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Meta Powers Towards Net Zero with Carbon Removal Projects

Posted on February 7, 2024February 7, 2024 by dishanth

Any organisation worth their sustainability salt knows that reaching net zero emissions in operations alone is not enough

Decarbonization must extend beyond offices and factories to include Scope 3, from the emissions caused by suppliers to those created by employees.

For Meta, the world’s fifth-biggest tech company, this challenge is being met with ambitious targets and bold, meaningful action.

Having already hit net zero emissions in global operations in 2020, the social media giant now has its sustainability sights set on achieving net zero value chain emissions by 2030.

This is quite the challenge, given 99% of Meta’s carbon footprint came from Scope 3 in 2022 – and this continues to rise.

“We know that reaching net zero emissions across our value chain will not be an easy task,” Rachel Peterson, Vice President of Data Centre Strategy at Meta said in the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report.

“Right now, our Scope 3 emissions are increasing and will continue to do so as we work to support the global demand for the services we provide.”

Meta Tackles Hard-to-Abate Sectors with Carbon Removal Projects

Meta acknowledges that reaching this goal requires a significant shift in how it builds infrastructure and operates its entire business – and the 20-year-old company is prioritising efficiency and circularity in its business decisions and embracing low-carbon technology to operate with a lower emissions footprint.

For example, through its supplier engagement programme, Meta is working to decarbonise its supply chain and enable at least two-thirds of its suppliers to set SBTi-aligned reduction targets by 206.

However, there are some emissions from hard-to-abate sectors the Facebook owner knows will be difficult to reduce by the end of the decade.

And so to tackle this, Meta has turned to carbon removal projects, the third pillar in its high-level emissions reduction strategy.

In a white paper outlining its Net Zero Strategy, the company says investing in value chain emissions reductions projects is necessary to address sources it can’t directly influence – like companies or processes used to extract and process the copper in data centre hardware or mechanical electrical equipment.

“These projects offer a significant opportunity to decarbonise our business at pace and scale require to achieve our 2030 reduction target,” the paper states.

For Meta, a diverse approach to carbon removal that includes both nature-based and technological approaches is crucial – not only to ensure near-term climate impact but to support carbon removal solutions for the future.

This strategy involves the purchase of credits from projects that align with Meta’s principles, from reforestation to investment in direct air capture technology.

Nature-Based Solutions in Mitigating Carbon Emissions

Since 2021, the social media giant has supported numerous nature-based carbon removal projects, from Australia to Kenya, including increasing forest carbon stock of community ejido forests in Oaxaca and increasing stored carbon via protection of forests that provide habitat for mitigating salmon in California.

And demonstrating its continued commitment to investing in nature-based solutions to mitigate carbon emissions, Meta recently signed a major carbon credits deal for 6.75 million carbon credits with Aspiration, a leading provider of sustainable financial services.

These credits hail from a myriad of ecosystem restoration and natural carbon removal approaches, including native tree and mangrove reforestation, agroforestry, and the implementation of sustainable agricultural practices.

Meta’s role in the voluntary carbon market extends beyond purchasing credits from projects to supporting new project development through financing and encouraging the evolution of standards that bring more certainty to the market.

Among the ways Meta is driving development in the sector is through collaborative action that will “aggregate the resources of multiple companies to create rapid change at scale”.

This includes a collaborative pledge to develop carbon projects that centre Indigenous leadership.

Through 1t.org, the National Indian Carbon Coalition and Meta have pledged to support and promote a model of carbon projects that centre on the leadership, traditional ecological knowledge, and vision of Indigenous Peoples for themselves and their land.

Among other collaborative projects:

Participation in the Business Alliance to Scale Climate Solutions (BASCS), which provides a platform for businesses and climate experts to meet, learn, discuss and act together to improve climate solutions.
Collaboration with the World Resources Institute to develop a method to map forest canopy height↗ at individual tree-scale using a new Meta AI training model. We have mapped forest canopy in California and São Paulo, Brazil, and are making the data public and freely available

Meta’s Role in Scaling Carbon Removal Technologies

In further driving development in the sector, Meta joined forces with other big tech companies in 2022 to accelerate the development of carbon removal technologies by guaranteeing future demand.

While some say focusing on carbon capture is a distraction to the real goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Meta argues that both emissions reductions and carbon dioxide removal are needed.

And climate science backs this up.

Scientists say removing the carbon emissions that we have already pumped into the atmosphere is necessary if we are to avoid the 1.5-degree rises in global temperature set out in the Paris Agreement.

Launched in 2022, Frontier is a US$925 million joint commitment between Meta, Stripe, Shopify, McKinsey Sustainability and Alphabet – more recently bolstered with four new companies – Autodesk, H&M Group, JPMorgan Chase and Workday – committing a combined US$100 million.

Frontier helps its member companies purchase CO2 removal via pre-purchase agreements or offtake agreements. The goal is to spur the development of a new industry by providing a novel source of funding that isn’t based on debt or equity investments, but on actual product purchases before the technology is fully available at scale.

