Month: January 2022

As sustainability remains an industry imperative, it’s essential you make progress with both your near- and long-term sustainability targets. Whether identifying improvements in current operations, cost-effectively integrating new technologies to existing processes or innovating processes to include new feedstocks and products, your approach to sustainability demands extensive understanding, planning and knowledge.  Join our experts to learn how new software innovations enable energy and chemical companies to:  Improve efficiencies to reduce energy and raw material consumption, Find economically viable ways to implement existing technology to reduce carbon footprint, Accelerate innovation across teams to realize long-term net-zero goals faster.

Eastern U.S. railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern are involved in two projects aimed at bolstering intermodal infrastructure and assets in the South and Midwest.  Inland container transfer facility planned to support Port of Mobile – The Alabama Port Authority has approved a $2.04 million purchase of 272 acres in Montgomery for construction of an inland container intermodal transfer facility that will support container traffic from the Port of Mobile.  The port says extending intermodal rail service from the port will support Alabama’s manufacturing, retail, distribution and agribusiness sectors.  CSX will serve the terminal, and the goal is to have regularly scheduled rail service between the port and inland customers. CSX (NASDAQ: CSX) plans to provide up to $12.5 million for infrastructure improvements in the facility, according to the Alabama Port Authority.

On my desk is a package of supposedly biodegradable plastic bags. A helpful person gave it to me with the hope I would promote degradable plastic bags as a solution for both types of residential food scrap recycling programs implemented this month in most of Ventura County.  Others have suggested degradable plastic as a solution for diverting from landfills the “to-go” food service items no longer reliably recycled from curbside recycling carts.

At Twinings, we’re concerned about the use of plastics and are taking action to improve the sustainability of our products and reduce their impact on the environment.  Across Twinings products in the UK, more than 90% of our current packaging materials are recyclable, and we are working hard to improve the remaining non-recyclable materials. We support the principle of Remove, Reduce, Recycle and Reuse and believe that, whilst there is currently an important role for some types of plastic to help package and protect our teas, we should ensure we are using the right packaging materials, in the right way, as part of a ‘circular’ economy.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) themes became more prevalent in 2021 and will continue to do so in 2022. In light of the pandemic, climate concerns and digital transformation, many enterprises are setting ambitious sustainability goals. According to one industry analyst, “Corporate sustainability isn’t just here to stay – it is becoming a business imperative for organizations around the world.”  Year-end is a good time to reflect on what we accomplished and what we learned (or confirmed) and to make a few predictions for the new year.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Rep. Mondaire Jones, D-N.Y., and other Congress members ask President Joe Biden to not exclude the Department of Defense from an executive order that aims to reduce the federal government’s carbon emissions.  The letter, which was issued on Friday, stated that DOD is the largest energy consumer in the U.S., and exempting the department from the order would make it more difficult to achieve the nation’s carbon reduction goals.  The Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability urges a whole-of-government approach with the goal of achieving 100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity by 2030.

The metal recycling industry is growing, and it’s a race for recycling companies to get the right candidates learning the ropes of this niche sector. In today’s market, there are roughly ten jobs for every individual candidate actively seeking work, making specialist support a must for most businesses.  Our technical sector specialist, Danielle (Dani) Bonnelykke, will lead the partnership, with BMRA focusing on waste management recruitment solutions and offering discounted rates to member companies.

With rampant industrialization around the world came a unique set of problems, with the most notable ones being the wastage of resources and environmental damage. To counteract this, the idea of recycling was devised, and it proved to be highly effective, especially in the case of metals and alloys. This is why alloy recycling is a widely accepted industrial practice today. However, if you run a small company and are unsure about its benefits, then these 3 reasons ought to convince you.  It is common knowledge that it is cheaper to recycle metals and alloys rather than sourcing them from scratch, for it involves mining and a plethora of industrial processes that use valuable resources. Not only is it cheaper to recycle, but it also indirectly saves a lot of precious natural resources such as coal that is otherwise utilized in making the virgin metal and its alloys. Ultimately, as the cost of production of recycled alloys is lower, it also sells cheaper, providing you with quality raw material at a low price. Consequently, it will save a lot of capital for your business which is otherwise dedicated to purchasing raw materials. 

On January 30, the Sustainable Energy Education & Development Support of Northeastern PA and the Chamber of the Northern Poconos announced The Highlights Foundation in Boyds Mills, Wayne County has been awarded the 2022 Green Business of the Year Award.  In 2019, Highlights Foundation adopted an Energy Mission Statement, which was “to lead the way in a transition to net positive energy usage at Boyds Mills by end of 2021 via creation of an energy management plan and its implementation, while providing educational opportunities to those who are touched by this property.”

Ascend Elements, the vertically integrated lithium-ion battery recycling and engineered-materials company previously known as Battery Resourcers, announced it has entered into a contract with Navitas Systems, a U.S. leader in comprehensive energy storage solutions and a U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) contractor. According to the contract, U.S.-based Ascend Elements will deliver cathode active material made from recycled batteries and scrap to Navitas Systems in April 2022 for use in a DoD project. This is the first commercial sale of cathode active materials made with Ascend Elements’ patented Hydro-to-Cathode™ technology.  “We see this as a milestone for the lithium-ion battery industry. With this agreement, Ascend Elements and Navitas will demonstrate how our Hydro-to-Cathode process elevates the value of recycled battery materials by transforming them into premium cathode active materials to be utilized in manufacturing new lithium batteries.

