latest sustainability & environmental fleets ... · cellulosic ethanol is on track be cost...
TRANSCRIPT
Contents: ENERGY MANAGEMENT 3 COMPLIANCE & STANDARDS 4 ENVIRONMENTAL & ENERGY SOFTWARE 9 CORPORATE REPORTS 9 POLICY & ENFORCEMENT 10 FLEETS & TRANSPORTATION 17 GREEN BUILDING 20 PACKAGING & PAPER 20 WATER MANAGEMENT 21 WASTE & RECYCLING 22 RENEWABLE ENERGY 23 CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 24 RANKINGS 25
Issue 35 • April 1, 2013
Latest sustainability & environmental management developments
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EL Trends: March 1-15, 2013
Contents:
Sustainable agriculture 3 Supply chains 3 Carbon footprint 3 Climate 4 Energy management 5 Environmental & energy software 5 Renewable energy 6 Corporate reports 6 Studies & reports 7 Packaging & paper 7 Fleets & transportation 8 Green building 11 Heating & cooling 11 Executive moves 12 Water management 13 Chemicals 14 Waste & recycling 15 Corporate sustainability 15 Finance & reporting 16 Rankings 17 Standards & compliance 17 Policy & enforcement 20
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Sustainable Agriculture
The food industry is not properly managing or reporting on farm animal welfare, and a majority of global food companies have yet to even publish a formal animal welfare policy, according to a report by Business Benchmark on Animal Welfare.
All products sold at Whole Foods Market stores containing genetically modified organisms will be clearly labeled within five years, the grocery chain has announced.
Consumers have moved past ingredient lists and are now focused on seeking out non-genetically modified and sustainable “farm to table” products that can be traced back to local and regional farmers and producers, according to a survey released by Market Dynamics LOHAS and Laz PR.
Supply Chains
Google is under pressure to remove what the nonprofit Environmental Investigation Agency described as thousands of ads promoting products from endangered whale and elephant species.
The Co-operative Group, Nestlé and Sainsbury’s have said they will improve the environmental performance of some of their products following research from the Product Sustainability Forum on the 50 grocery products with the biggest environmental impact.
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Carbon Footprint
Intel, Cisco Systems and IBM are among the 23 Climate Leadership Award winners selected by the EPA, the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) and The Climate Registry (TCR).
Walmart has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from a 2005 baseline, meeting its target one year ahead of schedule. The metric applies to all facilities built before the baseline.
Dow Chemical, which was named the Official Carbon Partner of the XXII Olympic Winter Games, plans to mitigate the carbon footprint of the Sochi 2014 Games using its energy-efficient technologies.
The headquarters of Au Bon Pain, Blue Cross-Blue Shield and other Boston businesses participating in the Challenge for Sustainability in 2012 reduced their overall greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent — or 7,000 pounds — from 2011 figures, according to the program’s organizers.
Climate
Global energy demand could double over the next 50 years, driving innovations that will see emissions of carbon dioxide drop to near-zero by 2100, under two predictive scenarios released by oil company Shell. Under both scenarios, emissions remain on a trajectory to overshoot the target of limiting global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, Shell said.
Just one-eighth of US insurers surveyed by sustainability leadership advocate Ceres have comprehensive climate change strategies.
The European Union canceled an auction of carbon permits for the first time, causing prices to drop to their second-lowest close on record. The auction was canceled because bids failed to reach a secret reserve price.
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Energy Management
A new database populated with revolving loans for higher education campuses shows energy efficiency improvements totaling more than $118 million at 80 institutions.
The Louisiana Public Service Commission has nixed plans for a statewide energy efficiency program. The initiative would have given electric utilities and natural gas providers about a year to develop efficiency incentives for residential and business customers.
Texas A&M University cut its normalized energy consumption 40 percent and saved $140 million over the last 10 years as a result of environmental initiatives that have also improved the school’s recycling rate and reduced its water use.
Ebay has posted a Digital Service Efficiency (DSE) dashboard online that shows the full cost, performance and environmental impact of its customer buy and sell transactions — and it’s hoping other data centers will follow suit.
