Daily Archives: February 9, 2022

[co-authors: Gabriel Harrison, Shawn Whites and Charles Smith]

With 2022 underway, the Biden-Harris administration is continuing to implement its whole-of-government response to climate change. In 2021, the administration focused on building public-private partnerships on clean energy, forest finance and climate-smart agriculture; developing climate adaptation and resilience plans for over 20 federal agencies; and renewing the United States international climate diplomacy.1 In early 2022, the administration already has announced new actions and funding to address methane emissionsincluding $1.15 billion for states to cap abandoned oil and gas wellswhile the Department of Interior (DOI) will hold its first offshore wind auction later this month. Going forward, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hopes to initiate new rulemakings to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuel-based energy production and consumption, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will finalize new corporate fuel economy standards. The year ahead could also see strong and systemic moves by financial regulators, such as the Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC) long-awaited proposed rule on climate-related disclosures. All told, we expect a flurry of regulatory and non-regulatory actions from the administration in 2022 aimed at achieving the United States Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreementa 50 to 52 percent reduction in economy-wide GHG emissions by 2030 en route to net-zero by 2050especially as the Democrats window narrows for passing climate legislation before the congressional midterm elections.

In this alert, we highlight ten climate and sustainability developments to watch in 2022 as the Biden-Harris administration rolls out its Year Two environmental agenda.

U.S. public companies remain on the lookout for the SECs proposed rule to enhance disclosure requirements for climate change risks and opportunities. Readers will recall SEC Chair Genslers assertion that investors increasingly want to understand public companies climate risks and are looking for consistent, comparable and decision-useful disclosures to help them invest in companies that fit their needs. Initially, the SEC signaled that the proposed rule would be out in late 2021, but it seems that drafting the rule is presenting more challenges than anticipated, and now interested stakeholders expect the SEC to act by mid-year.

In the meantime, as we enter into the Form 10-K and proxy season, U.S. public companies should be mindful of existing disclosure obligations in relation to climate change risks and opportunities faced by their companies, as well as ensuring such disclosure obligations are consistent with all other disclosures to investors (e.g., disclosures made in sustainability and earnings reports). As we described in more detail here, information regarding climate change-related risks and opportunities may be required in various disclosure items in a companys SEC filings (e.g., the description of business, legal proceedings, risk factors and managements discussion and analysis (MD&A) of financial condition and results of operations). Relatedly, companies that do not believe climate change poses any material risks to their operations or financial position should be prepared to support that position with quantitative and qualitative analyses, data and other supporting materials.

After rejoining the Paris Agreement and announcing an aggressive new NDC in 2021, President Biden committed the country to significant reductions in GHG emissions from the production and use of fossil fuel-based energy. The United States also joined a global pact at last years UN Climate Change Conference calling upon parties to accelerat[e] efforts toward the phasedown of unabated coal power, and issued an action plan to implement the United States-led Global Methane Pledge to reduce global methane emissions by 30 percent below 2020 levels by 2030.2 Accordingly, we anticipate that the administration in 2022 will continue to focus on coal, oil and natural gas and their ultimate disposition in the fuels used to power the economy.

EPA reportedly plans to adopt a coordinated series of rules to decrease emissions from coal generation. First among equals could include a replacement of the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan (CPP).3Although the Supreme Court is evaluating EPAs authority to regulate GHG emissions from existing power plants under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act4the likely statutory basis of a replacement CPPEPA has already reached into its regulatory toolkit to facilitate emissions reductions from coal plants. For example, EPA recently issued denials (and, in one case, an approval conditioned on a costly groundwater monitoring program) to coal facilities that requested extensions to comply with deadlines under the Coal Combustion Residuals Rule to close unlined coal ash impoundments. Several dozen additional of these determinations remain outstanding, and EPA is not expected to rule affirmatively on many.

Other EPA regulations, such as effluent limitation guidelines on coal plants wastewater discharges, reportedly have contributed to the closure of some plants. EPA likely will look to its broad authorities under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to pursue future rulemaking and stricter enforcement of existing regulations and permit conditions for power plantssuch as renewed or more stringent standards to limit emissions of mercury, acids, gases and other hazardous air pollutants, and increased efforts to require plant operators to respond to groundwater quality concerns and improve monitoring in the oft-disadvantaged communities surrounding plants. This week, for example, EPA proposed to restore the legal foundation for the agency to impose emission limits on certain hazardous air pollutants from power plants (including EPAs long-contested Mercury and Air Toxics Standards). Almost certainly by design, these efforts will make it more expensive and difficult to produce coal-fired power. By years end, we expect to see momentum toward a number of new agency actions and rules that finalize the proposals discussed above or seek further restrictions on coal-fired power. Altogether, EPAs coordinated suite of regulatory actions very well may force operators to consider plant shutdowns or technology conversions in 2022 and thereafter.

Beyond efforts targeting coal, EPA likely will finalize proposed performance standards and methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emission guidelines for the oil and natural gas sectors. EPA proposed new standards in November 2021 for both new and existing sources of air pollution in all key segments of the oil and gas industry. Those standards target a range of sources at oil and gas sites, including fugitive emissions at wells, compressor stations and storage vessels, among numerous others. New requirements range from bolstered leak detection and monitoring programs to implementing zero-emission technology directly at the emission source.

Additionally, EPA has looked downstream to fuel itself as a vehicle to achieve climate goals. After years of delays, last December it proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volumes for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 compliance years. Taking a somewhat pragmatic approach, EPA proposed to reduce the requirement for blending renewable fuel into traditional (nonrenewable) fuels for the 2021 compliance year, but proposed its intent to raise the renewable fuel volume obligations for 2022. Relatedly, EPA proposed late last year to deny all undecided and pending small refinery exemptions from RFS compliance.5

The Biden-Harris administration made historic commitments to offshore wind in its first year. That momentum continues in 2022, with DOI recently announcing a February 2022 wind auction for nearly half a million acres off the New Jersey and New York coasts. As the administration seeks to shift the countrys energy mix from fossil fuels to renewable sources, expect to see at least two more offshore wind lease sales in 2022 for areas off the California and North Carolina and South Carolina coasts.6

DOI is also pursuing climate-inspired actions aimed at fossil fuel-based energy. Although courts stymied DOIs moratorium on the issuance of new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters, DOI took several steps last year that will carry over into noteworthy actions in 2022 and beyond. This includes a November 2021 report culminating from DOIs review of the federal oil and gas leasing program, which contains numerous recommendations to correct alleged well-documented and long reported deficiencies in leasing practices. The report signals upcoming changes (as early as this year) to leases fiscal terms and remediation requirements, including minimum health, safety and environmental criteria and an increase in royalty ratesthe latter of which was inadvertently revealed this week by the administration. We also expect DOI to rethink its land use planning decisions, which may mean reducing or changing the criteria used to evaluate the public lands and water available for oil and gas leasing, imposing more cumbersome lease stipulations and permit conditions, and requiring consultation with affected communities.

