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Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan Will Become a Law Next Year

Posted on by dishanth
Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan Will Become a Law Next Year

Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan is intended to train workers for new roles in preparation for the future of a green economy. The government has presented a sustainable jobs bill that will provide the workforce needed for what is called a “just transition” to a new green economy. The country aims for a 40-45% reduction in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes the Sustainable Jobs Plan will help attract billions of dollars in investment by creating a skilled clean energy workforce. The bill, which will become law early in 2024, will publish an action plan every five years to put in place measures to invest in the net-zero emissions economy and skills of the future. From 2025, the government plans to release a new sustainable jobs plan every five years.

This new legislation has been ongoing for over two years of consultations and conversations with provinces and territories, Indigenous Peoples, workers and unions, industry, environmental and civil society organizations and interested Canadians. Based on these conversations, the creation of the Sustainable Jobs Plan put forward ten concrete actions to advance the creation of sustainable jobs and support workers in every part of Canada. These actions include:

  1. Establish the sustainable jobs secretariat: This will ensure federal policies and program coordination among Government departments.
  1. Create a Sustainable Partnership Council: This council would advise the government on job creation and support workers.
  1. Develop economic strategies through the Regional Energy and Resource Tables: These tables will work with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous groups and other partners to identify a set of concrete actions and develop economic strategies.
  1. Introduce a sustainable jobs stream under the Union Training and Innovation Program: This will provide workers with training, equipment and materials that meet industry standards and investments that support a low-carbon economy.
  1. Advanced funding for skills development for sustainable jobs: This will be achieved by working with universities, colleges, union training centres and employer groups to help workers succeed in a net-zero economy.
  1. Promote Indigenous-led solutions and a National Benefits-Sharing Framework: This will be achieved by continuously supporting Indigenous-owned clean energy projects across Canada.
  1. Improve labour market data collection, tracking and analysis: These improvements will help the council provide advice and identify new measures and actions that must be taken.
  1. Motivate investors and draw in industry leaders to support workers: The money will be used to support green infrastructure, clean technologies, climate action, and environmental protection.
  1. Collaborate and lead on the global stage: Canada is committed to ensuring that their best practices and lessons learned are shared globally.
  1. Establish legislation that ensures ongoing engagement and accountability: The overall goal is that all Canadians are involved in the decision-making process and that everyone adapts to new changes to help achieve our goals.

Canada’s Sustainable Jobs Plan will train people in jobs that are compatible with Canada’s path to a net-zero emissions and climate-resilient future. These include:

  • Clean energy: This includes jobs in solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power generation, as well as energy efficiency and conservation.
  • Green infrastructure: This includes jobs in building and maintaining sustainable infrastructure, such as green roofs, rainwater harvesting systems, and electric vehicle charging stations.
  • Low-carbon transportation: This includes jobs in electric vehicle manufacturing, public transit, and active transportation (e.g., walking, biking, and rolling).
  • Sustainable agriculture: This includes jobs in organic farming, sustainable forestry, and aquaculture.
  • Recycling and waste management: This includes jobs in recycling, composting, and waste-to-energy.
  • Environmental monitoring and remediation: This includes jobs in monitoring air and water quality and cleaning up contaminated sites.

The Sustainable Jobs Plan will help to ensure Canada has the skilled workforce it needs to build a clean, healthy future for the country.

Think-tank Clean Energy Canada expects jobs in this sector will grow by 3.4% annually over the next decade, nearly four times faster than the Canadian average. With the commitment from the Canadian government to the Sustainable Jobs Plan, there is hope that the country can meet its environmental goals and that sustainable jobs will become the new normal across the country.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco News

Why Are Eco-Conscious Corporations Interested in Remote Work?

Posted on by dishanth
Why Are Eco-Conscious Corporations Interested in Remote Work?

Why Are Eco-Conscious Corporations Interested in Remote Work?

Remote work has risen in popularity over the last few years and is maintaining its status for evolving reasons. Primarily, people are noting how it’s better for the environment. Eco-conscious corporations are jumping into remote work life to better align with their values.

Here are a few reasons why they’re interested in digitizing their workforces. Companies should consider several pros and cons when making the leap to remote work.

