Unilever Receives Sustainability Honors From South Africa And United Nations

Unilever South Africa received the Investment Promotion Award from the country's Department of Trade and Industry. Given on behalf of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the award recognizes the company's contribution to sustainability with its “sustainable and water neutral investment” at its Durban factory. One of the company's factories in KwaZulu-Natal region, the Indonsa factory manufactures a number of brands, including Aromat, Knorr, and Rajah.

"SA: Dti presents award to Unilever", African Brains, December 23, 2014

Procter & Gamble Receives Green Light For Proposed Biomass Plant In Albany

Procter & Gamble's proposed biomass energy plant at its facilities in Albany, New York, became a step closer to reality after the Albany-Dougherty Payroll Development Authority approved a $250 million bond issue for the project. Valued at $230 million, the planned energy plant will create steam energy to be used by P&G's local facilities, enabling the company to achieve sustainable goals for its manufacturing plants worldwide. Part of the plan involves allowing a local U.S. Marine base to also use the plant for energy, PDA officials said.

"PDA approves bond issuance for P&G biomass plant", Albany Herald, December 04, 2014

U.K. Confectionery Makers Need To Tie Sustainable Claim To Chocolate Products

Market researcher Canadean says British candy makers need to take into account growing consumer interest in natural and sustainable ingredients when marketing chocolate products. A large majority of U.K. consumers already feel chocolate is a natural product, but marketers would benefit if they were to add a sustainable angle to product advertising. The U.K. confectionery market was valued at £5.3 billion in 2013, and the chocolate segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.7 percent through 2018, a rate that is higher than sugar candy and chewing gum.

"Consumers looking for ‘sustainable’ chocolate products", Australian Food News, December 17, 2014

Tetra Pak Offers Eco-Auditing Service For Food Manufacturers

Swiss food packaging company Tetra Pak’s new environmental benchmarking service audits food and beverage manufacturing facilities to identify ways to improve environmental performance, reduce carbon footprint, and cut costs. The audit covers processing and packaging lines, and assesses water efficiency, waste water treatment, energy efficiency, product yield and waste, and carbon footprint. Using the audit service, U.S. organic foods producer Pacific Foods was able to reduce its carbon footprint by 3,500 tons of CO₂ and cut water consumption by 31 million liters a year.

"Tetra Pak launches new service to reduce environmental impact for customers", Tetra Pak, December 11, 2014

Conservationist Wonders If Devout Jews Can Eat Sustainably – And Kosher

Marine conservationist Paul Greenberg ponders whether it’s possible to find seafood in a restaurant that is both sustainably harvested and kosher. Environmentalists advocate eating sustainable seafood and marine organisms that are beneficial for oceans, rivers, etc. But they include organisms that observant Jews consider trayf – not kosher. Farmed clams, oysters and mussels – trayf – reduce dead zone-causing nitrogen pollution from waterways. Scripture tells Jews what physical characteristics of seafood should be rejected, (e.g., shells, hard-to-remove scales, no fins, etc.), but says nothing about the environmental traits a fishery should have. It gets so complicated that Greenberg wonders whether observant Jews should pass up fish altogether, and order the vegetable plate.

"Can Seafood Be Kosher and Sustainable?", The New York Times, December 13, 2014

Nestle To Buy Only Eco-Friendly Freezers To Store Its Ice Cream

Non-toxic fluor-containing coolants used in the world’s freezers have worked well for more than half a century, but the environment has paid a price: they depleted the ozone layer and contributed to climate change. Manufacturers are turning back to naturally occurring substances, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, water and air as well as hydrocarbons (e.g., propane and iso-butane) that are harmless to the ozone layer and have no effect on climate change. Nestlé announced that beginning in January 2015, every new horizontal chest freezer it buys to store ice cream will use these natural refrigerants rather than synthetic refrigerants.

"Environmentally efficient freezers for cool ice cream", News release, Nestlé, December 04, 2014