Recycling currently emits 0.6 metric tons of CO2e per metric ton compared to 16.6 metric tons of CO2e per metric ton for primary aluminum

Volume 162/ January 2, 2024

Monster Energy Sustainability Digest

"When the Well is Dry, We Will Know the Worth of Water" — Benjamin Franklin, 1746

Challenges & Opportunities

US Water Stats - Within the U.S., we have over 50,000 drinking water systems supplying 39 billion gallons of potable water daily and our collective wastewater systems treat approximately 32 billion gallons daily. The potable water is distributed by approximately 2.2 million miles of pipe with an average age of 45 years. Between 2012 and 2018, water main breaks increased by 27% approaching 300,000 breaks per year. These same water mains lose approximately 6 billion gallons of treated water daily. In 2022, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) rated the drinking water and wastewater infrastructure as C- and D+ respectively. While this is “improving,” no water professional believes this to be acceptable. 2 million people within the U.S. lack access to safe sources of potable water. Demand for water throughout the U.S. is high with per capita estimates of 82 gallons per person per day. https://bit.ly/3H27CNv

Is unprecedented drought pushing the Amazon to the brink? | BBC News - One of its main rivers reached its lowest level since records began – 121 years ago. Villages became unreachable, wildfires raged in the middle of dense forest and wildlife died. Many scientists are worried that events like these are helping to push the world's biggest forest to a point of no return. https://bit.ly/3RFXD58

As of December 2023, America is producing a record-setting 13.2 million barrels of oil per day, according to The New York Times - Surpassing even Saudi Arabia to produce the most oil of any country in the world, That is 800,000 more barrels per day than the country produced at the beginning of 2022. Some of the growth has been driven by President Joe Biden, who recently approved drilling projects in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. https://bit.ly/47feOjO

Plastic Teabags Release Billions of Microparticles and Nanoparticles into Tea - The increasing presence of micro- and nano-sized plastics in the environment and food chain is of growing concern. Although mindful consumers are promoting the reduction of single-use plastics, some manufacturers are creating new plastic packaging to replace traditional paper uses, such as plastic teabags. The objective of this study was to determine whether plastic teabags could release microplastics and/or nanoplastics during a typical steeping process. We show that steeping a single plastic teabag at brewing temperature (95 °C) releases approximately 11.6 billion microplastics and 3.1 billion nanoplastics into a single cup of the beverage. The composition of the released particles is matched to the original teabags (nylon and polyethylene terephthalate) using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The levels of nylon and polyethylene terephthalate particles released from the teabag packaging are several orders of magnitude higher than plastic loads previously reported in other foods. An initial acute invertebrate toxicity assessment shows that exposure to only the particles released from the teabags caused dose-dependent behavioral and developmental effects. https://bit.ly/48bQUHb

Biden moves to limit deforestation in old-growth forests - In a document released by the Department of Agriculture, the federal government is planning to amend land management plans across the country at once. Changes include providing direction to conserve forests and recruit future old-growth forests. The amendments intend to foster resilience in old-growth forests. With over 13 million acres of old growth and older forests in Western Washington, the new restrictions could impact our local area significantly. An immediate change to policy is any projects proposed affecting vegetation in these forests need to go through the National Forest System Deputy Chief for review and approval. https://bit.ly/3TzwVxU

China aims to bring the utilization rate of recycled water in water-scarce cities at the prefecture level and above to over 25 percent by 2025, according to a government guideline. The guideline, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, states that China should do more to conserve water and improve the efficiency of its sewage treatment. China will also build 100 green and low-carbon benchmark plants for sewage treatment by 2025, according to the guideline. https://bit.ly/4aEWELy

Global annual finance flows of $7 trillion fueling climate, biodiversity, and land degradation crises - Close to $7 trillion is invested globally each year in activities that have a direct negative impact on nature from both public and private sector sources - equivalent to roughly 7 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - according to the latest State of Finance for Nature report released today at COP28 by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners. The report finds that in 2022, investments in nature-based solutions totaled approximately $200 billion, but finance flows to activities directly harming nature were more than 30 times larger. It exposes a concerning disparity between the volumes of finance to nature-based solutions and nature-negative finance flows, and underscores the urgency to address the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. The five industries channeling most of the negative financial flows – construction, electric utilities, real estate, oil and gas, and food and tobacco – represent 16 percent of overall investment flows in the economy but 43 percent of nature-negative flows associated with the destruction of forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats. Government spending on environmentally harmful subsidies in four sectors - agriculture, fossil fuels, fishery, and forestry - is estimated at US$1.7 trillion in 2022. https://bit.ly/3TGgYG8

