2Sustain

Back in March, I wrote about McDonald’s new Sustainable Land Management Commitment (SLMC). Now, McDonald’s has extended this commitment even more by joining the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization that promotes the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders.

As a result of its membership in the RSPO, McDonald’s says that by the end of this year, it will source palm oil only from RSPO member companies. By 2015, only RSPO-certified palm oil will be used in McDonald’s restaurants, pre-cooked chicken and potato products.

This new focus on palm oil comes after an analysis conducted as part of McDonald’s SLMC.  The company, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), identified which of its raw materials have the most potential sustainability impacts. The list includes beef, poultry, coffee, fiber for packaging and palm oil –and so McDonald’s is going to center its attention on those areas. (more…)

PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division announced last week that its Casa Grande, Arizona, manufacturing facility has reached “near net zero.”

The company’s “near net zero” vision was to transform an existing facility so that it would be as far off the grid as possible, running primarily on renewable energy sources and recycled water, while producing nearly zero landfill waste.

In order to achieve this goal, Frito-Lay invested in and implemented a combination of technologies.

For instance, the Casa Grande facility now generates two-thirds of all energy used from renewable sources.  For example, five separate and distinct solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, installed throughout the property, produce nearly 10 million kilowatt-hours (KWHs) of electrical power. (Two solar fields of single axis tracking PV systems with more than 18,000 solar panels were installed on 36 acres of the facility’s agriculture property. The three additional PV fields include a dual axis tracking system, a single axis covered parking lot and 10 sterling engine dual axis tracking systems.)

In addition, the company is working toward: (more…)

US bottle and can recycling rates are lagging. Of the 224 billion beverage containers sold annually, Americans recycle only a mere 29 percent by weight. The remainder is thrown in landfills or incinerated –a huge waste of natural resources.

Fortunately, several major US beverage brands now appear willing to support efforts to reverse that trend.

A new report, Waste & Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and Report, from shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, concludes that leading beverage companies are showing both steady, incremental progress on source reduction and a new willingness to support laws making producers financially responsible for collection and recycling of post?consumer beverage packaging.

The report is As You Sow’s third review of the beverage industry since 2006, and the efforts to promote Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates are new –at least in the US.

“The major development since our last survey has been the willingness of leading beverage companies to consider new legislative mandates requiring them to take responsibility for their post?consumer packaging,” said Conrad Mac?Kerron, Senior Director of As You Sow’s Corporate Social Responsibility Program. “Many beverage and consumer packaged goods companies pay fees in other countries to finance recovery of their packaging. It’s significant that companies are finally acknowledging the need to take responsibility in the US as well.”

Here are a few other key findings: (more…)

Last week, Molson Coors Brewing Company released its 2011 online corporate responsibility report, highlighting the company’s performance in five key areas: environmental stewardship, governance and ethics, employees and community, alcohol responsibility and responsible sourcing.

Specifically with regard to environmental stewardship, Molson Coors has shown progress in several major categories, including:  (more…)

Over the past few years, there have been dramatic developments in sustainable packaging options for the world’s leading beverage manufacturers.

First, the Coca-Cola Company developed the recyclable PlantBottle, made partially from plant-based material.

Then, PepsiCo unveiled the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant-based resources, and began offering eco-friendly cup options to its foodservice customers.

Now, PepsiCo Beverages Canada has announced the introduction of the 7UP EcoGreen™ bottle, Canada’s – and North America’s – first soft drink bottle made from 100 percent recycled PET plastic. (more…)