Month: October 2021

Currently our economy operates in a linear way. Take, Make, Dispose. It’s based on the industrial revolution, and we know this way of doing things has limits. Some of those limits we are reaching even today. But there’s a different economy we could create. The Circular Economy. This week we explore the ‘Circular Economy’ with #1 Circular Economy advocate, Dame Ellen MacArthur. This brand new economy is all about designing out waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in use, and regenerating natural systems. It incentivizes manufacturers to create and maintain better products, stops the Global North from polluting the Global South, and has the potential to regenerate wildlife and ecosystems that are on the brink of collapsing.

The most strict mandates for transitioning from traditional gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles to electric vehicles are in Europe. In many parts of Europe, there is a mandate to eliminate all new combustion vehicle sales, and sales of electric vehicles are expected to climb significantly. However, a surprising metric has come out of Europe concerning auto sales during the third quarter of 2021.

NorthLadder, a UAE-based second-hand online marketplace for electronics has recently announced long-term partnerships with key retailers across the UAE including select Carrefour and Lulu Hypermarkets and electronic retailers including EMAX, Jumbo Electronics, Ecity, MDS, Istyle, Samsung Brand Shops operated by Jacky’s Retail LLC and Harman House, to support the rising number of people trading in their devices. Reports in the UAE suggest trade in volumes across leading electronics retailers have quadrupled. To support this surge, NorthLadder said it has partnered with leading retailers to offer its innovative technology, trusted network and secure auction platform. To facilitate the trade in process, the company has launched white labelled apps for each retailer. Through the apps, consumers will be encouraged to explore and purchase device upgrades.

Hamilton (Building Contractors) Ltd has been shortlisted for this year’s prestigious Insulated Render and Cladding Association (INCA) awards, not once but four times. The 2021 INCA awards, which are to be held on Friday 26th November in Birmingham, celebrate the best of the best in EWI and showcase a diverse range of projects. Hamilton has 25 years’ experience in the industry, and works with only respected, time-served manufacturers. Managing Director, Robert Storton, says: “It’s always a delight to be nominated for awards such as this, in partnership with some of our most trusted, long-standing suppliers; Wetherby Building Systems Ltd, K Systems, and Aliva UK Ltd.

The critical difference between biomass fuels and fossil fuel, is that of fossil and contemporary carbon. Burning fossil fuels results in converting stable carbon sequestered millions of years ago into atmospheric carbon dioxide (when the global environment has adapted to current levels). Burning biomass fuels however, returns to the atmosphere contemporary carbon recently taken up by the growing plant, and currently being taken up by replacement growth. If wood fuel is sourced from well managed woodlands, then carbon released from the wood during combustion will be removed from the atmosphere as the remaining trees and seedlings photosynthesize.

Australian dairy is committed to producing quality food, while providing best care for our animals, doing more to protect the environment and supporting dairy workers and communities. We’re proud of Australian dairy and we want people to know more about it.

The government has set a number of priorities to transform South Africa’s energy sector and prepare a climate change response to achieve the just transition – but it continues to send mixed messages. The “just transition”, a term heard frequently in climate change adaptation, refers to the need to preserve the livelihoods of workers as countries move to a climate-resilient, lower-carbon economy and society. In his 11 October newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said many important sectors of the economy would be affected by the just transition, including agriculture, tourism, mining, energy, transport, manufacturing and the biodiversity economy.

Noida-based Attero Recycling has been tackling the problem of mounting electronic waste as consumers discard their electronic gadgets and electrical appliances once their lifespan is over. The startup extracts important elements and compounds from these discarded products that can be used in various industrial applications, using its proprietary technology while trying to minimise the negative impact on the health of the waste collectors in this largely unorganised sector.

The Vested Group’s electronics processing solution, reVESTED, is a complete business management system that addresses the complex requirements companies in the electronics refurbishing, recycling and distributing industry face. We understand your unique needs and business processes and have built an end-to-end solution on the NetSuite platform that is integrated with NetSuite’s market-leading cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

The annual Ocean Sustainability Bergen (OSB) Conference offers a platform for students, researchers, and practitioners from around the world to come together and discuss the biggest threats facing our ocean, and explore innovative and practical solutions to combat these threats. The conference also serves to promote knowledge and activities related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular the work of the University of Bergen and other universities in Norway and around the world. This year, the OSB Conference aims to highlight one of the largest, and most complex, threats facing our ocean today: climate change.

The City of Cleveland today announced it will extend the deadline for residents to opt in to the new bi-weekly curbside recycling program to Nov. 5. The announcement follows a large increase in opt-in requests over the past two weeks, almost doubling the amount. As of Oct. 21, the city has more than 17,000 requests. The previous opt-in deadline was Oct. 22. “The decision to extend the deadline helps ensure that everyone who wants to participate in the first round of the new recycling program has the opportunity to do so,” said Mayor Frank G. Jackson. “We are encouraged by the increase in requests and are committed to working alongside residents to establish a more efficient and sustainable waste and recycling collection process.”