Under the leadership of Ed Costa, vice president of construction for Office Depot, the company has made numerous energy efficiency investments, including de-lamping one out of every three bulbs in tens of thousands of fixtures across more than 1,000 stores, while maintaining similar light output by adding reflectors above the remaining two bulbs.
Environmental & Energy Software
Intelen has developed a building analytic mobile app that uses gaming concepts to encourage energy-efficiency behavior in commercial buildings.
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Information and analytics company IHS has released updated versions of IHS Comply Plus 3.2 and IHS Intelligent Authoring 4.3.1, its enterprise software for advanced product compliance, chemical management and safety data sheet (SDS) management.
Renewable Energy
Walmart and SunEdison have completed new solar power installations at three Walmart stores in Kahului, Kailua-Kona and Kapolei, doubling the retailer’s number of stores in Hawaii powered by solar energy.
The Massachusetts Sierra Club and Cambridge, Mass.-based EnergySage, an online marketplace for solar photovoltaic and other clean energy systems, launched a joint effort to help businesses and non-profits shop for and obtain competitive bids for renewable energy technologies.
Cellulosic ethanol is on track be cost competitive with corn-based ethanol by 2016, a development that could drive the fuel’s production, according to an industry survey conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to operate weekly biofuel-powered intercontinental flights in partnership with Schiphol Group, Delta Air Lines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The Sacramento International Jet Center, the Sacramento County’s airport system partner for general aviation at the Sacramento International Airport, has installed a 130 kW solar system on its hangar and office facilities.
Corporate Reports
Lead producer Doe Run’s spending on environmental capital investment and operations increased by around 45 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
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Sodexo North America’s carbon dioxide emissions increased just under 1 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
TD Bank increased its normalized carbon emissions 7.5 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
Chemical manufacturing company Henkel reduced its water consumption by almost 2.5 percent and cut its wastewater production by over 3.75 percent year-on-year, according to the company’s latest sustainability report.
Nestlé has announced a goal of reducing its direct greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton of product by 35 percent compared to 2005 levels by 2015, amid a raft of targets in its latest sustainability report. But figures from earlier reports suggest that the company may already be on the brink of reaching the emissions target.
Studies & Reports
The economic crisis and a lack of governmental leadership on green issues has driven concern about the environment among citizens around the world to 20-year lows, according to a multi-country poll by research consultancy GlobeScan.
Packaging & Paper
Ecover and Closed Loop Recycling will begin using plastic collected from the seas to create recyclable plastic bottles for the green cleaning product company.
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Avery Dennison has published a company-wide responsible paper procurement policy that the company says encourages sustainable paper sourcing and procurement — but it doesn’t set any target deadlines or percentages.
Fleets & Transportation
The Volkswagen Group has said it will reduce the CO2 emissions of its European new car fleet to 95 grams per kilometer by 2020. The automaker says it’s the first to commit to this target.
The Coca-Cola Company, Facebook and Dell are among 16 companies that have just joined the Department of Energy’s Workplace Charging Challenge, which aims to expand the availability of workplace vehicle charging for American workers. Three new corporate partners – AMP Americas, Kwik Trip and Waste Management – have also joined the Department’s National Clean Fleets Partnership.
FedEx Express has beaten, seven years early, its goal of improving global fleet fuel efficiency by 20 percent by 2020. The company has followed this up with a new, more aggressive goal of a 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency for its global vehicle fleet by 2020, over 2005 levels.
The first Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell vehicle has rolled off the production line at the company’s Ulsan, Korea, manufacturing facility.
Diversified industrial manufacturer Eaton has launched the Fuller Advantage Series of heavy-duty transmissions, whose design features include reduced weight and increased efficiency, an improved shift feel, as well as features contributing to lower preventative maintenance costs.
Volvo Trucks is introducing a new version of I-See, a system in the Volvo FH that saves fuel when driving in hilly terrain.
The UK’s Energy Saving Trust will offer 100 organizations in England a free analysis of their fleets to see if and how electric vehicles will work for them.