 

What Are Eco-Conscious Corporations?

Traditional corporations have various values and goals. They may prioritize making profits or expanding their consumer base to bolster success. Eco-conscious corporations also value those things, but these goals must operate within structures that minimize the company’s planetary impact.

Corporations stand to gain from becoming eco-friendly in many ways, and consumer base increases may be most influential in the decision to go remote. Research shows that 89% of consumers have made minor to complete sustainable lifestyle changes. They want brands that won’t compromise those values, opening a market sector businesses stand to gain from joining.

Is Remote Work Eco-Friendly? 8 Pros and Cons

Corporations that want to attract and retain sustainably minded consumers may become interested in remote work due to these benefits. However, they may also face a few challenges when making the green jump. Here are the most vital points to keep in mind.

Pro: It Eliminates Commuting Emissions

When people think about working a remote position, not dealing with a commute is likely the first thing that comes to mind. Logging on from home gives them hours of their free time back. It also means they don’t have to burn gasoline to drive every day.

Breathe London found that morning and evening emissions fell by 25% and 34%, respectively, when people began working from home. Eco-conscious corporations that let 50 people work from home full time eliminate 50 carbon emissions footprints weekly. The sum can significantly affect the planet, especially if the company has a sizable employee roster.

Con: Home Offices Require Individual Electricity

People need electricity to work from home. They must access Wi-Fi, turn on lights, and use their air conditioning or heating. All those things happen in one location when people work in a commercial office space.

Remote teams transitioning to online work see electricity usage multiply by however many living spaces become full-time home offices. Some workers may prefer to think of this as sustainable consumption because it limits a person’s environmental impact to only essential needs, minimizing their planetary effects. However, power becomes an issue when a company has many employees.

Pro: Digital Work Doesn’t Need Paper

Employees print things every day when they’re in a traditional office. They might need documents before a conference call, copies of a presentation or records in filing cabinets according to company filing policies.

Remote work doesn’t need paper. Everything happens through computers, so waste disappears overnight. Employees can keep their work lives entirely on their computers or use their preferred resources, like physical planners made with recycled paper.

Con: Remote Work Encourages More Water Usage

Offices always have numerous waterlines. They’re necessary for kitchen and bathroom sinks, plus lines to other appliances like refrigerators, dishwashers and coffee machines.

Virtual teams use water when working from home, too, but they might increase their water usage in additional ways. Remote workers can do dishes and laundry throughout the day instead of limiting those chores to a few times a week after work hours. It may mean using more water than before, increasing their dependency on the limited natural resource.

Pro: Workers Create Less Product Waste

Going to an office every day creates opportunities for single-use product waste. Employees may stop at a drive-thru for a single-use cup of coffee. The workplace kitchen might have free cutlery with individual plastic wrappers.

Those things aren’t a necessity for remote workers. They can make their coffee at home with reusable mugs and compostable filters. They’ll use their silverware to eat lunch and reusable containers for snacks.

The option to order food for delivery remains when people work at home. However, having immediate access to anything they could need in their kitchens makes remote workers less likely to purchase single-use products that go immediately into the garbage.

Con: Office Furniture Goes to Landfills

When a small business hires only remote workers when it launches, there’s nothing to lose. It’s different when an eco-conscious corporation becomes interested in remote work.

The company likely already has in-person office space in one or more locations. Transitioning to an entirely online workspace leaves those buildings empty. Trash-hauling teams may need to pick up unused furniture and electronics when the business moves out. It may go directly into landfills if the corporation’s leadership doesn’t have time to sell each piece individually.

Pro: Employees Can Make Their Food

Employees don’t always eat the food they bring to the office. They might forget there’s a company-sponsored lunch or free snacks for an upcoming holiday. By the time they get home, the food in their lunch box might not be edible anymore.

Free meals provided by corporations can also be too big for employees who dislike large lunches. Both scenarios result in wasting the natural resources required to prepare food. They contribute to the estimated 30%-40% of waste in the American food supply system, but they don’t have to be an unfortunate part of every worker’s life.

Remote employees can make exactly how much food they want and any kind they prefer while at home. They might even have groceries delivered to reduce impulse buys and eliminate another trip to town that burns gas. It’s another way remote work is eco-friendly and quickly becoming more popular with sustainably minded people.