Before jumping into an investment in renewables, first optimize your energy systems. According to the EPA’s ENERGY STAR® program, approximately 25-30% of potential energy savings can be achieved through changes in human behavior. Energy efficiency is considered the cheapest energy resource. While the typical return on investment (ROI) for business investments is about 10%, according to the DOE, renewable energy projects offer a 5% ROI. In contrast, the DOE estimates energy efficiency investments deliver an average ROI of 40%. In short, energy efficiency stands as the best investment. To improve energy efficiency, it’s imperative to know the areas consuming the most energy. Here are some tips to consider:

Optimize heating and cooling systems. These systems use 40-50% of a commercial building’s energy. Simple practices like sealing air leaks, replacing dirty filters, properly managing temperature set points, and calibrating Building Automation Systems (BAS) can lead to up to 30% of energy efficiency savings. Install variable frequency drives to control power and reduce energy consumed by fans, pumps, compressors, HVAC, and cooling tower motors. https://bit.ly/48fHkDr

The ISciences Water Security Indicator Model (WSIM) monitors and forecasts water anomalies on a global basis. Each month they produce data and a report that document current conditions and provide forecasts with lead times from 1 to 9 months. United States: The 12-month forecast ending in August 2024 indicates that intense surplus in western states will mostly subside, as well as most intense deficits in the Upper Midwest. However, deficits are expected to linger in Minnesota, as well as in southern states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

https://bit.ly/3S12qzL

How America's Diet is Feeding the Groundwater Crisis - Most of America’s irrigated farmland grows crops that don’t directly feed humans but instead are used to feed animals or to produce ethanol for fuel. And most of that irrigation water comes from aquifers. Those crops have expanded into areas that don’t have enough water to sustain them, affecting some important aquifers across the country by contributing to groundwater overuse. Aquifer depletion for animal feed is occurring in places including Texas, the Central Valley of California, the High Plains in Kansas, Arizona and other areas that lack enough water from rivers and streams to irrigate the crops.

Irrigated acreage for corn, about half of which goes toward animal feed, jumped sixfold between 1964 and 2017, federal numbers show. Irrigated acres for soybean, mostly used for animals, has jumped eightfold. The toll on aquifers, which supply 90 percent of America’s water systems, has been devastating. A Times investigation this year revealed that many of those aquifers are being severely overtaxed by agriculture and industry, and that the federal government has left oversight to the states, where tangles of rules are failing to protect those aquifers. https://bit.ly/3vjf2t0

https://bit.ly/3TEELq3

Earth was due for another year of record warmth. But this warm? Earth is finishing up its warmest year in the past 174 years, and likely the past 125,000. This year’s global temperatures did not just beat prior records. They left them in the dust. From June through November, the mercury spent month after month soaring off the charts. December’s temperatures have largely remained above normal. That is why scientists are sifting through evidence to see whether this year might reveal something new about the climate and what we are doing to it. One hypothesis, perhaps the most troubling, is that the planet’s warming is accelerating, that the effects of climate change are barreling our way more quickly than before. https://bit.ly/3RDmM0B

Concerns grow over water quality in Killarney lake There are fears a toxic algal bloom crisis — similar to what occurred in Lough Neagh earlier this year — could develop in Lough Leane. Concerns are growing over the water quality in Killarney’s largest lake, with questions being asked about the efficiency of the 30-year-old Killarney Waste Water Treatment Plant. A recent appeal by an angling club against a housing development to An Bord Pleanála highlighted concerns over water quality in the lake and the River Laune which flows from it. That EPA described the water quality in the Laune as “bad” and said it had declined since 2019. Options in relation to modifying/upgrading the existing wastewater treatment plant in order to provide for growth and continued discharge to the Folly Stream, along with the options for relocating the primary discharge to alternative discharge locations, were currently being assessed, it also said. https://bit.ly/3S0uSSh