One trend not likely to materialize, however, is a complete cessation in the issuance of leases and permits. Although DOI may in 2022 issue fewer leases and permits than in the past, there are no indications that it significantly will limit, restrict or stop these activities. Nor would such a drastic policy change likely survive legal scrutiny, even if environmental groups have had success as of late in challenging lease sales, including a suit that convinced the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week to vacate and remand the record of decision underlying one of DOIs largest ever offshore lease sales.7

During his campaign, President Biden pledged to reduce GHG emissions from transportation and develop rigorous new fuel economy standards aimed at ensuring 100% of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified by 2050. This includes deploying a coordinated approach centered on more stringent regulations and efforts to promote the production and adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and build-out of EV infrastructure.

EPA and NHTSA, the agencies charged with regulating tailpipe emissions and fuel economy, respectively, bear much responsibility for meeting this lofty pledge. In December, EPA issued a final rule that provided aggressive new standards for tailpipe GHG emissions for model year (MY) 2023 through 2026. NHTSA, meanwhile, repealed a Trump administration rule (SAFE I) that codified regulatory text and made additional pronouncements regarding the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Acts preemption of state and local laws related to fuel economy standards. This sets the stage for EPA in the coming weeks to restore the waiver for Californias zero-emission vehicles mandate and GHG emission standards within the States Advanced Clean Cars program, allowing California (and states that mirror Californias tailpipe emission standards) to adopt standards more stringent than those in place under federal law. NHTSA also will finalize new corporate average fuel economy standards for MY 2024-2026 vehicles in the near future to replace the Trump-era standards.

EPA has also committed to propose standards for subsequent MY vehicles beginning with MY 2027. Those standards are expected to contain the most stringent tailpipe emission restrictions to dateostensibly an effort from this administration to spur the widespread adoption of hybrid and zero-emission vehicles. EPA may even look beyond the traditional tailpipe emission standards (which typically apply to new vehicles) to meet its climate goals, such as targeting regulations and enhanced incentives directly at electric vehicles or older, higher emitting vehicles. As an ancillary strategy to ensure emission reductions, we expect EPA to continue its aggressive enforcement of aftermarket automobile parts manufacturers, consistent with one of the agencys ongoing National Compliance Initiatives.

The success of these strategies, of course, is dependent on the countrys ability to build infrastructure to support widespread EV charging. NHTSAs parent agency, the Department of Transportation (DOT), plans to use $7.5 billion in funding in partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) to make that happen. Together, DOT and DOE will start in 2022 to build out a national EV charging network that can build public confidence, with a focus on filling gaps in rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach locations.

This spring, we anticipate that the Interagency Working Group on the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (Working Group) will propose an updated schedule of costs to society from carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide pollution (the Social Costs of GHGs).8 Federal agencies use these social costs to inform cost-benefit analyses and justify rulemakings and other executive action, such as decisions over leasing public lands for fossil fuel development and production. The forthcoming Social Costs of GHGswhich likely will increase the current interim valueswill be subject to public comment and scientific peer-review, with the Working Group aiming to publish final values for agency use this summer.9

Notably, the administration may expand the influence of the Social Costs of GHGs in 2022 to government procurement. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council10is considering potential amendments to federal acquisition rules that would impose new requirements to incorporate the Social Costs of GHGs into procurement decisions and giv[e] preference to bids and proposals from suppliers with a lower GHG footprint. This would mark a departure from historical uses of the Social Costs of GHGs, which largely has been limited to cost-benefit analyses in rulemakings.

The Biden-Harris administration recognizes the critical need to accelerate the build-out of new transmission infrastructureincluding interstate power lines connecting intermittent renewables to load centersto achieve its vision of a carbon-free grid by 2035. Accordingly, DOE launched the Build a Better Grid initiative in January to support the development of nationally significant transmission projects and grid upgrades by deploying over $20 billion in financing to reduce project development risk and utilizing existing statutory authorities to facilitate permitting and siting. One such authority is DOEs ability to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs), or areas DOE determines are experiencingor expected to experiencetransmission capacity constraints or congestion that adversely impacts customers.

Meanwhile, FERC Chair Richard Glick seeks to initiate one or more rulemakings this year to update FERCs transmission planning, cost allocation and generator interconnection rules. While too early to speculate on their scope, FERC has a robust record upon which to build its proposed rules. For example, hundreds of stakeholders responded to a July 2021 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that outlined numerous potential reforms within three areas: (i) regional transmission planning; (ii) cost responsibility for regional transmission facilities and interconnection-related grid upgrades; and (iii) oversight over the identification of and payment for new transmission facilities.

Despite consensus within the administration on the critical need for new transmission, DOEs proposal to advance transmission development in NIETCs may face reluctance at FERC. Although DOE designates NIETCs, FERC has the authority to grant transmission developers federal eminent domain authority within a NIETC. While FERCs authority was expanded through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)e.g., by allowing FERC to override a states denial of a siting permit under applicable law11Commissioner Allison Clements recently cautioned that FERC is hesitant to use such authority to preempt state opposition. FERC has instead opted for a collaborative approach with the states on transmission development by forming a joint taskforce with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).

As voluntary markets for carbon offsets and other climate-related products continue to evolve, the Biden-Harris administration has shown interest in better assessing the risks and opportunities of these markets for reducing emissionsand what role, if any, the federal government should play in scaling their development.

