HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Aug. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Newlight Technologies is honored to announce that Aircarbon foodware's straws have been awarded the Plastic-Free Product Seal by Oceanic Global's Blue Standard, verifying Aircarbon foodware as plastic-free. The Blue Standard is a first-of-its-kind, cross-industry standard that was developed by international nonprofit Oceanic Global and its expert advisory board to enable businesses and industries to take meaningful action for ocean health.
To earn the Blue Standard's Plastic-Free Product Seal, Aircarbon foodware was independently reviewed by the team at Oceanic Global, and the Aircarbon product and packaging were verified as being plastic-free and responsibly sourced in accordance with the Blue Standard's criteria. This achievement recognizes the nearly two-decade effort to develop Aircarbon to help eliminate harmful single-use plastics by replacing plastic with a naturally-occurring material. It also demonstrates that Aircarbon foodware has a clear end-of-life strategy in place, uses responsibly sourced materials, and is compatible with available waste management infrastructure.
"Oceanic Global is proud to recognize the efforts Newlight has taken to earn the Plastic-Free Product Seal for Aircarbon through our Blue Standard program and to pioneer sustainable best practices in their sector. We have seen firsthand how businesses can shape the behavior of their industry and community, and acknowledge that it takes ripples to create waves of change," said Oceanic Global Founder Lea d'Auriol.
To create Aircarbon foodware, Newlight uses a nature-inspired technology that is found in ecosystems throughout the world, including in the ocean, wherein naturally-occurring microorganisms consume air and greenhouse gas through fermentation to produce a muscle-like material inside of their cells called PHB. PHB is an energy storage material made in most living organisms, from marine microorganisms to the roots of plants and the human body, and can be melted into shapes as a replacement for plastic.
Founded in 2003, Newlight is the first company to directly transform greenhouse gases into PHB, a biomaterial that the company calls Aircarbon, at commercial scale. Aircarbon competes on performance with various grades of polypropylene, the second largest-volume plastic in the world. With a variety of potential industries to serve, Newlight's primary focus is on addressing ocean plastic pollution by displacing plastic in the foodware market, starting with straws, cutlery, and coated paper products.
"Oceanic Global is one of the world leaders in the effort to help restore the world's oceans to their full health, and the Blue Standard represents that leading standard to communicate to companies and consumers which products help move the world towards that goal," said Newlight CEO Mark Herrema. "We are honored that Aircarbon has received the Plastic-Free Blue Standard Product Seal, and it will be an important part of our how we continue to fight to achieve our shared goal of clean oceans."
For more information about Oceanic Global's Blue Standard, please visit: https://bluestandard.com/
For more information about Newlight Technologies, please visit: https://www.newlight.com/
Newlight is a nature-inspired biotechnology company converting air and greenhouse gas into a biomaterial called Aircarbon®. AirCarbon is a high-performance, carbon-negative PHB biomaterial produced by naturally-occurring microorganisms that is being used to replace plastic in industrial segments ranging from foodware to fashion. Newlight's mission is to help end plastic pollution and climate change by replacing plastic with Aircarbon, creating global-scale economic and environmental value. For more information about Newlight and Aircarbon, visit www.aircarbon.com.
Founded in 2016 by Lea d'Auriol, Oceanic Global (OG) inspires us to care deeply for the ocean and provides solutions to protect it. The international non-profit sheds light on humanity's essential relationship to the ocean and empowers individuals, communities, and industries to create positive change. Oceanic Global creates educational experiences, consults on sustainable operations, and engages local communities to generate measurable impact for our collective wellbeing. In 2021, Oceanic Global launched the Blue Standard (Blue), a first-of-its-kind cross industry standard that establishes universal accountability for sustainable business leadership and empowers industries and businesses of all sizes to achieve measurable impact that protects our blue planet. Oceanic Global is based in Brooklyn, New York with international hubs & volunteer bases in New York, London, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Tulum, and Hong Kong. Reflective of its global reach, the organization has additionally produced United Nations World Oceans Day since 2019. #CareDeeply | www.oceanic.global
SOURCE Newlight Technologies
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