So far, Frontier has spent $5.6 million buying nearly 9,000 tonnes of contracted carbon removal from 15 different carbon dioxide removal startups.

Among these, RepAir uses electrochemical cells and clean electricity to capture carbon dioxide from the air, while Living Carbon is a synthetic biology startup working on engineering natural systems to remove carbon dioxide.

With this strategy, Meta is helping to expand the voluntary carbon market, overcome barriers to scale, and at the same time achieve its own ambitious net zero goals.

Source

Can we really fuel planes with fat and sugar?

Posted on January 9, 2024 by dishanth

As the politician next to him took out his phone for a selfie, Virgin Atlantic chairman Richard Branson peered into the camera, grinned, and did a double thumbs-up. The world’s first commercial airliner to cross the Atlantic using 100% biofuel had just landed in New York.

Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787 was powered not by fossil fuels, but plant sugars and waste fats – a form of so-called Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF. A British Conservative MP posted his smiling selfie with Branson to the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, and declared the flight “a significant UK aviation achievement”. (The flight was partly funded by the UK government.)

But not everyone is so sure that this represents the future of flying. The biomass required to make biofuel can come from a broad range of sources – plant material, food waste or even algae. While biofuels release CO2 when burned, some consider them a sustainable option because they are renewable and biomass removes some CO2 from the atmosphere as it grows.

The problem is the sheer volume of biomass needed to power an industry as fuel-hungry as aviation. One academic paper published in August estimated that, if you were to grow sugar cane and use that to make biofuels for commercial jets, you’d need 125 million hectares (482,000 sq miles) of land – roughly equivalent to the surface area of the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Louisiana combined.

That’s a lot of land. And if you tried using waste sources of biomass alone, you wouldn’t have nearly enough to keep all the world’s planes in the air, say some experts. The airline industry is currently responsible for about 3.5% of greenhouse gas emissions, roughly the same as the entire country of Japan, which is one of the world’s highest emitters.

Proponents of SAF argue that the fuel could make flying much greener than it is currently. It’s just that scaling SAF production up is a gigantic challenge.

“What they’re doing is quite important, they’re just demonstrating that the flight is perfectly safe, there are no problems with the fuel,” says David Lee, a professor of atmospheric science at Manchester Metropolitan University, who studies the impact of aviation on the climate, and who was a co-author of the paper that investigated the feasibility of transitioning to SAF. By switching to SAF over fossil fuels, you can achieve carbon savings of around 70%, says Lee, though this depends on the specific source of biomass you choose.

Lee notes that international regulations don’t actually allow for flights using more than 50% SAF as fuel at the moment, so Virgin Atlantic’s hop across the pond required a special permit from the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.

It all adds up to a successful proof-of-concept. But it would be difficult to power more than one glitzy flight with 100% SAF today. “You just can’t get hold of the damn stuff,” says Lee. “If we want to do engine tests, we have difficulty purchasing the fuel.”

It’s an issue that Virgin Atlantic itself acknowledges. SAF accounts for just 0.1% of all aviation fuels consumed. The International Air Transport Association predicts that the airline industry will require 450 billion litres of SAF by 2050 – only 300 million litres were produced in 2022. However, to date, SAF has helped to fuel hundreds of thousands of flights – at least as part of a blend with fossil fuels. In the US, SAF production is estimated to reach 2.1 billion gallons (7.9 billion litres) annually by 2030 – well below President Biden’s target of producing 3 billion gallons (11.3 billion litres) of the fuel annually by that year.

Ramping up SAF production is difficult. In a Royal Society report published earlier this year, Lee and colleagues analysed the UK’s potential to produce its own SAF for commercial flights. “We concluded that there wasn’t really enough land,” he says. Around the world, competition for land is fierce. We will need an additional 70-80 million hectares of cropland by 2030 globally, estimates management consultants McKinsey & Company – that’s an area bigger than the state of Texas. The vast majority of this new cropland (70% ) is needed to grow crops for feeding livestock. Only 10% of the total area required would go towards biofuel production in McKinsey’s scenario.

Some SAF comes from waste fats, for example, from food production processes. Relying on such sources could, in theory, lessen the need for expanding crop cultivation just to make biofuels. But there’s far too little waste available, says Hannah Daly at University College Cork, in Ireland. Even if you gathered up all the biomass waste available in the Republic of Ireland, she says, it would only allow you to replace about 4% of fossil fuels consumed by the country. The calculation would be similar in other countries, she suggests.

“There’s substantial risk that that ‘waste cooking oil’ could be fraudulently relabelled virgin palm oil,” says Daly. “That could be contributing to deforestation.”

Some alternatives to SAF, including hydrogen fuel and electrification, are not currently viable options for large commercial flights.