Circular Economy, Zero Waste, Recycling and Litter Abatement

Life of an Aluminum Can - 3 minute video from Pepsi. https://bit.ly/48gJySS

REFED's Food Waste Solution Provider Directory - Explore our database of 1500+ organizations to connect with Solution Providers, offering products and services to help you reduce food waste. A vetted list of over 1500 nonprofit and for-profit organizations ready to help implement food waste reduction initiatives. To filter this data, first refer to the Solutions Types dropdown where you can filter based on Prevention, Rescue, and Recycling. To filter more granularly by our seven action areas and specific solution types, select the relevant sub-options within this dropdown. Other filters include location by state, sectors where the waste occurs, and legal status. Click the check box if you wish to see organizations that have chosen to indicate that they are currently looking for funding. The data is presented in alphabetical order but can be sorted by a number of indicators (in descending order) using the Sort By dropdown.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/refedsolutionprovider-questionnaire

New Study From Crown Holdings and IAI Actions Critical Steps To Strengthen Global Aluminum Beverage Can Recycling - The aluminium can continues to be the package of choice for the alcohol and soft drinks industries with global consumption expected to increase by 50 percent between 2020 and 2030 (i.e., from 420 to 630 billion cans annually). The study was co-funded by Emirates Global Aluminium, Crown Holdings, Australian Aluminium Council and Novelis. The review involved stakeholder interviews, regulation reviews, market and value chain assessment, data collection and data models and baselining (volumes, rates, prices, etc.). A detailed visualisation based on the data developed by Roland Berger is now available on alucycle. Recycling currently emits 0.6 metric tons of CO2e per metric ton compared to 16.6 metric tons of CO2e per metric ton for primary aluminum," said Marlen Bertram, Director of Scenarios and Forecasts at IAI. https://bit.ly/3tv6q23

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) most recent Recycling Economic Information Report calls recycling “a critical part” of the US economy, responsible for 681,000 American jobs. The report estimates that recycling-related jobs provide $37.8 billion in annual employee wages and that the recycling industry contributes $5.5 billion in annual tax revenue. The Government Accountability Office estimates a recycling rate of less than 25%. According to the US Geological Survey, the nation recycled over 52.2 million metric tons of metal in 2021. The EPA last reported data on plastic recycling in 2018; Americans recycled about 2.8 million metric tons of plastic that year. Meanwhile, the total amount of trash generated by US households increased over the past two decades. https://bit.ly/3v8ad5F

Coca-Cola vows change to its bottles using revolutionary material: ‘This could benefit other markets’ - The Dutch startup that Coke is putting money behind, CuRe, has reportedly developed “new technology,” Wouter Vermeulen, Coca-Cola’s senior director of sustainability and public policy in Europe, told the Wall Street Journal, that can produce food-grade plastic from difficult-to-recycle plastics such as films, trays, clothing, and colored packaging. “The Coca-Cola system is committed to reducing our dependency on oil for producing virgin packaging materials and promoting recycling,” Vermeulen said. It is currently focused specifically on Europe, as Vermeulen further said, “We are currently focused on scaling CuRe’s technology in the right way for use in Europe as a first priority, before looking at how this could benefit other markets.” https://bit.ly/41FGwoJ

Delaware Group Offers ‘Joints For Junk’ To Fight Trash Pollution - Called “Joints for Junk,” the program works exactly like it sounds: in exchange for a round of trash clean-up, the Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network awards the volunteers with a joint of legal cannabis. “People preregistered, showed up, signed a waiver and we gave them a joint,” says Zoë Patchell, president of Delaware Cannabis Advocacy Network, told the Delaware News Journal. “And, actually, nobody took the joint and left. It was a really positive, inspiring day.” According to the Delaware News Journal, the event –– held in Millsboro, Delaware –– ”drew more than 50 volunteers over the age of 21 with each getting a pre-rolled joint, which was donated by members of the nonprofit group.” The outlet said that, under the new state law, “anyone can gift an adult up to an ounce of marijuana.” “It was probably one of our best turnouts for a community service project,” Patchell said, as quoted by the Delaware News Journal. “There were a number of new people we had never met before, and a few of them even became members.” https://bit.ly/3tL3Vsl

