Basic HTML Version
04
sustainabletimes
01732 759725
greenAgenda
The Advantia office products dealer group
has produced an electronic version of
its Green Guide for the first time. The
‘flicky’ contains 10 sections full of green
products and services including Closed
Loop copier paper made from waste
paper collected from customers and
new recycling services resulting from a
partnership with Truline.
Advantia achieved the environmental
standard ISO14001 in 2009 and in 2010
made a commitment to fund and plant 500
trees in The National Forest in Leicestershire.
It has planted 300 so far and plans to plant
the remaining 200 at the end of the year.
The National Forest Company aims to plant
16 million trees in woodland covering one
third of its 200 square mile area.
Advantia launches electronic green guide
Working conditions added to TCO criteria
Following concerns about labour practices at Apple supplier Foxconn, third
party sustainability certification company TCO Certified is demanding
independent verification of ethical working conditions from electronics
manufacturers applying for certification for notebooks, desktops, PCs, tablets,
projectors, computer displays and phone headsets.
Beginning immediately, manufacturers will be required to meet enhanced
social responsibility criteria in addition to baseline TCO Certified environmental,
ergonomic and health and safety requirements.
These include compliance with the eight ILO core labour standards, UN child
convention article 32 and health and safety regulations and labour laws, including
minimum wages and social security in the country of manufacture; stricter criteria
for verification and on-site inspections; and freedom of worker organisation in
countries where no free trade unions are allowed.
www.tcodevelopment.com
Greenpeace has analysed the energy
supply chains of more than 80 data
centres run by 14 global IT companies
and uncovered a growing split
between companies like Google, Yahoo
and Facebook that aim to power data
centres with clean energy and others,
such as Apple, Amazon and Microsoft,
that use energy from coal and nuclear
power.
The How Clean is Your Cloud?
report,
following 2011’s
How Dirty is Your Data?
study, states that if the cloud were a
country its electricity demand would be
the 5th largest in the world, adding that
electricity consumption in data centres is
expected to triple by 2020.
Already, some data centres are so
large that they are visible from space and
consume as much electricity as 250,000
European homes.
Greenpeace is urging cloud providers
to ally energy efficiency with a
commitment to clean energy, for example
by prioritising renewable energy access
when choosing locations for data centres;
by investing in renewable energy; and by
pressurising Governments and utilities
to increase the amount of renewable
electricity available on the grid.
www.cleanourcloud.com
Mondi green
quiz raises funds
for Guatemala
Mondi Uncoated Fine Paper is
marking the fifth anniversary of
its Green Range with the launch
of an online training tool and a commitment to donate
1 euro to OroVerde reforestation projects in Guatemala
for every member of the public who participates. For
every quiz completed correctly, Mondi will donate an
additional 10 euros to the NGO’s ‘Guatemala – Tree for
Tree’ project.
Mondi’s Green Modules give members of the public
an opportunity to learn more about sustainable paper
production, including information about the FSC and PEFC
certification schemes; environmental myths and facts about
the paper industry; carbon offsetting; and the credentials of
Mondi’s Green Range.
Mondi hopes to raise enough money for the planting of
more than 10,000 trees in Guatemala.
www.mondigroup.com/greenmodules
UPM turns factory waste
into bio-fuel
This summer UPM is to start construction of a bio-
refinery in Lappeenranta, Finland that converts residue
from its pulp mills into advanced bio-diesel that can
decrease greenhouse gas emissions from transport by up
to 80% compared to fossil fuels.
The hydrotreatment biorefinery on the site of UPM’s
Kaukas mill will produce UPM BioVerno from crude tall oil, a
by-product of chemical pulp production, mainly generated in
the production of sulphate cellulose from softwood. This will
allow UPM to utilise the wood it uses for its pulp production
in a more efficient way without increasing wood harvesting
When it is completed in 2014, the EUR 150 million
bio-refinery is expected to produce 100,000 tonnes of UPM
BioVerno annually, representing approximately one quarter
of Finland’s biofuel target. Finland has a target to increase
the share of biofuels in transport fuels to 20% by 2020
compared to an EU target of 10%.
UPM President and
CEO Jussi Pesonen said:
“The biofuels business has
excellent growth potential.
Lappeenranta is the first
step on UPM’s way in
becoming a significant
producer of advanced
second generation biofuels.”
The company plans to
build another biorefinery
either in Rauma, Finland
or Strasbourg, France,
but based on different
technology and using
energy wood as the raw
material.
www.upm.com
Greenpeace urges IT
companies to improve
energy choices
Bob Geens, Chief Executive, Advantia
Business Solutions. Photo credit: Jacqui
Rock and The National Forest Company.