As the workplace continues to evolve, the drive toward sustainability in the office has emerged as a priority for businesses looking to align their internal green goals with the external steps they’re taking to reduce their global environmental impact.According to research from Harvard Business School, 2019 saw more than 10,000 publicly listed companies creating corporate sustainability reports, up from fewer than 20 firms in the early 1990s. Meanwhile, the share of Global 500 organizations setting sustainability targets spiked from 30% in 2009 to 89% in 2018.  In recent years, sustainability—often top of mind from an operational standpoint—has become a workplace mandate. “Ten or 20 years ago, workplace sustainability might have meant putting out recycling bins or setting up a reusable water bottle station,” says Cathy Resler, sustainability and ESG advisory lead at the global public relations company Hill+Knowlton Strategies. “There may have been a feeling of, ‘OK, we’ve checked the box.’ But today, companies want to build a workplace that aligns their values with their purpose. It’s much more interconnected than it used to be.”

The traditional approach to economic growth granted many parts of the world access to goods and services, which would have been unimaginable just a few centuries ago. However, this has come at a significant environmental and social cost, which could ultimately affect the habitability of our planet. It is therefore crucial to find a solution to this problem, breaking the link between resource use and consumption. The circular economy could be the best way to achieve this goal, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for business.

The head of environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday warned against efforts by countries and corporations at the forthcoming U.N. climate talks in Glasgow to “greenwash” their ongoing pollution of the planet.  The summit hosted by Britain has been described as ” the world’s last best chance ” to prevent global warming from reaching dangerous levels, and is expected to see a flurry of new commitments from governments and businesses to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases.  But climate campaigners say behind-the-scenes lobbying before the summit could hamper efforts to achieve an ambitious deal that would ensure the world stands a chance of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) as agreed in Paris in 2015.

Finnish manufacturer Tomra makes “reverse vending machines” to accept can and bottle deposits for recycling. These types of machines typically accept one vessel at a time, with an internal scanner classifying each one as it comes down the chute. Even in eco-conscious Scandinavia, not everyone is willing to spend those minutes feeding the machine.  The Old Way – In a bid to increase recycling, Tomra designed their new R1 model to be “multi-feed.” The R1 has an opening the size of a clothes dryer, so recyclers can just dump their entire bags inside. The R1’s internal system quickly scans up to 100 bottles at once, and spits out the redemption receipt in seconds rather than minutes.

Sessions in the policy track included quick overviews of the history of EPR and the concept of individual producer responsibility (IPR), deep dives into eco-modulation and packaging consultations, and panel conversations on engaging stakeholders in policy development and the role of container deposit systems. The diversity of session topics speaks to the complexity of packaging policy and the many considerations that contribute to effective legislation. Dominic Hogg, Director of Equanimator, discussed the realities of EPR in driving improved recycling rates. He recognized that improving rates depends not only on well-written policy, but also on all the other initiatives at varying levels of government that support waste collection and infrastructure.

Adkerson, who also chairs a global mining industry trade group, described the political situation in Washington as a “head-scratcher.” Biden officials understand the importance of copper to climate goals, Adkerson said, but are not likely to lessen mine permitting standards “because that just runs against the grain of their political situation.” Copper prices meanwhile are up 10% this month due to that low supply, with analysts expecting demand will increase alongside the global economy. RISING COSTS Freeport itself is not immune to that price rise.

Earlier this month D-Wave Systems, the quantum computing pioneer that has long championed quantum annealing-based quantum computing (and sometimes taken heat for that approach), announced it was expanding into gate-based quantum computing.
Surprised? Perhaps we shouldn’t be. Spun out of the University of British Columbia in 1999, D-Wave initially targeted gate-based quantum computing and discovered how hard it would be to develop. The company strategy morphed early on.

Vyne, a recognized leader in end-to-end health information exchange and electronic healthcare communication management, hosted earlier today a company-wide “Growing Vyne Day.” The event took place across more than 20 states with in-person tree plantings in Indianapolis, Knoxville, Atlanta, and Kansas City and virtual events for remote employees in cities across the country. More than 100 employees participated in the event as part of the company’s drive to support global change and sustainability. In addition to donating time and resources to plant trees, the company’s medical, dental, and insurance payer businesses provide technology platforms that enable clients to reduce paper and consumption of other natural resources.

There is great market potential in the plant-based dairy alternative category, with innovation in beverages, frozen desserts, and vegan slices, and more. To help companies and startups stand apart from the crowd, Kerry has released a Plant-based Dairy Alternative Toolkit. This virtual toolkit is designed to give innovators in the U.S. simple, scalable, and sustainable solutions to help with plant-based food and beverage product development and growth prospects. “Emerging and innovative plant-based brands and products need straightforward expert assistance, a road map to scalability, and a focus on sustainability—which Kerry’s 2021 proprietary research says is important to 75% of consumers in this category,” said Elizabeth Horvath, Vice President of Marketing at Kerry North America, in a press release.