Month: January 2024

January 24, 2024 /3BL/ – In the wake of the landmark agreement at COP28 last December aimed at curtailing global emissions, the spotlight has shifted to a critical yet often overlooked aspect of our fight against climate change: the sourcing of clean materials.

Leading this charge is Sustana, an industry- leading producer of quality fiber-based products and services. In a significant step in the company’s evolution as a clean materials enterprise, Sustana is rebranding to consolidate its various business units under a single, united Sustana brand.

“A more sustainable future isn’t possible unless materials adopt more eco-friendly practices” Aaron Ling, Director of Sustainability for Sustana, tells Sustainable Brands. “This rebranding allows us to best showcase how it’s possible to produce high-quality, fiber-based products while minimizing waste, preserving natural resources, and protecting biodiversity.”

Clean materials, which are integral to everyday products, are at the heart of a burgeoning demand for sustainability, both from consumers and regulators alike. This demand is reshaping how brands approach production, veering away from linear, resource-intensive methods that have long been the norm.

Yet, despite the growing understanding of sustainability’s importance, a significant gap remains in its implementation. A recent Bain study highlights this chasm, revealing that sustainability initiatives only have a 4% success rate globally.

One of the main barriers to achieving sustainability goals is inadequate infrastructure for recycling and waste management. This challenge is compounded by the widespread misunderstanding and apprehension about recycling and the use of recycled materials.

A Clean Materials Revolution

Addressing these issues requires more than a mere course correction; it necessitates a paradigm shift towards clean materials and innovative methodologies.

Sustana’s approach to spearheading the clean materials movement is fourfold:

Waste Prevention: Central to Sustana’s philosophy is the prevention of waste at every stage. By incentivizing product redesign, the company aims to keep materials out of landfills and toxins out of the air. Leveraging sustainable recovered fiber, Sustana minimizes the need for sourcing new wood fiber, thereby reducing environmental impact.Clean Materials & Methods: The company focuses on using materials and methods that have the least environmental impact. This involves using recovered fiber-based products and recycling them into new fiber, thus minimizing the strain on biodiversity and natural resources.Expanded Material Life: Embracing the principles of a circular economy, Sustana aims to extend the life cycle of products from recovery to fiber to paper production. This approach is bolstered by conducting Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) to manage the environmental footprint of their products and updating LCA metrics to stay at the forefront of sustainability.Easier & More Effective Recycling: Recognizing the importance of recycling, Sustana is committed to making this process easier and more effective. By introducing recyclable products and supporting legislation like extended producer responsibility, the company aims to drive investment in collection and recycling infrastructure.

A New Chapter in Sustainability

Sustana’s mission transcends traditional business goals. As a leader in the production of quality fiber-based products, Sustana is tackling sustainability barriers head-on. The company’s approach involves partnering with consumers and other businesses to foster an internal shift towards sustainability.

Sustana’s invitation to customers and consumers is clear: join the movement towards a clean materials future. This includes using recycled fiber to reduce landfill waste and air pollution, transforming waste into valuable resources, and simplifying recycling processes to extend product lifespans.

Through its commitment to innovation and collaboration, Sustana aims to demonstrate that high-quality, fiber-based materials can be produced in an environmentally responsible manner, minimizing waste and preserving natural resources.

The rebranding signifies not just a new chapter for the company, but a reaffirmation of its dedication to sustainability and innovation. It positions Sustana as a comprehensive solution provider, meeting customer needs from the sourcing of clean materials to the production of finished goods and recycling processes, thus establishing itself as a pivotal player in the clean materials movement.

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Sabiha Nur

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January 24, 2024 /3BL/ – ITPEnergised is a UK headquartered consultancy with a strong focus on the renewables sector. They have over 100 team members located across the UK and overseas.

ITPEnergised brings specialist technical advisory services targeting the high-growth renewable energy, corporate, industrial, property and urban regeneration sectors. They have market leading capability in those sectors, covering feasibility, development, construction, operation, repowering and decommissioning and a unique capability in power systems design and optimisation, cable engineering and grid connection.

Their team also provides regulatory and social-impact advice to corporate and financial sector clients evaluating, developing and implementing tailored strategies for ESG, Net Zero, sustainability and decarbonisation, including a Net Zero Accelerator® digital platform which includes tools to evaluate investments in a range of low carbon technologies to accelerate the Net Zero transition.

