Report reveals global water footprint of tea, coffee and chocolate
New research has revealed that producing a cup of tea uses one fifth the amount of water as a cup of coffee. The figures come from a new Friends of the Earthreport which estimates how much land and water are used in the production of everyday goods. Producing a single cup of coffee requires 136 litres of water, compared to 28 litres for a cup of tea, with the difference mainly due to the quantities needed to grow the crops. The production of a single smartphone requires nearly 13,000 litres of water and 18 square metres of land, while a pair of leather boots requires 14,500 litres and 50m2. The report also estimates the land and water footprints for ten leading chocolate and confectionary companies. Based on 2011/12 sales data, Kraft Foods’ range of chocolate products (now part of Mondelēz) was estimated to require an area the size of Belgium and more than 7 billion Olympic swimming pools of water to make, with Nestlé close behind. (Edie)
Waste
Up to 90% of world’s electronic waste is illegally dumped, says UN
Up to 90% of the world’s electronic waste, worth nearly $19 billion, is illegally traded or dumped each year, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Computers and smart phones are among the ditched items contributing to this 41 million tonne e-waste mountain, which could top 50 million tonnes by 2017, UNEP says in a new report. It follows last month’s UN University report, which outlined how 42 million tonnes of electronic waste were thrown out in 2014 at a cost of $52 billion. Exporting hazardous waste from EU and OECD Member States to non-OECD countries is banned. However, UNEP says thousands of tonnes of e-waste are falsely declared as second-hand goods and exported from developed to developing countries. Countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, China, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam are turning into illegal e-waste hubs, bypassing the legitimate global waste and recycling market that is thought to be worth $410 billion a year. (Guardian)
Circular Economy
New indicators measure companies’ effectiveness in circular economy transition
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Granta Design have launched new indicators which enable companies to assess how well a product or company performs in the context of a circular economy. The new indicators measure the extent to which the material flows of a product or company are restorative, enabling companies to measure their progress in making the transition from ‘linear’ to ‘circular’ models, and to identify areas of further opportunity. Circular economy principles can allow companies to capture additional value from their products and materials, and mitigate risks from material price volatility and material supply. The Circularity Indicators are the result of a two-year research project funded by the European Commission’s Life programme. The indicators can be used by product designers, but might also be used for several other purposes including internal reporting, procurement decisions and the evaluation or rating of companies. (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)
Policy & Research
Eurozone banks ‘as vulnerable today’ as before 2008 crisis, report suggests
Efforts to mitigate the risks of financial chaos within the banking sector have been insufficient, a report published on Tuesday in the Journal of Banking and Finance concludes. The report claims that some banks within the Eurozone are ‘as vulnerable today’ as they were before the 2008 financial crisis. Efforts have since been made to increase the resilience of banks across Europe. But author of the research, Dr Nikos Paltalidis of the University of Portsmouth Business School said, “Our findings indicate that despite all the efforts to improve the resilience of banking, some banks are as vulnerable today as they were before the last banking crisis, they are just as likely to fail”. He added, “In case of a financial or economic shock, we found that banks would experience losses big enough to reduce their capital below the required regulatory minimum, because the quality of equity on the biggest European lenders is not sufficient enough to mitigate systemic crisis”. (Blue and Green Tomorrow)
Environment
Thinning Antarctic ice shelf could contribute to sea level rise, says study
The largest ice shelf on the Antarctic peninsula is thinning because of warmer ocean and air temperatures that are driving it towards a collapse that could contribute significantly to sea level rise, a new study has found. The study by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) analysed the Larsen C ice shelf, which is two and a half times the size of Wales. The team looked at satellite radar imagery taken between 1998 and 2012 to find that Larsen C lost 4 metres of thickness. Until now scientists did not know whether the losses were coming from above or below. The new work found both play a role, but the main driver is ice loss from below, where the shelf floats on increasingly warm ocean currents. Around 28cm every year across the entire area of the ice shelf is being eaten away from below. (Guardian)
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