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Car Charging Group Inc., a nationwide provider of electric vehicle charging services, has acquired Beam Charging LLC.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation and satellite television provider Dish have begun taking delivery of large orders of trucks powered by compressed natural gas and propane.
Electric vehicle charging companies ChargePoint and Ecotality have formed a new company, Collaboratev, that they say will make it easier for drivers to access EV charging stations on any network.
BNSF will begin testing a small number of locomotives using liquefied natural gas as an alternative fuel later this year. The railroad has been working with two principal locomotive manufacturers, GE and EMD, a unit of Caterpillar, to develop the natural gas engine technology that will be used in the pilot.
General Motors will save 12 billion gallons of fuel over the life of the vehicles it builds between 2011 and 2017 by reducing vehicle weight by up to 15 percent, along with other fuel efficiency improvements.
Volkswagen, Daimler, Audi, BMW and Porsche have announced plans to develop CO2 technology as a more climate-friendly refrigerant for air conditioning systems.
Boeing has received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration to test improvements to the 787 Dreamliner’s battery system — the first step in winning FAA approval to resume commercial 787 flights.
The first all-electric Volkswagen, e-up! debuted at the Annual Press and Investors Conference in Wolfsburg, Germany.
In other VW news, the German automaker says it will launch at least 6 plug-in hybrid vehicles starting in 2014.
Nissan Motor Co. says it will expand the use of advanced high tensile strength steel in up to 25 percent of the vehicle parts (measured by weight) installed in its new production models.
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Ballard Power Systems will supply a 150 kW FCvelocityTM-HD6 fuel cell module to the Center for Transportation and the Environment, for a bus to be deployed with CTTransit in Hartford, Conn.
Eaton and Cummins have unveiled a powertrain package for the North American heavy duty truck market, expected to deliver 3 to 6 percent fuel economy improvements, lower preventative maintenance costs and total lifecycle cost improvements.
Scania and Siemens have entered into a partnership that involves the integration of Siemens technology to power vehicles with Scania’s expertise in the electrification of powertrains in trucks and buses.
Rio de Janeiro has launched an electric taxi program, deploying two Nissan Leaf all-electric taxis in the city. By the end of the year, 13 more zero-emission vehicles will be added to the fleet.
ChargePoint Inc. announced the first of more than 80 electric vehicle charging stations it will install in New York, through a $1 million incentive from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Engineering, architecture, construction and consulting firm Burns & McDonnell has selected FleetWave from Chevin Fleet Solutions to handle the management of its nationally distributed fleet.
Land Rover unveiled seven new electric models of its Defender off-road vehicle.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles displayed its e-Co-Motion zero emission transporter concept at the Geneva International Motor Show.
VW’s Golf BlueMotion was also on display at the show.
Mitsubishi unveiled the GR-HEV diesel-electric hybrid concept and the CA-MiEV concept electric vehicle.
Peugeot launched its 2008 B-Segment urban crossover, which boasts carbon emissions of 98g/km for diesel and 99g/km for gasoline.
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Honda announced its British-built CR-V will be the automaker’s latest to feature its “Earth Dreams Technology” 1.6 i-DTEC diesel engine.
Nissan’s Note made its debut. The car features “stop-start” as a standard feature across the range.
Ford debuted the European production version of its EcoSport SUV.
Green Building
Construction companies worldwide are shifting their business toward green building, with 51 percent of respondents to a survey by research firm McGraw-Hill Construction saying they expect more than 60 percent of their work to be green by 2015.
Walgreens plans to build what it believes will be the nation’s first net zero energy retail store, producing energy equal to or greater than it consumes.
Heating & Cooling
Canadian telecommunications company Telus is building a $750-million residential and commercial complex in downtown Vancouver, BC, and is going to heat and cool the new Telus Garden development with waste heat from its own nearby data center.
The US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has debuted its high performance computing (HPC) data center, whose waste heat it plans to use as the primary heat source for offices and laboratories at its new Energy Systems Integration Facility.
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Executive Moves
Ingenium: The environmental services company has named Heather Dody executive director. Previously director of sales for Ingenium, Dody is also one of the company’s original founders.