Bradley Andrews, SLR’s CEO, said “I am thrilled to welcome the ITPEnergised team to SLR. Their passion in supporting the transition to a decarbonised world resonates strongly with our team. SLR and ITPEnergised have worked closely together on renewables projects and together we will become one of the largest consultancies serving the global renewables market. This further demonstrates the commitment we are making to Making Sustainability Happen for our clients and broader society.”

Jonny Clark, Managing Director of ITPEnergised added “We are excited to be joining SLR and collaborating with like-minded colleagues around the world. Our ambition has been to deliver the transition to Net Zero and decarbonised economies and through the combination of ITPEnergised and SLR’s talented technical and advisory teams, and further evolving our digital expertise, we have the right partnership to support our clients, to accelerate meeting that ambition.” 

Alan Edwards, SLR’s European Managing Director, said “The skills and experience the ITPEnergised team bring in delivering technical solutions to achieve Net Zero will build upon SLR’s existing capabilities and bring new skills in power networks. We have long admired ITPEnergised and our teams have enjoyed working together on some of the most significant UK renewables projects. I am really pleased to welcome ITPEnergised to the SLR family.” 

 

Please visit ITPEnergised for more details on their services, client experience, team and capabilities.

 

For further information please contact: Laura Hoynes, Marketing & Communications Manager (Europe), lhoynes@slrconsulting.com.

 

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About SLR

SLR is a global leader in sustainability solutions, with a team of 3,000+ talented professionals operating from a network of offices in Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa.

With the purpose of ‘Making Sustainability Happen’, SLR’s ‘One Team’ of environmental and business consultants, engineers and scientists partner with clients throughout their project life-cycle, from strategy and design, through compliance and operations, to end-of-life and remediation.

Working on diverse and challenging projects, SLR specialises in the built environment, finance, industry, infrastructure, mining & minerals, and power & renewables sectors. Operating across more than 45 technical disciplines, SLR staff help a growing base of business, regulatory and government clients navigate the ever-shifting context of sustainable business.

Strategically planted trees help improve power reliability, conserve energy and maximize environmental benefitsNearly 12,000 free trees distributed since 2017 through collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., January 24, 2024 /3BL/ – In honor of Florida Arbor Day, Duke Energy Florida is collaborating with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Energy-Saving Trees program to give away 900 trees to Florida customers.

Starting on Florida Arbor Day, Jan. 19, Duke Energy customers can request a free tree online at arborday.org/dukeenergy, until all trees are distributed.

The 1-gallon trees are shipped directly to customers’ homes with planting and care instructions. They are expected to be delivered in time for National Arbor Day, April 26, 2024. Tree species available for free include the sweetbay magnolia, bald cypress and crape myrtle (pink).

Duke Energy Florida is donating $50,000 to the Arbor Day Foundation to purchase and distribute the trees through its Energy-Saving Trees program.

“Year after year, we work alongside the Arbor Day Foundation to help Florida customers understand the importance of how planting the right tree in the right place can help conserve energy, improve reliability and provide environmental benefits to our communities,” said Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy Florida state president.

“As your utility provider, it’s important we maintain trees and other vegetation along our lines to continue delivering the reliable service our customers and communities depend on,” said Seixas. “This collaboration helps us do that while keeping the environment healthy and beautiful.”

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Energy-Saving Trees and Tree Line USA programs demonstrate how trees and utilities can coexist for the benefit of communities and citizens by highlighting best management practices in public and private utility arboriculture. Duke Energy Florida has been recognized for its tree management practices for 18 consecutive years.

For information about planning and planting vegetation around electrical facilities, please visit Duke Energy’s Right Tree Right Place website.

Duke Energy Florida

Duke Energy Florida, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, owns 10,500 megawatts of energy capacity, supplying electricity to 1.9 million residential, commercial and industrial customers across a 13,000-square-mile service area in Florida.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America’s largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune’s 2023 “World’s Most Admired Companies” list and Forbes’ “World’s Best Employers” list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy’s illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Media contact: Audrey Stasko 
Media line: 800.559.3853 
Twitter: @DE_AudreyS

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By Patricia Cobe

Originally published by Patricia Cobe on Restaurant Business Magazine

Neil Doherty’s official job title at Sysco is senior director of global culinary development, but it wouldn’t be wrong to call him “chief problem solver” for the broadline distributor.

