2Sustain

Last week, US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced a detailed draft environmental analysis that identifies public lands best-suited for solar development in six western states.

The study, called the Draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS), was compiled over the past two years as part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to create a framework for developing renewable energy on America’s public lands. More specifically, the Draft Solar PEIS assessed the environmental, social, and economic impacts associated with solar energy development on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah.

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Concerns about global fish stocks have prompted several companies in the food sector to adopt sustainable seafood policies. (See earlier posts about Walmart Canada, Metro, Delhaize America and others.)

Now, High Liner Foods Inc., a leading North American processor and marketer of seafood, has announced that it, too, is committed to sustainable seafood. The company says it will source all of its seafood from certified sustainable or responsible fisheries and aquaculture farms by the end of 2013.

Specifically, High Liner Foods says that it will require wild-caught seafood and farmed products to either: (more…)

A global study conducted by Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has found that transport companies are lagging behind other sectors in mitigating greenhouse gases and setting targets.

The first comprehensive report of its kind, this study surveyed 291 of the largest transport companies in the world, including those that cover road, rail, sea and air transport. The results show that: (more…)

Forming a partnership that illustrates the current trend towards non-profit/for-profit sustainability alliances, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has teamed up with The Coca-Cola Company to improve the water quality of the Yangtze River in China.

In many ways, the Yangtze has taken the brunt of China’s colossal economic growth, and even though the river provides China with 35 percent of its fresh water, it now ranks number one on WWF’s list of the ten most-threatened rivers in the world. For Coca-Cola, which operates 39 bottling plants in China, the partnership with WWF represents an opportunity to strengthen its commitment to water stewardship while mitigating its water risks.

A recent post at Knowledge@Wharton explains how non-profit/for-profit partnerships such as this one can be mutually beneficial: (more…)

General Mills has completed installation of solar panels at its facility in Methuen, Massachusetts, and the company says it now expects solar energy to supply nearly 80 percent of the warehouse’s summertime power needs, and 40 percent of its needs the rest of the year.

This is the first General Mills facility in the US to produce its own electricity using solar energy.

The panels will: (more…)