After 70 Years, Delta Air Lines Just Announced a Major Change to 1 of the Most Common Things About Flying - Switching from plastic cups is a bigger deal than it might seem. On Tuesday, Delta Air Lines announced that it would start testing newly-designed paper cups on its flights. At first, that doesn't seem like much. Who cares whether the cups you drink a free Diet Coke out of are made out of paper or plastic? On the other hand, it turns out that making a change like this affects everything from the onboard experience to the environmental impact of flying on an airplane. Delta already has paper cups on its flights for serving hot coffee. The airline is expanding this in an effort to remove more than 7 million pounds of single-use plastic from its flights. Of course, that means its paper cups have to be able to stand up to more than just hot coffee. "As an airline, our main goal is to decarbonize our business--a lot of which will come from what we fly, how we fly, and the fuel we use," said Amelia DeLuca, Delta's Chief Sustainability Officer. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't also focus on what we can do right now within our own operation to be more sustainable. These cups are a great example of how Delta is working to address our impact through what we can control today. They're a highly visible and tangible example for our customers and our people of how Delta is taking our commitment to embed sustainability in everything we do seriously." https://bit.ly/3NIv6uI

National park fed up with littering tourists creates perfect revenge scheme: ‘You forgot these things … ‘ National parks worldwide might want to note what Khao Yai National Park in Bangkok, Thailand, does regarding visitors littering. In 2020, an initiative was started by Varawut Silpa-archa, the country’s then-minister of natural resources and the environment, that would see trash left behind by tourists collected, put in a box, and mailed to the home of the offender. Parkgoers were required to register their address when visiting the UNESCO World Heritage site, so tracking down the culprits wasn’t so difficult. According to the BBC, in addition to receiving their littered items back, they are sent a note reading, “You forgot these things at Khao Yai National Park.” In addition, The Washington Post cited the Bangkok Post, which said that anyone caught littering could receive a fine of up to 500,000 baht, or around $14,500. Jail sentences include a five-year stint behind bars as a potential punishment. https://bit.ly/3H3OI96

Competitors, Trends & Innovations

Advanced Biotech – supplier of high-quality Natural Flavor and Fragrance Ingredients - strives to provide only the highest quality flavors and fragrance ingredients and are one of the leading suppliers of raw materials to the industry. From our Natural Flavoring substances to Essential Oils and Pyrazines, you will find the vast array of products that we produce are all held to the same high standards. Dr. Tom DelMastro, Vice President - Quality Control and Regulatory at Advanced Biotech – tdelmastro@adv-bio.com

https://adv-bio.com/sustainability-matters-be-part-of-the-solution/

Batory Foods (Total Sweeteners) – Rita Ramirez, Chief People & Sustainability Officer, rramirez@batoryfoods.com. Batory Foods is pleased to share that upon submitting our second EcoVadis Sustainability Assessment in 2023, we have increased our score and received a Bronze Medal rating. We are proud of our current sustainability initiatives and are excited to continue expanding our efforts for a more sustainable future. Batory’s sustainability efforts are focused on three pillars, Planet, People, & Partners, which outline the key areas where we strive to continuously improve.

· Planet: Reduce operational waste and emissions.

· People: Prioritize safety and well-being.

· Partners: Collaborate with sustainable partners.

Learn more about our sustainability strategy: https://lnkd.in/guPXVkwc

https://www.batoryfoods.com/about-us/sustainability_/

Moving forward, we will strive to:

• Measure our greenhouse gas footprint – Scopes 1, 2 and 3

• Install solar panels in at least 1 facility

• Promote our sustainably certified ingredients

• Implement recycling in all facilities

• Expand our employee wellness program offerings

• Use EcoVadis to engage with suppliers and build a more sustainable supply chain

• Build a rigorous safety culture through education and training

• Reduce food waste by donating/selling surplus ingredients

Batory Foods offers several Sustainably Certified Ingredients including Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil - emulsifiers and Palm-based oils; Rainforest Alliance Certified Cocoa Powder; and Fairtrade Sugar and Tea.

https://www.batoryfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Sustainably-Certified-Ingredients.pdf

https://www.batoryfoods.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/POL-SUS01BAT-Environmental-Policy.pdf