He works along with the 87 chefs Sysco employs at 32 test kitchen sites around the country to help operators in every segment source products to meet back-of-house challenges. Right now, the biggest challenge is labor. Kitchens in restaurants, colleges, healthcare and other segments are still understaffed or short of skilled workers.

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Originally published in the SEE Impact Report 2022

SEE is implementing measures to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy sources across our value chain. Within its operations, SEE measures electricity, natural gas, diesel, propane, gasoline, and waste-to-energy converted to megawatt hour (MWh). In 2022, SEE operations consumed 1,319,366,159 kilowatt-hour (kWh) energy, equating to 4,749,718 gigajoules (GJ). The breakdown was 50% grid electricity and 16% renewable electricity with 33% energy from other sources (natural gas, propane, scrap plastic, diesel, and fleet fuel).

Our goal is to achieve energy-intensity reductions of 17% by 2025 and 28% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. Intensity is calculated by dividing total megawatt hours by net trade sales. To normalize foreign exchange rates, net trade sales are adjusted to 2019 foreign exchange rates, except for one currency that has been designated as highly inflationary under U.S. GAAP and uses 2021 foreign exchange rates.

Energy Intensity

2022: 0.227 kWh/USD

2021: 0.249 kWh/USD

2020: 0.273 kWh/USD

2019: 0.277 kWh/USD

In 2022, SEE achieved a 18.1% reduction in energy intensity from a 2019 base year, achieving the objective three years ahead of schedule.

Diverting Waste

SEE manages and contributes to the reduction of waste across the value chain and product life cycle to minimize environmental pollution. This includes addressing SEE’s own operational and manufacturing waste, as well as retailer and post-consumer waste, through increased resource efficiency, recycling, product offerings, advocacy, partnerships, communication, and education.

We aim to achieve diversion of manufacturing waste from landfill and external incineration of 85% by 2025 and 100% by 2030. Manufacturing waste is from production of the company’s materials, including scrap, and is measured by weight.

SEE diverted 67.7% of waste from landfill and external incineration in 2022. Several key initiatives are ongoing with new projects underway to achieve our waste objectives.

Conserving Water

SEE is managing water across our value chain in terms of quantity and quality, including operational consumption, effluent mitigation, wastewater treatment, and water scarcity considerations.

Protecting and conserving natural resources such as water is a priority. The products SEE manufactures do not contain water, so direct use of water is limited. The primary use of water in direct operations is either for heat transfer in manufacturing equipment or for quenching the molten polymer during the film extrusion process. These operations must use water of a reasonable quality, but it does not need to be potable.

In isolated cases where there was a temporary issue with the availability of potable water, we were able to successfully use recycled water from local waste treatment plants. Since it is not critical that we use potable water in order to manufacture our products, we have determined that the availability of fresh water is not important to our direct operations. At SEE’s facility in Toluca, Mexico, we have continued to make upgrades to the water purification system and are close to being able to recycle 100% of the facility’s process and wastewater.

Absolute Water Use

2022: 1,532,643 cubic meters

2021: 1,597,933 cubic meters

2020: 1,595,017 cubic meters

2019: 1,605,259 cubic meters

Absolute water use in 2022 was down 72,616 cubic meters (4.5%) from 2019.

SEE’s goal is to achieve water intensity reductions of 17% by 2025 and 28% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. Intensity is calculated by dividing total cubic meters by net trade sales. SEE achieved a 22.4% reduction in water intensity from a 2019 base year—achieving the water intensity target three years ahead of schedule.

SEE discloses its water security impacts through CDP, a global nonprofit that runs the leading environmental disclosure platform. In 2021 and 2022, SEE received a score of B from CDP for its water security efforts.

Water Intensity Data

2022: 0.264 liters/USD

2021: 0.290 liters/USD

2020: 0.32 liters/USD

2019: 0.34 liters/USD

To normalize foreign exchange rates, net trade sales are adjusted to 2019 foreign exchange rates, except for one currency that has been designated as highly inflationary under U.S. GAAP and continues to utilize 2021 foreign exchange rates.

Read the full SEE Impact Report 2022