Chinese NGOs blame brands for ignoring supply chain solutions
The Green Choice Alliance, a group of seven Chinese environmental NGOs has released a report into the country’s textile industry claiming that a large number of dye houses used by many international brands are breaching China’s new emission standards. China is the world’s main textile producer and the report calls on global brands to face up to the water pollution problems being caused by their supply chains. New water pollution discharge standards were released in China at the start of 2013 but the report found that many regions have yet to implement them. Director of the Chinese Institute of Public and Environmental affairs, Ma Jun, said that, “China’s printing and dyeing industry plays a decisive role in the global textile industry. When a large number of dye houses violate discharge standards, not only will it pollute the local environment, it also means there is a high risk of environmental violations in the supply chains of major textile brands.” (CleanBiz Asia)
Reporting
Corporate sustainability reports published by 93% of world’s largest companies
KPMG has found that 93 percent of the world’s largest 250 companies publish annual corporate sustainability reports, with worldwide reporting standing at 71 percent. The biggest rise is in the Asia Pacific region where reporting has gone from 49 percent in 2011 to 71 percent in 2013. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) remains the most widely used voluntary reporting framework. Yvo de Boer, KPMG’s global chairman, Climate & Sustainability Services said that, “what encourages me most about the findings of this year’s survey are the signs that many of the world’s largest companies are using the process of CR reporting to bring CR and sustainability right to the heart of their business strategy, where it belongs. (Sustainable Business)
Consumers
Sustainable food certification in the US gets ‘REAL’
Restaurants across the US will soon be able to let customers know how nutritious and sustainably sourced their food is thanks to the ‘Responsible Epicurean and Agricultural Leadership’ (REAL) programme launching in four new cities including New York and Los Angeles. The programme uses third party audits to certify the nutrition and sustainability of foods served at restaurants as well as from caterers and food service operators. Audits assess factors such as how much processed food is used, portion sizes, use of local and organic ingredients as well as leadership on best practices such as free-range eggs and grass-fed beef. Lawrence Williams, CEO of the US Healthful Food Council said that, “it’s been heartening to see so many chefs and restaurants not only enthusiastically open their kitchens to a voluntary nutrition and sustainability audit, but also to seek and embrace our recommendations for improvement.” (Greenbiz)
Environment
UK Power stations switching to wood
The British power company Drax is in the process of converting three of the six units at its North Yorkshire power plant to run on biomass instead of coal, as part of a plan to make the UK’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide into an exemplar of green power. Drax is aiming to reduce output of carbon by 80 percent, in line with European Union policy and commitment to source 20 percent of its energy from renewables by 2020. However critics say that importing the wood pellets required for burning from Canada and the US, as Drax does, is not environmentally friendly. Drax insists that the wood is still classified as low-carbon and that its biomass comes from sustainably managed forests. (FT*)
National Trust given triple go-ahead for renewables project
Planners have given the UK conservation charity, the National Trust the go ahead for three renewable energy projects across the UK, a hydro-powered pub, a marine source heat pump and a hydro-generation plan. These projects form part of the organisation’s £3.5 million deal with the electricity supplier Good Energy, which uses 100 percent renewable energy, in order to help some of its sites go completely green. The Trust also plans to invest further in five similar projects in 2014. Julia Davenport CEO of Good Energy said that, “these ground-breaking pilot projects show energy can be generated in even the most sensitive locations if the right technology is used. They are great examples of harnessing the power of nature to generate both heat and electricity.” (Blue&Green Tomorrow)
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