Chelsea Baldino, senior researcher at the International Council on Clean Transportation and her colleagues have calculated that SAF made from waste sources in the UK would only be able to meet a maximum of 15% of UK jet fuel demand in 2030. The ICCT also estimates that just 3.3-4.2 billion gallons of SAF could feasibly be produced domestically in the US by 2030, while in 2019, US airlines used 23 billion gallons of jet fuel.

“Biofuels providing the significant greenhouse gas savings needed to decarbonise jet fuel will not be available at scale,” she says. E-fuels – synthetic versions of fossil fuels made using renewable energy – will be “essential”, according to Baldino. E-fuels require a lot of energy to produce but they have the advantage of not introducing additional carbon into the atmosphere, as would be the case with newly extracted fossil fuels.

Josh Moos, an economist at Leeds Beckett University in the UK, lambasts Virgin Atlantic’s 100% SAF flight as “greenwashing”.

“The science would suggest that there really is no such thing as sustainable aviation,” he says. It would be better to reduce demand for flights globally, perhaps by placing a levy on frequent flyers or by increasing taxes on the airline industry, he argues. Moos acknowledges that such measures are “politically and socially unpalatable”, though both he and Daly suggest they might be necessary if we are to meet net zero goals.

A spokeswoman for Virgin Atlantic says, “We are committed to achieving Net Zero 2050 and have set interim targets on our pathway to get there, including 10% Sustainable Aviation Fuel by 2030.”

She notes that the 100% SAF flight from London to New York relied entirely on waste biomass and that the demonstration was “an important step, but not the end goal” in the firm’s efforts to scale up its use of SAF in the coming years.

Some sceptics remain unconvinced. Daly, for one, points out that even if SAF does replace an increasing proportion of fossil fuels for aviation purposes, the overall benefit could be wiped out by the rapidly growing airline industry. Eurocontrol, a European air safety organisation, predicts that the annual total number of flights worldwide will reach 16 million by 2050 – an increase of 44% on 2019’s figure.

“I would love guilt-free flying myself – but it’s just not possible,” says Daly.

Source BBC

Sustainable procurement doesn’t have to be a headache – here’s how your business can benefit

Posted on November 6, 2023November 6, 2023 by dishanth

For business leaders, environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals are very much front of mind. More than 70 countries, including China, the US and the European Union, now have firm pledges to reach Net Zero, and the UK is committed to hitting this by 2050. Businesses of all sizes are increasingly aware that they have to be part of the solution, rather than add to the problem.

Procurement leaders are uniquely positioned to drive positive change and broader business impacts on ESG goals. While organisational sustainability efforts have historically been grounded in ensuring compliance with regulations, a comprehensive, proactive approach to sustainable procurement can reduce risk exposure (such as reputational, brand safety or regulatory), create savings, and improve brand value for the enterprise.

Procurement departments are certainly aware of the need to thoroughly assess the provenance of the products they purchase. But while this may be possible with core purchases – usually involving large amounts of money where there is a direct relationship with the supplier – it is simply not possible to vet every single product, particularly in categories such as IT purchases, catering items and health products, where the overall spend may be lower but individual purchase volumes are higher.

A trusted smart business buying solution, such as Amazon Business, can help operationalise and scale a responsible purchasing program. As well as other benefits, including access to business-only pricing, a familiar user interface, and Amazon’s reliable delivery network, buyers can select more sustainable products across business-relevant categories, specifying from over 40 certifications covering a wide range of credentials.

This allows businesses to set specific requirements, and even set preferences, ahead of employee product searches. These out-of-the-box buying policies can direct your team to products and sellers that can help satisfy your organisation’s purchasing goals, and would make products with certain sustainability certifications the preferred product in a buyer’s search results.

Clear labelling of products with sustainability certifications frees up time spent finding, validating and growing a base of suppliers that can help you meet your organisation’s responsible purchasing criteria, using an interface with which employees may already be familiar. In turn, business leaders can access pre-built reports (for example, orders, shipments, returns, refunds, reconciliation, related offers and the credentials report which contains product sustainability details), or build custom reports to identify purchasing patterns and track spend toward more sustainable products that meet ESG goals.

One example of a supplier that offer products with sustainability certifications is UK firm Portus Digital, which helps to repurpose or recycle redundant computer equipment. “Our aim is to be a frontrunner in the industry and set an example of how it is possible to combine technology and sustainability,” explains Tash Clementis, Director of Marketing. “People are more likely to choose a greener option when it’s easier and more accessible.”

Amazon Business also works with suppliers to help them become certified, ensuring they can benefit from organisations looking to make more sustainable and responsible purchases. “We launched on Amazon to help more businesses make sustainable IT decisions,” says Rob Judd, Director of Sales at Portus Digital. “We’re pleased by the response we’ve managed to generate so far – it’s exceeded our expectations.”

Research from McKinsey shows that organisations that embrace a comprehensive ESG strategy can enhance investment returns, increase top-line growth and keep and attract quality talent. Further, improvements on reporting can help businesses demonstrate their progress towards ESG goals more broadly, providing specific metrics to proactively measure against social responsibility and sustainability goals.