To that end, we believe the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is likely to take a closer look this year at new financial products under development in the carbon derivatives markets to ensure integrity and transparency, while also considering the potential need for greater oversight to prevent manipulation and fraud. Last September, the CFTCs Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC) recommended that the CFTC form a new subcommittee to issue a report on the interplay between secondary cash markets for carbon allowances and offsets and the derivative markets for those products, with the goal of promoting uniformity across the various markets and enhancing liquidity.12 Although the CFTC has not yet adopted the EEMACs recommendation, we anticipate the CFTC will do so once it regains quorumespecially given Chairman Rostin Behnams support for increasing the CFTCs engagement in industry-led and market-driven processes in the climate and broader environmental, social and governance (ESG) space.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is preparing to launch a Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry Partnership (CSAFP) program in the near future to finance the deployment of climate-smart farming and forestry practices to aid in the marketing of climate-smart agricultural commodities in voluntary carbon and ecosystem services markets. The program could kick off a series of actions from USDA in 2022 to help farmers, landowners and ranchers generate new revenues through voluntary climate actioni.e., by adopting farming and land practices resulting in measurable, verifiable GHG emission reductions or sequestrationwhich Congress may look to bolster through the Growing Solutions Climate Act. As we summarized here, the Senates billpassed last June with significant bipartisan supportdirects USDA to establish a certification program to provide transparency and informal endorsement of third-party verifiers and technical service providers that help private landowners generate carbon credits through a variety of agriculture and forestry related practices. The bill may face an uphill battle in the House, where it has since stalled.

USDA began 2022 by announcing a series of new climate-smart agricultural initiatives that build on its actions last year to combat climate change. On January 10, the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) expanded the availability of its Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) Conservation Incentive Contracts option and announced it will allow producers to immediately re-enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) following an unfunded application to renew an existing contractthereby lifting a two-year ineligibility restriction for CSP participants who failed to re-enroll during the year their contract expired. The changes will help to incentivize the implementation of conservation management practices nationwide and increase participation in both programs. NRCS further announced that it will host a sign up for agricultural producers in 11 states to combat climate change through the adoption of cover crops as part of its Cover Crop Initiative early this year.

USDA also emphasized that it will prioritize restoring forest health and reducing climate-amplified risks to forests and grasslands through a new U.S. Forest Service ten-year strategy. The strategy, launched in January, will scale forest health treatmentse.g., thinning, prescribed burning or pruningon tens of millions of acres of overgrown forests and grasslands to reduce wildfire risk.

Going forward, USDA will continue its efforts to implement the IIJA, which provides billions in funding for climate-smart infrastructure and wildland fire mitigation. In the near term, we expect USDA to announce a notice of funding availability soliciting pilot project proposals for the CSAFP program discussed above.

Climate change-related disasters and extreme weather eventssuch as hurricanes, flooding, winter storms and prolonged heat wavesdirectly impact human health and can greatly burden health care systems, particularly in the area of telemedicine. Telehealth provides an alternative to traditional in-person care by utilizing telephones, tablets, computers and remote patient monitoring devices. Telehealth can help expand access to health care, for example, where there are socioeconomic barriers related to travel or physician shortages in rural areas. Recognizing the important relationship between communications services and the provision of health care, the FCC has implemented various programs to expand telehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.13

With the growth of telehealth comes increased climate-related vulnerabilities for the health care system. As HHS recognizes in its 2021 Climate Action Plan, power and internet outages caused by climate-driven events14 can disrupt the provision of health care (such as telemedicine) and health-based research activities. When health care facilities providing those services are affected, patients ultimately suffer. Consistent with the administrations commitment to developing climate resiliency in accord with principles of environmental justice, we anticipate new agency efforts that respond to the relationship between climate change-related disasters and weather events, the disruption of communications services and the provision of critical telehealth services. This could include infrastructure improvements, conducting risk assessments for major health care facilities and moving critical infrastructure to flood-resilient locations.

In November, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the United States support for multilateral negotiations on a global agreement to combat ocean plastic pollution set to begin on February 28, 2022, at the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly. While the United States negotiating position will become clearer as talks unfold, Secretary Blinkens statement that the agreement call on countries to develop and enforce strong national action plans to address this problem at its source hints that a whole-of-government approach to reducing plastics waste and pollution could be in the works this year. Such an approach could ultimately involve greater cradle to grave scrutiny of plastic production and plastic products.15

Momentum is building within the Biden-Harris administration for increased action on plastic pollution and waste. Last month, DOE announced $13.4 million in funding for seven next generation technologies that reduce plastic waste and cut the carbon footprint of plastic production, which currently accounts for more than 3% of total U.S. energy consumption. Going forward, we anticipate EPA to initiate efforts this year to establish a goal related to climate impacts associated with the production, use, consumption and disposal of materials, which is all but certain to include plastic. The goalnoted by EPA in its November 2021 National Recycling Strategywill be one component in EPAs broader series dedicated to building a circular economy, with the national recycling strategy serving as Part One.

1These are but a few of the Biden-Harris administrations noteworthy climate-related actions in 2021. For a comprehensive listing, see here.

2As noted earlier, the administration announced a series of new actions in January 2022 to follow-through on the Global Methane Pledge.

3In the CPP, which faced challenges in the courts and ultimately rescission during the Trump administration, EPA classified power plants as an air pollution source to justify emission guidelines spanning from heat-rate improvements to the substitution of natural gas-combined cycle units and the use of renewable energy.

442 U.S.C. 7411.

5Changes to internal EPA procedures may make it easier and faster for the agency to approve applications for biofuels intended to replace petroleum-based fuels and additives, but some industry groups advocated during EPAs recent public hearing for scaled back 2022 required volumes for conventional biofuels.

6For estimated timeframes on these potential leases and others through 2025, see the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements offshore wind proposed leasing schedule.

7Friends of the Earth v. Haaland, No. 21-2317 (RC), slip op. (D.D.C. Jan. 27, 2022).

