business continues to grow, so too will the need for financial transparency and
Watch video
By 2050, 68% of the global population is expected to live in cities and eat 80% of food produced. Unless we find a way to grow food within or near cities, the ecological footprint of feeding the masses could be devastating.
Watch video
Cell- and plant-based meat start-ups are developing ‘cuts’ of steak and chicken
Read more
In a nation where space is at a premium, the Dutch are leaders in creating environmentally friendly buildings. From repurposed redundant structures to modular, transportable studios and floating neighbourhoods, the FT’s Helen Barrett explores three comple
Watch video
Five sustainable gadgets for the kitchen and the living room, designed with the wellbeing of the planet in mind
Read more
Whether they’re tracking the origin of valuable assets or allowing consumers to discover more about the sustainability of their purchases, digital technologies are making the supply chain ever more efficient, and transparent.
Watch video
Precision weather tracking, ‘blood pressure monitoring’ for plants and complex nutrient analysis apps are now the must-have tools for modern farmers.
Watch video
The notion of ‘growing’ a steak in a test tube sounds like science fiction. But our food habits change
Read more
The so-called ESG business space is currently reckoned to be worth more than some $32tn. The FT’s Gillian Tett explains that companies are realising they cannot afford to ignore issues like climate change, income inequality and a whole range of governance
Watch video
Globally, we produce 50m tonnes of toxic electronic waste every year — and the UK is one of the worst offenders
Read more
Up to 50 billion tonnes of sand a year is being mined, dredged and even stolen to satisfy the global appetite for infrastructure, according to the UN, and it’s disappearing faster than it can be replenished.
Watch video
At first glance, the business of recycling and reusing small electronics sounds neither glamorous, nor lucrative.
Watch video
Thousands of Central Americans are trying to flee to the United States in what’s become known as the migrant caravan. Many are escaping violence and extortion, but climate change is also playing a part.
Watch video
Lorenzo Bertelli oversees bags made from recycled fabric after joining family group
Read more
Investors are showing greater interest in alternative proteins, as the climate impact of food production comes under the spotlight and the global population continues to climb.
Watch video
Roughly a quarter of the 348 million tons of annual plastic production worldwide now goes into packaging, according to Plastics Europe and UK conservation charity the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, making it the single biggest use of the material
Read more
Start-ups are utilising bacteria and fungi to generate protein and boost agriculture.
Read more
Artist Mathieu Lehanneur discusses his work for new exhibit DYSFUNCTIONAL, created in partnership with Carpenters Workshop Gallery and Lombard Odier.
Watch video
Theoretical neuroscientist and entrepreneur Vivienne Ming believes that AI and what she calls “augmented intelligence” mean we’ll eventually have people who are artificially smarter than others.
Watch video
Men dominate the venture capital scene. A recent UK study found that less than one per cent of venture capital goes to businesses founded by women.
Watch video
People are living longer and children have always been expected to look after their parents in old age. But the FT’s Roger Blitz is convinced individuals are becoming more self-centred and less interested in the family.
Watch video
Culinary 3D printing is new and rather niche but it could be an answer to some of the food industry's biggest challenges.
Watch video
Whilst the traditional home ownership model is no longer viable for many, it hasn’t dampened the appetite for city centre living, nor impacted the growing desire for a smaller environmental footprint.
Watch video
As urbanisation accelerates and infrastructure decays, researchers are working out how cities can heal themselves. As the FT’s Nikou Asgari explains, they are carrying out tests on materials that repair themselves and an army of maintenance robots that ca
Watch video
A Chinese scientist claims to have created the world’s first genome-edited babies, but won't this cause more inequality in society?
Watch video
Chief Economist of Lombard Odier Samy Chaar shares his diagnosis for Europe's economy ""We're not going to run the marathon tomorrow, but we're doing ok"".
Watch video
Chief Economist of Lombard Odier Samy Chaar shares his diagnosis for Europe's economy ""We're not going to run the marathon tomorrow, but we're doing ok"".
