2Sustain

In an effort to provide all of us with fundamental information about our communities, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its annual Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) earlier this month. This analysis provides information on nationwide toxic chemical disposals and other releases into the air, water and land, as well as data on waste management and pollution prevention activities n neighborhoods across the country.

TRI data is submitted annually to EPA and states by multiple industry sectors including manufacturing, metal mining, electric utilities and commercial hazardous waste facilities. Facilities must report their toxic chemical releases to EPA under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) by July 1st of each year. In addition, the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 requires information on waste management activities related to TRI chemicals.

EPA’s analysis for the latest reporting year, 2010, concluded that disposals are higher than the previous two years, but lower than 2007 and prior year totals.

The 2010 TRI data showed that since 2009 there has been: (more…)

WhiteWave Foods, the Colorado-based company that makes Silk^®, Horizon Organic^®, International Delight^® and Land O Lakes^®, released ambitious new sustainability targets last week.

Most notably, by 2013, WhiteWave plans to:

• reduce GHG emissions by 25 percent, working from a 2006 baseline.
• reduce non-ingredient water use by 15 percent, compared to a 2008 baseline.

The company had previously set several sustainability goals in 2006 and 2007, and the results to date are impressive. For example, WhiteWave already has: (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…)

Water is quickly becoming a significant business growth and development risk.

In fact, after polling 150 large corporations, CDP Water Disclosure found that nearly 40 percent of responding companies had already experienced disruptions in operations, increases in expenses and other detrimental impacts related to water. Of course, government entities are also increasingly concerned with water-related disruptions, and they’re seeking viable approaches for mitigating risks, as well.

Fortunately, a new group promises to offer the kind of information needed for public and private sector decision-making regarding water risks.

Launched just last week, the Aqueduct Alliance is a consortium of leading water experts from the private and public sectors, NGOs and academia. It was founded by the World Resources Institute (WRI), Goldman Sachs and General Electric, but already the alliance has added Bloomberg, The Dow Chemical Company, Talisman Energy, and United Technologies. The Coca-Cola Company is also engaged and will be providing an extensive global database of once proprietary water risk information to support Aqueduct’s work.

From the alliance’s website: (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…)