Haley & Aldrich: The environmental and engineering firm has hired Marc J. Richards as a vice president and leader of the firm’s Massachusetts Licensed State Professionals (LSP) team.
Element Partners: The energy, industrial and environmental technology private equity firm has promoted Sam Gabbita to managing director and Charles A. Silio and Nitin Gupta to principal. Gabbita joined Element in 2006. Most recently, he led the firm’s investment in Agility Fuel Systems. Gupta joined Element in 2007 and serves as a director of 212 Resources and as a board observer at Quench USA. Silio joined Element in 2009 and serves as a director of Agility Fuel Systems and as a board observer with Environmental Drilling Solutions.
Environmental Quality Services: The environmental testing, water treatment and waste management firm has named Joseph Raineri as national sales manager. Prior to joining EQS, Raineri was executive account manager at Tyree, a petroleum services and environmental firm.
BrownFlynn: The corporate responsibility and sustainability consulting firm has added Sara Jane Kennedy to its analyst team. Kennedy previously worked with Ascension Health and its 81 hospitals to create an energy reduction plan to achieve its 2020 targets. She is currently completing her MBA in sustainable management at Presidio Graduate School and will obtain her degree in May.
Nixon Peabody: Attorney Peter C. Trimarchi has joined the law firm’s energy and environmental practice. Trimarchi joins Nixon Peabody from Whiteman Osterman and Hanna.
Greeley and Hansen: The civil and environmental engineering and consulting firm has named Michael J. Hope as office director of its Philadelphia location. Hope most recently served as a client service manager and senior project manager for CDM Smith.
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USA Synthetic Fuel Corporation: The environmental energy technology company has appointed J. Bradley Davis, John P. Proctor and William J. Weyand to its board of directors. Davis is the managing partner of Ridge Capital Partners, a private equity investment firm that he founded. Proctor specialized in environmental and energy law and was the co-head of the environmental practice group at Winston & Strawn before retiring in 2008. Weyand was chairman and CEO of MSC Software before it was acquired in October 2009.
Climate Markets & Investment Association: The international trade association has elected Anthony Hobley, the global head of climate change and carbon finance at Norton Rose law firm, as president. Hobley will take over from outgoing president Abyd Karmali on March 11 for a two-year term. CMIA also elected four board directors: Standard Bank senior manager carbon trading Fenella Aouane, Camco Clean Energy international qualification director Rachel Child, Climate Change Capital head of international policy Steven Gray, and McGuireWoods LLP senior counsel Cameron Prell.
Water Management
The government of Maharashtra, India’s second most populous state and home to over 100 million people, plans to make it compulsory for companies to adopt measures such as water recycling and rain water harvesting.
Having achieved an 18 percent reduction in water consumption since 2008, the UK’s Co-operative Group grocery chain has pledged to reduce the water consumption across its operations by 30 percent by 2014 over 2006 levels, as it launches its latest Ethical Plan.
A BioViper biological pretreatment system from wastewater treatment systems provider Baswood Corporation has just started full-scale operation at the Dr Pepper Snapple Group Houston bottling plant.
Treated wastewater effluent could be a viable alternative to potable freshwater for cellulosic ethanol production, according to a study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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Calgary Health Region used SF-Rima permeable pavements for roadways at one of its recently expanded hospitals.
Mettler Toledo and Thermo Fisher Scientific have partnered to provide multiparameter water testing.
Technology company Itron is to provide its automated water metering products to the Las Vegas Valley Water District and the City of San Diego’s Public Utilities Department.
The National Park Service has awarded a $1.3 million contract to Macnak Construction to upgrade the diversion pump station intake at an industrial water-treatment plant on the lower Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Wash.
Water treatment solutions provider Desalitech is to supply a water purification system to the Kittansett Club golf course in Marion, Mass., where wells at the course that have historically supplied essential irrigation water are being impacted by accelerating seawater intrusion.
Seawater desalination membrane provider NanoH2O has been selected by Via Maris Desalination to provide QuantumFlux high rejection membranes for the expansion of the Palmachim desalination plant in Israel.
