It’s a sweet program from the maker M&M’s and one of the world’s largest candy and food products companies. But Mars’ “Sustainable in a Generation” has big, serious ambitions to tackle climate change, poverty and more. The project won’t just invest in itself either, rather its investing to achieve some of the UN’s sustainable development goals. 

Renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean energy are continuing to drive employment growth in the US. The midwest alone now has 599,775 people employed in the clean energy industry, according to new figures from the Clean Energy Trust and Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Their analysis shows that employment in the sector has risen by 30,000 jobs, an increase of 5 percent since 2015—five times faster than overall job growth in the region.

For 2017 the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) review rated 2,086 companies across the world on their sustainability efforts. Of those the indices rated 614 North American companies, and only one of them, Abbott Laboratories of Illinois, made it on the DJSI’s Industry Group Leaders list.  

More than 600 American solar manufacturing facilities employ 38,000 workers across the US, that’s according to the First Edition of Profiles in American Solar Manufacturing. The new report from the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) highlights some of these facilities that make up a much higher percentage of workers than those two companies that supported the trade petition with International Trade Commission. 

New research shows that the next generation of technology in solar cells could actually be healed when damaged by, well, light and a little bit of humidity. That’s what new research into perovskite crystals is showing. 

The United Kingdom understands the benefits solar power can have for its lower-income residents in terms of energy savings. That’s why its Department for International Trade welcomed a £160 million ($270 million) investment from Dutch investor Maas Capital to unlock a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) program to install solar on 800,000 homes of lower-income UK residents across England and Wales.

While politics are what they are in the US’ capitol city, the city itself has certainly turned over a green leaf. Last week it became the first city in the world to achieve LEED for Cities Platinum by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). 

The Solar Decathlon (open to the public Oct. 5-9 and 12-15) is on its way to Denver’s 61st & Peña Station to showcase the latest solar and energy efficiency technologies in homes designed by and built by college and university students from around the world. This year 13 teams—some from just one school, like Northwestern University in Chicago and some from multiple schools that have partnered to compete—will compete in the series of solar and energy efficiency tests for a $300,000 grand prize.

Stanford University researchers are using unique solar panels to cool water so it can be used in an air conditioning system to reduce the costs of air conditioning and refrigeration by cooling without using electricity. Now they’re forming SkyCool Systems to test and commercialize their radiative sky cooling technology.

Last week rooftop solar made gains in both Nevada and Utah as policies were implemented creating longer-term programs and net-metering policies. Meanwhile a new study shows that solar could make up to 50 percent of the world’s energy supply by 2050. To help bring this to fruition, researchers are looking again to nature for more efficient solar technologies.