Sustainability News and Trends – April 2022
Posted by | Fuld & Company
For the latest and most important sustainability news and developments from February and March 2022 please see below for all the key stories.
For a PDF version of this news please download here.
National Governments’ Announcements
A summary of the key announcements by national governments in relation to sustainability is as follows:
Companies Making Sustainability Linked Acquisitions & Investments
Some of the key sustainability linked acquisitions and investments have been made by the following companies.
Key Sustainability News
A summary of the key sustainability news that has occurred over the past month is listed below.
13-Mar-2022: Sustainability
Backed by funding from Maharashtra, Mumbai has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050
- Mumbai, known as India’s financial center, has committed to net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, putting forward comprehensive changes to the way the city manages energy, water, air, waste, green spaces and transport for its residents
- The step has come in response to rapidly raise sea levels and other extreme weather events prompted by climate change, making it the first South-Asian city to set a roadmap for net-zero emissions, and bringing it 20 years ahead of India’s national goal for the same
- The plan, to be backed by funding from Maharashtra State Government, includes investments in housing, electrification of public transport, flood-resistant drainage, water conservation, and rooftop solar capacities, among others
09-mar-2022: FMCG
Target introduced the Target Zero Label, a collection of products designed to reduce waste
- Target, the American big-box department store chain, has come up with a new sustainability initiative for offering products that help reduce waste as part of Target Forward goals
- It has launched the Target Zero label, a collection of products that are specially designed to reduce waste, with the initial launch including brands like Burt’s Bees, PLUS and Pacifica
- The company plans to expand to include additional products in the future across Target’s beauty, personal care and household essentials categories, etc.
07-mar-2022: EDUCATION
Maryland has formed an initiative to build net-zero energy capacity across the State’s public schools
- The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), along with Interagency Commission on School Construction, introduced the Decarbonizing Public Schools Pilot Program which includes grants for energy data management support for K-12 School Districts, and support for implementing NZE elements into facility construction
- The program provides $2 million in state funding from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund to help local school systems manage energy data, reduce operating costs, and insert energy performance criteria into capital improvement planning
- Under the program, the total amount of energy used by the local education agencies (LEA) should be equal to or less than the amount of renewable energy created
28-feb-2022: Agriculture, AgTech
Syngenta has released a new sustainability standard for farmers to let the broader agriculture value chain exhibit improved sustainability
- The Syngenta Group, one of the leading global providers of agricultural science and technology, and a Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) member has introduced a new Sustainable Outcomes in Agriculture (SOA) standard to empower farmers and the broader agriculture value chain to practice better sustainability
- The standard is enabled through the company’s Cropwise Sustainability App, a unique tool that helps growers track their farm sustainability insights, available for free download for US farmers on e-play stores
- Incorporated with the Standard, the Cropwise Sustainability app provides the approach to measure and deliver continuous improvements for regenerative agriculture at scale, while also letting users maintain ownership of their data
24-Feb-2022: Information Technology
Dassault Systems has introduced a new Life Cycle Assessment Solution enabling early identification and set-up of companies’ sustainability requirements
- Dassault Systems SE, a French software corporation, has launched a new solution for companies to help minimize the environmental impacts of their products and processes throughout their life cycle
- Named “Sustainable Innovation Intelligence”, the launch is a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) Solution offered on Dassault Systems’ 3DEXPERIENCE Platform to transform the sustainable innovation process of companies
- The company has integrated LCA data with virtual twin technology to enable users to create circular sustainable life cycles by collectively driving them through the entire design, product development and manufacturing phases
23-Feb-2022: Packaging
Green Bay Packaging has moved a step forward towards becoming a Net-Zero Water User with the new accomplishment
- Green Bay Packaging, an American pulp and paper company, has accomplished producing 100% recycled containerboard with net-zero water use, which involves returning an equal or more amount of water of the same quality to the Great Lakes as it draws
- The company received the first industrial validation of the process that it has achieved through a special partnership with NEW Water, the Green Bay area wastewater utility, that allows the company to recycle wastewater and return it with the wastewater that is partly treated from the utility
- The investments in the process are part of the company’s ongoing targets of reducing emissions, using more recycled material in production, and being a net-zero water user
23-Feb-2022: Marine
California has adopted a microplastics reduction policy to save State’s marine life and environment
- California becomes the first US state to adopt an exhaustive strategy for the reduction of microplastics for protecting the marine environment
- The strategy is approved by the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) ensuring that the state maintains a healthy and resilient ocean environment, to help it curb microplastics along its coasts
- It involves a multi-year roadmap that involves a two-track approach: the first contains 22 immediate steps that include both “no regrets” actions and multi-benefit solutions for microplastic reduction and management, and the second contains a more long-term focus, setting scientific goals to inform state actions in the years to come
17-Feb-2022: Automotive
London City Airport launched the first electric car charging station to inspire staff and passengers to make their travels more sustainable
- London City Airport (LCY) has opened the first seven electric car charging stations, encouraging the uptake of electric car journeys across the city so that more people switch to electric cars
- The installation, which was undertaken by UK Power Networks Services, includes three BP Pulse 50kW rapid and four 22kW fast charging points, specifically designed for the local black cab community
- Payment for the service is enabled by credit card or through the BP Pulse app
For a PDF version of this news please download here.