Chemicals
Oil companies Shell, ExxonMobil, Orlen and Total introduced the largest number of hazardous chemicals to the EU market, according to information released by the European Chemicals Agency following a lawsuit by NGO ChemSec and legal advocacy group ClientEarth.
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Waste & Recycling
The US military composted 670 tons of food waste at its Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash., in 2012, diverting the food from landfills and saving $300,000 in disposal costs.
The Waste and Resources Action Programme and the UK’s £36 billion ($54.6 billion) events industry have launched an initiative with the goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2020.
Coca-Cola, Schweppes and Lion won a court battle to defeat a 10-cent bottle refund program run by Australia’s Northern Territory.
The city of Phoenix is overhauling its solid waste management programs as it aims to divert 40 percent of its waste from landfill by 2020.
Corporate Sustainability
Anheuser-Busch InBev has achieved its three-year environmental targets on water, energy, carbon emissions and recycling for its beer and soft drink operations, hitting its goal of using 3.5 hectoliters of water per hectoliter of production, the company said.
Johnson & Johnson has set up a fund for greenhouse gas reduction projects like chiller optimization and solar PV installations — just one example of how companies are allocating capital for long-term environmental performance, according to a report by the World Resources Institute. Aligning Profit and Environmental Sustainability: Stories from Industry looks at what’s needed to bridge barriers between existing corporate behavior and environmentally sound business practices.
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Waste and energy use reduction are the top facility-related improvements retailers are undertaking to improve their sustainability performance, according to a report released today by the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
EcoSystems Market Task Force, an industry-led group that includes Jaguar Land Rover, Kingfisher, Liz Earle, Unilever and United Utilities, has urged businesses to take a new approach to protect natural resources while benefiting from the services provided by the natural world.
Sprint has carried out more green initiatives than any competing mobile operator in the United States, according to Frost & Sullivan, which awarded the company its 2012 North American Award for Green Excellence.
Finance & Reporting
The Global Reporting Initiative guidelines now rank among the most widely recognized corporate social responsibility instruments among large European companies, according to new research published by the European Commission.
Oil and gas companies including BP and Shell will likely see declines in cash flows and credit downgrades if world leaders implement policies to limit GHG emissions, according to a study by Carbon Tracker and Standard & Poor’s.
Investors have filed 365 shareholder resolutions this year on environmental and social issues, with 38 percent of the proposals focusing on climate change, energy and corporate sustainability strategies, according to a preview of the 2013 proxy season by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow.
One-third of companies surveyed in China share their sustainability initiatives with the outside world, illustrating some progress in the country to promote non-financial reporting, according to a report released by The Conference Board.
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Rankings
Mining group Anglo American, energy company Centrica and finance group HSBC Holdings have been named the European companies with the year’s best records of sustainability reporting, in an assessment by communications agency Radley Yeldar.
Patagonia and Rabobank have fallen off the World’s Most Ethical Companies list after six straight years, while General Electric, Starbucks and American Express are among the 15 organizations to make the list for seven years running.
Mitsubishi Corp., Swiss-based healthcare equipment provider Nobel Biocare and US semiconductor makers Applied Materials and Micron Technology have been dropped from the FTSE4Good Index for failing to meet environmental or social criteria.
Environmental Leader announced results of its Technology Reviews, a program recognizing excellence in products and services that provide companies with energy and environmental benefits. Companies that scored 3.5 Stars or higher (out of 5) are featured in the Environmental Leader Technology Reviews Hall of Fame and in the Environmental Leader Technology Reviews report.
Standards & Compliance
A new voluntary consensus standard for climate accounting metrics is in development under the ANSI process, and is now nearing draft publication, SCS said.
The R2 Technical Advisory Committee has released an updated timeline for the R2:2013 Standard, the organization said.
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The Aqua-Aerobic Systems Aqua-Jet aerator model SS-PW has received NSF 61 approval for potable water applications, the company said.
Roppe Corporation, a manufacturer of flooring, tread, and wall base products, has earned NSF/ANSI 332, Sustainability Assessment Standard for Resilient Flooring, SCS said.
