FOCUS ON FORESTS. Featured image by Simon Rawles for WWF Canon.
More about Restor, Rubber, Furniture, Paper, Sustainable Packaging, Wood for Space, DNA Footprinting for Timber & Forest Carbon
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The Art of Travel
Book by Alain de Botton
& more to help readers:
TRAVEL RESPONSIBLY
for the ENVIRONMENT, ART & DREAMS.
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Number One: CO2 Emissions At All Time High
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The amount of carbon dioxide piling up in Earth’s atmosphere set a record last month, once again reaching the highest levels in human history despite a temporary dip in the burning of fossil fuels worldwide caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The New York Times and media across the globe carried this story: "The stark new milestone comes as leaders from the Group of 7 nations prepare to meet in Cornwall, England, to discuss how they might step up efforts to tackle climate change. The data provides yet another warning that countries are still very far from getting their planet-warming greenhouse gases under control." Pictured, quite appropriately perhaps, are the 6 men and one woman who lead seven of the world's big economies, entitled "Mount Recyclemore". The work, sculptured from electric waste, was created by Joe Rush, who said he hoped it would show electronic devices needed to be made more easily reusable or recyclable. The good, the bad and the ugly. There's more in this issue, which once again incorporates ABC Carbon Express, Focus on Forests and The Art of Travel. Also news of an innovative collaboration. ABC Carbon joins forces with Protiotype Design Future Build to put on a show at London Design Festival. - Ken Hickson
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TWO. Mingaroo Identifies Companies Responsible for Producing the Most Plastic Going to Waste.
The contribution of individual plastic producers to the plastic waste crisis has been exposed for the first time, as a new report shows that just 20 companies produce over 50% of all single-use plastic. FT Weekend and California New Times identified the top five as Exxon Mobil, Dow, Sinopec, Indorama Ventures & Saudi Aramco. Australia and the United States respectively produce the greatest amounts of single-use plastic waste per head of pollution, at more than 50kg per person per year. In comparison, the average person in China – the largest producer of single-use plastic by volume – produces 18kg of single-use plastic waste per year. Read the Global Study by Mindaroo Foundation.
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THREE. G7 agrees to 1.5degC temperature rise & to eliminate coal-fired power!
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FOUR. Airlines Line up to Get Sustainable Aviation Fuel from NESTE
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Neste - the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel and aviation fuel refined from waste and residues - will be making its Singapore refinery the primary producer of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from 2023. Currently, in the US and Europe, Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel annual capacity is 100,000 tons. With the Singapore refinery (pictured) expansion on the way, the Finnish company will have the capacity to produce over 1 million tonnes of SAF annually. Last week, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) signed an agreement for the purchase of SAF from Neste to be delivered to airlines SAS and Finnair. Vitol Aviation, a fuel supplier at Heathrow, started making Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ available ahead of the G7 Summit. Vitol Aviation intends to deliver further supplies ahead of COP26 to enable attendees to also transit to Glasgow with lower-emissions.
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FIVE. Come Clean & Climate Change Proof Your Business with Sodexo
The COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated just how interlinked human, business and planetary health are. Increasingly, employees, investors and consumers are demanding that businesses do more to tackle sustainability issues. We asked Sodexo how are you able to help businesses to adapt and innovate to become more sustainable? Here's the answer Qi Ni LEE came up with. She’s in charge of Corporate Responsibility and Diversity and the Inclusion Lead for Malaysia & Singapore. Sodexo has also come up with a White Paper to help us all "come clean" in more ways than one. And here's a case study on WasteWatch to dip into
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SIX. Call for More ESG Transparency from Envizi & More E-waste Recycling in Singapore
“Call it ESG, call it sustainability or call it net zero – people are realising that this is a whole of organisation undertaking.” This from Envizi's CEO David Solsky in a wide-ranging interview with Australia's Fifth Estate. He also says that the world was “rapidly moving away from warm and fuzzy reporting” to a “much higher level of transparency and higher accountability”. That concerns waste management and E-waste in particular, which Singapore is embarking on in a big way. Read all about it.
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SEVEN. Green Resiliency Means Renewable Energy, with Storage & Microgrids.
Renewable energy resources have long been recognised for their ability to harness energy from naturally replenished resources, such as solar, wind, tides, geothermal and biomass. What has become clear is the benefits to organisations from pairing those renewable sources (such as solar and wind) with battery energy storage systems and microgrid controls to create a holistic solution for Green Resiliency. To learn more about how Ameresco and Wells Fargo are working together on green resiliency. Check this out.
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EIGHT: “Bridge or Destination? LNG & Hydrogen In the Energy Transition”
In the run up to SIEW 2021, you can join the SIEW Energy Insights - Webinar Series, which brings together an international line-up of energy thought leaders to discuss key report launches, policy developments, and market innovations advancing the energy transition. On 29 June, the subject is: “Bridge or Destination? LNG & Hydrogen In the Energy Transition”. Go here to register.