Amazon Business can also partner with organisations as they look to improve sustainability in other ways. Amazon Business Prime members can choose to consolidate their deliveries using Amazon Day, which gives them the choice of two days each week during which they can receive their orders. On, average, this reduces the number of packages. For larger orders, it’s also possible to receive bulk deliveries by the pallet, meaning organisations can stock up on items while minimising delivery journeys, where available.

Amazon Business, as part of Amazon, is committed to adopting sustainable practises, including reducing packaging and making use of electric delivery vehicles. It has also committed to power its operations with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025.

With sustainability and responsible business rising up the agenda for organisations, investors and consumers, it’s vital companies take steps – and can demonstrate those steps – to source responsibly. This is an issue that all businesses must embrace, and one they cannot afford to ignore.

Source Independent

Green dreams: Algae biorefineries could help in the race to net zero

Posted on October 26, 2023October 31, 2023 by dishanth

The world is looking for new solutions to address the challenges we’re facing in the race to net zero. Things we rely on each day, like transport, agriculture and plastics are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

Enter algae. This diverse bunch of tiny organisms are emerging as a solution to a number of our fossil fuel problems.

Algae are aquatic photosynthetic organisms, which means they use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to grow. Examples include seaweeds, microalgae, plankton and phytoplankton. There are thousands of distinct types of algae. And each type has specific uses and benefits that we are only just starting to discover.

From pond to pump: Know your algae

Algae fall into two main groups:

Microalgae: these are single-celled photosynthetic micro-organisms, which can live in salt or freshwater.
Macroalgae: these are multicellular aquatic plants that also photosynthesize. There are three types: green, red and brown. Each has different proteins, carbohydrates and fats which lend themselves to various uses.

Getting to net zero means we need to change our industrial processes. We need to increase efficiency of our traditional agricultural systems. And we also need to expand our ability to produce products like food, fuel and chemicals from new sources that are not reliant on fossil fuels. This is where algae come in.

Realizing the potential of algae biorefineries

Algae are promising because they don’t compete for land, freshwater or other precious resources, and produce high yields. They can also help purify the waters in which they grow by removing excess nutrients that lead to poor water quality.

Dr. Anusuya Willis is the Director of our Australian National Algae Culture Collection. She says much of the potential of algae is yet to be realized.

“The future of algae needs to be tempered because of a lack of fundamental research. None of the solutions will happen quickly but we need to make progress,” she says.

Warren Flentje is the Industrial Decarbonization Lead for our Towards Net Zero Mission. Warren believes algae biorefineries could be the solution to several of our challenges. These facilities are similar to traditional biorefineries that process biomass, but algal biorefineries specifically use algae as the raw material. However, this technology is in the early stages of research, and requires more investment before it’s ready to be rolled out.

“Algal biorefineries provide ingredients to make fuel, as well as other products like oils and plastics, and even new proteins for our diets or base products for health or cosmetic end uses,” Warren says.

“We need to do more with less—in our existing systems. And at the same time, we need to be working on the systems of the future.”

A sustainable source of bioenergy and biofuels

Biofuels can be a renewable and sustainable fuel for transport. Made from biomass, it can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. Biomass is material from living things like agricultural crops and waste, animal fats and vegetable oils.

However, growing crops specifically to make biofuel takes up valuable agricultural land, which is already under increasing pressure from our food systems. So, we need new ways of producing the biomass feedstock that go into biofuels. Which is why we are looking at algal biomass and other future feedstocks.

Demand for biofuels is increasing. It’s being driven by increased oil prices and climate change policies. People are already starting to reduce emissions with biofuels by using E10 (regular unleaded petrol with 10% plant derived ethanol) or by using sustainable aviation fuel.

Algae as a livestock feed additive

FutureFeed is a supplement for livestock made from a type of native seaweed (Asparagopsis). It can reduce methane emissions by more than 80% in cattle, sheep and goats. This is important because each molecule of methane has 28 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide (on a 100-year scale). This makes methane a potent greenhouse gas for our warming atmosphere.

Asparagopsis seaweed contains bioactives, which are compounds that have a biological effect and can interact with the microbes in a cow’s stomach. They disrupt the normal processes that would lead to the formation of methane gas.

Dr. Michael Battaglia is a Director at FutureFeed and leads our Towards Net Zero Mission.

“FutureFeed, a great Australian innovation, looks promising. But for these solutions to create impact, we need to focus on scaling seaweed cultivation, aggregation and processing,” Michael says.

FutureFeed has been driving commercialization of Asparagopsis, with licensees growing the product. We’re continuing to research and develop the product to drive adoption. However, we need to attract more investment in sustainable seaweed farming and speed up the regulatory process.

Seaweed can help tackle climate change and biodiversity loss

Seaweed ecosystems could also become strong nature-based solutions to tackling climate change, biodiversity loss and help protect our coastlines. Kelp is a kind of macroalgae, which creates large underwater forests. Kelp forests cover an area more extensive than coral reefs or rainforests.

