Top Stories
LG to invest $18 billion in eco business,
cutting emissions.—reliability high.
"South Korea's LG Group will invest 20 trillion won ($17.90 billion)
through 2020 to develop environmentally-friendly businesses and reduce
emissions by 40 percent against 2009 levels, unit LG Corp said on
Monday. ... It will split the investment between green research and
development and facilities to cut 50 million metric tones of greenhouse
gas emissions per year by 2020, a statement from LG Corp said. The
investment aims to expand its production of energy-efficient products
and renewable energy businesses such as fuel cells and rechargeable
batteries for electric vehicles, bringing revenue from such sectors to
10 percent of the group's total revenue in 2020, the statement said."
Story at Reuters.
Coca-Cola Bottler Moves Forward with CHP
Projects.—reliability high.
"ContourGlobal has received financing up to $250 million from Overseas
Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) to support the CHP projects
planned for Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (CCH) plants in Eastern
Europe and Nigeria. These plants will supply electricity, steam, hot
water, chilled water and food-grade CO2 to CCH beverage bottling
facilities for the bottling process. ... Other bottlers are also taking
similar steps toward energy efficiency. Pepsi, for example, spent $2.35
million last year to install a combined heat and power system at its
bottle plant in College Point, New York." Story at Environmental
Leader. [This
makes a lot of sense, especially where there isn't a cheap commercial
source of CO2. Why send it up the stack then have to buy it from
someone else to put the fizz in your product? Depends on technology for
capturing CO2 from flue gases. If there is an ethanol plant or brewery
next door it might not be economic.]
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Hanes EcoSmart Clothes Recycle Cotton,
Upcycle Plastic Bottles.—reliability high.
"The company has released products made with its EcoSmart fibers this
month, coinciding with the launch of the company's new Hanes Green
website, which provides information on Hanes' environmental efforts and
tips for consumers. Hanes' EcoSmart men's black athletic socks contain
at least 55 percent recycled cotton, which is excess cotton from Hanes'
manufacturing process that gets sanitized and recycled. A variety of
Hanes sweatshirts and sweatpants contain the company's EcoSmart
polyester fiber, which is made from recycled plastic bottles." See GreenBiz.
With LEED Promise, Chicago’s Testa Produce
Gets Building Site for a Dollar.—reliability high.
"In exchange for adding renewable energy and building its warehouse to
LEED standards, Testa Produce is getting a building site from the city
of Chicago for one dollar. Renewable energy should provide about 55
percent of the facility’s electricity needs, resulting in up to $90,000
a year in savings, said President Peter Testa. In early March, Testa
sought to have the city sell the lot for a dollar, reports Crains
Business. The 13-acre lot, at the old city stockyards, is valued at
$1.6 million." See Environmental
Leader.
KFC Lands in Hot Water for its Packaging.—reliability
medium.
"Now, according to an activist group called the Dogwood Alliance,
there's another reason to steer clear of KFC: The world's largest
chicken chain restaurant wraps its food in paper made from virgin
forests in the southern U.S., supporting forestry practices that
include large-scale clear-cutting and the conversion of diverse natural
forests into monoculture plantations. It also engages in greenwashing
by touting its support for an industry-backed forest certification
system called the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) that undermines
a more rigorous standard established by the Forest Stewardship Council
(FSC)." More on campaign to shame KFC into more sustainable sourcing.
From GreenBiz
blog. [Interesting.
Has Dogwood Alliance decided KFC customers care about forests? They
obviously don't care about chickens.]
Timberland Reduces GHG Emissions 36%.—reliability
high.
"The Timberland Company has reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
by 36 percent in 2009 over its 2006 baseline from Timberland owned and
operated facilities and employee air travel, according to the company’s
quarterly CSR report. The footwear manufacturer says it’s on track to
reach its goal of a 50 percent emissions reduction by the end of 2010."
Also comments on supply chain improvements. See Environmental
Leader. [Note
this is over three years. Note scope.]
Interview: Walmart’s Green Human Resources
Best Practices.—reliability medium.
"I reached out to Walmart to inquire on how it is engaging its 2+
million associates, located across four continents, to turn its
announced strategies into tangible results. The answers to my questions
are best practices that every human resources leader in America should
post on his or her bulletin board. 'We have a volunteer associate
sustainability program at Walmart,' explained Candace Taylor, Walmart’s
Director of Sustainability. 'The program asks our associates a basic
question: What one thing could you do to make a difference in terms of
your health, your community or the natural environment?'" More about
the firm's approach. From triplepundit.
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
