2Sustain

The US Green Building Council awarded General Mills yet another LEED Gold certification –this one for its expanded production facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Three of General Mills’ company buildings have already earned LEED certification.

Environmental benefits of the expanded production facility include:

• An aggressive recycling program almost eliminating waste paper, plastics, cardboard and packaging.
• A 30 percent reduction in energy use due to the production line’s new proprietary high-efficiency oven.
• A 30 percent reduction in indoor water use with the installation of high-efficiency faucets and low-flow plumbing.
• A 70 percent reduction in irrigation water with the use of native vegetation for landscaping.

The following commitments also contributed to the plant’s certification: (more…)

Researchers at the Centre for Low Carbon Futures have concluded that cities could cut their energy bills by billions –if they exploited commercially attractive opportunities in energy and carbon management.

The study, which focused on cities in the UK, found that about 10 percent of city scale GDP leaves the local economy every year through payment of the energy bill . . . and, as you would expect,  that percentage is forecast to grow considerably over the next decade.

However, by investing 1 percent of GDP for 10 years, cities could see savings in their energy bills worth 1.6 percent of GDP every year. In addition, taking advantage of low carbon development would create jobs, mitigate energy risks and reduce environmental impacts. (more…)

Last month, Kraft Foods shared results of a pioneering survey that measured the company’s impact on climate change, land and water use.

The multi-year footprinting project—in partnership with Quantis Inc. and reviewed by World Wildlife Fund and academics at the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment—showed Kraft that its environmental impact goes far beyond the company’s walls.

For example, based on the results of the analysis, Kraft, learned that more than 90 percent of its carbon footprint is outside its plants and offices. Nearly 60 percent is from farm commodities.

The company doesn’t own farms, but the survey certainly supports the work of Kraft’s sustainable agriculture efforts on key commodities to improve crop yields, reduce environmental impacts and improve the lives of farm workers and their families.

In addition, the footprinting work revealed that: (more…)

Asda, which operates more than 500 retail stores across the UK, announced earlier this month that it is on track to deliver customer savings adding up to £800 million (about $ 1.2 billion) by 2020, thanks to its commitment to sustainability initiatives.

The company has been working towards a variety of sustainability targets since 2005, when global parent Walmart announced its commitments to sustainable sourcing and reductions in energy use and waste.

Asda has already made considerable progress. The company has:

• saved more than £70m in 2010 alone by reducing waste and energy usage in its operations.
• reduced absolute carbon emissions by an industry leading 11.9 percent  –exceeding its target to achieve a 10 percent reduction by 2015.
• eliminated 149,000 tonnes of carbon from operations since 2007. (That’s the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the road for a year.)
• eliminated 900 jumbo jets worth of packaging from its products.
• reduced energy use in stores equivalent to that used by over 55,000 homes every year.
• eliminated 17 million miles from its supply chain. (The company says that’s the same as going to the moon and back 38 times.)
• redirected all food waste and 96 percent operational waste from landfill through recycling programs, including diverting waste for energy.

In addition, over the past nine months, Asda has asked customers about their views on sustainability issues and what matters to them. Based on this research, the company concluded that: (more…)

Anheuser-Busch InBev and GE have formed a strategic alliance to drive energy efficiency and water savings in existing and greenfield AB InBev facilities across China.

In 2010, AB InBev announced a set of aggressive three-year global environmental goals as part of its Better World commitment. According to a press release, the new partnership with GE will initially focus on designing and implementing several key solutions. For example, the companies will collaborate regarding: (more…)