The Palace Downtown in Dubai, UAE, has earned re-certification to the Green Globe travel and tourism industries standard, Green Globe said.
Groveton Green Apartments are the first apartments in Owings Mills, Md., to earn LEED Gold certification, A to Z Build said.
The Embassy Suites St. Louis – Downtown has earned LEED Silver certification, writes Successful Meetings.
The Natural Seal program from the Natural Products Association has reached its 1,200th certification of natural products and ingredients, the association said.
The Green Grid has launched the Electronics Disposal Efficiency metric, to help organizations measure how their electronic equipment is managed once it reaches end of current use, The Green Grid said.
Puerto Rico has released new guidelines, developed by the EPA as part of the Energy Star program, for energy efficient homes, the EPA said.
Four new projects have achieved Sustainable Sites Initiative certification under its rating system for the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of built landscapes: Theater Commons and Donnelly Gardens in Seattle; the Taylor Residence in Kennett Square, Pa.; the BWP EcoCampus in Burbank, Calif., and the Grand Valley State University Student Recreation Fields in Allendale, Mich., SITES said.
A proposed ASTM standard will reflect recent technological advances for asphalt adhesives. ASTM WK40056 Specification for Adhesive Used with Modified Bituminous Sheet Materials is in development with Subcommittee D08.20 on Roofing Membrane Systems, ASTM said.
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Business standards company BSI has received official accreditation status from the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board for the energy management systems standard, ISO 50001, and can deliver the certification within the sustainability market, the company said.
Cascades’ Tissue Group plant expansion in Lachute, Québec, has received LEED Gold certification, the company said.
Pure Labels has released the first commercially available label using Fair Trade artisan paper, Packaging Europe said.
ANSI and the Canadian province of Ontario have agreed to cooperate in the ANSI accreditation program for GHG validation and/or verification bodies (V/VBs). This program evaluates conformance of V/VBs against the international standard ISO 14065, Greenhouse gases – Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation or other forms of recognition, ANSI said.
The Bullitt Center, which is the first heavy-timber office building in Seattle since the early 20th century, is also the first commercial building in the US to earn FSC Project Certification, FSC said.
Bishop Ranch, a mixed-use business community in Northern California, has achieved LEED certification for 37 office buildings with 6 million square feet of certified space, Bishop Ranch said.
The St. Louis Art Museum’s new East Building has earned LEED Gold certification, making it the first major local attraction to be recognized at that level for its environmentally sustainable design, writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
INTER RAO UES Group is the first large European electric power company to earn its ISO 50001 energy management certification, the company said.
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Policy & Enforcement
The European Environment Agency is looking for haulers to pay for air pollution costs from heavy goods vehicles, which is estimated at $56-$60 billion per year, or about half of all road transport pollution, Reuters said.
Connie Hedegaard, the EU commissioner for climate action, said President Obama would send a strong signal of his seriousness on climate change if he rejects the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada, the New York Times reports.
EU member states debated the European Ecodesign Directive, which could place strict eco-requirements on manufacturers of IT equipment including computers and servers, V3 writes.
Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) said at a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing that he is confident the House can pass a comprehensive energy efficiency bill, The Hill reports.
CountryMark Refining and Logistics has agreed to pay a $167,000 civil penalty, perform environmental projects totaling more than $180,000, and spend $18 million on new pollution controls to resolve alleged Clean Air Act violations at its refinery in Mount Vernon, Ind., in a settlement with the Department of Justice and EPA, the DOJ said.
Geneva Energy has agreed to close a tire-burning electric generating plant in Ford Heights, Ill., as part of a settlement of Clean Air Act violations reached with the EPA, the agency said.
Gardner-Fields of Tacoma, Wash., and IBC Manufacturing Co. of Memphis, Tenn., will pay fines for allegedly violating federal pesticide laws, in separate settlements with the EPA, the agency said.
Waste Management of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu reached a $1.1 million settlement with the EPA over alleged violations of air pollution laws at the Waimanalo Gulch Landfill in Kapolei, Oahu, the agency said.
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After objections from heavy polluters, including metal companies ArcelorMittal and Gold Fields, South Africa has delayed implementing a carbon tax until 2015.