https://bit.ly/3tq4dFa

Brenntag North America is a subsidiary of Brenntag SE, the global market leader in chemical and ingredients distribution. Goal: becoming more sustainable every day and acting as a driver of an entire industry toward greater responsibility in the areas of ESG. Scored 77 points in Ecovadis sustainability assessment 2022 earning Platinum Status. https://bit.ly/3RFrlax. Brenntage recently received certification by TUEV Rheinland for product carbon footprint data calculation method – Brenntag is providing customers with comprehensive Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) data since December 2022. The unique PCF service called “CO2Xplorer” is part of Brenntag’s sustainability strategy to promote and enhance transparency about greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to drive reductions across the entire supply chain. Moreover, after a systematic approach review by the independent external party TUV Rheinland, a certification of the calculation method has been achieved. The certification confirms that the Brenntag’s PCF methodology approach meets the requirements of ISO 14067:2018 and the Together for Sustainability (TfS) PCF Guideline. Dr. Andreas Kicherer, VP Sustainability Brenntag Group Andreas.kicherer@brenntag.com. “Our concept of providing extensive Product Carbon Footprint data for our product portfolio provides our customers highly valuable transparency into how much GHG emissions are associated with a product along it entire life cycle. And the TUV Rheinland certification clearly underlines the credibility of our calculation procedure. Alessia Lelo - European Sustainable Solutions Manager at Brenntag Alessia.lelo@brenntag.com

Cargill - Pilar Cruz, Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer pilar_cruz@cargill.com; Heather Tansey; VP Environmental Sustainability, heather_tansey@cargill.com; Greg Downing, Sustainability Director, Climate at Cargill. Greg_downing@cargill.com. Cargill’s purpose is to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. We have set science-based targets and invested in bold action to deliver on our ambition. Operations: Implement water stewardship practices at all 72 priority facilities by 2025. Supply Chain and Communities: Enable a water positive impact in all priority regions by 2030. Restored 9 billion liters of water across our global supply chains. Award-winning Cargill RegenConnect® program reflects the best of what Cargill can achieve when we work with our most important partner: farmers. We connect our partner farmers with the environmental marketplace, paying them for positive environmental outcomes, while providing tools and educational resources to help them adopt regenerative agriculture practices. Through Cargill RegenConnect and other programs and solutions, we’ve brought regenerative agriculture to 880,000 acres across North America since 2020. https://www.cargill.com/sustainability/doc/1432249642287/2023-esg-report-scorecard.pdf

https://www.cargill.com/sustainability/2023-esg-report

John I. Haas - HAAS® provides world-class hops, bittering products, flavor and aroma products, and innovative brewing solutions to the world’s best brewers—and we're committed to doing it sustainably. They completed a sustainability materiality assessment in 2021. A member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) platform which supports the development of sustainable agriculture practices. We have adopted their Farm Sustainability Assessment for our farm operations. 64% of our farmers participate in this process. Global G.A.P. HAAS Yakima Golding Farm is certified by Global G.A.P. Global G.A.P. is a set of standards for Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P.), which promotes safe and sustainable agriculture worldwide. We have been using drip irrigation on all existing and new hop acreage. We are currently exploring the efficiency benefits of the double drip line irrigation system in comparison to the single drip tube. A double drip line may increase fertilizer and water efficiency, ultimately increasing hop yields. This project commenced in 2020 and enough data will be acquired by 2022 to draw conclusions. Laxmi Koirala Pandit, Sustainability Manager at John I. Haas, Inc. laxmi.pandit@johnihaas.com

https://www.johnihaas.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/HAAS_Sustainability_Report_032522-FINAL.pdf

https://www.johnihaas.com/news-views/haas-2021-sustainability-report/

New data shows “incredible” sustainability of HBC experimental varieties versus classic craft hops - On November 3, 2023, the Washington Brewers Guild held its annual Craft Beer Summit in Puyallup, Washington. During the expo, HBC, the Hop Breeding Company—which is a joint venture between John I. Haas and Yakima Chief Ranches—hosted a panel discussion on “Driving Sustainability through Advanced Hop Technologies.” These new experimental hops, HBC 638, HBC 522, and HBC 1134, yield more pounds of hops per acre than their classic counterparts, Centennial, Cascade, and Saaz, with far less inputs. Jeff went on, “These historical varieties have significantly lower yields on a year-by-year basis than the experimental hops that we’re bringing through the HBC program.” “Take HBC 638, for example. At a sensory level, it’s a partial if not a full replacement for Centennial. On a per acre basis, the ten-year average yield is 1,700 more pounds—using the same inputs—as Centennial. In a good year, Centennial yields 1,700 pounds per acre, but in a year like 2023, which will become more common due to climate change, Centennial easily yielded 25% below that. So, these HBC varieties are incredible sustainability story.” https://bit.ly/47jwJpy

