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IGPN NEWSLETTER [Issue 27]
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The IGPN Newsletter is a free email newsletter to keep you updated with the latest development on Green Purchasing around the world. If you find the IGPN Newsletter useful, please forward it and tell your friends and colleagues to visit http://www.igpn.org/newsletter/ for free subscriptions.
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HEADLINES
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- UK’s first carton recycling plant opens
- Beijing unveils new package of measures to curb pollution
- WRAP aims to boost resource re-use with new standard
- Consumer electronics companies green up industry
- Spurring green consumerism through governance and design
- Plastic bag reprocessing plant turns waste into useful products
- Government to promote green building policy
- Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers published
- McDonald’s ditches polystyrene coffee cups
- Walmart launches affordable LED lighting line in the U.S., while IKEA offers solar kits in the U.K.
- Fuel cells that power buildings
- Local businesses get help kicking their plastic habit
- Staples honored by EPA for continued commitment to green technology
- Target, GoodGuide launch sustainable product standard
- UN: Treated waste could be ‘gold mine’
- Air pollution causes cancer - WHO
- Singapore's first "green" factory embraces environmentally friendly practices
- WalMart tops list of US commercial solar users
- Sainsbury's debuts 'water neutral' store
- Walmart turns green roofs into research labs
- Advanced plasma holds talks on Philippines trash-to-power plant
- All of NYC's street lights will be LEDs by 2017, saving $14 million
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GREEN PURCHASING NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
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UK’s first carton recycling plant opens
The UK’s recycling industry has received a major boost with the opening of the first facility capable of turning beverage cartons into usable materials. The new facility in Stainland near Halifax boasts enough capacity to recycle up to 40 percent of the cartons use in the UK each year, meaning it could recycle up to 1.25 billion cartons a year.
Beijing unveils new package of measures to curb pollution
Beijing’s municipal government released new measures to cut down on vehicle emissions in a bid to reduce the city’s spiraling smog and pollution levels. The measures include restricting the number of new cars, promoting new energy vehicles, enforcing traffic controls, and adding more than 480 kilometers of bus lanes and introducing a public bike rental scheme.
WRAP aims to boost resource re-use with new standard
Businesses could soon find it easier to buy and sell products and materials for re-use following the unveiling of a proposed standard designed to ensure that re-use schemes adhere to agreed quality control measures.
Consumer electronics companies green up industry
Sony’s development of SoRPlas - it’s proprietary recycled plastic - is just one example of how consumer electronics companies are becoming more environmentally friendly, according to the Consumer Electronics Association’s latest sustainability report.
Spurring green consumerism through governance and design
Governance can help to actively encourage green behavior from both consumers and industry, but good design is also the key to enabling green consumerism, say speakers at the International Green Building Conference.
Plastic bag reprocessing plant turns waste into useful products
PlasRecycle has built the UK’s first facility for reprocessing post-consumer polythene bags and packaging films to produce a plastic granulate that can be used for making new bags.
Government to promote green building policy
The state government is all set to implement the Green Building Policy, mooted by the Public Works Department (PWD), with the intention of promoting eco-friendly techniques aimed at energy conservation.
Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers published
The report says warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.
McDonald’s ditches polystyrene coffee cups
McDonald’s has agreed to use paper cups rather than polystyrene foam cups to hold hot drinks at all its 14,000 US outlets following a concerted campaign by green groups.
Walmart launches affordable LED lighting line in the U.S., while IKEA offers solar kits in the U.K.
Walmart announced that it is introducing its Great Value line of super efficient LED light bulbs for under $10 in its U.S. stores and online.
Fuel cells that power buildings
Besides moving forward in transportation, fuel cells are also making headway powering buildings, especially if "The Cube" makes it successfully to market. Maryland-based Redox Power Systems, which is developing The Cube, thinks it has the answer. The company, which started up last year, is commercializing University of Maryland technology that could potentially be game-changing for distributed energy.
Local businesses get help kicking their plastic habit
The resort island of Bali produces 890 metric tons of garbage every day. But rather than throwing up their hands in defeat, four environmentalists based in Sanur, 30 minutes from Ngurai Rai International Airport, banded together in 2012 and launched PlastikDetox, an educational effort to turn the tide on the island’s excessive use of plastic, which accounts for 10 to 12 percent of Bali’s trash.
Staples honored by EPA for continued commitment to green technology
Staples Inc. was recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at the Green Power Leadership Awards ceremony for its achievements in “Sustained Excellence in Green Power”. Staples was one of 21 organizations recognized at the event, alongside the likes of Cisco Systems, Apple, Microsoft and The Ohio State University, for leadership in supporting green power development and installation.
Target, GoodGuide launch sustainable product standard
Target has teamed up with Underwriters Laboratories’ product-rating website GoodGuide to rate the environmental impact and sustainability of thousands of products.
UN: Treated waste could be ‘gold mine’
Recycling and waste treatment can be a “gold mine,” perhaps literally, according to a UN report that finds treated waste can be put to profitable use. Many waste products can be reused and, if waste is separated at source, the uncontaminated organic fraction can be composted or digested anaerobically, the report says.
Air pollution causes cancer - WHO
Pollutants in the air we breathe have been classed as a leading environmental cause of cancer by the World Health Organization. Sources of pollution include car exhausts, power stations, emissions from agriculture and industry, as well as heating in people’s homes.
Singapore's first "green" factory embraces environmentally friendly practices
Greenhub - Singapore's first "green" factory - was officially opened on Thursday by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. The factory embraces environmentally friendly processes all the way from its construction down to its daily operations.
WalMart tops list of US commercial solar users
WalMart remains the United States’ commercial solar leader with 89MW of capacity installed at 215 locations. Research by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and the Vote Solar Initiative places the retail giant ahead of Costco, Apple and IKEA in a ranking of the top 25 companies by number of photovoltaic (PV) solar systems deployed.
Sainsbury's debuts 'water neutral' store
Sainsbury's Weymouth Gateway store will be fully "water neutral", after the retailer installed measures to capture rainwater and sponsored local water efficiency initiatives to cover its entire demand.
Walmart turns green roofs into research labs
Walmart and Oregon's Portland State University are working together on research to advance the use of green roofs. Over the next two years, researchers from the University's Green Building Research Lab will collect data from the largest green roof in Portland, which just happens to be on a Walmart store.
Advanced plasma holds talks on Philippines trash-to-power plant
Advanced Plasma Power Ltd., a U.K. waste-to-energy developer, is in talks to build a 200 million-pound ($323 million) power station in the Philippines that will use trash to generate electricity. The company is speaking to the operator of a landfill site about building a 60-megawatt plant fed by commercial, industrial and household waste, said Chief Executive Officer Rolf Stein.
All of NYC's street lights will be LEDs by 2017, saving $14 million
NYC Mayor Bloomberg announced that all 250,000 of New York City's street lights will be replaced with energy efficient, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by 2017.
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Copyright (c) 2013 IGPN All Rights Reserved
IGPN newsletter is written and edited by C. Pangilinan.
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International Green Purchasing Network (IGPN) Secretariat
Cosmos Aoyama 5-53-67, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, Japan.
Email: igpn[at]net.email.ne.jp / URL: http://www.igpn.org/
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