The State Department issued a revised environmental impact statement for the Keystone XL pipeline, presenting no conclusive environmental reason it should not be built, the New York Times said.
The Texas Water Development Board says that a number of water infrastructure proposals are moving forward, but not as many as the 26 large new reservoirs envisioned by state water planners for the next half-century, the New York Times said.
The United Nations-backed conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in Bangkok, Thailand, opened with some 2,000 representatives from 150 governments, groups, and businesses, the UN News Center said.
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the country will end its domestic ivory trade, promising legislation that could help the country avoid international trade sanctions, Reuters said.
A federal appeals court upheld EPA protections for the polar bear, maintaining the bear’s listing as threatened, the lower of two levels of federal protection, Reuters said.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported on TransCanada’s progress made in licensing and constructing its Alaska Pipeline Project, a natural gas pipeline.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing titled “American Energy Security and Innovation: The Role of a Diverse Electricity Generation Portfolio.”
New Hampshire Plate Glass, based in Portsmouth, N.H., faces a penalty of up to $90,750 for allegedly violating requirements designed to protect children from exposure to lead-based paint during painting and other renovation activities, the EPA said.
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Executives from Intel, the American Sustainable Business Council and biofuel trade association Growth Energy say Gina McCarthy will protect the environment and grow American jobs if appointed to head the EPA.
As predicted, President Obama formally nominated Ernest J. Moniz, a physicist and advocate of natural gas and nuclear power, to run the Department of Energy. He nominated clean air regulator Gina McCarthy to head the EPA.
The Manchester Metropolitan University in Britain finds that aviation pollution can only be stabilized by the middle of the century if a price is set on airline carbon emissions, Reuters reports.
A House of Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee has said that Britain’s planned expansion of nuclear power plants by 2025 may be unrealistic, the New York Times said.
Congressional Research Services has found that all increases in oil and gas production since 2007 have taken place on non-federal lands, the House Energy and Commerce committee reports.
Businesses and environmentalists are still bitterly divided over California’s months-old carbon cap-and-trade program, Reuters said.
The Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission is moving forward on a decision to adopt an amendment to Oregon’s Territorial Sea Plan, the governor’s office said.
The White House has released an update on the implementation of the National Strategy for Global Supply Chain Security policy.
Carlos Pascual, State Department coordinator for international energy affairs, says the department will help the energy industry implement new SEC rules required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial law, The Hill reported.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing titled “Our Nation of Builders: Powering US Automobile Manufacturing Forward.”
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The government of Democratic Republic of Congo has drafted a bill that could allow oil companies to drill inside its national parks, Reuters said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) said that he intends to hold a hearing on the State Department’s role in the review of the Keystone XL proposal, The Hill said.
As Japan approached the second anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, its pro-nuclear prime minister Shinzo Abe, elected in December, reviewed the previous administration’s plan to exit nuclear power and boost renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind, Reuters said.
The city of Beijing will this year unveil a maximum 120,000 yuan ($19,296) subsidy for electric cars, according to the Xinhua state news agency.
Hovnanian Enterprises and Pulte Group have agreed to pay civil penalties of $130,000 and $56,000 respectively in separate settlements with the EPA, resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations at construction sites in Maryland and Virginia, the agency said.
Wyoming Ethanol in Torrington, Wyoming, will pay $49,000 in penalties to settle claims related to the facility’s risk management program and chemical reporting requirements for its storage of flammable or highly toxic chemicals, the EPA said.
Montgomery Chemicals and the EPA reached a settlement in a Clean Air Act case involving a Conshohocken, Pa., chemical plant, which produced a hazardous air pollutant – methanol – during its manufacturing of sodium borohydride, the agency said.
The EPA and four Yakima Valley, Wash., dairies – Cow Palace, George DeRuyter & Son, Liberty Dairy, and D&A Dairy – reached agreements to reduce nitrate in local groundwater, the agency said.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has barred Oxfam America from taking part in oral arguments over SEC rules that force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments, The Hill said.