We’re almost a month into 2022 now, we have a new infrastructure law getting implemented, and we’re seeing regular news flow from companies on plans for advanced EV deployment. What should we be expecting for this year and beyond for the U.S. market?  It’s clearer than ever that the U.S. fleet transition is inexorable, moving from ICE (internal combustion engines) to EVs (electric vehicles). It will happen. The questions now are about the timing, cost, adoption rates and — of course! — the supply chain.  That makes sense. It’s seemed that way for several years, but certainly with the Ford F-150 going electric, the Stellantis/Chrysler announcement on going all-EV by 2028, etc., we’ve hit a watershed over this past year. Still, does that mean ICE vehicles are obsolete by 2030, 2035?

Help for handling a tough business – “It is no secret that farming is a tough business,” the workshop description says. “It’s physically, emotionally, and financially  draining, is reliant on the willpower and fortitude of its owners and managers, and is governed by markets, regulations, and weather beyond our control.”  Mendell is a “farm owner and mother who has worked through diagnosed anxiety and OCD disorders and created systems to help reduce stress on her own farm,” the workshop description says. Cabral is a rural mental health advocate and service provider.

On January 31, the Department of Environmental Protection announced 13 projects in eight Southcentral Pennsylvania counties, aimed at watershed restoration and protection, have been awarded more than $4.7 million in funding through this year’s Growing Greener Grants.  “Growing Greener is the single largest investment of state funds that goes directly towards addressing critical environmental concerns of the 21st century,” said DEP Southcentral Regional Director Rod Nesmith. “Now in its third decade, DEP’s Growing Greener continues to play an essential role in restoring and protecting the health of streams and rivers in communities across Pennsylvania. The grant program provides necessary funding for a variety of projects focused on creating a cleaner environment for all Pennsylvanians.”

About 82% of U.S. voters support stopping the sale of single-use plastics at national parks, according to a poll released today (Jan 14) by the non-profit Oceana.  U.S. national parks average 33 million visitors and nearly 70 million pounds of waste each year, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, so a ban on single-use plastics would be substantial.  The national poll, conducted by nonpartisan polling company Ipsos, surveyed 1,005 U.S. adults last November. And, in a true rarity these days, the poll found the support crossing political lines.  The U.S. is woefully behind the rest of the world in tackling plastic waste.  What remains unclear is whether the bipartisanship shown in the new poll over plastics can extend to Washington DC. There is a bill, Reducing Waste in National Parks Act, that, if passed, would ban the sale and distribution of single-use plastics in the parks.

Photography is more than an enjoyable hobby or career; it can also shed light on important global issues. Sustainability is one particular cause it can help with.  As a photographer, you can do a lot to promote a brighter future for the planet. This guide will highlight nine things you can do to contribute to this movement.

Governments and companies worldwide are pledging to achieve net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases. What would it take to fulfill that ambition?  In a new report, we look at the economic transformation that a transition to net-zero emissions would entail—a transformation that would affect all countries and all sectors of the economy, either directly or indirectly. We estimate the changes in demand, capital spending, costs, and jobs, to 2050, for sectors that produce about 85 percent of overall emissions and assess economic shifts for 69 countries.  Each of the six articles highlighted on this page provides a detailed look at aspects of the net-zero transition. The full report, The net-zero transition: What it would cost, what it could bring, as well as a PDF summary, can be downloaded for free here…

The Porsche Taycan has set a new Guinness World Record, with a cross-country drive seeing the EV go from coast to coast in the US with under 2.5 hours of charging stops along the way. It’s a sign of how far public electric vehicle infrastructure has come on in recent years, though also a reminder that there’s more to EV ownership than simply where you can plug in.  The route itself was straightforward: from Los Angeles, CA all the way to New York City, NY on November 12, 2021. In total, the Taycan drove 2,834.5 miles, Porsche says, with driver Wayne Gerdes pausing at 18 different charging locations for a cumulative total of 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 48 seconds. That’s an average of around 157 miles per charging session. The previous record stood at 7 hours, 10 minutes, and 1 second.

Electricity from the combination of photovoltaic panels and wind turbines exhibits potential benefits towards the sustainable cities transition. Nevertheless, the highly fluctuating and intermittent character limits an extended applicability in the energy market. Particularly, batteries represent a challenging approach to overcome the existing constraints and to achieve sustainable urban energy development. On the basis of the market roll-out and level of technological maturity, five commercially available battery technologies are assessed in this work, namely, lead–acid, lithium manganese oxide, nickel–cadmium, nickel–metal hydride, and vanadium redox flow. When considering sustainable development, environmental assessments provide valuable information. In this vein, an environmental analysis of the technologies is conducted using a life cycle assessment methodology from a cradle-to-gate perspective.  View Full-Text

Czech farmer Terezie Daňková raises cattle and sheep on a 450 ha. ranch in Southern Bohemia. She rents most of the land she farms. Every year the shape of her farm shifts a little when the tenancy agreements are renewed in a dizzying dance involving over 100 different landowners. 
Agroforestry offers benefits for animal welfare and soil fertility. Terezie is not only a farmer but also a member of the committee that is preparing agroforestry for Czech law. And that is why Louise Kelleher spoke to her about the Kafkaesque barriers to agroforestry in the Czech Republic, the subsidies conundrum, land tenure and the disproportionate number of Czech farmers who work on the farm, compared to non-farming landowners. Often the city-dwelling grandchildren of those who originally worked the land, the present-day landowners have a very different attitude to land use.

Israeli Space Week, held over the past week, brought together private and public entities who discussed the booming industry at the Ramon Space Conference, sponsored by the Ramon Foundation and the Israel Space Agency, with this year’s theme focusing on searching for sustainable solutions to resolve climate change.  Dual-usage technologies may help curb greenhouse emissions, ensure food security, predict weather patterns, and help protect the environment, while allowing the commercial sector to flourish. According to research by Morgan Stanley, the global space industry could generate revenue of over $1 trillion or more by 2040, up from $350 billion.