Con: Home Office Upgrades Create Waste

People may upgrade their home office when they must spend 40 hours or more there weekly. The single-use plastics and styrofoam packaging that come with new furniture pollute landfills after the desks or chairs arrive at the purchaser’s home.

Construction waste could become a new issue as well. Someone may add a room to their house or renovate an existing space to create a home office. The excess waste caused by aerosol cans, unused drywall and leftover paint fills landfills, too. None of that is necessary for in-person work where optimized office spaces are already available.

 

 

The Future Is Remote and Eco-Friendly

There are numerous reasons why remote work is eco-friendly. It’s worth noting how it helps the planet and may create new environmental challenges. By understanding both, corporations and their team members can work together to make the least environmental impact when transitioning to fully remote schedules.

 

 

 

 

Source   Happy Eco News

Growing Food with Human Waste

Posted on by dishanth
Growing Food with Human Waste

Growing Food with Human Waste is Needed

A few projects are looking at growing food with human waste, including researchers from the Laboratoire Eau Environnement et Systemes Urbains just outside of Paris. They are switching out harmful synthetic fertilizers from being used on their wheat crops to urine-based fertilisers. And they are seeing positive results as the waste-based fertilizers provide organic matter that improves the soil.

Farmers in a small town in Tepetixtla, Mexico, use fertilizer made from human excrement to fertilize their crops. Growing food with human waste requires a composting process used to be hygienic and better for the soil and biodiversity. Moreover, growing food with human waste also saves water and reduces pollution because the excrement isn’t flushed into the sewage system.

In Vermont, the Rich Earth Institute runs a community program that turns human urine into fertilizer. The Institute conducts original research to examine the safety and efficacy of urine-derived fertilizers in agriculture. The program encourages community members to donate their urine to help them further their research. In 2021, 180 people donated their urine to the Rich Earth Institute.

In Kenya, the organization Sanivation developed a fecal sludge treatment plant. The plant can serve 10,000 people and produce 350 tons of fuel per month. This can be used as a cooking and industrial fuel, a sustainable option for charcoal made from fallen trees. Each plant ensures that water is safely managed, creates local employment, prevents environmental pollution and saves trees through their innovative biofuels.

In Switzerland, a company called Sanitation 360 developed a urine cassette that collects, contains, treats and concentrates the urine inside the toilet. The urine is then stabilized, dehydrated, and used directly as a fertilizer. The fertilizer includes the same type and concentration of plant nutrients in commercial fertilizers. By converting urine into a dried fertilizer, the flow of polluting plant nutrients to the environment can be minimized, which can help limit nutrient overload and dead zones in aquatic ecosystems.

Human excrement is one of the world’s most natural things, and it’s a shame that much of it is going to waste. While we may get queasy thinking about fertilizing our crops with human excrement, do we know what is in the currently used fertilizers? What is more natural and less environmentally damaging than something from our bodies? With more organizations and researchers finding new sanitary ways to use human excrement as fertilizers, this may become the new normal and the new way of food production.

 

 

 

 

Source  Happy Eco

Things To Consider While Choosing An Eco-Friendly Hotel

Posted on by dishanth
Things To Consider While Choosing An Eco-Friendly Hotel

In recent years, we have had the opportunity to ponder our relationship with the environment. Consequently, we have come to recognize the importance of being more conscientious about our decisions, whether in our own homes or on holiday. To begin with, selecting an eco-friendly and sustainable accommodation is a good place to start when vacationing. If you want to learn more about how to do this, here are a few questions to consider asking.

What Are The Criteria’s To Qualify As An Eco-Friendly Hotel?

Certification for a hotel requires meeting specific standards in areas such as energy efficiency, water consumption, waste management policies, construction materials, design, community awareness, and sustainable site development. The most well-known certification in the hospitality industry is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). Other certificates, including EarthCheck, Green Key, Green Growth 2050, Forest Stewardship Council, The Rainforest Alliance, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council, are available.

Are Their Any Sustainability Reports?