Through photosynthesis, kelp use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to grow. This converts carbon dioxide to organic biomass for short-term storage. If kelp is not grazed, consumed or decomposed, it can be buried in seafloor sediments or transported to the deep ocean. There it acts as long-term carbon removal to help mitigate emissions.

“A lot more work needs to be done in this area to accurately measure the long-term storage of carbon captured via kelp forests,” Anusuya says.

Maintaining healthy seaweed and kelp ecosystems is part of the puzzle in protecting our oceans.

“If we want to use kelp in the ecosystem restoration economy, we need to incentivize kelp protection and restoration through carbon value,” says Anusuya. “But the value of kelp in the carbon cycle is complex and ways to monitor sequestration aren’t yet fully understood.”

Challenges of scaling up algal-based solutions

Each type of algae comes with unique challenges. As demand for algae grows, we need to make sure we work to manage cultivation and farming to ensure sustainability.

Microalgae can be grown on land in controlled bioreactors. But for it to be useful, we need to invest in new ways of harvesting algae on a large scale. It is all about understanding how to grow algae in the most efficient way. On the other hand, we can’t control the environments of macroalgae as much, because they grow and are farmed along our coastlines. To unlock the ability of kelp to retain carbon, while restoring balance and boosting biodiversity, we need to follow an ecosystem-based approach to sustainably manage kelp forests and protect the ecosystem.

For all these algae-based solutions, scaling up has challenges. But algae have a role to play in working towards net zero. They can increase efficiency in our traditional agricultural systems, while expanding our ability to produce products like food, fuel and chemicals from new sources. It’s why we are working with research and investment to scale and de-risk some of these solutions to increase adoption.

Sandvik: Building sustainability into upstream supply chain

Posted on October 20, 2023 by dishanth

Mats W Lundberg is the Head of Sustainability Strategy for Sandvik, which is delivering a strategy to decarbonise raw materials to cut supply emissions

According to figures from Sandvik’s 2022 Annual Report, the business of sustainable manufacturing and mining machinery is booming. The high-tech engineering group supplies new solutions to industries to support their actions in these areas, which will also help them reach their sustainability goals.

However, it’s about more than just machinery as the company is now delivering a new sustainability strategy that will allow further impact in the future while also ensuring commercial success for Sandvik and the users of its solutions.

In September 2023, the company made a significant update to its sustainability shift strategy, which was originally brought to public attention in 2019. This also aligns with how the structure of the organisation has evolved as Sandvik Materials Technology was separated from the Group and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm as a business called Alleima. Alongside this further businesses were acquired by the company, making sustainability a crucial strategy for its growing business.

“We are leaning on the good work that has already been done,” says Mats W Lundberg, Head of Sustainability, Sandvik.

“But the field of sustainability is evolving. It is becoming more mature with new legislation and increasing customer, shareholder and employee expectations. We need to evolve with it and meet the new demands.”

The Key focus areas of Sandvik Group’s sustainability strategy include:

Sustainable solutions – An emphasis on closely aligning with customers and their businesses, pioneering change through engineering
Ecosystem regeneration – Sandvik’s innovative approach to collaborating with partners throughout the value chain, focusing on revitalising diverse ecosystems, promoting responsible water management, and mitigating pollution
Circularity and resource optimisation – The objective encapsulates the aspiration to achieve greater output with fewer resources and to embrace resource efficiency as a fundamental mindset
Net Zero Commitment – Sandvik pledges to attain science-based net zero targets, which received approval from the Science Based Targets Initiative in September 2023
People and Communities Engagement – Sandvik’s approach to its interactions with the communities in which it operates and provides its products
Responsible Business Practices – commitment to conducting ethical and responsible operations across the entire value chain.

Sandvik solutions for the sustainable industry

As an organisation that covers a number of industry practices, and is heavily involved in early-stage supply chain activities, Sandvik is digging deeper to create more value for businesses through its mining and machinery solutions. Taking a leading role in decarbonising its supplies from the top, Lundberg explains how the business will generate value across multiple facets.

“We have focused much more on our contribution and how our businesses create value”, says Lundberg. “The new strategy is connected to the Sandvik purpose of advancing the world through engineering, it is forward leaning and shows that Sandvik wants to be a positive driving force.”

Lundbergy is also correct in saying that raw material is one of the primary components of all value chains, whether that involves the production of goods or machinery to ensure services are provided sustainably.

“For any product to be truly sustainable, the entire value chain needs to be sustainable, from raw material sourcing to the manufacturing and usage of the products,” says Lundberg. “And we operate in important and relevant areas here; the mining and processing of raw materials and the machining. If we can contribute with sustainable solutions in these areas we can have a massive impact on sustainability outside of our own operations.”

McKinsey & Company research states the mining industry generates between 1.9 and 5.1 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2) every year. These emissions originate from all of the major resources required to sustain consumer product industries, but also those that are critical for providing sustainable electricity and clean-energy-driven solutions to transport. An example of this being the use of cobalt, nickel, and lithium in the electric vehicle (EV) sector as major components in platform batteries.

