Cleantech Companies Won 5 of 6 Largest Venture Capital Rounds in 2010
Five of six of the largest Venture Capital fundraising rounds in 2010 went to cleantech companies, based on data from Thomson Reuters: – Better Place: $350 million for electric car charging infrastructure – Solyndra: $175 in convertible debt for unique solar PV panels – BrightSource Energy: $150 million for solar thermal projects – Abound Solar: $110 million for solar thin-film – Trilliant: $105 million for smart grid networking Better Place even beat Twitter’s recently announced $200 million investment. Worldwide cleantech investments peaked at $11.8 billion in 2008, then dropped off significantly to $6.8 billion in 2009, but thanks to strong growth during …
Coca-Cola, Kraft and Procter & Gamble to reduce packaging waste
Coca-Cola, Kraft and Procter & Gamble are among the latest companies to join voluntary U.K. pledges to reduce packaging and waste. The companies signed the Courtauld Commitment, set by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The commitment says that companies will reduce the carbon impact of their grocery packaging by 10 percent, reduce household food and drink waste by four percent, and reduce grocery product and packaging waste by five percent. Other companies joining this week include Associated British Foods and Premier Foods, bringing the total number of committed companies up to 48.
PepsiCo UK Sustainability Plans
PepsiCo UK plans to make all its packaging renewable, recyclable or bio-degradable, as part of further sustainability targets to “radically” reduce its impact on the environment. In its second environmental sustainability report, PepsiCo UK looked at climate change, agriculture, water use, its products and how the company works with others, to drive change within the business. The food and drink manufacture plans to introduce FSC paper-based packaging to its Quaker and Walkers brands within three years as part of its plan to make all packaging renewable, recyclable or bio-degradable by 2018. The packing material is currently being trialled on its …
Qld strives to cut waste disposal
Jessica Marszalek – AAP Queensland’s landfill rubbish will be cut by half within 10 years through support for recycling businesses and a new waste levy, the state government hopes. Climate Change and Sustainability Minister Kate Jones on Wednesday launched the Queensland Waste Strategy, which, it’s hoped, will make Queenslanders think twice before throwing things away. Under the plan, a levy will apply to commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste and some soils from July 2011 to discourage interstate waste disposal and encourage less waste generation. The levy will fund $159 million in incentives for businesses that invest in recycling technologies …
Market for Sustainable Products Expanding Rapidly
Markets for sustainable products have expanded significantly over the last five years, growing much faster than those for conventional products, according to the State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI) Review 2010, published last week. The SSI Review 2010 is a collaborative effort by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the International Institute for Environment and Development, Aidenvironment, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and ENTWINED–Environment and Trade in a World of Interdependence–research consortium. The SSI Review 2010 gives a comprehensive overview of major voluntary sustainability standards and initiatives in the forestry, coffee, cocoa, tea and banana sectors, including detailed …
International Green Construction Code: Game-Changer in Sustainable Building
For the last decade, green building rating systems have been the top standard for designing sustainable buildings, but at the end of the day, they are non-enforceable guidelines. Because buildings are the largest contributors of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it’s become clear in recent years that a more rigorous and complete set of rules are needed for green and sustainable building. The work needed to formalize a code to address sustainability has been a major industry challenge – that is, until now. A new proposal – currently being developed by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the International Code …
How big should Australia be?
Prof Ed Blakely is conducting some research for his radio program, it only takes a minute and you will see the latest results, http://polls.linkedin.com/p/109446/gzwvf
How to Avoid Greenwashing and Label Your Product Correctly · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader
How to Avoid Greenwashing and Label Your Product Correctly · Environmental Management & Energy News · Environmental Leader. This is a good article from Emily McClendon in the Environmental Leader It will be the subject of one of our Brisbane seminars in early 2011.
Exploring the Role of Business through Vision 2050
The Vision 2050study lays out a pathway leading to a global population of some 9 billion people living well, within the resource limits of the planet by 2050. The report ( 2.6 MB) was released at the 2010 World CEO Forum in New Delhi, India. Twenty-nine companies, led by Alcoa, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Storebrand and Syngenta, have come together to rethink the roles that business must play over the next few decades to enable society to move toward being sustainable. This endeavor has resulted in a call to action that aims to encourage companies to reinvent themselves, their products and services to …
