Kickstart: Would a Corvette SUV still be composite?

Word is leaking out that General Motors Co. is about to make a "subbrand" out of its Corvette sports car, which could mean four-door cars and crossover vehicles carrying the Corvette badge.

As first reported by Car and Driver: "Starting in 2025, GM plans to launch a Corvette brand that will also include a sleek four-door coupe and a brawny crossover. Both of these future new Vettes will be EVs.

"Sports cars are useful image builders and sometimes very profitable, but as Porsche proved in the early 2000s with the Cayenne SUV, there's a lot of profit to be made stretching the brand into other vehicle segments," Georg Kacher wrote.

My question is whether a Corvette SUV would still have a composite body.

From the very beginning, the Corvette has been an icon not only for sports cars but also the plastics industry, thanks to Richard Morrison of Molded Fiber Glass Cos., who convinced GM it would work. The car first had a fiberglass body, added sheet molded compound as technology changed and now is a big user of carbon fiber. So let's hope they don't forget the Corvette's composite heritage while they chase down new buyers.

PepsiCo Inc. is back with an updated sustainable packaging goal, saying Dec. 5 that it intends to double the percentage of all beverage servings it sells through reusable packaging models to 20 percent by 2030, up from 10 percent now.

The focus on reusable containers obviously benefits PepsiCo's full product lineup since the company purchased the home cold drink making equipment SodaStream in 2018, meaning that PepsiCo can both promote a product and claim a new action for sustainability.

SodaStream will be a big part of its new target, just as it has been a centerpiece of previous sustainability announcements in 2019 and in 2021.

"PepsiCo will pursue four approaches to achieve its new packaging goal, including expanding its SodaStream business ... building out its refillable plastic (PET) and glass bottle offerings ... growing its fountain drinks business with reusable cups; and accelerating growth in powders and concentrates," the company said.

PepsiCo also noted it has joined the Closed Loop Partners consortium to work "collaboratively with stakeholders across the value chain" on reusable cups for beverage fountains.

The plastics treaty talks last week in Uruguay turned into something with a far bigger reach than first expected.

As Steve Toloken writes in his latest updates from the event, public health questions related to resin manufacturing — along with any impacts on human health from additives in plastics — are now part of the discussion.

"There is little doubt: The plastics treaty will be a global health treaty," said Giulia Carlini, a senior attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law in Washington and a treaty delegate.

"We've seen a clear policy and narrative shift from one only of plastic leakage into the ocean to one of upstream issues, toxicity and health-including interventions," the Break Free From Plastic coalition added.