Month: August 2025

TAIPEI, Taiwan, August 4, 2025 /3BL/ – Federal Express Corporation (FedEx), one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, has announced its collaboration with FUSO to introduce 12 fully electric delivery trucks to its ground fleet in Taiwan. This initiative makes FedEx the first international logistics company in Taiwan to adopt electric vehicles for its delivery operations. The first batch of six electric trucks are already operational, offering extended driving range, regenerative braking technology, and powerful torque — ideal for urban deliveries.

FUSO’s evaluation reveals that when compared to traditional diesel trucks, the newly introduced electric truck can significantly reduce energy costs[1]. These trucks are specifically designed to meet the demands of urban deliveries in Taiwan, offering enhanced maneuverability and a driving range of up to 200 kilometers on a single charge when equipped with three battery packs[2]. Regenerative braking technology helps reduce the amount of downtime to charge, while responsive acceleration and start-up performance help ensure adaptability to Taiwan’s urban traffic conditions, boosting delivery flexibility.

“As FedEx works towards a goal of carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2040, fleet electrification is a key part of our roadmap to get there,” said Paul Sousa, managing director of FedEx Taiwan. “The introduction of electric delivery trucks demonstrates our dedication to environmental sustainability and offers benefits in energy costs and operational efficiency, laying a solid foundation for the sustainable development of the logistics industry in Taiwan.”

“FUSO is proud to deliver the all-electric FUSO eCanter to FedEx. This truck, tested worldwide, offers both performance and efficiency suited for Taiwan’s complex urban delivery needs,” said Jung Woo Park, CEO of Daimler Trucks Asia Taiwan. “FUSO aims to support businesses in Taiwan in achieving smart and sustainable logistics through proven technology and comprehensive after-sales support, contributing to the sustainable transportation industry development.”

In December 2023, FedEx introduced 5 e – tricycle Rapide 3 in Taiwan. Alongside the incorporation of the new electric trucks, FedEx will continue monitoring performance and continue taking a phased approach to electrifying its pickup and delivery fleet. FedEx is committed to enhancing its operational resilience in Taiwan through innovative transportation technologies and sustainable logistics strategies, leading the logistics industry toward a low-carbon, sustainable future and contributing to the company’s overall goal of carbon neutral operations by 2040.

[1] Daimler Trucks Asia Taiwan
[2] Daimler Trucks Asia Taiwan

Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program.

Two radically different opinions on the urgency of combatting climate change were in the news recently, with the Trump administration in the U.S. and the top court of the United Nations both making important announcements.

In our Top Stories this issue, we highlight articles discussing those conflicting views while also showing that while some countries are resisting mandates to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, major corporations remain committed to investing in emissions reduction initiatives.

On July 23, the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark opinion saying that countries failing to take measures to protect the planet from climate change could be in violation of international law and could be sued for reparations by nations harmed by the effects of climate change.

While the ICJ’s opinion was non-binding, it was hailed as a turning point in international climate law. In an opinion piece in The Guardian, barrister Harj Nurjulla said, “the court specifically targeted the fossil fuel industry in its ruling and held that countries failing to take action to protect the environment from greenhouse gases – including from fossil fuel production, consumption, exploration licences or subsidies – can now be punished under international law.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on July 29 a proposed plan to overturn a key 2009 EPA finding, known as the “endangerment finding,” which says that pollutants from developing and burning fossil fuels, such as methane and carbon dioxide, can be regulated under the Clean Air Act. According to NPR, “the EPA has repeatedly reaffirmed the 2009 endangerment finding and in 2022 Congress included language in the climate-focused Inflation Reduction Act that labels greenhouse gases as pollutants under the Clean Air Act.“

Climate advocates have vowed to challenge the EPA’s proposal, first through the public comment process and in court, if necessary. NPR’s article quotes Christy Goldfuss, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), saying, “As Americans reel from deadly floods and heat waves, the Trump administration is trying to argue that the emissions turbocharging these disasters are not a threat.”

While the current administration in the U.S., and other countries involved in fossil fuel production including Russia and China, are resisting mandates to reduce GHG emissions, major corporations continue to forge ahead with investments to reduce their emissions.

Mars, a global leader in snacks and food products, has launched a US$250 million Sustainability Investment Fund to scale climate solutions across its supply chains. According to an article in The Health Care Technology Report, the fund is “aiming to speed up innovation in low-emission agriculture, next-gen ingredients, and recyclable packaging.” Mars recently reported a 16.4% drop in absolute GHG emissions since 2015 while growing annual sales over 69%.