As the global demand for raw materials grows, the pressure on mining, rock excavation, drilling, and cutting processes is forever impactful to the emissions embedded in their supply chain. Understanding how crucial this stage is to the reduction of overall emissions in the atmosphere, therefore the ability to reach net zero, will allow greater impact on the environment moving forward.

Source Sustainability

HUGO BOSS: Shaping the future of sustainable fashion

Posted on August 3, 2023August 3, 2023 by dishanth

Headquartered in Metzingen, Germany, HUGO BOSS is a global luxury fashion and lifestyle brand offering high-quality women’s and men’s apparel, shoes and accessories.

HUGO BOSS is comprised of two powerhouse brands – BOSS and HUGO. Although both brands boast distinct attributes, they are united by unwavering standards of quality, innovation and sustainability, aiming to provide consumers with impeccable attire for every occasion.

The brand operates in 132 countries, with almost 20,000 employees, generating €3.7bn (US$4.7bn).

“CLAIM 5”: HUGO BOSS’s clear commitment to sustainability
HUGO BOSS’s sustainability vision is clear: To lead the way as the ultimate premium tech-driven fashion platform on a global scale. As part of our ambitious growth strategy for 2025, known as “CLAIM 5,” the business is committed to becoming one of the top 100 global fashion brands. What’s more, CLAIM 5, aims to revolutionise the fashion industry, leveraging cutting-edge technology, boundless creativity and an unyielding focus on sustainability.

“CLAIM 5 consequently includes a strong commitment to sustainability,” says Daniel Grieder, CEO of HUGO BOSS. “We are consistently placing the consumer and its high expectations at the heart of everything we do. Our ambition is to further increase brand relevance and ultimately become one of the top 100 global brands. At the same time, we aim to make a positive contribution to our environment and society.”

HUGO BOSS’s journey to net zero

By 2030, the company has pledged to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from primary energy use and electricity supply by at least 50% – from the base year of 2019. According to the brand’s most recent sustainability report, the brand has also set the goal of reducing Scope 3 emissions by at least 50% by 2030.

To achieve these climate targets, HUGO BOSS is focusing on saving energy, as well as procurement and self-generation from renewable sources.

“Our goals are ambitious: we aim to reduce our CO2 emissions by at least 50% by 2030 and achieve “net zero” by 2050. Promoting and implementing a circular business model is of particular importance in this regard,” Grieder adds.

“We are fully committed to further extending product life cycles and noticeably reducing waste in the coming years by promoting the use of high-quality and recyclable materials. We are therefore working intensively, among other things, on replacing environmentally harmful polyester and nylon fibres with sustainable, recyclable alternatives.”

To support this, the brand has recently launched its first BOSS polo shirt made of around 90% innovative and fully recyclable AeoniQ yarn. Grider explains that although this is just one example of BOSS aims to lead change, “it clearly demonstrates” steps being made towards a “better future.”

Source Sustainability

Insects find their way onto Italian plates despite resistance

Posted on July 18, 2023 by dishanth

In a small room near the Alps in northern Italy, containers filled with millions of crickets are stacked on top of each other.

Jumping and chirping loudly – these crickets are about to become food.

The process is simple: they are frozen, boiled, dried, and then pulverised.

Here at the Italian Cricket Farm, the biggest insect farm in the country, about one million crickets are turned into food ingredients every day.

Ivan Albano, who runs the farm, opens a container to reveal a light brown flour that can be used in the production of pasta, bread, pancakes, energy bars – and even sports drinks.

Eating crickets, ants and worms has been common in parts of the world like Asia for thousands of years.

Now, after the EU approved the sale of insects for human consumption earlier this year, will there be a shift in attitudes across Europe?

“We will oppose, by any means and in any place, this madness that would impoverish our agriculture and our culture,” Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini wrote on Facebook.

But is that all about to change? Several Italian producers have been perfecting cricket pasta, pizza and snacks.

“What we do here is very sustainable,” says Ivan. “To produce one kilo of cricket powder, we only use about 12 litres of water,” he adds, pointing out that producing the same quantity of protein from cows requires thousands of litres of water.

Farming insects also requires just a fraction of the land used to produce meat. Given the pollution caused by the meat and dairy industry, more and more scientists believe insects could be key to tackling climate change.

At a restaurant near Turin, chef Simone Loddo has adapted his fresh pasta recipe, which dates back nearly 1,000 years – the dough is now 15% cricket powder.

It emanates a strong, nutty smell.

Some of the diners refuse to try the cricket tagliatelle, but those who do – including me – are surprised at how good it tastes.

Aside from the taste, cricket powder is a superfood packed with vitamins, fibre, minerals and amino acids. One plate contains higher sources of iron and magnesium, for example, than a regular sirloin steak.

But is this a realistic option for those who want to eat less meat? The main issue is the price.

