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GTZ and Chiquita Form Biodiversity Partnership in Costa Rica

The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Chiquita Brands International are launching a new public-private partnership (PPP) initiative — the Nogal Nature and Community Project — in Costa Rica. The aim of this initiative is to preserve biodiversity, promote nature conservation awareness among the local population and create new sources of income for the people. On a Chiquita farm on the banks of the Ro Sucio in northeastern Costa Rica, not far from the border with Nicaragua, the 100 hectares of rainforest in the Nogal reserve adjacent to the farm will be placed under a conservation order and connected to forestland on neighboring farms by newly planted biological corridors. “This is a practical, sustainable approach to conserving the natural environment and species for the benefit of humankind,” said George Jaksch, Chiquita’s senior director of corporate responsibility and public affairs in Europe. “However, it cannot succeed without the support of the people who live there.” “Only people who appreciate the value of their natural environment are willing to conserve it,” said Johannes Spita, who is responsible for the PPP initiative at GTZ. To that end, the local population will be offered environmental education opportunities and training courses that are intended to provide […]

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Novozymes Honored With Presidential Green Chemistry Award 2005

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will present the Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)/Novozymes team with a 2005 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for employing enzymes to develop healthier fats and oils for use in applications like margarine, baking and confectionery. This is the second Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award presented directly to Novozymes in the past four years. According to Hans Christian Holm of the Novozymes Oils and Fats team, Danish legislation banning trans fatty acids from food products and impending changes to the Nutritional Labeling Education Act that will require the labeling of trans fats on all nutritional fact panels by January 1, 2006, in the U.S. have food manufacturers looking for solutions to reduce the amount of trans fats in their products. “Novozymes sees a huge global interest for our enzymatic interesterification process for production of margarines and shortenings free of trans fatty acids,” added Holmes. To that end, the ADM/Novozymes award-winning innovation uses an enzyme – Lipozyme TL IM – as an alternative to the conventional chemical hydrogenation, which produces large amounts of trans fats. The bio-based method reduces the environmental impact of margarine production while delivering a healthier oil for human consumption free of trans […]

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Starbucks Invests Additional $2.5 Million in EcoLogic Finance

Starbucks Coffee Company (Nasdaq:SBUX) has provided an additional $2.5 million in loan funds to EcoLogic Finance, a nonprofit organization offering innovative low-interest loans to coffee and cocoa farmers in environmentally sensitive areas of Latin America and Africa. This additional funding increases Starbucks loans to EcoLogic Finance to a total of $5 million since 2002, offering critical financial resources and a source of hope for struggling farm communities. While loans Starbucks previously made to EcoLogic Finance provided funds entirely for coffee farmers, $500,000 of the additional funding is earmarked for cocoa farmers, as they experience many of the same economic, environmental and social issues faced by coffee growers. In 2004, Starbucks also contributed $50,000 to EcoLogic Finance for financial literacy and capacity training projects for smallholder farmers in Latin America. Starbucks believes it is the single largest private lender of loans to smallholder farmers in coffee growing regions with a total commitment of $8.5 million in loan capital to date, including loans to EcoLogic Finance, Conservation International’s Verde Ventures and the Calvert Foundation. As the loans are not restricted to only Starbucks suppliers, the funds have provided much-needed credit to a broad range of coffee farmers throughout Latin America and Africa. […]

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EarthShell Corporation Signs New Licensee

EarthShell Corporation (OTCBB:ERTH), manufacturers of biodegradable food service packaging, has signed ReNewable Products, Inc. (RPI) as its newest licensee. The concept of developing RPI, as a new entity, was the result of collaboration between Thompson Street Capital. RPI, as part of TSCP and with funding from them, has placed a binding purchase order with Detroit Tool & Engineering (DTE) for an initial 16 equipment modules. In turn, EarthShell Corp. and RPI have signed a 20% royalty bearing exclusive license which allows RPI to produce EarthShell’s environmentally preferable plates and bowls for the important and growing U.S. Mass Merchandising & Retail markets as well as all government agencies. In their market space, RPI will be targeting EarthShell plates and bowls to customers such as Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, K-Mart, the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense and many other valuable and strategic customers to include government funded schools, colleges and universities. As part of more detailed plans to begin shipping EarthShell plates and bowls this quarter, DTE, a licensed EarthShell equipment producer, will lease 40,000 sq. ft of manufacturing space, in a separate part of its facilities in Lebanon, Missouri, to RPI. In so doing, the companies are cooperating […]

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