Ingka Group, the primary retailer of the IKEA brand with 574 locations in 31 countries, has committed to cutting its emissions in half by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. According to Trellis, Ingka has invested more than $5 billion in solar and wind projects since 2009 but faces a challenge in reaching its targets because Scope 3 value-chain emissions made up 98% of emissions in its 2016 baseline year. By focusing on helping its suppliers reduce their emissions, Ingka reported emissions reductions in 2024 that are on track to meet its targets.

G&A will continue to monitor the impact of the ICJ’s opinion and the EPA’s new proposal and keep you updated. We remain committed to helping corporations and organizations that are focused on reducing GHG emissions and doing our part to address the climate crisis. For more information contact us at: info@ga-institute.com.

This is just the introduction of G&A’s Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

Congratulations to Shahil P., manager of Energy Services, who has been recognized as a 2025 ACEEE Champion of Energy Efficiency in Industry in the Young Professional category. 

With his exceptional leadership skills, Shahil provides tailored energy efficiency strategies to help business customers from small commercial operations to large-scale industrial plants reduce operational costs, lower their carbon footprints and enhance long-term energy resilience. 

We’re #PSEGProud to have employees like Shahil in our company. 

Want to learn more about programs available to help your business save energy and money? Visit http://spr.ly/6045f6uex.

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Whirlpool Corporation has always put life at home at the core of our business. As a leading kitchen and laundry company, we constantly strive to improve the home experience for everyone, especially in the communities where we operate.

Through the Whirlpool Corp. House+Home strategy, which guides both Whirlpool Corporation and the Whirlpool Foundation’s corporate social responsibility initiatives, our dedication to building thriving communities is achieved by enabling comfortable, nurturing places to live and supporting resilient, sustainable communities through education programs and unique collaborations.

We’re incredibly grateful for the organizations and employees who contribute to our House+Home programs. Together, we’re creating lasting, meaningful impact in our communities and around the world. 

Habitat for Humanity International, Boys & Girls Club, Maytag, KitchenAid, Whirlpool Care Counts, The Washing Machine Project, Instituto Consulado da Mulher, United Way, Gladiator, InSinkErator, JennAir, World of Whirlpool Studios

About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading home appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. As the only major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and laundry appliances, the company is driving meaningful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and InSinkErator. In 2024, the company reported approximately $17 billion in annual sales – close to 90% of which were in the Americas – 44,000 employees, and 40 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

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Originally published on 3M News Center

The 3M Open, in partnership with 3M Community Impact and 3Mgives, successfully hosted its fourth-annual Golf 4 All Day on Tuesday, July 22, at TPC Twin Cities.

The event welcomed over 500 students from across the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro area, offering a unique introduction to golf while also highlighting the exciting world of science and skilled trades.

Collaborating with Tickets for Kids and local organizations such as Solomon Hughes Sr. Golf Academy, First Tee Minnesota, and the Sanneh Foundation, Golf 4 All Day created an atmosphere that celebrated the joy of golf for all ages.

The afternoon was packed with experiences designed to educate and entertain. Kids gained hands-on experience with golf through “club-in-hand” activations expertly led by First Tee – Minnesota. Additionally, the 3M Swing Lab presented by TaylorMade, the 3M Open Primrose Playground, and interactive demonstrations with the 3M Visiting Wizards, a STEM education program led by volunteer 3Mers, brought scientific principles to life in captivating and accessible ways.

The event also saw an impressive lineup of celebrities and personalities join the students, including Minnesota Timberwolves star Mike Conley, former NBA player Cole Aldrich, Minnesota Vikings legends Randall McDaniel and John Randle, former Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd and former Minnesota Timberwolves player Wally Szczerbiak. Their presence added an extra layer of excitement and inspiration for the young attendees.

A significant focus of this year’s Golf 4 All Day was its expanded emphasis on STEM and career pathways in the skilled trades, notably with the introduction of the 3M Safety Roadshow. This new initiative operates as a mobile training center, directly addressing the growing manufacturing skills gap in the U.S. and the anticipated retirement of a significant portion of the current skilled trade workforce.

The Roadshow showcases 3M’s industrial safety expertise and personal protective equipment, or PPE, providing students with valuable hands-on advanced manufacturing activities and safety demonstrations.

