The Italian retailer Coop launches a new line of sustainble products
The new line of products includes food (i.e. 300 organic food products) and non food products (i.e. cleaning powders and washing liquids with the European Ecolabel). In the new line there are also single use dishes and glasses in PLA, a natural material.(source: youmark.it)
Since January 2009, Brita is recovering “used pitcher filters and recycling the plastic into new products, from toothbrushes to cutting boards. Brita is partnering with Preserve, a maker of 100% recycled household consumer goods, to recycle the No. 5 polypropylene plastic from the casing of every filter collected. (…) The filter ingredients - activated carbon and additional ion-exchange resin - will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy.
Consumers may drop off their used, dry Brita pitcher filters at participating Whole Foods Market stores or mail them directly to Preserve.” (source: sustainablelife media.com)
“This year, IKEA drew attention by eliminating plastic bags from its 35 stores in the United States. Ikea has promised to buy more of its wood from sustainable managed forests (today, only about 5-6% of the wood bought by IKEA meets that standard), to use fewer raw materials in its products, to buy renewable energy (including solar panels for a store that opened in June in Brooklyn) and to curb business travel. To reduce its climate footprint, IKEA uses renewable energy for 45% of its heating needs and 20% of its electricity. It held 9,000 Web-based meetings last year, saving money and emissions.” (source: cnn)
Plastic bottles don’t go wasted with Coca Cola
Walking in New York subway I bumped into this advertising, witnessing Coca Cola commitment to sustainability. Coca Cola recently announced plans to build a $60 million recycling plant to turn used plastic bottles into new bottles.
As mentioned in a previous post, Coca Cola also launched with Wal Mart an initiative to turn used plastic bottles into t-shirts. According to Scott Vitters, Coke’s director of sustainable packaging, “We’ve also seen a correlation between the positive reaction to these products and an increase in beverage sales, so there’s a strong business case for the program” (source: sustainablelifemedia.com)
Sustainable lunch time at Microsoft’s restaurant in Redmond
Microsoft obtained the Green Restaurant Association’s Certification for its foodservice at Redmond campus. To obtain this achievement Microsoft is using biodegradable cafeteria and kitchen accessories (e.g. no plastic cups) and has reduced waste in its kitchen by 50 percent since the start of the compostable program. Moreover every month the company sends 883 gallons of used fryer oil to be recycled into biofuels.
To keep the certification Microsft in 2009 is expected to source more sustainable food (30% of menu), like organic and sustainable seafood and to diminish water usage by installing low flow aerators for hand washing and sinks.
