Tagged with Sustainability

Sense in Sustainability: the Changing Focus for Boards

Sustainability has become more than a trendy buzzword in business in the past few years as an increasing number of companies are putting it at the centre of their strategies.

Sense in Sustainability: the Changing Focus for Boards

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Boards are waking up to the fact that there is more to a sustainably run business than eco-friendly behaviour. They are seeing the broader picture and shifting to a business model that takes more responsibility for all stakeholders—including employees and supply chains—and focuses on efficient, cost-effective operational strategies that can help boost the bottom line.

In the UN Global Compact–Accenture Strategy CEO Study carried out last year, 87% of global chief executives said the goals triggered a rethink on approaches to sustainability (see box, below). And nearly half (49%) agreed that the role of business was vital to achieving the UN goals.

Evolution of views

George Dallas, head of policy at the International Corporate Governance Network—led by investors responsible for more than $26trn of assets—points to an evolution in the way companies and investors view sustainability.

“In the past, sustainability was seen more as a separate CSR [corporate social responsibility] silo but now boardroom conversations are focusing on this,” he says.

Over the past decade a number of factors have driven the shift. Among these are environmental disasters, climate change, an increasing exposure of abuse of labour rights, particularly in supply chains, and inequality of opportunity, forcing companies to improve their governance and responsibility. “These issues can no longer be avoided,” Dallas says.

Public and investor anger at the controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline in the US with regard to  violating human and environmental rights, and the scandal at Volkswagen, the German car maker caught cheating over diesel emissions, make sharp lessons for any board. The reputational damage that can follow malpractice and irresponsible behaviour is also pushing risk management to the top of the boardroom agenda.

This was originally published by Board Agenda.

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Medical Waste to Produce Durable, Sustainable Concrete

The thousands of tonnes of plastic waste created each year in Australia through dialysis treatment could breathe new life into the construction industry, according to researchers at Deakin University.

A team at Deakin’s School of Engineering is behind the new project, which aims to transform the single-use plastic used in the dialysis project into long-lasting sustainable concrete that could perform better than standard concrete.

Medical Waste to Produce Durable, Sustainable Concrete

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The project is a collaboration between Dr Riyadh Al-Ameri, a senior lecturer in structural engineering, Katherine Barraclough from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and John Agar from Barwon Health’s University Hospital Geelong.

It came about when Dr Barraclough and Professor John Agar approached Deakin University to find a practical solution to their waste issue.

Dr Al-Ameri said his project team was hoping that the project would not only reduce wastage, but that the shredded plastic waste would also help better protect structural concrete from corrosion.

“Concrete can crack and damage the internal bond, which can then lead to water penetration and corrosion of the steel bars, critical for providing the strength and integrity of concrete structures,” he said.

“If we are able to facilitate production of new types of concrete that will offer better protection, give structures longer life and better performance, as well as help recycle plastic waste, that will be a great achievement.”

Each individual dialysis treatment can create between one and three kilograms of plastic waste. With more than 12,000 Australians on dialysis, that adds up to about 5,100 tonnes of plastic waste per year, according to Dr Barraclough.

“Haemodialysis – the most common type of dialysis – involves making a circuit where blood is pumped from a patient’s bloodstream through a machine then back to the patient,” Dr Barraclough said. “This removes toxins and excess water and is life sustaining for patients with kidney failure,” she said.

“For safety reasons, both the tubes that carry the blood and the dialyser – the part of the machine that cleans the blood – are made of plastic designed for single use only. The result is large amounts of plastic waste generated from each dialysis treatment.

This was originally published by Architecture AU.

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We Have a Collective Responsibility to Halve Food Loss and Waste

Despite the central role food plays in all of our lives, we let a great deal of it go to waste. About one-third of all food produced in the world goes uneaten each year—a fact that harms our climate, costs the global economy billions of dollars and strains natural resources like water and land.

Given the enormous impacts, it’s clear why the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals issued Target 12.3’s call to halve food waste and reduce food losses by 2030.

We Have a Collective Responsibility to Halve Food Loss and Waste

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But with 13 short years to go, is the world doing enough?