“So far, we’ve inspired over 1,300 students on six stops across Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri,” said Torie Clarke, Chief Public Affairs Officer at 3M. “Today, we hope that the Safety Roadshow and other activities will inspire you, our future workforce, to consider a career in STEM or the skilled trades.”

The 3M Open and its partners extend their sincere gratitude to all the students, 3Mers, and 3M partners who made this year’s Golf 4 All Day an overwhelming success. The event reinforced the positive impact of community collaboration and highlighted the endless possibilities within golf, science and skilled trades.

GENEVA, August 6, 2025 /3BL/ – A recently published series of scientific papers is calling for action to strengthen research and harmonize methodologies for measurement and assessment of tire wear emissions.

The series, titled “State of Knowledge: Tire wear emissions during the use phase,” is the most comprehensive review of its kind, analyzing more than 850 peer-reviewed scientific publications from the last 40 years. It reveals how the current knowledge base on tire wear emissions is scattered, inconsistent and inconclusive, due to varying approaches and assumptions. The papers summarize the main observations on the topic, as well as highlight the data gaps, emphasizing the need for additional scientific investigation with a common approach across tire industry stakeholders.

Supported by the Tire Industry Project (TIP), the series consists of three distinct papers, each addressing a critical layer of tire wear emission knowledge. The first two published papers focus on the characterization of tire wear emissions and assessment of their environmental impact. The third paper, expected to be published in late 2025, will focus on potential health impacts.

Dr. Stephan Wagner, a guiding force behind the papers, explains, “The topic of tire wear emissions is extremely complex, multi-dimensional, and unfortunately only partially understood. While notable progress has been made over the years in analyzing such emissions, significant knowledge gaps and inconsistencies prevent a full understanding of their behavior and impact. Until these gaps are closed, there is a growing concern that decisions about tire emissions could be based on incomplete science. Resolving this requires all stakeholders—academia, industry and policymakers—to collaborate and drive for consistency, built on shared research and assessment models such as those proposed in our papers.”

Larisa Kryachkova, Executive Director at the Tire Industry Project remarks, “Ever since our inception 20 years ago, our mission has been to strengthen scientific foundations to drive industry action. The SOK underscores why we need a concerted, multi-stakeholder response to close the knowledge gaps, now more than ever. It also reinforces our ambition to build a more open, collaborative research ecosystem, through initiatives such as the Open Call for Projects and the upcoming Tire Emissions Research Conference at MIT in Boston.”

The main findings and recommendations of the two papers are as follows:

Paper 1: Tire emissions during the use phase of tires—current and future trends 

This paper delves into the characterization and quantification of tire wear emissions and finds: 

1. Importance of characterization: To understand the impact, we need clear data on what kinds of emissions are released, how they are released and where they end up in the environment.
2. Different types of emissions: Tire wear emissions are not limited to particle release, but volatile and dissolved compounds as well. “Particulate” tire wear occurs in the environment as Tire and Road Wear Particles (TRWP), which consist of a mixture of tire tread, road pavement, brake systems, and mineral dust deposited at the road pavement. In comparison, “Volatiles” may occur directly from the tire during use or from released particles, while “Dissolved” compounds or “Leachables” can occur both from the tire directly if roads are wet or through abraded tire wear.
3. Conceptual Exposure Model: To assist risk characterization of tire emissions, the paper proposes a Conceptual Exposure Model (CEM), offering insights into the underlying mechanisms of emissions generation, the parts of the environment that may be affected, the potential exposure of relevant entities and the pathways through which this exposure may occur.
4. Parameters affecting tire wear emissions: Various factors affect tire wear emissions, including driving style (speed, frequency of acceleration and braking, cornering and vehicle load) and road conditions (congestion, bends, and road surface).
5. Standardization is critical: The paper proposes a tiered measurement framework for TRWP and calls for the scientific community to adopt more robust, standardized protocols to enable reliable comparisons and informed decisions.

Paper 2: Risk assessment of tire wear in the environment—a literature review

This paper evaluates whether current knowledge is sufficient for robust environmental risk assessment and finds:

1. Current data is insufficient: While initial screening suggests that the risk from most TRWP in water and soil is generally lower down the priority list, there is insufficient data on tire leachables and volatiles to make a full assessment due to inconsistent hazard data.
2. Testing methods vary: The lack of harmonized testing protocols makes it difficult to compare studies or draw definitive conclusions—highlighting the need for universally accepted guidelines.
3. Adapting existing frameworks: While there’s no agreed upon method for assessing tire wear emissions, existing frameworks for microplastics could be a good starting point, with some adjustments to fit the unique nature of tire wear emissions.
4. Tiered hazard assessment: A tiered approach for hazard assessment is proposed, starting with tests of lab-generated materials such as Cryogenically Milled Tire Tread (CMTT) and progressing to more realistic conditions.
5. Call for collaboration: All stakeholders—industry, policymakers, and academia—are encouraged to work together to develop harmonized guidelines for sampling, analysis, and hazard assessment.