8While President Bidens Executive Order 13990 (EO 13990) directed the Working Group to issue the final Social Costs of GHGs no later than January 2022, the administration recently clarified that the Working Group intends to publish its proposed final estimates within the next two months. Defendants Supp. Brief at 23, Louisiana v. Biden, No. 2:21-cv-01074-JDC-KK (W.D. La. Jan. 21, 2022) (ECF No. 90) (the January 21 Supplemental Brief).

9Defendants Supp. Brief at 23, Louisiana v. Biden, No. 2:21-cv-01074-JDC-KK (W.D. La. Jan. 21, 2022) (ECF No. 90).

10The FAR Council includes representatives from the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Department of Defense, NASA and the General Services Administration.

11See 16 U.S.C. 824p(b). For more background on NIETCs and FERCs authority prior to the IIJA, see our post here.

12CFTC Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee, Sept. 15, 2021 Meeting Transcript at 5-6.

13For more background on FCC telehealth initiatives, see our post here.

14Hurricane Ida, for example, resulted in significant communications service disruptions in Louisiana and Mississippi, and the FCC acted quickly to provide regulatory relief for impacted consumers and communications providers.

15For example, a 2021 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recommends that the United States develop a systemic strategy that focuses on identifying, implementing, and assessing equitable and effective interventions across the entire plastic life cycle to reduce the US contribution of plastic waste to the environment.

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Ten Executive Branch Climate and Sustainability Developments to Watch in 2022 - JD Supra

Grundfos has partnered with BEC GmbH, Circularise, Minviro, and the global Rare Earth Industry Association (REIA) to lead a three-year EIT RawMaterials funded innovation project to build a blockchain based Circular System for Assessing Rare Earth Sustainability (CSyARES). This will help companies improve transparency and sustainability of their supply chains when it comes to critical and rare earth materials.

Demand for rare earth metals is skyrocketing and by 2030 it is projected to reach 315,000 tonnes1. These rare-earth metals are irreplaceable in wind turbines, electric vehicles, mobile phones, computers and the defence industry. Rising demand combined with resource shortages and supply chain disruptions means we need to rely on sustainably mined and processed metals.

The transition to a circular economy is considered crucial and governments around the world incentivise companies to uptake e-waste recycling and other sustainable practices with new regulation. As highlighted by the European Raw Material Alliance (ERMA) Action Plan, boosting supply security through better cooperation among stakeholders is a top priority. For rare earth metals suppliers, this means not only becoming more sustainable but also proving their compliance and quality criteria to customers and regulators.

Developing an innovative CSyARES is key in achieving these goals. In this project, the partnering organizations, including Grundfos aim to:*Integrate REIAs standards on assessing sustainable performance and Minviros LCA tool with Circularises blockchain software for supply chain traceability and transparency.*Allow Grundfos and BEC GmbH to test the system and business model and trace and measure the environmental impact of their supply chains. This will be conducted in cooperation with members of REIA.

This project will contribute to the circular economy transformation in the rare earth elements, electric and electronic equipment, automotive, and all other sectors that depend on rare earths. It will create new business opportunities for manufacturers and recyclers and allow downstream players to ensure sustainable practices throughout their supply chains.

Badrinath Veluri, chief specialist materials & process, Grundfos and president of REIA, said, This partnership is based on our common interest to bring transparency and sustainability to the use of these critical and rare earth materials. Through this project, we are aiming to build a tool that the parties within the rare earth value chain can use with an integrated approach and incorporate the due diligence aspects, which ultimately will allow us to increase the secondary resource efficiency and achieve a circular economy.

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Grundfos partners with four organisations to develop a blockchain based circular system for assessing rare earth sustainability - Construction Week...

HOUSTON, Feb. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Hello Alice, the largest platform helping small businesses launch and grow in America, proudly announces that 2022 will be the Year of Small Business, a movement in partnership with NAACP, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), and Mastercard. The Year of Small Business (YOSB) will open up equitable access to capital, direct consumer spending toward small business owners, and provide business education, networks, and opportunities to 3 million small business owners.

As small business owners continue to experience lasting challenges brought on by the pandemic, optimism remains high. The Year of Small Business movement will support and strengthen small businesses in all 50 states and across industries, igniting public support over the next 12 months and encouraging every American to buy small.

"Small business owners are the backbone of our economy, and it is time for all of us to buy small and bring our neighbor's businesses back online," said Elizabeth Gore, co-founder and president of Hello Alice. "Along with our partners NAACP, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, GEN, and Mastercard, we're committed to providing every necessary resource, including additional access to funding, educational accelerators, and more."

In a recent Hello Alicestudy of over 400,000 small business owners*, at least 30% of those surveyed list funding as their greatest business challenge, with Black and multiracial owners reporting it at the highest rates. With a focus on the New Majority - people of color, women, LGBTQ+, entrepreneurs with disabilities and our U.S. Veterans - the YOSB initiative will include a grants program with a goal to distribute $30,000,000 in grants, utilizing Hello Alice's best-in-class grants administration process and wraparound services.

"Everyone should have the same opportunity to start and grow their own business but whether you look at long-standing systemic barriers or more recent global challenges, that just isn't the case," said Jonathan Ortmans, founder and president of the Global Entrepreneurship Network. "We are excited about this partnership and the support it will provide will allow small businesses to not only survive, but to thrive in a post-pandemic economy."

In addition to the grants program, the Year of Small Business will feature opportunities to support and spotlight small business owners throughout the year including:

"Mastercard is committed to empowering small businesses with digital solutions, data insights and tools to support their sustainable growth, and amplify the role they play as the lifeblood of our economy," said Ginger Siegel, North America Small Business Lead at Mastercard. "We're proud to partner with Hello Alice on the Year of Small Business to broaden our collective impact and celebrate the small business community."

In a survey of 2,800 Black owners on the Hello Alice platform, no group is more optimistic in expectation of growth than Black business owners, 84% predicting growth in 2022, but they continue to be faced with the challenge of raising capital. 34% of Black entrepreneurs surveyed cited this as their primary obstacle.

"Without a doubt, Black-owned small business owners continue to endure disproportionate barriers, including a lack of access to funding, and the Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened these obstacles," said Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP. "What makes small business ownership so essential is that it provides a means of generating long-term, multi-generational wealth. Extending support to small businesses today can help bridge the racial wealth gap now and into the future."

