Energy Innovation

The progress of society is often judged by its ability to enhance the welfare of the least advantaged. By that standard, the world is becoming a much better place. Poverty has fallen dramatically in recent decades, propelling millions of households into the middle class. Within a decade the world is expected to reach a tipping point, beyond which the majority of the world’s population will live in households considered middle class. With this increased standard of living and a consumerist lifestyle, more waste is inevitably generated and more energy is required to pump water, refrigerate food, manufacture goods and provide light, heat and air conditioning.

O.N.E. believes the increased demand for energy can be met in part by transforming waste into electricity. The typical pattern of consumption in modern societies is to extract basic resources, turn them into products and discard them once they have fulfilled their purpose. With the rise of the middle class, however, an overwhelming amount of waste is being generated. Our solution unlocks the value of waste, creating a sustainable waste management solution, new jobs and economic growth.

O.N.E. also addresses the growing problem of environmental degradation. By creating clean power from waste, waste is diverted from the environment, consumption of fossil fuels is reduced and even greenhouse gas emissions from waste that would otherwise go to landfills are mitigated.

O.N.E. is applying this waste-to-worth business philosophy to the problem of discarded tires. Our Brazil tire recycling facility will transform discarded tires into electricity. Discarded tires are a worldwide environmental concern. They are typically disposed of in landfills, which pollutes soil and water, or incinerated, which causes air pollution. They can also be a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying devastating diseases such as Zika virus. O.N.E.’s tire-to-energy plant in Três Corações, which will be the world’s largest, will process nearly a third of Brazil’s used tires to produce clean electricity, as well as recycled metals, sulfur and carbon credits. Plans call for additional plants throughout North and South America.

O.N.E.’s mission is to use innovative technologies to implement solutions to environmental problems and to improve the economic well being of populations in host countries in the built and developing world. The Brazil tire recycling facility will address one such problem, but there are many more. The ability to employ innovative technologies to extract worth from waste is key to solving many of our most pressing challenges while creating a quantum leap in human progress by building a happier, healthier and more prosperous future for everyone.

The inspiration for Rodrigo Veloso, the founder and CEO of O.N.E., to turn waste into worth goes back to his youth. Growing up in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, in the heart of Brazil’s coffee country, he was puzzled by the fact that the fruit that surrounds the coffee bean was discarded. As an adult, he turned his concern about the waste of the coffee fruit into a business plan for using the nutrient-dense fruit, or “cherry,” in a beverage. From coffee, his interest expanded to cashews and coconuts. He recognized a potential market in the opportunity to use discarded cashew fruit and coconut water for healthful natural beverages, but he also saw an opportunity to generate jobs for the impoverished populations of developing countries. Veloso’s appreciation for the value of agricultural waste led to the formation of Los Angeles-based O.N.E. World Beverages, whose enormously successful O.N.E. Coconut Water was ultimately acquired by PepsiCo. The company has created directly and indirectly thousands of jobs in Brazil, the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Another problem that concerned Veloso was the environmental burden posed by discarded fruits, which are a source of water pollution. His search for a means of turning these agricultural byproducts into energy led him to the plasmafication technology that will be employed at O.N.E.’s Brazil tire recycling facility. Like the natural beverages, the tire recycling facility is also a means of creating new job opportunities, as well as a new source of clean power.

O.N.E. is charting a new course for the 21st century in which business success goes hand-in-hand with social and environmental responsibility. By using innovative approaches to transform unwanted waste into valuable end products, O.N.E. is creating long-term economic opportunity and a more prosperous, environmentally sustainable future.