Incasa Coffee specializes in providing soluble coffees for flavoring, blends, and private label. Incasa encourages you to consider Fair Trade* and Organic sources for a marketing advantage that benefits everyone. Incasa currently offers organic and organic/fair trade type soluble coffees from Colombia and Mexico. Incasa is also working with various certification groups and suppliers to develop a more extensive supply chain of coffees for these markets.

https://incasacoffee.com/FairTradeOrganicCoffee.shtml

Proximity Malt - is the first new-generation, full-scale, regional malting facility in North America, operating two malthouses located in the Mountain West and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. These sites were specifically chosen to encompass two distinct production regions where spring and winter malting barley and other grains are sourced. This provides a unique opportunity to establish a climate-smart value chain where regenerative practices will play a significant role in producing high quality grains. These grains will be processed into malts to be sold across North America to the brewing, distilling and food industries. By locating our plants in the middle of these underutilized barley growing areas, Proximity Malt has been shortening the supply chain for our customers. However, we realize that our current practices will need to change in every aspect of our sourcing and manufacturing strategy to combat climate change. Commercial agriculture, while contributing in the past to high greenhouse gas emissions (GHGe) through tillage and mono-cropping, holds many keys to unlocking our potential to reduce carbon emissions, and improve soil health, soil erosion, water retention and biodiversity. Matthew Musial, Maltster! Director of Quality and Safety at Proximity Malt matthew.m.@proximitymalt.com PROXIMITY MALT CLIMATE SMART PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP REGENMALT™ In partnership with Sustainable Environmental Consultants (SEC), a 3rd party sustainability verification provider, Proximity Malt will track field by field production practices, including crop rotation, for enrolled Climate Smart Commodities (CSC) participant farms. Proximity will provide educational opportunities for farms using conventional production practices to take steps towards growing regeneratively produced barley. Data generated from participating farms will play a critical role in establishing a new kind of value for their grain, creating a marketplace environment where small grain producers will be recognized and compensated for making positive changes for our planet. Farmers face a host of challenges when switching to CSA practices with small and underserved farmers climbing an even steeper hill. Financial barriers and unknown risk(s) associated with switching to regenerative agriculture are a deterrent to many farmers. This project will assist in removing barriers by:

Providing a payment premium for regeneratively grown barley to offset the risks and attract new growers.
Providing access to educational field days and resources showing the real-life benefits and methodologies behind making a CSA transition.
Developing clear standards capable of providing an assurance to the entire food value chain that science-backed standards were met and the regenerative agriculture distinction is credible and valuable.
Building a competitive market with supply chain partners, led by the ReGenMalt™ brand, where value created on participating farms will be realized by brewing, distilling and food industries.

https://proximitymalt.com/climate-smart-commodity/

https://bit.ly/4ayVaSZ

Tate & Lyle - Anna Pierce, Director of Sustainability, anna.pierce@tateandlyle.com - In 2020, we set ourselves a target to reduce water use intensity by 15% by 2030. To accomplish our goal, we conducted a global water risk and opportunities assessment to inform our development of meaningful reduction projects that can be tested and then implemented at many sites to improve efficiencies. Every site in our network has smart water targets as part of their annual strategic planning to sustainably improve control of environmental risks and opportunities. To drive continuous improvement, we established a global team with environmental, quality, and engineering expertise to develop and organise impactful water use reduction projects.

https://www.tateandlyle.com/sites/default/files/2023-07/tate-and-lyle-sustainability-article-series.pdf

https://www.tateandlyle.com/purpose/caring-our-planet/reducing-our-water-use

Yakima Chief - we make it our mission to tell the stories of the family-owned, independent hop farms from which we source our hops, as we work to strengthen the connection between growers and brewers. We recognize that with this mission comes the shared responsibility to ensure that both YCH and our growers complement and positively reflect one another. Levi Wyatt, CSR Coordinator levi.wyatt@yakimachief.com. Green Chief® is our farmer best practices program coordinated in partnership with Yakima Chief Ranches. Our pioneering grower-owners created the Green Chief® internal farm quality and sustainability management program in 2008 as a collaborative effort to achieve long-term goals in day-to-day farm operations. The Yakima Chief Hops Best Practices Team was then formed to promote and develop strong baselines, guidelines and practices for traceability, harvest food safety, data collection and reporting.Over the years, Green Chief® has expanded to include more than 25 farms, both allied and grower owners, collaborating on environmentally and socially responsible solutions. The team works to ensure the ongoing quality and competitiveness of our offerings, even if that means rejecting product that does not meet our strict standards. With meetings held regularly, these gatherings are intended to promote more sustainable, high-quality hop farming and collaboration between all hop growers regardless of ownership. https://www.yakimachief.com/csr