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Wisconsin’s state Assembly approved a bill that would clear the way for a possible $1.5 billion iron ore mine in the far northwest corner of the state, by streamlining environmental regulations, Reuters said.
The US Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute will run increased grassroots campaigns to build local support for the Keystone XL pipeline, The Hill said.
Eight Senate Democrats are urging Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, not to advance legislation that would give coastal states a share of royalties from oil-and-gas production off their shores, The Hill said.
China’s environment ministry has said it will impose special emissions restrictions on major industries including steel, petrochemicals cement, non-ferrous metals and coal-fired power, beginning in April, Reuters reported.
Greenland, which has self-rule from Denmark aside from defense and security, held a general election seen as a referendum on the country’s level of cooperation with international mining and energy, Reuters said.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to turn over information about national gas rate proceedings over the last four years, The Hill said.
A Japanese state-run company extracted gas from offshore methane hydrate deposits, a world first, Reuters reports.
Canada’s opposition leader Tom Mulcair from the New Democratic Party visited Washington, DC, to counter statements by Canadian officials supporting the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline, The Hill reports.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission upheld the licensing board’s decision to deny a construction and operating license for the proposed 1,500 MW Calvert Cliffs 3 nuclear reactor in Maryland, Power Engineering said.
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United Nations officials said at the opening of the “High-Level Meeting on National Drought Policy” in Geneva that countries need to create formal national preventive policies against droughts to make the world less susceptible to the impacts of water scarcity.
In China, more than 2,200 dead pigs have been found in one of Shanghai’s main water sources, Reuters reports.
Draft carbon tax legislation affecting heavy polluters such as electricity generators and petroleum refineries would direct the Treasury Department to collect the fees based on emissions data from the EPA, The Hill said.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the US Coast Guard have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with each other on the development of hydrokinetic projects, FERC said.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy held a hearing on “The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) Program: A Progress Update,” to review facilities’ implementation of security plans to protect against terrorists threats.
Groeller Painting of St. Louis, Mo., agreed to pay a $23,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that it failed to use proper lead-safe work practices during the renovation of a pre-1978 multifamily unit property, in violation of the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule, the EPA said.
The UK is not expected to support the European Commission’s upcoming vote on a proposed Europe-wide ban of three pesticides linked to serious harms in bees, leaving it little chance of being passed.
The Sierra Club, Earthjustice, Clean Water Action, and other groups have sent a letter to President Obama urging him to put the brakes on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports until the government conducts additional environmental and economic studies.
Shell must provide a detailed plan addressing safety and operational issues that thwarted its efforts to extract oil in the Arctic Ocean last year if it wants to resume drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Interior Department said, according to the New York Times.
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European officials from all 27 EU member states planned to vote on a proposal to sharply restrict the use of pesticides implicated in the decline of global bee populations, the New York Times said.
Enbridge must perform additional dredging in Michigan’s Kalamazoo River to clean up oil from the company’s July 2010 pipeline spill, the EPA said in an executive order.
Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay a $2.25 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as well as Missouri state laws, at its Mexico, Mo., facility. Teva will also complete about $2.5 million of actions to control excess emissions from its wastewater treatment facility and excess discharges of pollutants into the City of Mexico’s wastewater treatment facility, the Justice Department, EPA and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced.
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) criticized the EPA, saying the agency has been using secret data to justify its new regulations, with the new National Ambient Air Quality Standards as an example, The Hill reports.
President Obama is urging Organizing for Action, a nonprofit advocacy group active during his election campaign, to give swing district politicians the political support needed to back aggressive action on climate change, The Hill said.
GreenLaw has challenged the EPA regarding the clean air re-designation for Atlanta, which indicates that the air quality in Atlanta is clean compared to the 1997 National Ambient Air Quality Standard.
Bank of America has agreed to reimburse the EPA $80,398 for emergency response costs incurred at the Rehrig-United International Superfund Site in Chesterfield County, Va. Rehrig was a manufacturer of shopping carts and baskets, and Bank of America maintained control of the facility and its assets for more than a year after bankruptcy filing and a shutdown, the EPA said.