Typically, these reports can be found on the company’s website. To determine how well the property was integrated into its environment, check for information on the amount of recycled or sustainable materials used in construction, such as certified wood, and whether the building is bioclimatic and outfitted with upcycled materials. You can also read about their carbon offset programs, staff training, community impact, energy consumption, linen reuse, recycling and waste management efforts, use of single-use plastics, and use of environmentally friendly cleaning products, among other things.

Is There A Waste Management And Recycling Plan In Place?

o ensure sustainability, it’s crucial to have a robust waste management system. Verify if the property composts food waste and learn about its efforts to reduce it. Inquire about their recycling practices, particularly their approach to plastic waste and how they manage any plastic waste generated.

What Is Their Plastic Policy?

Sustainable hotels opt for greener practices such as replacing plastic water bottles with reusable glass ones, some even having their bottling plant on-site. They are also transitioning from single-use shower toiletries to larger, refillable ones. Plastic straws and stirrers are being eliminated. When searching for eco-friendly accommodations, these are some factors to consider.

Do They Source Their Food Locally?

Check whether the hotel has a kitchen garden and follow a farm-to-table dining approach. Do they obtain their meat and eggs ethically? Is their menu created using seasonal produce? Lastly, do they adhere to sustainable seafood guidelines in their kitchen?

How Do They Save Water And Energy?

Inquire whether the establishment has adopted sustainable and energy-efficient measures, such as employing solar energy, LED lighting, and low-energy bulbs. Investigate the energy efficiency of their Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning Systems (HVAC) system and other construction methods like insulation to decrease the demand for air conditioning, resulting in lower energy usage.

 

 

 

 

Source OutlookTraveller

Plastic pollution: This tiny worm can dissolve plastic bags with its drool

Posted on by dishanth
Plastic pollution: This tiny worm can dissolve plastic bags with its drool

A tiny wax worm can dissolve plastic pollution with its saliva, new research has found.

Plastic can take up to 1000 years to decompose, clogging up landfill and polluting the ocean.

But climate campaigners have recruited an unlikely new ally in their fight to reduce this waste – wax worms, the moth larvae that infest beehives.

The worm’s saliva contains two enzymes that can degrade polyethylene, a tough material used in plastic bags and bottles.

According to Spanish researchers, one hour’s exposure to the worm’s saliva degrades the material as much as years of weathering.

The impetus for the study came in 2017 when a scientist – and amateur beekeeper – was cleaning out an infested hive.

The larvae had started eating holes in a plastic refuse bag.

“To the best of our knowledge, these enzymes (in the saliva) are the first animal enzymes with this capability, opening the way to potential solutions for plastic waste management through bio-recycling/up-cycling,” the research report – published in Nature this month – reads.

 

Scientists have discovered that enzymes in wax worm saliva dissolve plastic

 

How bad is plastic for the planet?

Humans have littered the entire planet with damaging plastic debris.

The hardy material takes millions of years to decompose. Of the 10 billion tonnes of plastic that have ever been created, a whopping 6 billion sits in landfill sites or pollute the environment.

This has a devastating impact on wildlife – more than 90 per cent of the world’s seabirds have plastic in their guts.

Recycling can help mitigate some of the worst effects of plastics. Yet a 2022 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that just 9 per cent of plastic is successfully recycled.

This is where the wax worms come in. They can help dissolve polyethylene, which accounts for roughly 30 per cent of plastic production worldwide.

Wax worms aren’t the only solution that scientists have come up with to combat our ever-growing plastic problem.

 

Plastic-munching superworms

From eating less meat to buying local ingredients, there are lots of ways to make environmentally friendly food choices. And according to a 2022 Australian study, certain types of worms can adopt an eco-diet too – but not in the way you might think.

Queensland scientists have discovered that the Zophobas morio – a type of beetle larvae commonly known as a superworm – can survive on polystyrene alone.

Over three weeks, the research team fed three groups of superworms different diets.

The worms on the plastic diet acted like “mini recycling plants,” lead author Dr Chris Rinke explains, destroying the plastic with their unique gut enzymes.

They even put on weight in the process.

“[The superworms] shred the polystyrene with their mouths and then fed it to the bacteria in their gut,” says Dr Rinke.