In addition to raising capital, Hispanic owners cite challenges such as acquiring customers, hiring, and operating their business at rates significantly higher than other groups.

"Small businesses create two of every three jobs in America and they need our support now more than ever," said Ramiro A. Cavazos, President & CEO, United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC). Each one of us has a role to play to support our local small businesses, especially our 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses who have been hit hard."

Additional data from the recent report shows small business owners remain positive about the future despite the challenges. 79% of owners are optimistic that their business will grow in 2022, and only 2% are expecting their performance to worsen in the new year. 55% of companies plan to hire this year.

For small business owners, organizations, and corporations interested in getting involved in the Year of Small Business, please visit https://helloalice.com/the-year-of-small-business/. Please direct all media requests to Sabine Lavache, [emailprotected].

*Based on data compiled from 412,516 business owners across all 50 states.

ABOUT HELLO ALICEHello Aliceis a free, multichannel platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a community of nearly 600,000 business owners in all 50 states and across the globe, Hello Alice is building the largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. Our partners include enterprise business services, government agencies, and institutions looking to serve small- and medium-business owners to ensure increased revenues and promote scale. A Latina owned company, founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all by providing access to all owners including women, people of color, veterans, and everyone with an entrepreneurial spirit. To learn more, visit http://www.helloalice.com, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.

ABOUT THE NAACPFounded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2M activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund also referred to as the NAACP-LDF was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but separated in 1957 to become a completely separate entity. It is recognized as the nation's first civil and human rights law organization and shares our commitment to equal rights.

ABOUT THE UNITED STATES HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCEThe United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) actively promotes the economic growth, development, and interests of 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses, that combined, contribute over $800 billion to the American economy every year. The USHCC is America's largest small business advocacy group, representing more than 260 local chambers and business associations nationwide, and also partners with hundreds of major American corporations. For more information, please visit ushcc.com. Follow us on Twitter @USHCC.

ABOUT MASTERCARD (NYSE: MA)Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible. Using secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their greatest potential. Our decency quotient, or DQ, drives our culture and everything we do inside and outside of our company. With connections across more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks priceless possibilities for all.

http://www.mastercard.com

ABOUT GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP NETWORKThe Global Entrepreneurship Network operates a platform of projects and programs in 180 countries aimed at making it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business. By fostering deeper cross border collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organizations, GEN works to fuel healthier entrepreneurial ecosystems that create jobs, accelerate innovation and strengthen economic growth. For details on the programs and initiatives that make up GEN, visit http://www.genglobal.org, as well as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

CONTACT: Hello AliceSabine Lavache[emailprotected]

SOURCE Hello Alice

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HELLO ALICE LAUNCHES THE YEAR OF SMALL BUSINESS, A MOVEMENT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH NAACP, US HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP...

Across industries, the great cleanup is underway. Driven by tightening regulations, pressure from investors, and shifting customer preferences, companies are striving to reduce the burden of their activities on the planet. This quest for sustainability requires action on many fronts, with changes to supply networks, manufacturing processes, and business models. Companies are also rethinking how their products are designed, engineered, and used, looking for ways to meet performance and quality requirements while using fewer resources across the full life cycle of everything they make.

Two factors are pushing design up the sustainability agenda. The first is technological: an ongoing shift of lifetime emissions from product operation to product production. The shift is partly thanks to user demand for extra features and capabilities that require additional materials to deliver. But its also because technical changes designed to promote efficient operation tend to involve additional product complexity. For example, domestic heat pumps require more materials than the gas or oil boilers they replace. Compared with their energy-hungry predecessors, high-efficiency electric motors may contain additional carbon-intensive materials, including extra copper and rare-earth magnets. The variable-frequency drives that are used to optimize the control of these advanced motors need their own circuitry and semiconductor components.

Perhaps the highest-profile example of this shift is the transition from internal combustion engines to electric propulsion, which is reshaping the life-cycle emissions profile of passenger vehicles. One study found that about 20 percent of the carbon generated by a diesel vehicle comes from its production, with most of the remaining 80 percent emitted at the tailpipe. An equivalent electric car, by contrast, produced fewer emissions in the use phase but required additional carbon-intensive materials in the battery. If electricity for the vehicle came from fossil fuels, productions share of lifetime emissions would rise to 45 percent. If the vehicle were charged using only renewable energy, production emissions would account for 85 percent of the total (Exhibit 1).

Exhibit 1

The second reason for increased scrutiny on design sustainability is the recognition that the design phase is typically the most powerful and cost-effective point to address the resource footprint of future products and services. Companies have long known that design decisions determine most of a products manufacturing, operating, and maintenance costs. The same logic applies to sustainability. Our analysis suggests that while R&D accounts for 5 percent or less of the total cost of a product, it influences up to 80 percent of that products resource footprint.

Design affects sustainability in multiple ways. Products with greenfield design for sustainability may use less material or replace high-footprint virgin materials with lower-impact recycled or biologically based alternatives. Swiss sports-shoe company On, for example, has developed a fully recyclable shoe made from bio-based synthetic materials. Instead of simply selling the product, the company offers a subscription model for consumers. Worn-out shoes will be sent back to the manufacturer for disassembly, with the consumer receiving a new pair in return.

Companies have long known that design decisions determine most of a products manufacturing, operating, and maintenance costs. The same logic applies to sustainability.

Design decisions can also determine how easily a product can be repaired, upgraded, remanufactured, or recycled at end of life. Consumer-electronics company Fairphone uses a modular design for its devices, with the aim of eliminating planned obsolescence by allowing components to be replaced by the user if they fail or become outdated.

Leading organizations are already achieving impressive results by focusing the effort and ingenuity of their R&D teams on the sustainability imperative. For many R&D functions, however, a key challenge is finding ways to meet new demands for enhanced sustainability alongside the ongoing need to control costs, meet new customer needs, and differentiate their products from those of their competitors.

Executives tell us that the ability to manage this additional complexity represents the next frontier in the development of high-maturity R&D organizations. Of course, some companies have already made step-changes in their capabilities in recent years. For example, traditional design-to-cost methodologies have evolved into todays design-to-value (DtV) approach, with its focus on the cost-efficient delivery of the features that matter most to customers. And more and more businesses have also made great strides in digitization, using new tools and data sources to accelerate the product-development process and improve its outcomes.