Watch video
Who wants to worry about taking care of the environment when they’re on holiday? No one, according to Xenia zu Hohenlohe, partner at Considerate Group, which is which is why she thinks hotels should do the job for their guests.
Watch video
At the end of 2017, China banned virtually all materials for recycling. Before that, it took about 60 per cent of the plastic waste exported by G7 countries.
Watch video
Waste in fashion is on a massive scale, and less than one per cent of recycled textiles are converted into new, wearable materials. But very gradually, that may be changing.
Watch video
Could computers ever replicate humans and take over the world? It’s unlikely, according to leading neuroscientist David Eagleman, largely because what it means to be human is constantly evolving.
Watch video
An investor with ownership in a large forest faces numerous choices, ranging from farming the land, to building houses, to simply selling all the wood
Watch video
The internet has rapidly become an indispensable tool, but the FT’s Hannah Kuchler thinks it is seriously flawed and in urgent need of repair.
Watch video
Cities across the world are turning themselves into vast sponges.
Watch video
Since ancient Rome animal poisons have been used to heal rather than harm the human body. Scorpion venom can be used to help detect and cure diseases, but milking scorpions by hand is a time-consuming and dangerous process.
Watch video
One of the most innovative blockchain and cryptocurrency hubs on the planet right now is in Nairobi, Kenya.
Watch video
We may think we’re in control of our technology but the FT’s Rana Foroohar believes it may be controlling us. A recent study found that 4 in 10 Americans are suffering from addictive behaviour linked to their phones.
Watch video
In the past, Big Data was often compared to oil, because companies could get rich off their deep wells of information. But just like oil, data can be ‘spilled’, with serious consequences.
Watch video
Car subscription services, an alternative to owning or leasing a car, are gathering speed. As the FT’s Patrick McGee explains, it could hugely disrupt the traditional car ownership model.
Watch video
Didier Rabbatu, Head of Equities at Lombard Odier Investment Managers explains why businesses embracing change and embedding sustainability will soar like Eagles, whilst companies clinging to a dated mindset - sticking their heads in the sand like Ostrich
Watch video
Barter is making a comeback. That’s because technology has made it a lot easier to swap things online. It also means people can give away things like personal data to tech companies in return for services.
Watch video
The next economic revolution is already underway - and it is driven by sustainability.
Watch video
President Trump seems determined to tear apart the global economy by erecting tariff walls and promoting bilateral trade deals. Does this mark the end of globalisation?
Watch video
Sea levels are rising, and that could be causing waves of unexpected house price increases in poorer areas of coastal cities. The FT’s Ed Crooks reports on what has become known as climate gentrification.
Watch videoHow Denmark's Chr. Hansen is using natural products in the transition towards a sustainable economy
For decades, the summers along the coast that stretch south from Copenhagen were plagued by tons of seaweed that would wash up on the beaches and start to rot.
The stench was a big problem for the locals. But it was an even bigger problem for the tourism industry as holidaymakers from the Danish capital and beyond went elsewhere for their annual breaks.
Today, all of that has changed thanks to a biogas plant that collects the seaweed and mixes it with biological residue from Chr. Hansen, the Danish bioscience company. The smell has gone, the beaches are cleaner and carbon-neutral energy has replaced fossil fuels for thousands of local residents.
“We are not only part of delivering cleaner sources of energy and supporting local farmers; we also have a more cost-efficient alternative for handling our biological waste-streams,” explains Michael Juhler, Chr. Hansen's Senior Director, who is responsible for the company's biggest production site in Copenhagen.
The contribution of Chr. Hansen, which produces food cultures, probiotics and enzymes for the global nutrition, agricultural and pharmaceutical industries, is an example of the steps that some companies are taking to reduce waste and cut emissions.
This transition towards a Circular, Lean, Inclusive, Clean (CLIC™) economy is happening, and it will inevitably produce winners and losers as companies, industries and entire sectors move at different speeds. But the companies that understand the urgency of change and that are taking transformational steps today are more likely to emerge as leaders of tomorrow's CLIC™ economy.
Discover more content on the topics that inspire, engage and inform the world we live in today at the FT Channels hub.
