Global 8 Environmental Technologies is a public company (GBLE.PK) with unique vision.  Based in San Diego, Global 8 is pursuing a new direction for the company, creating relationships with sustainable businesses that help these partners to grow.  Using this strategy Global 8 succeeds if their partners succeed, leading both down a path toward a strong financial future as well as helping the planet.

The first step down this path was announced recently in Global 8’s agreement with Wheatware (Grand Island, Nebraska), a manufacturer of products from compostable bio-resin made from wheat.  Wheatware’s bio-resin goes beyond “biodegradable”.  It is a safe, inexpensive, and earth friendly compostable alternative to wood, disposable petroleum-based plastics or corn-based bioplastics.  Wheatware’s musical accessories like drum sticks and guitar picks are sold in over 550 stores, attracting musicians with their unique musical properties as well as the eco-friendly material they’re made of.

The unique products from Wheatware have earned some valuable press exposure over the years, letting more people know about the company through appearances in Scientific American, the History Channel, and even Oprah.  Wheatware was featured in the “Green with Music” Grammy event and others, earning a place in the minds of many, but it looks like this is just the beginning.

Now Wheatware is hoping to expand in new markets by providing compostable chopsticks, forks, knives and spoons made with their proprietary wheat-based bio-resin. Tens of billions of pieces of disposable flatware are purchased in the USA each year and thrown away, and the huge volume of disposable chopsticks used globally can add up to a significant environmental toll.

As part of the agreement with Global 8, Wheatware shares profits from sales of compostable products, building a future revenue stream.  The large market potential of new products Wheatware is developing and selling like this could mean significant future earnings for Wheatware and therefore Global 8 as well. 

As they forge new relationships in the future, Global 8 can capitalize on their expertise and develop synergies between partners who may do business in related fields.  For example, Global 8’s relationship with Wheatware compostable bio-resins could provide synergies with other future partners involved in large scale composting, recycling, remanufacturing, or converting waste to energy.  They can also expand relationships in fields related to clean air, clean water, and green energy.  Rather than investing in single businesses, it becomes possible to invest in a network of businesses in each of these fields that become stronger by working together, making money as well as making a difference.

It’s an interesting model for investors, similar in a way to Berkshire Hathaway.  Although it was once in the textile business, the business of Berkshire Hathaway today is to invest in businesses, help them to succeed, and help their own stock as well.  It’s a model that has worked for them and their Chairman, Warren Buffet, quite well.

For proponents of socially responsible investing, companies like these that are helping the environment can be attractive.  If you are the typical investor focused on solid financial results, then the prospects of increased revenue could make these companies attractive to you as well.  As more collaborations such as the Wheatware-Global 8 deal are forged, they should help sustainable businesses like these accelerate their growth, increase profits, and attract a broad range of investors. 

Glenn Croston is the author of “75 Green Businesses” and “Starting Green”, helping businesses everywhere to start green and grow greener, making money and making a difference at Starting Up Green.

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By now, many have heard algae being proclaimed as the fuel source that could potentially replace a large percentage of the petroleum we use.

However, non-fuel uses of algae that can further lessen our dependence on petroleum have not gotten the attention they deserve. One such usage, while far less visible and but whom some would argue is just as important, is creating plastics.

Cereplast , a renewable plastics company, is looking into using algae as a new and renewable source of this seemingly ubiquitous material. In October 2009, it announced that algae-based resins “could replace 50 percent or more of the petroleum content used in traditional plastic resins.”

In a recent interview, Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer explained that there are several benefits to switching over to algae-based plastics over traditional petroleum based ones. One reason is that it has the potential to help cut down the United State’s reliance on foreign oil.

“Traditional plastics are made from oil and the entire plastic and chemical industry is using up to 8 percent of our fuel and energy resources,” Scheer said. “In diverting to new [plastic] feedstock we are reducing our dependency [on foreign oil] accordingly.”

Additionally, bioplastics can offer a smaller impact on the environmental since some types of plastics created from algae will biodegrade within 180 days without leaving any harmful chemical residue.

Other than national security and environmental reasons cited above, there are several economic reasons for wanting to see an increase in bioplastic production, be it algae-based or one of Cereplast’s starch-based plastics.

Mr. Scheer stated that while the price of plastic isn’t typically a major concern to the public, it is linked to the price of petroleum and thus susceptible to volatile price swings. Cereplast’s bioplastic resins are not linked to the cost of petroleum and its “bioplastic resins require significantly less energy during production permitting additional savings.”

A notable achievement of Cereplast, which currently produces and sells its starch-based resins, has been its ability to economically stand on its own without any subsidies or tax breaks from the government.

Stephan Garden, Cereplast VP

“So far Cereplast has been growing up with no subsidies or tax incentives,” Scheer said. “We would welcome such assistance but we believe in free enterprises and therefore our products need to be economically sustainable. We would really be delighted to see tax incentives and support to what we are doing but for us it is not our mantra.”

Lastly, one of the best things about Cereplast’s process of creating bioplastics from algae is that it still allows for the co-production of algae biofuels. For example, oil can be extracted from algae for use as fuel with the remaining algal biomass being used as a source for biopolymer, or plastic, production.

Essentially, bioplastic production can be considered a co-product of algae biofuel in Cereplast’s model, giving the same batch of algae even more value. Ultimately, the successful development of co-products like bioplastics will help hasten the day when commercial production of algae biofuel is viable.

Overall, Cereplast has a very rosy outlook on the future of bioplastic resins. The company believes that the bioplastic market is growing and could top 30 percent of the total plastic market in just 10 years . However, in order for algae to play a major part in this, algae producers need to develop a commercially viable production model.

Mr. Scheer, though, has great faith in the algae industry and believes that we will begin to see these production models within the next 18 to 24 months. With the Department of Defense’s research arm, DARPA, announcing that it is just months away from producing algae biofuels at petroleum-equivalent costs, Scheer just may be right.

Article by Jonathan Williams appearing courtesy Celsias.

photos: Elsa Wenzel

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The amount of plastic that will be produced this decade will nearly equal the total produced in the 20th century, and the substance is increasingly taking a toll on human health and the environment, a new study says.

Reporting in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, more than 60 scientists found the following: Chemicals added to plastics are increasingly absorbed by humans, altering hormones and affecting fetal development and other physiological processes; millions of tons of plastic debris are ingested by hundreds of animal and fish species, clogging their digestive systems and infusing their systems with chemicals; floating plastic debris can last thousands of years in oceans and transport invasive species; plastic in landfills leaches harmful chemicals into groundwater; and 8 percent of world oil production goes into manufacturing plastics.

“One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and fragmentation of plastics,” the paper said.

The researchers did say that the ill-effects of plastic can be reduced in the future with the invention of biodegradable and less harmful forms of plastic and with greatly improved systems of plastic recycling.

This article originally appeared on Yale Environment 360 at http://e360.yale.edu

[photo credit: meerar]

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