If scientists can work out how to grow the gut enzyme in a lab, they could use it to dissolve plastics on a mass scale, forming these byproducts into bioplastics.

“We can then look into how we can upscale this process to a level required for an entire recycling plant,” said Co-author of the research, PhD candidate Jiarui Sun.

Given that polystyrene accounts for around one-tenth of all non-fibrous plastics, this would be a significant breakthrough.

 

 

Source euronews.green

 

 

Cigarette butts are turned into mosquito repellent and stuffing for soft toys at this Indian factory

Posted on by dishanth
Cigarette butts are turned into mosquito repellent and stuffing for soft toys at this Indian factory

An Indian factory is recycling cigarette butts into stuffing for soft toys.

An estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide each year, 90 per cent of which contain non-biodegradable plastic filters.

Reprocessing them into a range of products, including toys and pillows, is the brainchild of businessman Naman Gupta.

“We started with 10 grams (of fibre per day) and now we are doing 1,000 kilograms… Annually we are able to recycle millions of cigarette butts,” he says.

At his factory on the on the outskirts of New Delhi, an all-woman team manually separates the butts into fiber, paper and leftovers.

 

Women workers make soft toys using recycled fibre separated from cigarette filter tips at a cigarette butts recycling factory in Noida, India.

 

The paper is converted into a pulp, mixed with an organic binder and turned into burnable mosquito repellant.

The fibre is cleaned and bleached with organic chemicals that neutralise its toxins. The resulting white stuffing is used in soft toys and pillows.

At Gupta’sfactory on the outskirts of the Indian capital, workers also separate out the butts’ tobacco, which is turned into compost powder.

His company – Code Effort – has recycled over 300 million cigarette butts from the city streets so far.

 

Recycled fibre made from cigarette filter tips is seen in a cotton gin machine at a cigarette butt recycling factory in Noida, India.

 

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 267 million people, nearly 30 per cent of India’s adult population, are tobacco users, and butts litter urban streets where general cleanliness standards are poor.
“(So) working here also helps keep our environment clean,” says Poonam, an employee in Gupta’s factory.

Cigarette butts are the most discarded waste item worldwide according to the UN Environment Programme.

Many of these end up in our oceans and on our beaches with disastrous consequences for marine environments.

Cigarette filters are made out of non-biodegradable cellulose acetate fibres, which break down into microplastics and end up being consumed by marine life and birds.

In 2019, 5.9 per cent of the EU population aged 15 years and over consumed at least 20 cigarettes per day, and 12.6 per cent consumed less than 20, according to Eurostat.

In Europe, companies like France’s MéGo! have also found inventive ways to reuse cigarette butts, recycling them into furniture like tables and benches.

 

 

Source  euronews.green

Harbour9 introduces sustainable clothing line to combat climate change

Posted on by dishanth
Harbour9 introduces sustainable clothing line to combat climate change

Owing to the rising woes of apparel waste management globally and how they contribute to a whopping 10 per cent of global carbon emissions due to the fast fashion trend, Harbour9 – a homegrown premium apparel brand in India – is investing mindfully to make its apparel range increasingly sustainable.

Introducing a range of sustainable outdoor casual apparel for the whole family, Harbour9 is using recycled, tailoring-scrap-made yarn to make sweatshirts and tees for men, tops for women, and solid and patterned tees for kids between 0 and 12 years.

 

The futuristic fashion brand is even devising a way to turn polyester fibres from discarded PET bottles into new-age clothes.

Made by using conscious amounts of recycled materials, the finished products from the house of Harbour9 are pre-dyed to ensure minimal environmental impact, while being in line with the current fashion trends.

Inclusive in their approach, Harbour9 is also making available its sustainable clothing range in plus-size options.

Breathable and trendy in design, the brand will introduce premium and cost-efficient eco-friendly clothing ranging from casual outdoor wear to performance gear for fitness aficionados.

Manoj Jain, Director, Harbour9, said “Climate change due to global warming is a big reason of worry for mankind to get back to basics and transition their lifestyle to being sustainable. One of the basic needs of humans, that is, clothing has kept evolving so quickly in recent years that has led to the adoption of fast fashion and its negative impact on the environment by involving in animal cruelty and quickly mounting landfills. To avert the negative impact of wastage and its impact on climate change, we at Harbour9 have come up with this range of sustainable clothing which is ethically sourced.”

