Carbon Trust Sustainability Certification

Carbon Trust offers certification for organizations in sustainability. This includes energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste management. Carbon Trust independently validates and certifies organizational achievements in adopting more sustainable business models.

The certification process acts to identify inefficiencies in resource use and provides a framework for improving management processes. The Carbon Trust Standard helps organizations to measure, manage and reduce their environmental impact, whilst improving their resource management and operational sustainability.

Carbon Trust certification is designed to reduce costs and enhance corporate reputations. They also help organizations to communicate sustainability achievements with customers, investors and stakeholders.

Certifications are awarded to for best-practice and real achievements in reduction. The Carbon Trust standard and certification offers tangible proof of sustainability to customers, employees, shareholders and suppliers.

There are currently over 1,100 organisations having certified, they have helping create a new business culture whereby corporate sustainability is now an essential part of business management.

Carbon Trust Standard bearers include:

Allianz
AkzoNobel
Allied Bakeries
Anglian Water
Branston Ltd
Bentley Motors
Bupa
Center Parcs
Dept for Energy & Climate Change
Dyson
Eurotunnel
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Greggs
Marks & Spencer
McLaren
Nationwide
nPower
Ofgem
PriceWaterhouseCoopers
Quorn
Sainsbury’s
Selfridges
Sky
Standard Chartered Bank
The Football Association
Whitbread

Together Certified organisations have saved saved $258 million in energy and operational costs and reduce carbon emissions by over 3.6 million tons of CO2e every year, with an average annual energy cost saving of $503,000.

As reported by Business Green one of the companies to recently earn Carbon Trust Certification is Vegetarian-food supplier Quorn. They succeeded in reducing the carbon footprint of their core mycoprotein ingredient by 15 percent. Improvements to their vegetarian mince products have resulted in a 90 percent lower carbon footprint than its beef equivalent.

They have also invested in energy efficiency initiatives at its Stokesley headquarters, including improved temperature control and thermal insulation. Overall they have reduced their building's carbon emissions by 15 percent.

Kevin Brennan, Quorn chief executive, said "we work hard as a business to ensure we're doing right by the environment. The recent investment in the business has certainly helped to ensure we're doing everything possible to reduce our carbon footprint and we will continue this as we embark on our journey to becoming a $1bn business."

The international impact of the improvements to Quorn's products drew praise from Carbon Trust managing director Darran Messem.

For more information on Carbon Trust Certification click here.

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The New 2012 CEC Sustainability Requirements

The new Canadian Electrical Code (CEC) has incorporated the latest sustainability requirements for electrical professionals, as well as business and home owners. The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) 22nd edition of the CEC's mandatory guidelines include 180 important updates and revisions. CSA Standards is a leading standards-based solutions organization in Canada. The CEC addresses electrical safety, shock, and fire hazards of electrical products.

On February 6, 2012, the CSA officially announced the launch of the 2012 CEC, Part 1. The code includes sections on renewable energy sources (ie solar photovoltaic installations, wind generated electricity) and new requirements for electric vehicles and charging stations (both commercial and residential). By 2018, there will be at least a half a million 500,000 plug-in electric-drive vehicles on Canadian roads, and even more hybrids.

According to a CSA press release, the New Canadian Electrical Code represents the most comprehensive set of changes ever. The guidelines include future-looking developments toward sustainable technologies that help address climate change issues.

The code also covers unique installation requirements for a variety of renewable energy systems including wind and fuel cells. Hydrokinetic generation systems that convert tidal or ocean current into energy, and micro-hydro systems that are very small versions of hydro power stations that convert the energy of streams creeks into usable electricity, are also covered. Lastly, existing requirements for solar power have been updated considerably to reflect new technologies, techniques, and calculations. CSA’s 2012 Canadian Electrical Safety Code may also be considered a roadmap for the enhanced safety and success of electric vehicles.

As stated by Bonnie Rose, President, CSA Standards. “With major manufacturers bringing these products to market in greater numbers, they can no longer be considered simply emerging technologies, but part of our daily lives.”

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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EPA Limits GHGs from Power Plants

In a move that could effectively end construction of any new conventional coal-fired power generation in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today has proposed the first limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.

“Today we’re taking a common sense step to reduce pollution in our air, protect the planet for our children, and move us into a new era of American energy,” said EPA administrator Lisa Jackson. “Right now there are no limits to the amount of carbon pollution that future power plants will be able to put into our skies–in the health and economic threats of a changing climate continued to grow.”

The average US coal plant today emits about 2249 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour of power produced. The new EPA rules will limit those emissions to 1000 pounds of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour or at about the level of a modern natural gas plant.

“This is an important common sense step towards tackling the ongoing threat of climate change,” said Jackson. “We build on where the industry is going and lock that trend in, which we believe is an important signal for investors.”

The initial impact of the emissions rule on utilities is expected to initially be negligible; with natural gas prices at 10 year lows most utilities are shutting down coal plants, not building new ones. By the end of 2011 the share of electrical power generation from coal-fired plants dropped below 40 percent, the lowest share since 1978 according to the Energy Information Administration.

Jackson said that the EPA has no plans to set rules on existing plants, and the new limit will apply only to the construction of new power plants. Fifteen plants with pending instruction permits are exempt from the proposed rule.

Joe Mendelson, climate policy director for the National Wildlife Federation characterized the new EPA rule as a “milestone in the fight to rein in climate change. The EPA is taking a big step toward protecting the world our children will inherit.”

Source: Global Warming is Real

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