MIT issued its third annual Sustainability and Innovation Global Executive Study, which reveals a strong causation and correlation between sustainability and profits.

We may be celebrating the automobile industry’s turnaround–I for one, am willing to admit that I was wrong about the government “bailout” two years ago–and to that end, look what Plug-In America’s Dan Davids has to say:

Today Valvoline revealed its new NextGen line of motor oil, which boasts a formula that is 50% recycled oil. This product’s creation is the result of Valvoline’s unique position in this market and a natural disaster that occurred almost six years ago.

BMW announced this week that it will invest about US$560 million in electric vehicle manufacturing, with new vehicles ready by 2013–and they promise a complete revamp and rethink of what a car is. That Mini E trial will lead to a broader range of EVs after all.

Now auto manufacturers are going back to their roots. Peugeot, which got its start making bicycles in the 1880s, launched a new bicycle line 10 years ago, and after some stumbles, will re-introduce that line into the United States in January. Mini Cooper has a posh collection of bikes. And now BMW launched its line of bicycles, too.

Buses going nanotech are a ways off, but Volvo is currently in the middle of a US$4.8 million research project to test whether there is a better way to design a car battery. Working with London’s Imperial College and several European companies, the project “Tomorrow’s Volvo Car” could lead to an even more energy efficient automobile, revolutionize battery technology, and reduce a car’s weight as well.