Biotechnology company Newlight Technologies announced that it has entered into a partnership with Nike, aimed at reducing the athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories giant’s carbon footprint through the use of bio-based materials.
Under the new partnership, Nike will explore the use of Newlight’s AirCarbon, a biomaterial produced using naturally occurring microorganisms from the ocean that eat air and greenhouse gas and convert it inside of their cells. The process is carbon negative, resulting in a net reduction in CO2, and produces a material consisting of approximately 40% oxygen from air and 60% carbon from greenhouse gas. AirCarbon can be melted into a range of forms, from fiber and sheet to solid shapes.
Newlight CEO, Mark Herrema said:
“Our mission is change at scale, and there are few better partners in the world than Nike to help achieve that. We are excited to explore how AirCarbon can help Nike decarbonize its products and achieve its ambitious carbon-reduction goals.”
Emissions reductions and the use of sustainable materials form key parts of Nike’s 2025 ESGEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are a set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. More program, Purpose 2025, launched earlier this year. As part of the program, Nike aims to eliminate 0.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions through increasing its use of environmentally preferred materials to 50% of all key materials.
NIKE, Inc. Chief Sustainability Officer Noel Kinder said:
“AirCarbon offers an opportunity to further reduce our impact on the planet. Materials account for 70 percent of Nike’s total carbon footprint, and we’re accelerating our efforts and exploring new opportunities in this space because, in the race against climate change, we can’t wait for solutions, we have to work together to create them.”
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