 

 

Source  Apparel Resources 

What does true sustainability look like in the hotel industry?

Posted on by dishanth
What does true sustainability look like in the hotel industry?

In a bid to become more environmentally sustainable, Raffles Hotel Singapore has reimagined its signature drink: the Singapore Sling, a fruity gin-based cocktail dating back to the 1900s.

In 2018, the 5-star ultra luxury hotel partnered with spirits company Proof & Company’s ecoSPIRITS programme to transform the drink’s life cycle. Using a closed-loop distribution system, they were able to eliminate several thousand kilograms of packaging waste annually. Furthermore, for every 25 Singapore Slings served, a native tree is planted in Kalimantan and Sumatran rainforests.

According to consultancy firm Deloitte’s calculations, every glass of Singapore Sling now emits 200 fewer grams of carbon dioxide than before.

Raffles Hotel is not the only establishment raising its sustainability game. In 2019, Marriott International, the world’s largest hotel chain, phased out single-use plastic toiletry bottles in favour of larger pump dispenser bottles. Meanwhile, Hilton committed to reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2030.

Many of these initiatives are driven by consumer demand for more sustainable accommodation, which has skyrocketed in recent years. According to Booking.com’s 2021 Sustainable Travel Report, 81 per cent of travellers said that they want to stay in sustainable accommodation in the upcoming year, a significant jump from 62 per cent in 2016.

Local hospitality and tourism institutions are also putting greater pressure on hotels to decarbonise. In March 2022, the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched a Hotel Sustainability Roadmap which urged establishments to reduce emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

“There’s just more pressure all around now,” said Eric Ricaurte, founder of hospitality consulting firm Greenview. “While previously we only saw incremental changes like reusing linen towels, hotels are now also paying attention to issues like energy and carbon. We’re seeing sustainability appear on the radars of hotels everywhere.”

But amidst hotels’ greater focus on sustainability, how many of these changes are greenwashing — initiatives designed to mislead guests and present a false environmentally responsible public image?

 

There is some great work happening, but there’s a lot of PR-driven hot air too.

– Tim Williamson, customer director, Responsible Travel

 

Greenwashing, or genuine change?

There’s a mix of both, says Tim Williamson, customer director of Responsible Travel, an activist company seeking to design conscious trips.

“There is some great work happening, but there’s a lot of PR-driven hot air too,” said Williamson. “For example, while some hotels have set net zero targets, they may ‘hide behind’ carbon offsetting to reach these goals, which is not the same as a real reduction in their emissions.”

According to Ricaurte, another form of greenwashing is when hotels offer an asymmetrical representation of their environmental impact. He pointed to some hotels which may have removed plastic straws, but still use large amounts of plastic in other aspects of their operations.

To identify hotels that genuinely care about sustainability, Ricaurte said guests could consider whether the hotel pays attention to both lower-hanging fruit — like providing plant-based options on their restaurant menus — as well as formal certifications.

There is currently a growing list of globally-recognised sustainability certifications for the hotel sector, including the Green Key eco-label, Green Globe, as well as Booking.com’s recently launched Travel Sustainable Badge. But Williamson says not all certifications are created equally. Less credible schemes may only require hotels to undertake a self-assessment, rather than be evaluated by an independent third party.

“There is also the issue of what is relevant,” said Williamson. “Reducing water consumption may be less of a priority for a hotel in Scotland than for a hotel in a drought-ridden area of southern Spain, but many green certification schemes don’t make this distinction. This means businesses may have a green badge but still be failing to address the challenges most pressing in their local area.”

Rather than relying solely on certifications, Williamson instead encouraged consumers to “look behind the labels” and ask for written policies and specific examples.

“What percentage of employees are local, and do they receive a fair wage? How much of the produce is sourced from local suppliers? What are they doing to help protect and restore nature, and how are they cutting food waste? Don’t take all labels at face value,” he said.

 

Transparency trade-offs

While green marketing is on the rise, not all hotels have opted to integrate sustainability into their branding. Raffles Hotel Singapore, for example, features little about sustainability on its website.