Design for Sustainability (DfS) extends and expands these approaches, requiring organizations to adapt their existing tools, adopt new ones, and upgrade both the infrastructure and capabilities of the R&D function (Exhibit 2).

Exhibit 2

To achieve DfS at scale, companies can address three interrelated elements in the R&D function. First, how will they rethink the way their products use resources, adapting them to changing regulations, adopting circularity principles, and making use of customer insights? Second, how will they understand and track the emissions and cost impact of design decisions to achieve their sustainability ambitions? Third, how will they foster the right mindsets and capabilities to integrate sustainability into every product and every design decision? Lets look at each of these elements in more detail.

The biggest opportunities to improve sustainability often come from changes in the wider value chain that surrounds a product. Leading companies take a holistic perspective on sustainability, examining the way products are transported, packaged, handled, and usedand what happens to them at end of life. They talk to and observe customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders in the value chain, then they use the resulting insights to generate creative improvement ideas.

One quick-service-restaurant company, for example, wanted to reduce the amount of packaging waste generated by its stores. When the design team looked at the complete value chain, it found that a significant fraction of that waste was generated by the intermediate packaging that protected products in transit from factory to store.

That inspired a complete redesign of the packaging value chain. The company developed an aesthetically pleasing, resource-efficient, and recyclable package that could protect products all the way from production to the customers hands. Individual products were then consolidated in lightweight, reusable, and returnable containers to protect them in transit. Those changes helped the company reduce total packaging waste by 18 percent, with less of that waste going to landfills. The company also cut overall supply-chain greenhouse-gas emissions by a third.

Sustainable design is fraught with complexity and trade-offs. Substituting recycled material for virgin material might at first appear to reduce the carbon footprint of a productbut transportation emissions might outweigh any gains if recycling plants are concentrated in far-off locations. To make decisions such as these, design teams need good data on the environmental footprint, costs, and risks associated with different materials and manufacturing options. And they need effective tools that allow them to analyze different options quickly and accurately.

Such tools are now becoming available. Resource cleansheets, for example, extend the cleansheet cost-modeling methods that mature organizations already use to support the design and procurement process (Exhibit 3). By including greenhouse-gas emissions into their bottom-up models of products and processes, companies can compare different design, manufacturing, and supply-chain options. Or they can benchmark their current approaches against the best available to identify the biggest improvement opportunities.

Exhibit 3

Because resource cleansheets also include cost data for materials and manufacturing steps, companies can use them to find winwin opportunities that simultaneously reduce costs and associated emissionsor at least to compare the relative value of options that improve the products environmental footprint but cost more.

Combining rigorous, granular analysis with creative thinking can unlock solutions that deliver the combination of better environmental performance, lower costs, and greater customer value. One major footwear company, for example, used this approach to redesign the packaging for its entire product range. Optimizing the box design, switching to recycled cardboard, and reducing the print area and number of colors helped it cut the carbon footprint of the boxes by almost half. Those changes also delivered a cost reduction of almost 20 percent. Choosing to reinvest some of those savings into a switch from oil-based printing inks to a bio-based alternative would generate a further 9 percent carbon-footprint reduction (Exhibit 4).

Exhibit 4

The work also revealed that the organizations policies had a real impact on packaging-related emissions. The special tooling used to manufacture some packaging types was responsible for a significant fraction of their carbon footprint, and frequent changes to packaging design meant that these tools were often discarded long before the end of their useful life. Simply retaining the same designs for longer generated a big cut in both costs and carbon emissions.

The third piece of the puzzle involves developing organizational structures, resources, and capabilities to support DfS efforts across the whole R&D function (Exhibit 5). One common concern expressed by R&D leaders is that they struggle to execute the potential sustainability improvements that they identify. Engineers typically lack the tools to assess and prioritize different ideas or the knowledge to incorporate them into a product.

Exhibit 5

To overcome these stumbling blocks, many companies find it useful to establish a focal point for their effortseither a center of excellence that supports the sustainability program across the function or dedicated sustainability champions working within business units. The center of excellence takes responsibility for the introduction of new tools, such as resource cleansheets, and for acquiring and maintaining the data needed to support effective decision making on sustainability topics. It will also work with leaders in the wider R&D function to build sustainability into the organizations formal R&D processes.

To help R&D staff use the new tools and processes effectively, companies will likely need to invest in capability building, from introductions to sustainability topics for senior managers to in-depth training on life-cycle analysis and resource cleansheeting for design and engineering personnel.

Finally, organizations need to track the progress of the sustainability efforts and embed them into their R&D performance-management systems. That calls for changes to metrics, targets, and incentive systems, all aligned with the sustainability goals of the wider business.

The transition to a sustainable economy requires products that are designed differently, made differently, and used differently. The teams designing those products will need to be set up differently too. Leading organizations are already beginning that transformation, raising the maturity level of their R&D functions with new skills, processes, tools, and mindsets.

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Product sustainability: Back to the drawing board - McKinsey

NEW YORK, Feb. 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dark Pulse, Inc. (OTC Markets: DPLS) (DarkPulse or the Company), a technology company focused on the manufacture, sale, installation, and monitoring of laser sensing systems based on its patented BOTDA dark-pulse sensor technology (the DarkPulse Technology) which provides a data stream of critical metrics for assessing the health and security of infrastructure, announces a key partnership with The Everglades Foundation. The Everglades Foundation works to protect and restore Americas Everglades through science, advocacy, and education and envisions an Everglades with abundant freshwater for consumption, enjoyment, ecological health, and economic growth for generations to come.

The Everglades Foundation is doing critical work not only for Florida but for our entire ecosystem, they are driven by science and passion, stated DarkPulse Chairman and CEO Dennis OLeary. We all should be concerned about the condition of the Everglades, and DarkPulse is proud to join the Foundation in the restoration of these irreplaceable wetlands.