“If you want to buy cricket-based food, it’s going to cost you,” says Ivan. “Cricket flour is a luxury product. It costs about €60 (£52) per kilogram. If you take cricket pasta for example, one pack can cost up to €8.”

That’s up to eight times more than regular pasta at the supermarket.

For now, insect food remains a niche option in Western societies, as farmers can sell poultry and beef at lower prices.

“The meat I produce is much cheaper than cricket flour, and it’s very good quality,” says Claudio Lauteri, who owns a farm near Rome that’s been in his family for four generations.

Diners at the Turin restaurant that serves the insect pasta are trying cricket-based products out of curiosity

But it’s not just about price. It’s about social acceptance.

Across Italy, the number of people living to the age of 100 and beyond is rising fast. Many point to the Mediterranean diet as the Holy Grail for a healthy lifestyle.

“Italians have been eating meat for centuries. With moderation, it’s definitely healthy,” says Claudio.

He believes that insect food could be a threat to Italian culinary tradition – which is something universally sacred in this country.

“These products are garbage,” he says. “We are not used to them, they are not part of the Mediterranean diet. And they could be a threat for people: we don’t know what eating insects can do to our bodies.

“I’m absolutely against these new food products. I refuse to eat them.”

While insect farming is increasing in Europe, so too is hostility towards the idea.

The EU decision to approve insects for human consumption was described by a member of Italy’s ruling far-right Brothers of Italy party as “bordering on madness”.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has referred to Italy as a “food superpower”, created a Made in Italy ministry when she was elected, with the aim of safeguarding tradition.

“Insect products are arriving on supermarket shelves! Flour, larvae – good, delicious,” she said in a tone of disgust in a video.

Amid concerns that insects might be associated with Italian cuisine, three government ministers announced four decrees aimed at a crackdown. “It’s fundamental that these flours are not confused with food made in Italy,” Francesco Lollobrigida, the agriculture minister, said.

Cricket tagliatelle served with zucchini, zucchini cream, crispy bacon, parmesan and basil

Insect food is not just dividing opinions in Italy.

In Poland, it has become a hot topic ahead of an election this year. In March, politicians from the two main parties accused each other of introducing policies that would force citizens to eat insects – the leader of the main opposition party, Donald Tusk, labelled the government a “promoter of worm soup”.

Meanwhile, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands are more receptive to eating insects. In Austria, they eat dried insects for aperitivo, and Belgians are open to eating mealworms in energy shakes and bars, burgers and soups.

“Unfortunately there’s still a lot of misinformation about eating insects,” says Daniel Scognamiglio, who runs the restaurant that serves the cricket tagliatelle.

“I have received hate, I have been criticised. Food tradition is sacred for many people. They don’t want to change their eating habits.”

But he has identified a shift, and says more people – often out of curiosity – are ordering cricket-based products from his menu.

With the global population now exceeding eight billion, there are fears that the planet’s resources could struggle to meet the food needs of so many people.

Agricultural production worldwide will have to increase by 70%, according to estimates by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation.

Shifting to eco-friendly proteins – such as insects – might become a necessity.

Until now, the possibilities for producing and commercialising insect food had been limited. With the EU’s approval, the expectation is that as the sector grows, the prices will decrease significantly.

Ivan says he already has a lot of requests for his products from restaurants and supermarkets.

“The impact on the environment is almost zero. We are a piece of the puzzle that could save the planet.”

Source BBC

Net Zero or Carbon Neutral? What’s the difference?

Posted on April 28, 2023 by dishanth

PAS 2060, a Publicly Available Specification that has been used as a guideline for demonstrating carbon neutrality, makes it clear that carbon neutral should be used to mean all scopes not just scope 1 & 2 (fuels burned on site and in vehicles and electricity consumption). However there has been a growing habit over recent years to use “carbon neutral” to mean just operational emissions – ignoring the value chain (scope 3) even though for most companies between 70 and 95% of their emissions are from the value chain.

To be truly carbon neutral, a company needs to reduce emissions from all sources as much as possible and then offset or actively remove the remainder.

Net Zero uses the same concept but at a larger scale, aiming for emissions from all sources to be reduced as much as possible and the remainder mitigated through removals from the atmosphere. These could be through supporting natural systems which sequester carbon (forest, peat, wetlands, seagrass, etc) or through technology like carbon capture and storage and buried solid carbon sinks.

The ISO 14068 standard will be a certifiable standard that ensures that emissions from all scopes are considered. (Click here to request a link to a recording of our ISO 14068 webinar or a copy of a factsheet.)

As time goes on, we need to be more cautious about avoided emissions (like technology sharing to reduce dependence on wood burning for example) as that prevents emissions that would otherwise have happened but doesn’t actively remove anything. So, it’s more like moving a share of emissions from one emitter to another, but on a global scale we need to be keeping total emissions to a minimum not just reducing in one place and emitting in another. It’s really important to support low carbon international development, but I think we’ll see a change in attitude to the value of avoided emissions in offsetting in future. A simple 2 tonnes avoided per 1 tonne allocated offset credit (for avoided emissions projects only) would work for example, as for every tonne emitted in location A, 2 tonnes are prevented in location B ensuring the overall emissions are net zero.