“We think that sustainability and saving the planet shouldn’t be used as marketing highlights,” explained general manager Christian Westbeld. “They should be something that you really live by. We all have to do the right thing.”

Westbeld says that when the hotel closed its doors for extensive restoration from December 2017 to August 2019, sustainability was high on the agenda. The environmental footprint was taken into consideration in all aspects, from the plumbing systems to kitchen equipment, and even the linen in each guest suite.

“For example, the windows in each suite are now double glazed to better retain cold temperatures, therefore encouraging guests to use air-conditioning for shorter periods of time,” said Westbeld.

However, most of this information is not highlighted to travellers on Raffles Hotel’s marketing platforms.

Dr Victor Nian, Chief Executive Officer of Singapore-based think tank Centre for Strategic Energy and Resources, said such an approach eliminates the issue of greenwashing entirely. However, he cautioned that transparency is also very important.

“If a hotel publishes a sustainability report on their website, it’s often a positive sign that they are trying to do something. It also gives you a chance to compare sustainability among different hotels,” he said, adding that such reports are often endorsed by a verified body.

“But if they don’t publish anything, people won’t know what they are doing at all,” he said.

Laura Houldsworth, Asia Pacific managing director at Booking.com, an online travel agency, shared similar views: “We think hotels should be encouraged to share their sustainability initiatives. We believe in educating travellers and empowering them with the right knowledge, so they know how to avoid these pitfalls.”

 

An uphill battle

Westbeld admits it can be difficult to prioritise sustainability as an ultra luxury destination.

“We will never compromise on service standards and guest experience,” he said. “For example, we won’t openly recommend guests not to change sheets. It is a guest’s choice — they can approach us and say they only want to change it every other day. But we don’t compromise on hygiene and comfort.”

Hotels also face constraints that they may not be able to immediately address.

According to Ricaurte, one of the biggest challenges in reducing emissions is the design of the building itself, since the key moments when those design decisions are made may not have factored in sustainability. This results in the hotel lagging behind on building sustainability standards.

Hotels are often also constrained by their location and local energy grid.

“In Singapore, if the electricity grid is mostly powered by fossil fuels, there’s very little hotels can do to decarbonise that,” said Dr Nian.

While there are still ways hotels can reduce their energy consumption, such as improving the air-conditioning efficiency or exploring rooftop solar, Dr Nian said that these measures often have limited impact in driving down absolute emissions. Hotels may also be reluctant to implement these changes due to cost barriers, he added.

Ultimately, as demand for sustainability grows, the notion of luxury may need to be redefined for travellers and hoteliers alike to meet their sustainability goals, says Responsible Travel’s Williamson.

“Luxury doesn’t have to be all about air-con and all-inclusives. It can also be about bespoke, authentic experiences and great personal service,” he said. “It could be a small, locally-owned hotel with its own vegetable garden and hosts who know the best off-the-beaten-track spots for hiking, food and culture. Or a small ship cruise which really gets you into the nooks and crannies of a place, instead of a colossal liner.”

“High-value, low-impact tourism can benefit local communities and important conservation work too. Everyone wins.”

 

 

Source Eco Business

Singapore introduces framework for sovereign green bonds ahead of inaugural issuance

Posted on by dishanth
Singapore introduces framework for sovereign green bonds ahead of inaugural issuance

Singapore on Thursday (Jun 9) published the governance framework for sovereign green bonds, ahead of the first such issuance expected in the next few months.

This comes as Singapore moves to develop the green finance market and make green finance a driving force for sustainability.

The Singapore Green Bond Framework sets out guidelines for public sector green bond issuances under the Significant Infrastructure Government Loan Act 2021 (SINGA), said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a media release.

It covers the Government’s intended use of green bond proceeds, governance structure to evaluate and select eligible projects, operational approach to manage green bond proceeds, and commitment to post-issuance allocation and impact reporting.

In addition to providing the foundation for green bonds issued by the Government, the framework will also serve as a reference for statutory boards that issue their own green bonds.

The key principles considered in the development of the framework were alignment with internationally recognised market principles and standards; stringent governance and oversight of project selection and allocation of proceeds; and technical screening to evaluate and identify green projects, MOF and MAS said.