House probe into ESG violations expands to proxy advisors ISS and Glass Lewis - https://bit.ly/3TAoLFz

How to prevent vampire energy from draining your home's energy, increasing energy bills - Also known as standby energy or phantom power, vampire energy occurs when appliances or devices continue to use energy while plugged in, even when turned off, according to Delmarva Power. Common household items like computer cords, game consoles, printers, phone chargers and coffee pots still draw energy from your home while plugged in, resulting in unnecessary energy usage. For those of you still entertaining leftover holiday guests, all those extra plug-ins and hidden energy drainers of theirs are adding to the bill, too. This can account for up to 20% of the total energy used by a device and more money lost from your wallet, according to Delmarva Power. Here are some tips from Delmarva Power to cut back on your energy usage and save money:

Unplug your phone charger, laptop charger and other electronic devices once they are fully charged.
Turn off all lights when leaving a room or use timers for indoor and outdoor lights, especially holiday decorations.
Use energy-efficient LED bulbs. They last longer and use up to 75% less energy than standard bulbs.
Unplug all nonessential devices like televisions and other electronics before going out of town.
Use a power strip with an on/off switch to completely shut off electronics around your house when they are not in use.
Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances, electronics and other products, which ensures that the item meets strict energy-efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. www.energystar.gov/products

https://bit.ly/3RYQfmW

The biggest clean energy project in U.S. history just raised $11 billion and started construction - A wind farm and transmission line billed as the largest clean energy project in US history has secured $11 billion in financing and started construction. Pattern Energy Group said Wednesday it closed on financing that includes about $8.8 billion in construction and term facilities and $2.25 billion in tax equity for the 3.5 gigawatt SunZia wind farm in New Mexico and 550-mile transmission line carrying electricity to Arizona. https://bit.ly/48zdhGA

On January 9th, the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators (ASDWA) will host: A Deep Dive into Granular Activated Carbon Treatment Strategies for PFAS in Drinking Water - Adam Redding, Technical Director for Calgon Carbon's Drinking Water Solutions division, will join John Lombardo and Geoff Pellechia from Xylem, and will discuss the use of granular activated carbon for PFAS treatment and the benefits/considerations for its use. The webinar is free and open to the public and will take place on January 9th from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm (ET). https://bit.ly/3TER0CO

Chief Sustainability Officers List - Our chief sustainability officers list tracks CSO executives worldwide who oversee sustainability at businesses, corporations, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, associations and more.

https://sustainabletechpartner.com/cso/

California regulators will not enforce drayage fleet registration rules — yet - The California Air Resources Board said it would delay enforcing certain provisions of the Advanced Clean Feets rule. The California Air Resources Board said it will delay enforcing certain registration or reporting provisions of its Advanced Clean Fleets regulation, just days ahead of a year-end deadline it had set for trucking companies. Under the rule, drayage fleets and others deemed high priority had until Dec. 31 to register any combustion-powered truck operating at intermodal seaports or railyards. After that date, registering trucks with internal combustion engines would effectively be banned, as all new vehicles added to fleets would have to qualify under zero-emission truck standards. But on Dec. 28, the state agency, known as CARB, circulated an advisory saying it would not enforce those provisions until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants a key waiver establishing its authority.

https://bit.ly/3REWcE9

The Rainforest Alliance is strengthening its pioneering cocoa certification program, which is the world’s largest scale initiative to drive more sustainable cocoa farming. Key priorities of the cocoa strategy are assurance, shared responsibility, supply chain transparency, and profitability and resilience. This policy sets out specific implementation requirements for certificate holders at both producer and supply chain actor levels (Certification requirements) and for reinforcing the assurance process (Assurance Process Rules). https://bit.ly/3TLHJcj

https://bit.ly/3tu5XNH

At the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), we are working to transform the palm oil industry to make it sustainable. We are a global, non-profit organisation with voluntary members. We are focused on bringing together stakeholders from across the palm oil supply chain to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil. https://rspo.org/who-we-are/