According to a new report from Champions 12.3, the progress is promising. Countries or regional blocs that have set specific food loss and waste reduction targets cover an estimated 28 per cent of the world’s population. At the same time, nearly 60 per cent of the world’s 50 largest food companies have set targets to reduce food loss and waste. More than 10 per cent of the 50 largest companies also now have active programs to waste less food.

Meanwhile, initiatives have taken off in the European Union, United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and in other countries that expand public-private partnerships, government policies and consumer campaigns aimed at reducing food loss and waste.

But it’s not all roses. Only a few countries, accounting for just 7 per cent of the world’s population, currently measure and publicly report on how much food is lost or wasted within their borders.

These latest figures beg the question: Can the world really cut global food loss and waste in half by 2030? The answer is yes—but only if many more governments and companies set ambitious targets, measure this inefficiency and take action to reduce food loss and waste.

To my mind, there are three immediate challenges that require a collective approach.

This was originally published by Eco Business.

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Bunch of Old Bananas or Building Materials of the Future?

Potatoes reborn as insulation, peanuts processed into partition boards and mushroom bricks that grow in five days – just some of the ways the building trade could change its wasteful ways and construct virtuous new cities.

Bunch of old bananas or building materials of the future?

Photo: article supplied

In a report released on Wednesday, international engineering firm Arup set out novel ways for an industry that devours raw materials to cut waste.

“We need to move away from our ‘take, use, dispose’ mentality,” Guglielmo Carra, European lead for materials consulting at Arup, said in a statement.

“What we need now is for the industry to come together to scale up this activity so that it enters the mainstream.”

Arup said common organic food waste such as bananas, potatoes and peanut shells could be refigured into building materials to cut food waste and lower carbon emissions.

The global construction industry is one the world’s largest users of raw materials, with cement production alone responsible for an estimated 5 percent of carbon emissions, more than the airline industry.

Countries such as India are pushing to create “green homes” while aluminium smelters are responding to the demands of regulators and developers to produce low-carbon materials.

Traditionally, food waste is managed through landfill, incineration and composting. But the design and engineering firm said if food waste could be diverted and reused, it could become a key architectural resource.

Waste not

More than 40 million tonnes of dried organic waste from agriculture and forestry were produced in Europe in 2014, according to Arup, with the amount growing each year.

Along with using food waste, the report explored the creation of novel building materials such as mushroom bricks that take five days to grow and cultivated micro-algae facades, along with manufacturing processes that use 3D printing.

About a third of food produced around the world is never eaten because it is spoiled after harvest and in transportation, or thrown away by shops and consumers.

The report by Arup is part of a wider bid to encourage the so-called “circular economy” across the construction industry.

This was originally published by Eco Business.

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Plastic Bag Ban in Queensland Gets Green Light as Cash-for-Cans Scheme Introduced

Queensland shoppers will no longer be able to get plastic bags at the supermarket but will be able to cash in their cans and bottles under laws passed overnight.

The ban on single-use plastic shopping bags, including degradable and biodegradable bags, will take effect from mid-next year.

Plastic Shopping Bags Banned in Queensland From Mid 2018

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The bill was passed with bipartisan support, with the Opposition saying it had initially proposed the changes.

Environment Minister Steven Miles said some retailers were proactively banning the supply of lightweight plastic shopping bags in advance of the ban.

Retailers who flout the laws face up to a $3,000 fine.

Designated container refund points and reverse vending machines will offer 10 cents for most drink containers between 150ml and three litres.

Some containers, such as those for milk, wine, and some juice are exempt.

Mr Miles said some of the most passionate advocates for the change had been children.

“I get letters every day from school kids around the state,” he said.

“An estimated 2.4 billion beverage containers and 1 billion lightweight plastic shopping bags are used in Queensland every year … these are ending up in our waterways and killing and maiming our native animals.”

Opposition environment spokesman Christian Rowan agreed.

“This is an important initiative for our environment, for conservation, for community organisations, for waste reduction and recycling and for jobs here in Queensland,” he said.

The Queensland Conservation Council’s Dr Tim Seelig said it was a breakthrough moment for the state.

“We do hope that this legislation will be the starting point of a much bigger conversation about how much we really need to use plastics on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

Waste Recycling Industry Association Queensland chief executive Rick Ralph said the new scheme would be particularly welcomed in remote and regional areas that had very limited access to recycling.

This article was originally published by ABC.net.au.

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