For most of history, that massive rain-fed series of wetlands, lakes, and rivers we call the Everglades flowed from just below Orlando and through Lake Okeechobee south to the tip of the Florida peninsula, as well as east and west towards the coasts. More than a centurys worth of extensive urban and agricultural development has not only reduced the wetlands size in half, but fertilizer from upstream agricultural areas has polluted the water, degraded the ecosystem and harmed wildlife in the remaining Everglades.

Nutrient pollution, displaced species, urban and agricultural development, and rising sea levels all threaten ecosystem balance as the Everglades are starved for freshwater. DarkPulse will deploy technology into environmentally sensitive areas including dam and levy monitoring for the Everglades critical watershed areas and provide natural resource management planning, impact evaluation, habitat analysis, and monitoring.

We are honored to welcome Mr. Dennis OLeary and the DarkPulse family into The Everglades Foundations Chairmans Advisory Council, said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foundation. Organizations like DarkPulse who share our belief in a sustainable Everglades are critical to our success, and we are grateful for their shared passion and support for the future of this vital ecosystem.

About the Everglades Foundation

The Everglades Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to restoring and protecting the greater Everglades ecosystem through science, advocacy, and education. Since its founding in 1993 by a group of local outdoor enthusiasts, The Everglades Foundation has become a respected and important advocate for the sustainability of one of the worlds most unique ecosystems. For more information, please visit EvergladesFoundation.org.

About DarkPulse , Inc.

DarkPulse, Inc. uses advanced laser-based monitoring systems to provide rapid and accurate monitoring of temperatures, strains and stresses. The Companys technology excels when applied to live, dynamic critical infrastructure and structural monitoring, including pipeline monitoring, perimeter and structural surveillance, aircraft structural components and mining safety. The Company's fiber-based monitoring systems can assist markets that are not currently served, and its unique technology covers extended areas and any event that is translated into the detection of a change in strain or temperature. In addition to the Companys ongoing efforts with respect to the marketing and sales of its technology products and services to its customers, the Company also continues to explore potential strategic alliances through joint venture and licensing opportunities to further expand its global market position.

For more information, visit http://www.DarkPulse.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this news release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: our ability to successfully market our products and services; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in our prior filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Media contact:

DarkPulse, Inc.

doleary@DarkPulse.com

1.800.436.1436

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DarkPulse, Inc. Announces Partnership with the Everglades - GlobeNewswire

Most of us forget about our waste once it is discarded into dustbins or municipal garbage trucks. Municipalities and waste management companies are only at the tip of an iceberg the formal waste sector funded, regulated and managed by local governments. This sector is involved with all kinds of waste: organic, inorganic, domestic, hazardous, horticultural refuse, and construction debris, among others. They are responsible for the collection, transport, recycling, and the appropriate disposal of waste which they often execute directly or via an external vendor.

Ideally, the segregation of waste into recyclables and non-recyclables should be done at source by the households, residential areas, or business centres that generate waste. Paper, metal, and glass have long been salvaged as they have good potential for recycling. Plastic is the new material that needs immediate attention. While polyethylene terephthalate or PET has a fair recycling value with the plastic-to-textile industry creating high demand, other commonly used plastics have little to no value and are often discarded. Hence, this plastic often reaches landfills, where it is incinerated or buried. Many chemical additives from these plastics leach into the soil and the surrounding ecosystems, often finding their way into rivers and marine ecosystems.

In much of the developing world, as in India, recovering recyclable waste between source and landfill is expensive, tedious and labour-intensive. This gap in the waste ecosystem is filled by the informal sector. This informal sector is a near-invisible, shadowy waste economy that we rarely acknowledge or appreciate, because it falls outside the purview of the formal system.

The informal sector, often concerned with inorganic waste, has many players. Waste pickers collect and segregate recyclable waste from residential areas, and are incentivised by the chance to earn a livelihood from it. They then sell the waste to small scrap dealers or kabadiwallas. The scrap dealers further segregate the waste and sell it to a (Level 2) small or medium aggregator. From here, it is carted off to a wholesaler or stockist, and finally, to specific recycling units.

In India, many national policies have recognised the role of the informal sector, mainly waste pickers, and have expressed value in their inclusion in the waste ecosystem. Yet waste pickers face other challenges while operating within the formal waste economy: outsourcing of waste management to private companies, waste-to-energy plants touted as alternatives to recycling, and urban zoning plans that do not factor in the infrastructure requirements of waste management. Importantly, waste pickers at the frontline of the informal sector work in challenging, often unsanitary conditions that affect their health. They also face uncertainty due to fluctuating market prices of recyclables.

Over the decade, grassroots organisations around the country have been working with waste pickers, in a bid to integrate them into the waste economy. Among these are Kabadiwalla Connect (Chennai), Hasiru Dala (Bengaluru), and Chintan (Delhi) that have emerged as waste management solutions and there are a few lessons that can be learnt from them.

Every year, Chennai generates over 1,30,000 tonnes of waste, of which plastic accounts for 10-15,000 tonnes. It is a huge challenge for the municipality to implement waste segregation at source. Hence, most of the waste, including 10-15% of which can be recycled, ends up in landfills. City authorities spend $200,000 (approximately Rs. 15 million) every day to collect the waste and transport it to the Pallikaranai and Kodungaiyur landfills, states Siddharth Hande, CEO of Kabadiwalla Connect, a Chennai-based initiative for decentralised waste management.

If cities across India are keen on optimising their resource recovery and recycling in the future and finding solutions to plug the leak of plastics into our oceans, integrating the formal and informal waste sectors will be crucial, adds Hande.

Hande also shares that the informal waste system helps Chennai collect roughly 20% of its recyclable waste, over 100,000 tonnes annually. By linking networks of waste pickers and scrap shop owners, he says he believes that almost 70% of the waste being sent to landfills could be diverted.

Kabadiwalla Connect helps leverage the citys existing informal waste infrastructure in the collection, segregation and processing of post-consumer waste, with the help of innovative, technology-based solutions. Its inclusive, cost-efficient, and industry-compliant solutions harness the untapped resource of the informal sector in the supply chain, reduce the health risks faced by waste pickers, and pay rich dividends while tackling plastic waste at urban, and semi-urban levels.