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ABC Carbon is Media Partner for Singapore International Energy Week 2021 |
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Focus on Forests x 8:
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
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1.
How do we celebrate World Rainforest Day when we see the serious loss of tree cover in the tropics?
We can celebrate Rainforests on 22 June, but let's remember that "every minute, we lose 40 football fields of rainforests, which threatens our biodiversity and imperils our planet’s health." The Deforestation causes 15% of global carbon dioxide emissions that accelerate climate change. Natural climate solutions like protecting and restoring forests, however, could reverse global emissions by a third. Essential to our survival, rainforests are responsible for more than 25% of all Western medicine and house more than 50% of the world’s plant and animal species. There's more from Rainforest Partnership.
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2.
Can DNA analysis & forensic science be used to fight environmental crimes?
It certainly can. Whether it involves illegal logging and/or illegal timber trade, DNA finger-printing can be used in the same way it has solved serious crimes of the human kind. But like police detective work, which involves dogged determination, searching for clues and pouring over evidence, solving and preventing forest crime means engaging the expertise of scientists to work both in the field and in the laboratory. What's more, Double Helix Tracking Technologies is prepared to share "the tricks of the trade" on a new platform established by Global Timber Tracking Network (GTTN). There's more.
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3.
Timber Demand Down Under Produces Revolution in Engineered Wood Processing
Timber is in demand Down Under, according to a BBC Business Matters programme, which points to the Government’s Homebuilder Scheme and home owners getting onto refurbishment projects during the pandemic. The country’s massive ‘Roaring Twenties’ bush fires destroyed large swathes of timber. Here’s the report from Next Minute. Meanwhile, Responsible Wood says Tasmania has officially launched the world’s first hardwood Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), along with their new brand – Cusp Building Solutions – being launched in Hobart on 29 June. Australasian timber products manufacturer Timberlink, has announced plans to build a new plant to manufacture cross laminated timber (CLT) and glue laminated timber (GLT) in Tarpeena, South Australia. Not to be outdone, New Zealand’s North Island city of Gisborne is the centre of a potential $200 million "revolution" in wood processing and house-building after the official opening of a world-first plant. The plant is the only one of its type in the world, producing Wood Engineering Technology's breakthrough product ‘OEL’. Read all about it.
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4.
Where the Rubber Meets the Road on World Rainforest Day
A greater commitment to sustainability in the production and supply chain of natural rubber will help the global industry bounce back better after the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic. If this grows in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, it will have even more impact in the Asia Pacific region for many more years to come. This from PEFC as it was about to mount its Supporting Sustainable Rubber campaign. It also partners to support World Rainforest Day, which it describes as a wonderful occasion to discover the wonders and powers of our rainforests. "Through our campaign, we hope to open people’s eyes to the importance of rainforests for all our lives,” said Ben Gunneberg, CEO of PEFC International.
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5.
Love Paper for Sustainable Packaging & Printing
We're convinced by the science - and by responsible sourcing and sustainable supply chains - that paper for printing and packaging is by far the best option. Two Sides in the UK and US have been telling us this for a long time and PEFC considers that to be sustainable, packaging must be paper - fibre from forests - not plastic. So surprised when MAS in Singapore announced it is reducing its carbon footprint by cutting back on banknotes and cheque books! On the contrary, good to see big businesses, like Sony, introducing Original Blended Material, made from bamboo, sugarcane fibres, and post-consumer recycled paper, all of which are available around the world’s largest manufacturing hubs in Asia. Read More
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6.
Is Loss of Forest Habitat Forcing These Elephants to Pull up Roots & Move to New Territories?
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7.
First in Space with Plywood satellite
WISA Woodsat is the world’s first satellite using wood in its primary structure. It is made of WISA-Birch plywood, which is coated against strong UV radiation using a new atomic layer deposition method. The comparison panels are coated with industrial UV lacquer. WISA Woodsat will be launched to space from New Zealand using Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket. The mission is exploring the behaviour of plywood in space for a period of two years. There's more from UPM.
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8.
Beyond Planting Trees in all the Right Places, there's more to do to save the Planet.
Beyond As the world engages the Trillion Tree Campaign – a campaign originating with the United Nations Environment Programme and recently supported by the World Economic Forum to restore biodiversity and help fight climate change – it might seem like planting trees is an easy fix for our climate woes. Thomas Crowther of ETH Zurich and Restor, tells us what else we must do to get it right. Read more.
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See Asian Journeys and discover many things for the would-be traveller, including how the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) is recognising villages across the world that are committed to the promotion and preservation of their cultural heritage and sustainable development through tourism. The new initiative announced last month is the search for the best examples of rural villages harnessing the power of tourism to provide opportunity and safeguard their communities, local traditions and heritage. It will identify villages taking innovative and transformative approaches to tourism in rural areas in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Read More.
