WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Among the innovations recognized in the 14th annual Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards were a new type of vegetable oil-based paints from Procter & Gamble, a method to make gasoline or jet fuel from sugars, and other environmentally friendly processes.

CHICAGO, Ill. -- At the NeoCon 2009 trade show, Herman Miller and Steelcase unveiled some of their newest, and improved, products that are made with recycled material, are recyclable, use less energy, take up less shipping space or help cut down on energy use.

By using ambient electromagnetic radiation, Nokia thinks it can enable cell phones to draw power from the air by 2013, meaning millions of phone chargers would no longer need to be manufactured.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Chemical company Genomatica has met another of its milestones on its path towards using sugar instead of petroleum to produce, on a commercial scale, a common plastic chemical that's used in making air bags and spandex.

The "Packaging Outside the Box" panel at Greener by Design 2009 showed how HP, Frito-Lay and Jedlicka Design are rethinking what packaging should be, with widely different results.

Tom Szaky, the founder and CEO of waste-to-product company Terracycle, demonstrated how waste is nothing more than poorly managed resources, and the many benefits of turning trash into products.

Intel is a company that makes computer chips, not cash registers. So it was a leap into new territory when a team within Intel started developing a point-of-sale system after some quick research found they could cut the energy use of cash registers by 70 percent with just some repurposed computer chips.

The WorldFirst Formula 3 racecar made with renewable and sustainable resources has received significant press in recent weeks. One irresistible aspect of the car is that its biodiesel engine runs on biofuel made from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. The car was designed as a Formula 3 racecar, but unfortunately does not meet all of the Formula 3 standards because of its biodiesel engine.

Steelcase, Method, HP and others are taking environmental innovation to the next level, and at Greener by Design, they shared their thoughts and experiences with making greener products and better products.

"Design is the first signal of human intention ... What is our intention as a species and how do we go about thinking about that?" William McDonough asked during his keynote speech at Greener by Design 2009.

Joel Makower, founder and executive editor of GreenBiz.com, kicked off Greener by Design 2009 with a look at what has changed, and what hasn't, since the first Greener by Design conference last year.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- An Australian research organization is experimenting with taking waste feathers (11 billion pounds of which are produced each year) and turning them into usable fiber instead of feedstock or landfill trash.

A Chinese bamboo flooring manufacturer is using scrap materials to make keyboards that are durable, prevent static electricity, and stay warm to the touch in the winter and cool in the summer.