Green Chemicals Blog
Regulation
CO2 emissions rose to historic highs in 2018
Driven by higher energy demand in 2018, global energy-related CO2 emissions rose 1.7% to a historic high of 33.1 Gt CO2, according to a newly released report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) annual Global Energy & CO2 Status Report. It was the highest rate of growth since 2013, and 70% higher than the average … Continue reading
EU proposes marine litter reduction measures
The EU Commission released an EU-wide marine litter reduction proposal yesterday by targeting 10 single-use plastic products most often found on Europe’s beaches and seas (including abandoned fishing gear). These products reportedly constitute 70% of all marine litter items. Different measures will be applied to different products. Where alternatives are readily available and affordable, single-use … Continue reading
UK bans microbeads in personal care
UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that a ban on the manufacture of products containing microbeads has come into force effective 9 January 2018. Environment Minister Thérèse Coffey has announced that manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products will no longer be able to add tiny pieces of plastic known as ‘microbeads’ … Continue reading
Biofuture Platform launched
Ministers and high-level representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Mozambique, Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden, United Kingdom, and Uruguay gathered together on November 16, 2017, in Bonn, Germany, and have decided to join efforts in a new government-led, multi-stakeholder Biofuture Platform designed to promote international coordination on advanced … Continue reading
BIO News: Renewable Chemicals Act of 2017
Just got this news from BIO… BIO Applauds Senate Introduction of Renewable Chemicals Tax Credit Washington, D.C. (Oct. 19, 2017) – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today thanked Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and co-sponsors Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Al Franken (D-MN) for introducing the Renewable Chemicals Act of … Continue reading
More retailers implement chemical management initiatives
Pharmacy retailer chain CVS Health announced the removal of parabens, phthalates formaldehyde donors across nearly 600 beauty and personal care products from its store brand CVS Health, Beauty 360, Essence of Beauty, and Blade product lines. The Promise Organic line of store brand products also does not contain any of these ingredients. CVS Pharmacy will stop … Continue reading
OPINION: Trump Presidency: What is the future of US bioeconomy?
After last night’s election results, I actually just wanted to curl up in a ball on a corner (at least for a day). The question now is whether the new Republican-led Congress and Trump’s presidency could change the course of direction towards the build-up of US Bioeconomy that various federal agencies have slowly been building … Continue reading
EPA issues rules on methane capture from landfills
Something to think about for companies developing technologies that uses methane for feedstock in chemical/polymers production. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued its new final rule on steps to further reduce emissions of methane-rich gas from municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills by capturing and controlling landfill gas emissions at levels that are one-third … Continue reading
Senate introduced Renewable Chems Tax Incentive Law
The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) today announced that Senators Stabenow (D-MI), Coons (D-DE) and Franken (D-MN) has introduced S. 2271, the Renewable Chemicals Act of 2015, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide credits for the production of renewable chemicals and investments in renewable chemical production facilities. S. 2271 would … Continue reading
Twitter Live: INFOCAST Sustainable Chemicals Summit
Held in San Diego, California, the INFOCAST Sustainable Chemicals & Plastics Adoption & Applications Summit brought together consumer brand, OEM, retail decision makers, venture capitalists, financiers, corporate strategics, chemical majors, specialty, bio-based and sustainable chemical companies to provide a detailed overview of the challenges they face in ramping up the adoption of sustainable chemicals and … Continue reading