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I. Art in Wood for Nature & the Built Environment
Dave Hickson has a show coming up at Robin Gibson Gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney. It starts 3 July and lasts a month. You'll see his latest "bird sculptures" (pictured) and much more. This is what Dave says about his latest works: "Birds have my utmost respect. It is always a moving moment watching flights of swallows or shearwaters, or the murmuration of lorikeets or pigeons. The plovers that nest at the edge of the nearby creek seem to know more about meteorology than any weather balloon could ever predict. The Friarbird in our garden talks to the trees like a mad prophet, hopping from branch-to-branch, willing flowers to emerge from the stalks." These sculptures are made from reclaimed wood or offcuts from industry or education. Go here for much more.
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II. Indian Elephants Handcrafted with a Message for London & the World
The 100 elephants, which can be seen this month in many of London's Royal Parks, were handcrafted by communities in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Each of the sculptures are modelled on a real life elephant counterpart and made from lantana, an invasive weed, whose removal from protected areas benefits wildlife.The exhibition aims to raise awareness of how we can better coexist in response to “the increasing overlap between the human and animal world, which is in part responsible for the spread of deadly zoonotic diseases”. Read more.
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III: The Road to Recovery for the Travel Industry & the Environment
We hope you managed to watch, ike we did, the first episode of the BBC Travel Show's Road to Recovery, where the all electric Morris JE accompanies Ade Adepitan in his epic journey through the Scottish highlands to the outer Hebrides. Don't worry if you missed it, episode 1 of the Road to Recovery is now available on BBC iPlayer. Like its classic delivery van forebear, the modern-day, fully-electric Morris JE presents class-leading load efficiency that offers the best of both worlds: compact enough to fit the smallest of requirements, yet large enough to accommodate up to 5.8m and carry up to 1,000kg of goods. It is due for launch in 2022. Read more.
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IV: Mao's Last Dancer on Stage and Screen
Queensland Ballet returns to NOOSA alive! to reignite audiences’ passion for dance with a high energy and vibrant performance on 15 July. Showcasing a vision of Queensland Ballet’s future, the gifted Jette Parker Young Artists will join featured Company dancers to delight in two breathtaking pieces, including a new work by Resident Choreographer Natalie Weir. The performance will include an onstage Q&A session with Artistic Director Li Cunxin - otherwise known as Mao’s Last Dancer! - who recently featured in The Australian Story on Australia TV about a family saga. He will be giving audiences an insight into the behind-the-scenes magic of the Company. More on Noosa Alive festival here.
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V. Vintage Vesta Tours of Singapore or a Walk in the Park?
Try a fun and unique way to explore Singapore by hopping on board a Vespa sidecar by Singapore Sidecars. Take your pick from four different routes that will bring you on a heritage tour around four distinct districts and neighbourhoods. Cruise down heritage alleys, past iconic landmarks, and uncover hidden gems all while learning about the rich history of Singapore. If that's not your thing, take a walk in the park or any number of other walking tours or even visit one of Singapore's historic colonial Black and White Houses with Jane's Tours.
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VI: The Show Must Go On, While Local Publisher Takes Aim at Amazon
The Show Must Go On, says arts advocate and impresario Robert Liew. There's a hard hitting and reflective TedTalk from none other than "Sir Robert". You can see/hear it here. How can a local or Singapore publisher possibly compete with a giant like Amazon? Here's a quote worth considering: “The Amazon model: easy saleability, heavy marketing, super-competitive pricing, then trash and replace…Every book purchase made from Amazon is a vote for a culture without content and without contentment.” (Ursula K LeGuin). Singapore publisher Ethos reflects on this in a Letter to Readers, which we happily share on The Art of Travel website.
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VII.London Biennale Turns Up with Trees |
For the London Design Biennale, Somerset House courtyard features a forest with 400 trees, designed by Es Devlin for The Global Goals Pavilion, in partnership with Project Everyone. Forest for Change - The Global Goals Pavilion - will showcase the facts behind the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the urgent pathway of action to a better and fairer future.Design for change. Catch it while you can. It runs until 27 June. There's more here.
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IIX.The Art of Travel: Books On My Mind
Here is a series of short reviews/reports on eight books (pictured above), which have been on my mind – received, read, loaned, given away and, in one case, much awaited – over the last few months. Go here to read up on these books.
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Last Word: ABC Carbon & Protiotype to Promote Design Future Build
Environmental and sustainability insights from Ken Hickson in his landmark book “The ABC of Carbon” will be shared to a global audience as an Extended Reality (ER) tour at London Design Festival in September 2021. Greg Cornelius, the founder of Protiotype, says he is investing in development of the ABC Carbon Extended Reality exhibition because the messages are important. ABC Carbon will become part of Protiotype’s Building the Instruments of Transformation show, exhibited in their sustainable architectural pavilion, which Protiotype will launch, in digital form, at the London Design Festival. Read all about it here.
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