Listen to today’s podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/silk-logic-sustainability-daily/id1842028080
Sustainability Daily Podcast 12/05/2025
Today’s podcast episode was created from the following stories:
Can Renting Baby Gear Fix a $4.5 Billion Waste Problem?
Baby Gear Group, a B Corp lending library for baby items, is tackling the massive waste from short-lived baby products by offering parents a safe, professionally cleaned rental alternative. Operating in nine U.S. cities and growing via licenses, the service caps rental costs at half of retail and was named to Time’s Best Inventions of 2025. The model aims to open 1,000 branches, potentially diverting nearly a quarter of baby gear waste while saving families about $1 billion.
Edn expands into women’s
Edn, the anti-plastic apparel startup, extends its 100% cotton, toxin-free line into women’s underwear with third-party lab verification and full traceability. The brand positions plastic-free basics as a reproductive-health and sustainability choice, with evergreen (non-seasonal) products designed to last. Prices range from $26–$44, signaling a bid for accessible, clean essentials beyond underwear in future expansions.
Design and experimental study of a precision fluid hill-drop planter for maize
Researchers unveiled a fluid-controlled, zero-speed maize planter that significantly improves seed placement precision and water-use efficiency for hilly terrain. Bench tests showed qualified seeding rates above 91% (with bounce distance reduced by 63%) and stable water delivery, backed by CFD–DEM simulations. The technology could help close productivity gaps by improving emergence and uniformity in challenging landscapes.
CHAR Tech announces kiln installation underway at Thorold Renewable Energy Facility
CHAR Technologies began installing its first high-temperature pyrolysis kiln at the Thorold facility, keeping Phase 1 on track for January 2026 commissioning. The project will convert up to 35,000 tonnes/year of wood waste into over 5,000 tonnes of biocarbon, supporting steel decarbonization via ArcelorMittal Dofasco. Phase 2 will double capacity and upgrade syngas into RNG, advancing circular, low-carbon industrial inputs.
Green Rain Energy Holdings (OTC: GREH) announces arrival of fast-charging units in Rochester; points to strong industry revenue benchmarks as launch nears
GREH’s Rochester site received two 240 kW DC fast chargers, marking the company’s transition into revenue generation without taking on new debt. With installation expected to wrap in a week and go live by mid-December, GREH targets utilization-driven growth aligned with industry revenue benchmarks. Next up: Level-2 Driftwood projects in Albany and Saratoga slated for completion by January 2026.
From Italy to Kashmir: Qul Fruits’ live tour brings transparency to HDP nursery procurement
Qul Fruits livestreamed the inspection and grading of 1.5 million high-density apple saplings from top Italian nurseries, giving Kashmir’s growers real-time visibility into quality controls. Farmers engaged directly with European experts on survival rates, rootstocks, and storage, building trust in imported material. The company pledged ongoing training and field support to raise orchard productivity and de-risk procurement.
Scaleway and Fujitsu launch European AI inference initiative using MONAKA CPUs
Scaleway and Fujitsu are testing CPU-based AI inference with MONAKA to offer a power- and cost-efficient, sovereign option for European workloads. Early results suggest up to 1.9× power efficiency and 1.7× cost efficiency, with support for models up to 70B parameters. The effort aims to widen sustainable, transparent compute choices for production AI at scale.
Royal Jordanian Armed Forces deploy BeamWell desalination, energy and e-mobility product at Royal Medical Services facility
Beam Global’s off-grid BeamWell system was deployed in Zarqa to produce 3,000 liters of clean water daily, provide electricity, and charge rugged e-mopeds for delivering aid where utilities are down. Built on the EV ARC platform, the unit supports rapid humanitarian response without construction or grid interconnections. The initiative underscores scalable, resilient infrastructure for crisis regions across the Middle East and beyond.
