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A resource for business- to- business matchmaking is available between Indian and foreign companies in environmental technologies, products and services, with a special focus on clean and greenhouse gas mitigating technologies. Environmental companies are invited to send their company profiles for listing in the Environmental Information Centre business database. This is joint project of The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Rita Chaudhury, Manager, Environmental Information Centre: emcisee@del2.vsnl.net.in
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Collins & Aikman, the first U.S. company to use a carpet-into-carpet manufacturing process, is using only 100 percent recycled-content carpet backing for its line of modular carpet tiles. The company will reclaim any carpet product ever made. The initiative offers recycled products that are superior to virgin materials, at a comparable cost. 121 companies have already are purchased the Powerbond ER3 backing. The manufacturing process eliminates volatile organic compounds, which impact indoor air quality. Because their carpet tiles can be installed using a glue-free adhesive, Collins & Aikman is the only manufacturer to pass the State of Washington’s strict air-quality protocol for carpet. Four billion pounds of carpet backing are disposed of annually.
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According to a report by Resource Data International (RDI), a Boulder, CO. consulting and energy information firm, green electricity represents one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the U.S. By the year 2003, the green market will capture up to $37.5 billion or half of the $75 billion in annual sales of residential electricity in the U.S. In 1997 test market programs, 20 percent of New Hampshire customers selected a green electricity option, while green electricity captured 31 percent of the market in Massachusetts. As the green market for electricity grows, it will drive construction of renewable energy plants by 40 percent over the next 10 years nationally, and by 60 percent in the Western U.S. Todd Myers, Resource Data International: tmyers@resdata.com
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In the U.S., the $4.2 billion organic industry is growing at 24 percent annually and is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2000. The European market for organic foods is currently comparable to the U.S. at less than 2 percent of total food sales, but is expected to expand to as much as 10 percent by 2006. With a population of 370 million, Europe has more potential than the U.S. The UK imports 70 percent of its food, and Germany – the largest organic food market there at $1.6 billion and growing at 30-40 percent annually – imports 50 percent. The Japanese market is similar to Germany’s and will grow to $2.6 billion by 2000. There is tremendous potential there since they only import 1 percent of their food. Canada is also experiencing great demand for organic products. Around the world, organic products sell at premiums and assurances that organic claims are legitimate are crucial. Strong certification standards are therefore critical. Source: Natural Foods Merchandiser
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Earth’s 911 is America’s free 24-hour resource for geographically specific environmental and recycling information. The service is available in Canada, and soon, around the globe. You can find information your nearest recycling center, local environmental programs, important environmental phone numbers, how to buy recycled products, and how to handle household hazardous waste. The Earth’s 911 partnership is expanding the system to include air and water quality, energy, and community specific volunteerism information. 800-CLEANUP [sorry this link is no longer available]
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10 years ago, organic certifiers weren’t able to agree on production standards, but the Organic Certifiers Council recently voted unanimously to move toward one standard and one accrediting agency, part of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). Although it is still struggling for international recognition, IFOAM is the only organization equipped to do world-wide accreditation. This avoids the logistical nightmare of national accreditors trying to check all the imports and exports of organic products to and from every nation. The agreement is largely in response to the poor accreditation rules the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture proposed a year ago. The USDA is still busy sloshing through the 280,000 comments it received. In this scenario, the USDA would merely help implement the industry-led system of accreditation. Organic leaders say now is the time to develop an alternative plan before the government comes up with one. IFOAM, in conjunction with industry, could have a complete organic inspection, certification, and accreditation structure in place before the U.S. government can even come up with a set of standards. “This is the only industry that wants stricter standards. Can you imagine the auto industry asking for stricter standards?,” asked Andrew Duchovnay, publisher of […]
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The Ontario Ministry of Environment and Energy has produced the Business Guide Environmental Performance and Competitive Advantage. It demonstrates how addressing environmental issues in a systematic way can provide new opportunities to focus on core business objectives such as improved productivity, increased market share, enhance corporate image, higher share value and reduced cost of environmental compliance.It can be downloaded from the website using Adobe Acrobat. Abdi Hussein, Ontario Ministry of the Environment: husseina@ene.gov.on.ca [sorry this link is no longer available]
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United Parcel Service has revamped its packaging as a result of an 8-month review by the company and Alliance for Environmental Innovation, a joint initiative of the Environmental Defense Fund and Pew Charitable Trust. Letter envelopes will contain 80 percent post-consumer fiber, the box will have twice the post-consumer fiber, and the plastic envelope will use post-consumer resin for the first time. UPS will also offer 2-way reusable envelopes. The company plans to stop using bleached paper. UPS already uses recycled paper for its “next day air” and “2nd day air” envelopes, as well as for the 1.2 billion delivery notices it mails each year. It also uses a 100 percent recycled reusable express envelope. Although the objective was to maintain costs, rather than cut them, the changes will save the company over $1 million annually by cutting energy costs and reducing the amount of material used. UPS will increase the use of post-consumer recycled materials by 22 percent, cut wastewater discharge by more than 15 percent and use 12 percent less energy compared to previous packaging. Read the full report: [sorry this link is no longer available]
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Consolidations in the paper manufacturing and hauling industries and relatively stable paper prices have set the stage for expansion of the recovered paper industry, according to North American Recovered Paper: 1998-2002, by Jaako Poyry, a consulting firm. The report projects steady growth in supply and demand, with recovery growing 3.7 percent annually through 2002. Mill demand will also grow, but at a slower pace of 2.8 percent. Asian exports are predicted to grow by 16 percent on average, but from a much reduced base. Export demand will spur a recovery rate of 48 percent, two points lower than the American Forest & Paper Institute’s goal of 50 percent by 2000. Another report examines Eastern Europe’s market. A significant drop in consumption and production accompanied the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy behind the former Iron Curtain. The region is beginning to recover: paper consumption is expected to grow by 4.6 percent annually through 2010. Most of the growth is expected to occur in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland. The fastest growing grades will be woodfree, packaging and tissue. Many European and American paper companies are establishing market share in this region. FROM Waste Age’s […]
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The Environmental Business Canada newsletter published by the Delphi Group out of Ottawa, tracks the development of Canadian environment companies listed on the stock exchanges across Canada. Categories of companies include: alternative energy, resource recovery, consulting, water quality, air pollution, and environmental instrumentation. Mike Gerbis, Managing Editor: mikeg@delphi.ca
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