 

 

Eligible expenditures

At Budget 2022, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the Government would issue S$35 billion of green bonds by 2030 to fund public sector green infrastructure projects.

Proceeds from these bonds, which will be issued under the new framework, will be used to finance costs associated with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, MOF and MAS said.

In turn, the eligible green projects are expected to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy in Singapore and contribute to the climate-related and environmental goals set out by the Singapore Government.

The categories of “eligible green expenditures” are:

  • Renewable energy
  • Energy efficiency
  • Green building
  • Clean transportation
  • Sustainable water and wastewater management
  • Pollution prevention, control and circular economy
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of natural resources and land use

 

 

Source CNA

The best eco denim to help you go green in style

Posted on by dishanth
The best eco denim to help you go green in style

Two billion pairs of jeans are produced globally each year, requiring around 1.4 million tonnes of raw cotton. According to a 2015 study by Levi Strauss & Co, the lifecycle of one pair of their 501s uses up 3,781 litres of H2O.

This is not a great statistic when more than 10 per cent of the world’s population currently has no access to clean water. Add chemical treatments, carcinogenic dyes, washing, rinsing and finishing, and you’ve got an industry that’s anything but sustainable. But technology is improving, making it easier to find the right shade of ‘green’ blue jeans.

 

Wrangler’s Indigood range has a dying process that cuts energy waste by 60 per centWRANGLER

 

Based in Vietnam, Saitex is a denim manufacturing plant producing 20,000 pairs of jeans a day, and while that doesn’t sound especially eco, they’re the first Asian factory to join B Corporation, and represent the easiest route to buying better jeans. Instead of 80 litres, each pair of jeans uses 1.5 litres of water during the rinsing process, saving them 430 million litres per year.

Saitex recycles 98 per cent of the water it uses, lasers have replaced traditional stone washing and sandblasting, and by air drying, energy use is cut by 85 per cent. They’ve even started producing building blocks and tiles for low-income housing projects using waste materials. Current brands working with Saitex include Edwin, Gap, Paul Smith and Everlane.

 

Replay’s Hyperflex Bio line combines organic cotton, recycled fabric and recycled PET bottles for eco stretchREPLAY

 

American stalwart Wrangler has developed Indigood, a new dying process that uses foam to eliminate the need for water in the process, and has cut energy waste by 60 per cent. One example that has caught our eye is the Indigood Texas slim low, £75.

Wrangler are also starting to make jeans with a percentage of recycled yarn, something that Replay has also adopted with their Hyperflex Bio range which combines organic cotton, recycled fabric and recycled PET bottles for eco stretch.

 

Candiani’s N-Denim jeans are dyed using Kitotex, made from recycling shrimp shells, and so need 75 per cent less water and 65 per cent fewer chemicals

 

Like Replay, Italian manufacturer Candiani has been striving to find a less thirsty way to make jeans. Their N-Denim jeans start with certified organic cotton and are dyed using Kitotex, an innovation made from recycling shrimp shells from the food industry which, combined with Indigo Juice, another innovative method for achieving vintage/faded looking jeans without multiple washes, requires a claimed 75 per cent less water and 65 per cent fewer chemicals per pair of strides.

Candiani has also developed Coreva Denim, the first biodegradable naturally sourced stretch denim, derived from natural rubber. Our pick? Candiani’s Razor Biostretch Selvedge Denim, €340, features both N-Denim and Coreva.

 

Levi’s Red High Loose Taper jeans are made with cottonised hemp, which requires less water and fewer chemicals to grow than traditional cotton

 

And as for Levi’s, they’ve been collaborating with re:newcell to introduce a substance called Circulose into their manufacturing loop. This material is made in a similar way to recycling paper, but the resulting cotton fibre, created using old jeans offcuts, makes up 50 per cent of the new pair.

Levi’s also has a whole range of sustainable, water-saving, waste-reducing styles. All their women’s loose-fit jeans fall into this category, too. The 90s-inspired High Loose Taper (£110), for example, is made with the brand’s cottonised hemp, which requires less water and fewer chemicals to grow than cotton, plus the finished fabric is softer.

 

 

Source Wired