CLEANTECH -
A majority (87 percent) of public sector sustainability professionals in the UK have begun to embrace smart technologies, but future projects are stymied by lack of finance and poor implementation strategy, according to new research by GE Lighting and the Carbon Trust.The most common areas where there has been significant smart technology adoption are building efficiency (77 percent), LED lighting (57 percent) and water and waste technologies (24 percent). The smart technologies most commonly installed include intelligent features such as sensors, which combined with internet connectivity and control systems, enhance performance and efficiency and reduce resource consumption, costs and carbon emissions.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI) today announced it is available to help companies navigate compliance with the pending conflict minerals legislation recently voted on by the European Parliament.In addition, the CFSI says it is adopting a risk-based approach to its audit program to bolster audits of smelters and refiners of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold worldwide.The draft EU legislation on conflict minerals requires importers and processors of tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to self-certify via independent, third-party due diligence audits of smelters and refiners that their products do not directly or indirectly finance conflict and serious human rights abuses.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Today, the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) released a study measuring large cap company performance on a major human rights risk and ascertained the industries both leading and lagging when it comes to conflict minerals reporting.To conduct the pilot study for the report, Mining the Disclosures: An Investor Guide to Conflict Minerals Reporting, RSN worked with Sustainalytics, a leading provider of environmental, social and governance research, to develop a research tool that offers insights into the quality of corporate conflict minerals disclosures.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation are the industry's longest-running, global, independently judged recognition of innovation and collaboration throughout the packaging value chain. This year, a panel of experts evaluated almost 140 entries from over 25 countries and on Friday awarded one diamond winner, five gold winners and seven silver winners based on "excellence" in one, two or all three categories: technological advancement, responsible packaging and enhanced user experience."This year's winners … exemplify how collaboration, innovation and packaging excellence converge to generate game-changing solutions that positively impact our lives," said William J. Harvey, president of DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
This morning, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute launched the Material Health Certificate Registry, a new online tool for identifying and communicating the work of manufacturers toward chemically optimized products. Two pilot companies, Owens Corning and ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas, are the first to obtain certificates and today announced several products assessed against the Material Health requirements of the Cradle to Cradle Certified™ Product Standard.
WASTE NOT -
Nestlé is investing in technology to help reduce the amount of water it uses in California at the five water bottling plants and four facilities where food or petcare products are manufactured.Work is underway to transform the Nestlé milk factory in the city of Modesto into a ‘zero water’ factory, meaning the plant will not use any local freshwater resources for its operations.The project is expected to save nearly 63 million gallons of water each year, equivalent to 71 percent of absolute withdrawals in 2014. Around $7 million has been invested in the project, which is due to be completed by the end of 2016, the company says.
COLLABORATION -
There have been many high-profile commitments by corporations to end deforestation in their supply chains and to transition to sources that preserve these valuable forest resources. And while most will agree that deforestation remains one of the greatest contributors to global climate change, not all are in agreement on how exactly businesses will make this transition in a way that continues to meet the demands of their customers.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
At a shareholder meeting on Tuesday, a proposal to Kraft Foods Group asserting that non-recyclable packaging — particularly that of Capri Sun pouches — is wasting valuable resources received the support of 29.2 percent of shares voted, according to As You Sow. The shares favoring the proposal have a market value of more than $9 billion.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Companies face a harder time today satisfying their customers. They expect their purchases to deliver as promised and, increasingly, they want to ensure the manufacturing process didn’t cause social or environmental damage along the value chain.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
Your company is doing all the right things: You’re making a product with sustainable attributes, your manufacturing process is diverting waste from landfill, and your products contain recycled content. But are these efforts translating into higher brand value at the shelf? If you’re not communicating your sustainability efforts in the right way, you might be missing the boat. Here are three key reasons you can’t afford to miscommunicate your sustainability initiatives:
WASTE NOT -
Preserve, producer of sustainable consumer goods with a focus on creating closed loop products using recycled plastic, today announced the launch of Preserve 2 Go — a durable, reusable clamshell container designed for use in food services.Developed to “transform the takeout food experience and to provide an avenue for a more sustainable, eco-friendly system”, Preserve 2 Go could help eliminate the unnecessary waste of millions of disposable to-go containers.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Method Products, maker of eco-friendly household, fabric and personal care products, has opened the doors of its 'South Side Soapbox' factory in the Pullman Park district of Chicago. Designed by architects and sustainable designers, William McDonough + Partners, the Soapbox is the industry’s first LEED-platinum certified factory.The 150,000 square foot facility includes product manufacturing, bottle production, warehousing and distribution.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Today, environmental advocacy organization UPSTREAM announced the release of model legislation that state legislatures can adopt to optimize recycling, address litter and create jobs through shared responsibility for packaging. The model legislation was developed by UPSTREAM in consultation with local government officials and recycling experts throughout the country.
PRESS RELEASE -
The company's efforts to ensure long-term sustainability have helped set a new standard for corporate environmental responsibility
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh. It also marks the second Fashion Revolution Day, launched last year to commemorate the Rana Plaza disaster with the aims of encouraging greater collaboration across the fashion sector supply chain.
WASTE NOT -
Upwards of 100 million tons of plastic are manufactured annually across the globe. That’s 200 billion pounds of new material on-market every year, ready to be thermoformed, laminated, foamed and extruded into billions of products and packages. In the past decades it has been widely adopted by industry, and plastic has become one of the most ubiquitous and versatile materials in the world – and, subsequently, one of the most difficult to reliably collect and recycle.
WASTE NOT -
Nestlé USA has had a busy year so far: The company has publicly committed to removing all artificial flavors and colors from its chocolate candy by the end of 2015 and purchased enough certified cocoa to produce its entire Easter chocolate collection, a first for a major U.S. candy manufacturer.
COLLABORATION -
Among mounting concern over the dire water shortages in California and around the world, several well-known companies are taking matters into their own hands, reducing water in their production processes and educating consumers around water conservation.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) this week announced the stunning latest results of its Clean by Design program, a global model for sustainable manufacturing that is working with multinational apparel brand partners Target, Gap, Levi Strauss and H&M
MARKETING AND COMMS -
As California enters its fourth year of drought, more than 135,000 people have signed a petition to the California Water Resources Control Board to shut down Nestlé’s water bottling operations in the state.Created by the California-based Courage Campaign, the petition says Nestlé extracts water from California specifically for its Arrowhead and Pure Life brands, and bottles its product from at least a dozen natural springs. It says one such bottling plant is located on a Native American reservation “in one of California’s most drought-stricken areas that is exempt from oversight by local water agencies.”