Brooksville, a town of 8,500 residents is located 50 miles 80 kilometers north of Tampa. I dont know where the blame falls here, said Blake Bell, a city council member. A small town in Florida accidentally sold its water tower in a blundered real estate transaction. A businessman purchased a municipal building underneath the city of Brooksville’s water tower last April for USD 55,000 with the goal of converting it into a gym.
TECO 2030 ASA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chart Industries, Inc. to jointly develop technological solutions that will capture carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by ships and subsequently store it in liquid form. “When the new CO2 capture integration that we are collaborating with Chart Industries, Inc. and Sustainable Energy Solutions (SES) on is ready, it will enable ships to capture and store the CO2 that they would otherwise have emitted into the air, and which would thereby have contributed to climate change,” says Stian Aakre, CEO of TECO 2030 AS.
On March 10, 2021, a host of provisions came into effect as part of the European Union’s (“EU”) Regulation on Sustainability‐Related Disclosures in the Financial Services Sector (the “Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation” or “SFDR”).
Yardbird has been creating high-end patio furniture for more than five years. The company launched online but quickly found the need to have showrooms for people to try out the furniture. Yardbird specializes in eco-friendly furniture using recycled aluminum and ocean plastic in the making of their pieces. You can find everything from deep seating favorites like love seats, sofas sets and sectionals or try one of the fire tables to heat your space on cooler evenings. Dining has become one of the top sellers with more people creating space at home during the pandemic.
Vässla, a Swedish micromobility start-up, has raised $11m in fresh funds to expand during a period of increasing demand for e-bikes. The Stockholm-based company initially launched with e-mopeds and is now launching an e-bike with a club-like subscription model. Vässla Club will target individuals, delivery drivers and businesses like hotels and holiday resorts with a subscription model to access its e-bikes and fleet management features built in for businesses.
Following the publication of the landmark Dasgupta Review, which argued the case for biodiversity considerations to be embedded in all economic decisions by the government, a new commitment for all large infrastructure projects to be ‘nature-positive’ has been made. The UK’s 2019 ‘State of Nature’ report revealed that most UK species have declined since the 1970s, with 15% now facing extinction. The commitment has been announced by the Treasury today (14 June) in its formal written response to the Dasgupta Review on valuing biodiversity. Published in February, the finished Review provides guidance on how policymakers can account for the economic, social and environmental value of nature when making decisions. Commentators have dubbed the piece of work the nature-related equivalent to the Stern Review on climate change. In its response to the Review, the UK government reiterates a commitment to improve nature. The nation is currently well off-track to deliver on a flagship pledge to leave nature better for the next generation.
Virgin Media has today (25 May) launched its latest sustainability report, detailing efforts towards a new net-zero target. The company’s head of sustainability Katie Buchanan outlines how the standalone report is evolving into an interactive extravaganza. The company’s latest sustainability report outlines key progress to decarbonise and achieve zero waste. Virgin Media is widely regarded as an innovator in the world of sustainability reporting, having shifted to a digital-only format in 2010 and subsequently launched the world’s first 360 sustainability video. 2017 saw the firm publish a string of GIFs, infographics and social media posts in lieu of a hefty PDF and, in 2018, the report was football-themed in a drive to boost engagement against the backdrop of the FIFA World Cup. But with a net-zero target to work towards as part of a new ‘Meaningful Connections Plan’ the company is looking to engage its workforce and key stakeholders on the journey ahead.
The British Fashion Council’s inaugural (and virtual) Institute of Positive fashion Forum late last week made a big plea for more sustainable and inclusive behaviour from the industry at large and came up with both ideas to put that into action and warnings. One point that emerged clearly from speakers coming from widely different vantage points in the fashion sector was that the consumer really wants to see change happening. “Sustainability is at the top of mind of young people,” said Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti. And they want to see authentic commitment. “There’s more than business, there’s more than clear goals. It’s about a designer brand’s role in the community. We need to rethink the ‘profit first’ mentality so that workers in the supply chain don’t have to choose between lives and livelihoods”.
As procurement gains global importance, re-skilling and upskilling will make all the difference. Procurement is “in” again. With the Suez Canal blockage, global semiconductor shortages, and new coronavirus outbreaks in Asian ports, executives around the world have realised that it’s integral to their bottom line. But in 2021, procurement requires a different set of skills—and this transition, according to The Hackett Group, will require unprecedented levels of re-skilling by 2022. Furthermore, brand-new procurement professionals are entering the field post-pandemic. As the Hackett Group noted: “Executives must be prepared to manage the significant implications for talent or they risk losing some of the potential value of increasingly digital operations – up to $82M for world-class organizations”.
