Environment
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Microvi bags $1.5m grant
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Microvi Biotechnologies has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to demonstrate at scale a novel technology for the treatment of 1,4 dioxane in water. Microvi’s MB-DX™ technology uses 1,4-Dioxane degrading microbes. 1,4-Dioxane is among the most widely detected organic contaminants in groundwater and drinking water, with…
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Hershey to source 100% sustainable palm oil by 2014
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The Hershey Company announced that it will work with its suppliers to achieve 100 percent traceable andsustainably sourced palm oil by the end of 2014. To achieve this commitment, the company will work closely with its suppliers and industry experts to ensure palm oil comes from sustainable sources. Suppliers will be required to independently verify…
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Wilmar, Unilever pledges sustainable palm oil policies
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The palm oil industry is definitely feeling the sustainability pinch from worldwide environmental groups, investors and even from large buyers such as multinational food companies. Green Century Capital Management, a coalition of institutional investors from the US and Europe representing about $270bn in assets sent letters this month to about 40 major palm oil producers,…
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Walmart initiates sustainable chemicals policy
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The pressure is on this week as I work on the first issue of Tecnon OrbiChem’s Bio-Materials & Intermediates newsletter. I hope some of you can subscribe soon so you’ll be able to read some of the great information that, unfortunately, I am unable to post in the blog. I am also preparing for next…
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Cleaning industry releases sustainability report
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The American Cleaning Institute (ACI) released its 2013 Sustainability Report which shows overall decreases by member companies in four environmental metric data points: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and solid waste generation. Data spanned all three reporting years (2009, 2010 and 2011). Overall, 2011 showed a reduction in the industry’s footprint for all…
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From Pike Research: Green Garbage
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Pike Research’s Mackinnon Lawrence estimates the theoretical potential for biofuels production from global waste to be around 35bn gal/year today. This would more than double current production of biofuels worldwide while extracting untapped value from nearly 1.5 billion tons of waste. Garbage (or, as the industry refers to it, municipal solid waste, or MSW), is a rising…