Newlight is a nature-inspired biotechnology company converting air and greenhouse gas into a biomaterial called Aircarbon®. Aircarbon is a high-performance, carbon-negative PHB biomaterial produced by naturally-occurring microorganisms that is being used to replace plastic in industrial segments ranging from foodware to fashion. Newlight’s mission is to help end plastic pollution and climate change by replacing plastic with Aircarbon, creating global-scale economic and environmental value. Mark Herrema is the co-founder and CEO of Newlight Technologies. In 2003, Mark co-founded Newlight with a vision of using greenhouse gas as a resource to make high- performance sustainable materials. After a decade of research, Mark and his team developed a technology that uses a natural process to convert greenhouse gas into a material called Aircarbon. Aircarbon is a meltable energy storage material made in almost all known living things that can be used to replace plastic, fiber, and leather. Aircarbon is now being used to replace plastic and leather in foodware and fashion products, with a goal to help end plastic pollution and climate change. Newlight has been honored to receive recognition as “Biomaterial of the Year” by the Nova Institute, “Innovation of the Year” by Popular Science, and “Technology Pioneer” by the World Economic Forum. Mark graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University, and has since garnered 19 years of experience in process engineering, polymer functionalization, and strategic business development.