Sustainable clothing is a hot topic in Ireland at the moment. Although the demand for sustainably made clothing is on the rise, fast fashion stores are still the easiest to access and most common places where we buy our clothes. Often it can be difficult to find sustainable clothes we like and can afford. Here is a list of 17 brands that we can shop from in Ireland.
Much of the work and focus in the circular economy is based around disrupting standard linear economy business models of “take-make-waste” to ones where higher proportions of resources can be recycled with minimal disposal. Through using waste as a resource to be recycled rather than disposed of, and by prioritising regenerative resources, we can stretch the lifetime of our planet’s finite resources. Otherwise, in a world where success is largely measured by profits, most company directors are tied to legal requirements to maximise shareholder value. Stock markets reward relentless growth, and everyone chasing growth in a race that will exhaust those finite resources is not sustainable. How hard will it be to make the switch?
This interview, by Vojtech Vosecky from Circle-economy.com, looks at the results of a recent investigation by the University of Gävle into the status and training needs of regions in Sweden. The investigation targeted Circular Economy, a focus in Sweden since the Swedish Government issued its Circular Economy Directive. Many aspects of the investigation reinforce the work done by Circle-economy in their city and region-wide investigations.
Finextra hosted the first workshop of its two-day virtual event, Sustainable Finance Live. The interactive session brought together expert investors and asset managers to explore how to build a portfolio that effectively supports biodiversity, natural capital, and ecosystem services. On the back of the learnings gathered from Sustainable Finance Live’s opening case studies and panel Q&A, a raft of keynote speakers – representing organisations such as Elastacloud, Redsand Ventures, EBRD, Cervest, Federated Hermes, Verisk Maplecroft and Ashurst – drilled down into the challenges and opportunities associated with executing investments that effectively support biodiversity.
AirAsia on Tuesday said it joins calls from business groups and local government units (LGU) to allow leisure travel subject to strict “bubble tourism” for island destinations, such as Panglao and Boracay.
AS part of its “circular waste management” initiative, Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) recently reported that it recycled 28 metric tons of plastic waste into useful eco-products last year.
The recycled materials were equivalent to 2.8 million plastic water bottles filling up 73 basketball courts has been recycled into eco-products like bricks for pathways, sidewalks and fences, according to the country’s leading property developer.
BorgWarner has entered into a global agreement to supply its advanced eTurbo™ to a major European OEM for use in a high-voltage hybrid passenger car. BorgWarner’s advanced electric boosting technology provides significant engine efficiency and performance benefits while also enabling the automotive manufacturer to meet increasingly strict emissions regulations. This will be the company’s first application of its electrically assisted turbocharger in a high-voltage hybrid vehicle.
Air France-KLM, Total, Groupe ADP and Airbus have joined forces to carry out the first long-haul flight powered by Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)1 produced in France. At 3:40 p.m. today, Air France Flight 342 took off from Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport’s Terminal 2E for Montreal with its tanks filled for the first time with sustainable aviation fuel produced in Total’s French plants.
This flight is a tangible result of the four groups’ shared ambition to decarbonize air transportation and to develop a SAF supply chain in France, prerequisite to the generalization of their use in French airports.
How are you responding to the climate emergency? You may be taking action at a personal level to do your bit. Reducing air travel, eliminating single use plastics, eating less meat. You may believe the task is too daunting to be tackled as an individual and have decided to look away.
The United Nations recognises that urgent collective action is necessary. It has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals to help countries and organisations shape their response. The SDGs help governments set their own targets for changes within national economies. These changes will be complex and far reaching. A new generation of consultants and service providers has sprung up to help businesses navigate this upheaval.
Scoular on Tuesday announced the name for its new sustainable and innovative barley-based protein source for aquaculture and pet food: Emerge™. Emerge, both traceable and non-GMO, is the only barley-based protein for feed customers.
“As the demand for clean-label protein grows, both the aquaculture and pet food industries are seeking alternative and sustainable plant-based protein sources,” said Scoular manager JC Olson. “Emerge is a high-quality ingredient to meet the demand for the feed ingredient supply chain.”
Webuild Group and its partner in the IRICAV DUE consortium have signed five months ahead of time an agreement with Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane) to start work on the second and final construction lot of the first functional lot of the Verona-Bivio Vicenza section of the Verona-Padua high-speed/high-capacity railway valued at €1.596 million.