To ensure an unbiased perspective, both papers were elaborated and discussed with external scientists including TIP’s Assurance Group members Dr. J. Spengler from Harvard University and Dr. How Yong from Beijing Normal University, as well as with the Advisory Panel expert Dr. T. Mincer from Florida Atlantic University.

“We are pleased with how the SOK project has evolved and the role it can play in ensuring a collective understanding of tire wear emissions, cutting through the misinformation. It has been an intense team effort for the past two years, and we appreciate how TIP supported this project, while maintaining our independence and autonomy. We hope that these papers will encourage the scientific community and serve as a catalyst for further research and standardization,” concludes Wagner.

 

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Note to Editors:

The State of Knowledge papers and supporting materials are available at https://tireparticles.info/our-research#sokpaper1 and https://tireparticles.info/our-research#sokpaper2.

The State of Knowledge papers are written by Kathrin Müller, Julie Panko, Kenny Unice, Dr. Benoit Ferrari, Dr. Florian Breider, and Dr. Stephan Wagner.

• Kathrin Müller is a PhD Researcher at the Institute for Analytical Research (IfAR) at Hochschule Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Idstein, Germany. Her PhD research is on the analysis of tire and road wear particles as environmental contaminants focusing on the identification of tire-borne environmental water contaminants.
• Julie Panko is Principal Scientist and Senior Vice President at ToxStrategies, a scientific consulting firm in the United States.  She has more than 30 years of experience conducting and managing a wide variety of occupational, environmental, and consumer health risk assessments and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH).
• Kenny Unice is a Principal Health Scientist and applied researcher in human and environmental health risk, exposure assessment, and sustainability at Stantec. Kenny has more than 20 years’ experience investigating and driving understanding of how chemicals travel, persist or change in the environment to impact organisms and ecosystems.
• Dr. Benoît J.D. Ferrari is a researcher in the field of ecotoxicology. He is the Director of the Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology (Ecotox Centre) and Head of the Soil and Sediment Ecotoxicology group. His main areas of interest are the ecodynamic of contaminants and their effects at different levels of biological organization.
• Dr. Florian Breider is the Head of the Central Environmental Laboratory at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne—EPFL. His research focuses on the fate and effects of micropollutants and micro/nano plastics in ecosystems, and their implications for human health.
• Dr. Stephan Wagner is Head of the Institute for Analytical Research at the Hochschule Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Idstein, Germany. He is an expert in the analysis and fate of anthropogenic materials such as tire and road abrasion particles, micro- and nano plastics, nano materials as well as organic trace contaminants in the (urban) water cycle. 

More information about TIP’s Open Call for Projects can be found here https://tireindustryproject.org/open-call-for-projects-2024/

More information on TIP’s Research Conference at MIT in Boston, USA, September 3–4, 2025 can be found here https://tireindustryproject.org/2025-tire-emissions-research-conference/

About TIP

Formed in 2005, the Tire Industry Project (TIP) is a voluntary CEO-driven initiative with a mission to anticipate, understand, and address global environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues relevant to the tire industry and its value chain.​

TIP acts by commissioning independent research of the highest standards, collaborating on sectoral solutions, and engaging with external stakeholders. ​

TIP is part of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), bringing together 10 leading tire companies that represent more than 60% of the world’s tire manufacturing capacity. ​

In 2025, TIP marks its 20th anniversary—a milestone that reflects its long-term commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and fostering collective industry action to improve sustainability across the tire value chain.​

For more information, visit The Tire Industry Project.

In the latest blog, Cascale Board Chair, Tamar Hoek, celebrates the organization’s strong foundation and reflects on the strength, clarity, and momentum Cascale has built collectively. As the search for a new CEO begins, she highlights Cascale’s commitment to excelling amid uncertainty. Tamar commends former CEO Colin Browne for his leadership, and welcomes Interim CEO Harsh Saini re-affirming Cascale’s dedication to moving forward with a clear strategy and strong direction.

Read the full blog, titled: From Strength to Strength: Cascale’s Path Forward