Last week, For Motor Company released its 2010 Sustainability Report, titled Blueprint for Sustainability. In it, Ford demonstrates the company’s reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the improved fuel economy of its cars and specific goals for improved operational sustainability and decreased water consumption.
Ford’s twelfth annual sustainability report highlights the following achievements and commitments: (more…)
Governments, international agencies and corporations are all beginning to fully recognize what environmentalists have known for quite some time: Climate change is going to have a dramatic effect on water resources.
A report released last week by US Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar gives us some insight into how significant these effects may be.
The report to Congress, prepared by Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation, is the first comprehensive assessment of how climate change could impact water operations, hydropower, flood control, and fish and wildlife in eight major Reclamation river basins across the western US.
The results indicate that these major river basins, including the Colorado, Rio Grande and Missouri river basins, are all likely to be affected by projected changes in temperature and precipitation. According to the report, the timing and quantity of stream flows in these western basins could impact water available to farms and cities, hydropower generation, fish and wildlife, and other uses such as recreation.
More specifically, the report projects: (more…)
Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of integrated water management systems. And, now Levi Strauss & Co. is moving out into a leadership role with regard to water stewardship.
The company announced earlier this month that it has developed “WaterLess” jeans, which are manufactured using significantly less water.
Thanks to recent water footprint research, Levi’s knows that during the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s 501 jeans, the largest water impact comes from the cotton growing process and through the laundry habits of consumers after they leave our stores. And, the company says it is making strides in these key areas – from supporting more sustainable ways to grow cotton to monitoring how suppliers use water in the manufacturing process.
However, Levi’s also evaluated its manufacturing processes and discovered areas to save water there, too.
For instance, the average pair of jeans uses 42 liters of water in the finishing process. During this process, the jeans are “finished” in large washing machines and dryers to create a unique look and feel. Using traditional garment washing methods, the average pair of jeans undergoes 3-10 washing cycles – adding up to approximately 42 liters of water per unit.
The WaterLess collection reduces the water consumption by an average of 28 percent –and by up to a whopping 96 percent for some new products in the line. Remarkably, Levi’s achieved these reductions by making relatively simple changes to the process: (more…)
Earlier this month, the Hershey Company released its first corporate social responsibility report, a 62-page online document that outlines the company’s CSR priorities and establishes measurable goals for future progress.
Specifically, Hershey groups the company’s priorities and programs into four areas –Marketplace, Environment, Workplace and Community –and here are a few recent highlights regarding environmental stewardship. The company has: (more…)
Companies in the beverage sector are particularly vulnerable to risks associated with water scarcity, so it’s not surprising that many beverage manufacturers are turning the spotlight on water use by their facilities and supply chains.
Last week, I wrote about The Coca-Cola Company’s latest efforts to improve its water stewardship, and now SABMiller, one of the world’s largest brewers, is following suit with a new report that highlights: (more…)
