*By Carlo Versano*
Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching an incubator for food start-ups that are developing technology to solve major issues of sustainability in farming, agriculture, and waste.
The Chipotle Aluminaries Project will select eight ventures for a seven-month accelerator program under the direction of the company's non-profit arm, director of sustainability Caitlin Leibert said Friday in an interview on Cheddar.
Non-profits and for-profits are both welcome to apply come September, and the selection committee will choose organizations that excel in alternative farming, new agricultural tech, waste solutions, and plant-based proteins.
Impact and scale are key, Leibert said.
"We're not looking for micro," she said. "We're looking for macro."
The program will include a week-long boot camp, where industry leaders will mentor participants who "leave that week with a plan to scale," Leibert added.
The Aluminaries Project, which begins accepting applications Sept. 12, is part of Chipotle's new plan to bring the chain back from a string of health issues and marketing flops, going back to the 2015 E.coli outbreak that devastated the company.
CEO Brian Niccol, who was poached from Taco Bell and took over the company in March has attempted to breathe fresh air into Chipotle's famously restrained menu. He successfully tweaked the recipe of the heavily marketed Queso dip after customers called it ['expired Velveeta'] (https://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-queso-driving-sales-2018-7), launched a buzzy guacamole promotion, and is now experimenting with adding bacon and nachos to some markets.
While the stock is up a staggering 80 percent this year, Chipotle is not out of the woods yet. Earlier this month it was dinged by reports that hundreds of customers were sickened after eating at one of the chain's Ohio locations.
Chipotle said last week that it will retrain its entire staff at all 2,500 locations on food-handling rules.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/chipotle-launches-aluminaries-project).
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