In short, a company that is carbon neutral is also net zero (calculated on a year-by-year basis), as in both cases the tracking of carbon emissions and removals need to match.

Source edie

Encirc and Diageo turn to hydrogen to create net-zero glass bottles by 2030

Posted on December 20, 2022 by dishanth

Encirc will build new furnaces at its Elton plant in Cheshire that will utilize green electricity and low-carbon hydrogen that will help reduce emissions from glass bottle manufacturing by 90%.

The hydrogen will be supplied by Vertex Hydrogen, a partner of the government-backed HyNet North West cluster and when combined with carbon capture technology could deliver net-zero glass bottles by 2030.

The furnaces are expected to be fully operational by 2027 and will produce up to 200 million Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Gordon’s and Tanqueray bottles annually by 2030.

The two companies previously worked on a process that used waste-based biofuel-powered furnaces to reduce the carbon footprint of the bottle-making process by up to 90%. In total, 173,000 bottles were made using 100% recycled glass during a trial period.

Diageo committed to achieving net-zero operational emissions within a decade and to halving its indirect (Scope 3) emissions within the same timeframe, as part of a new ten-year strategy.

The 2030 strategy is aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and commits Diageo to deliver a ‘Decade of Action’ on environmental sustainability, inclusion and diversity and responsible drinking.

Diageo’s chief sustainability officer Ewan Andrew said: “We are really excited to be a part of this world leading announcement which forms part of our commitment to halve our Scope 3 carbon emissions by 2030.

“All renewable energy options are important to us and we’d like to see Government and industry further accelerating the direct supply of green energy as a mainstream option. Ultimately, we look forward to a world where people can enjoy their favorite drinks from zero carbon glass bottles.”

On carbon, Diageo’s headline target is a commitment to achieve net-zero operational emissions through a mix of energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy procurement and generation.

Also included in the strategy is a commitment to halve indirect (Scope 3) emissions. Diageo will support smallholder farmers with training programmes on low-emission methods and trial regenerative farming practices – some of which purport to help land sequester more carbon than farming work emits.

Ten green bottles…

Encirc has worked with other beverage giants to help reduce emissions. Last year, it worked with Molson Coors, which owns brands such as Carling and Coors Light, to introduce low-carbon bottles across the UK.

Encirc manufacturers the bottles using up to 100% recycled or waste glass – called cullet. The process had previously used 75% recycled or waste content. Production is also powered by renewable energy and sustainable biofuels which has helped deliver a reduced carbon footprint for each bottle of up to 90%.

The bottle manufacturer has also worked with the likes of Carlsberg to reduce the carbon impact of their bottles.

The manufacturer is also part of Net Zero North West – a group of businesses backing a project to develop a “cluster plan” to prepare the North West and North East Wales to remove more than 40 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year and creating thousands of new jobs.

Encirc’s managing director Adrian Curry said: “This will be a major step in our goal of producing net zero glass by 2030. With support from the Government and key partners, Encirc and Diageo we believe it will be possible to have this first-of-its-kind furnace up and running at the beginning of 2027.”

Source edie

COP27: UK’s Miliband works towards clean power ‘anti-Opec’

Posted on November 17, 2022 by dishanth

With one eye on the halls of power in Westminster and one eye on the hallway at COP27, British Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero Ed Miliband has said that, under a Labour government, the UK would be prepared to form an ‘anti-Opec’ alliance that would be established to serve the interests of the renewable energy industry.

In the event of an alliance being created, countries would be able to source components more cheaply, increase the use of alternative forms of energy, and increase the export of electricity across increasingly sophisticated grids.

Miliband has pointed to Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Costa Rica and Kenya as potential partners.

The former leader of the Labour Party – a party that is committed to 100% low-carbon electricity by 2030 – is due to spend the coming days at this year’s UN Climate Conference, which is currently being held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Among other sundry tasks, he will be spending his time gauging support for this new idea.

Pooling resources

“The potential clean power alliance is like an anti-Opec,” said Miliband to The Guardian. “I say anti-Opec because Opec is a cartel, a group of countries that works together to keep prices high. This would be a way in which countries join together to be the vanguard and say, ‘We’re going to deliver on clean power and it will help to cut prices, not just for us but for others.’”

Among the greatest sources for optimism in this proposal, so Miliband has said, is the decline in prices for renewables seen over the last decade. “It is now cheaper ro save the planet than to destroy it,” he said.

The Labour Party platform already has a number of policies on it that will help alleviate the burden of the climate crisis on both the UK and the world, among these being a promise to lift a ban on onshore windfarms that has been in effect since 2015 as well as a cessation to the granting of oil and gas licences in the fossil fuel-rich North Sea.

Source Sustainability