In the informal sector, we rarely talk of the stakeholders beyond waste pickers. Yet there is a nexus of scrap dealers or kabadiwallas, aggregators, wholesalers and recyclers, that are an essential part of the waste ecosystem. This lack of classification is key to the problem of integrating the formal and informal sectors, explains Hande.The involvement of upstream stakeholders of the value chain, such as plastic manufacturers and retailers is needed to bring about an integration of the waste ecosystem.

In Bengaluru, the informal waste ecosystem is much the same the door-to-door collection of waste is done by the municipality, or waste pickers, and is deposited at dry waste collection centres, where it is sorted for recycling. Paper, metal, glass, cloth, and plastics are usually recovered, with plastics like tetra packs, which are technically recyclable but have a poor market value, sent off to waste-to-energy plants or as fuel for cement kilns.

Since 2011, Hasiru Dala has been working to bridge the gap between waste workers and other stakeholders, such as the local governments, policymakers, and citizens, while improving the lives and livelihoods of waste pickers. Bengaluru with over 35,000 waste pickers and itinerant buyers, has approximately 3,500 tonnes of plastic traded in the informal economy every single day rescuing it from landfills, incineration sites and water networks. In 2021, Hasiru Dala actively worked with over 40 wards in the city, and their dry waste collection centres handled a total of 13,656 metric tonnes (T) of waste, of which 4,097 T was recyclable, and 9,559 T was non-recyclable waste.

Often plastics that can be recycled, such as food containers, arent washed properly, and hence, have to be discarded. Working with residents and encouraging them to put in the effort to clean food-related waste, often discarded improperly due to convenience, is essential, says Rohini Malur, Communications Manager at Hasiru Dala. Putting the onus of cleaning and segregation on households reaps benefits further up the waste ecosystem, as lesser waste, especially plastic, ends up at the highly polluting waste-to-energy plants, she continues.

The pandemic adversely affected the entire informal waste ecosystem, and as single-use plastic consumption soared, recovery and recycling couldnt keep pace. Waste pickers are essentially daily wage workers, and restricted mobility affects their ability to collect recyclables and earn a livelihood. With waste pickers clocking fewer hours, there was lesser income for scrap shops too. There were months during the first wave when the entire recycling industry shut down. Dry waste collection centres were deemed essential services, yet scrap shops and godowns were not, and had to close down. Collection centres stayed open during the lockdowns yet they had nowhere to send the aggregated waste, causing the waste economy to stagnate. Workers struggled to get by as they could collect but not sell the recovered recyclable waste, payments from the authorities were often in arrears and they had little to no savings to fall back on.

It is crucial for grassroots organisations to amplify the messages of other efforts across India if we are to see a bigger shift in our waste management practises and to realise how vulnerable and essential these waste warriors are, Malur adds.

Every day, Delhi produces 12,350 tonnes of solid waste, most of which ends up at three major dumpsites: Ghazipur, Bhalaswa, and Okhla. The city has an estimated 40,000 waste pickers, with other recyclers, itinerant buyers, small and large kabadis, re-processors and other waste workers adding to a total of a 1,50,000 strong informal sector. They collect 15-20 per cent of Delhis total waste (in terms of weight) and 55% (in terms of volume) and recycle about 2,000 tonnes of the citys waste each day. As in other cities, much of this recycling happens due to the toil of waste pickers.

In addition, as unsegregated waste accumulates at landfills, rotting wet waste releases methane a highly combustible gas. This results in spontaneous combustion of waste, with plastics, among other hazardous, polluting materials being set on fire. Sometimes, waste is incinerated at landfills before being buried. This adds significantly to Delhis air pollution issues. Waste pickers can help Delhi tackle some of its air pollution problems by diverting waste from reaching dumping sites.

As a partner of the CounterMEASURE initiative under the United Nations Environment Programme, funded by Japan, Chintan Environmental Research and Action Group (Chintan) strives for better waste recovery between source and landfills. Their work with waste pickers ensures lesser plastics end up in the Yamuna, and further downstream into the Ganges, and the Bay of Bengal. In 2018, Chintans report titled Wastepickers: Delhis Forgotten Environmentalists, highlighted the role of the informal sector in tackling the burgeoning problem of waste management and plastic pollution.

Ironically, Delhis Master Plan 2041 talks in detail about solid waste management and environmental pollution, yet doesnt make provisions for the labour involved, nor for the space and infrastructure they require, says Shruti Sinha, Manager of Policy and Outreach at Chintan. Recently, many dhalaos (large three-walled concrete structures used by waste pickers to collect garbage from a locality or market), have been put to alternate use. A study by Chintan in 2021 found that 73.8% of waste pickers do not have access to sheltered spaces, which makes it difficult to work through monsoon and winter, Sinha continues.

The Chintan report advocates establishing partnerships between the informal and private sectors, as well as the public, legitimising the informal workers, developing waste management protocols, and training and monitoring waste workers. This would ensure they can operate effectively in their niche while performing key environmental roles.

The CounterMEASURE initiatives are committed to identifying sources and pathways of plastic pollution and finding solutions to prevent city-sourced plastic from reaching rivers and oceans. Working at the grassroots level with stakeholders in the waste economy, is an effective way to raise awareness about source segregation to reduce mismanaged waste, as well as build on existing knowledge to inform policy decisions.

The 2021 report titled Waste-Wise Cities published by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Niti Aayog, inspected solid waste management initiatives in 28 cities to understand the mechanisms that worked best. Across cities, grassroots initiatives concur that the integration of the informal and the formal sector is an effective solution for waste management. The report found that decentralised systems and public-private partnerships would be ideal for India to achieve its smart cities objectives.

City planners and municipal organisations should take cognisance and find ways to integrate the waste ecosystem. This would not only ensure better living and working standards for the informal sector but also incentivise their role in last-mile resource recovery and recycling, while providing cities with a decentralised, cost-efficient blueprint for waste management.

Read more: [Explainer] The cost of plastic waste

Banner image: Kabadiwallas are among many players in the informal sector a near-invisible, shadowy waste economy that we rarely acknowledge or appreciate. Photo by Bijay Chaurasia/Wikimedia Commons.

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PlastiCities: the role of grassroots initiatives in managing waste in cities - Mongabay-India