World’s First Female Engineered Electric Car, Soap Made from Carbon Dioxide, Trees Turned into Skyscrapers and more!

Dear Friends,

There are countless opportunities to make a positive impact, and it can be hard to decide where to focus your effort. But every company has its superpower - an asset it can leverage to solve challenging issues. Better yet, align what your employees care about and support the initiatives they bring forth with your superpower. This week we feature a conversation from GOODCon LA with our friends at Deed, Sonder, and the UTA Foundation to discuss how companies can use their superpowers to make a difference.?

Over recent years, there has been an expansion of hydroponic gardens available on the market to make growing produce at home accesibile and easy. One of the pioneers in the space has been Lettuce Grow, whose innovative ‘Farmstand’ is a one-square foot hydroponic solution, which only requires five minutes of attention a week, yet produces an abundance of healthy produce. Afdhel caught up with Jacob Pechenik (who co-founded the company with actress Zooey Deschanel) to find out more about their journey, check out the full interview below.

Be good, be kind, and look after each other,?

Af and Bobby

TOP STORIES THIS WEEK

Defying Gender Norms: Mexican auto company Zacua has created the first electric car assembled by a fully female team. The car battery takes 8 hours to fully charge, gives you 100 miles per charge, and the vehicles can run up to 53 miles per hour. Currently you can choose between two models that were just introduced February 2022.

Using Your Company’s Superpower as a Force for Good: Lara Birkes, Head of Sustainability, Social Impact at Sonder, Ally Diamond, Executive at the UTA Foundation, and Head of Partner Success at Deed Olivia Boger joined us at GOODCon LA to share how Sonder and UTA have leveraged their superpowers for the greater good.

Empowering A New Generation Of Americans To Grow Fresh, Healthy Food At Home: Lettuce Grow is one of the original hydroponic farm stands in the market, which aims to tackle food insecurity with a new modern day approach. The innovative sleek design of their farm stands allows anyone to choose from their 200+ varieties of vegetables, fruits and herbs to grow in the comfort of their own home with no green thumb or farm experience required. Check out this interview with Jacob Pechenik (who co-founded the company with actress Zooey Deschanel) to find out more about their journey.

Ad of the Week: Insurance firm AIA has launched a trendy new campaign with some of the biggest names in Australian sports to encourage Aussies to lead a healthier lifestyle. The campaign, called ‘All or Something’ and created by Bullfrog, wants to change the ‘go hard or go home’ mentality to something more sustainable to make wellness more attractive for Australians.

Products We Love: This innovative Canadian startup CleanO2 creates soap bars and liquid soaps using a substance called “pearl ash,” formed by processing captured carbon dioxide. CleanO2’s approach to creating a more sustainable future for generations is one of the trends explored in The Future of Good report, learn more here.

Changemaker of the Week: 8-year-old Thaaragai Aarathana from Karapakkam, Chennai, India recently celebrated her 8th birthday by scuba diving with her father for the first time. After noticing ocean pollution affecting the rich marine biodiversity, the duo began regular underwater clean-ups. They have since gathered over 600 kg of plastic bottles, which they plan to raise awareness and donate the proceeds from the sale to the Government of Tamil Nadu's Department of Environment.?

Transforming Trees into Skyscrapers: In Scandinavia, ecologically minded architects are building towers with pillars of pine and spruce. Mj?st?rnet is the world's tallest all-timber building standing at 280 feet, consisting of 18 floors, combining office space, residential units, and a 72 room hotel that has become a destination for visitors curious about the future of sustainable architecture and of novel achievements in structural engineering.?

"Uncomplicate yourself."

- Marcus Aurelius