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Bioenergy a 'no regrets solution' to reaching net-zero, report says

Increasing the deployment of bioenergy renewable sources by more than 10% would enable the UK to affordably meet future carbon budgets while also overcoming an "impending nuclear gap", a new report from the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has found.

British Airways boss Alex Cruz believes that innovation will spur decarbonisation, but not by focusing on isolated solutions

British Airways boss: No 'silver bullets' for aviation to tackle climate change

EXCLUSIVE: The chief executive of the second-largest UK airline has insisted that the company remains "hell-bent" on upscaling innovation to promote sustainability, but also believes that a plethora of collaborative solutions will be needed for the industry to effectively tackle climate change.

Miele claims that the move will boost McDonald’s annual biofuel production by one-fifth

McDonald's boosts biofuel generation with grease recovery partnership

Fast food giant McDonald's UK has inked a deal with commercial laundry and dishwashing appliances manufacturer Miele which will see it recover more of its used grease for recycling into biofuels.

Palm oil: Certified but NOT sustainable

Last month, Jonathon Porritt stated in his edie blog that the intent of the Changing Markets Foundation was to 'undermine the creditability of certification schemes' without suggesting alternatives. As the Foundation's campaign's director, I was surprised by this accusation and feel compelled to provide my own response.

The new policies include a 5% increase in the proportion of the bloc's energy mix which will need to be met with renewable generation by 2030

EU approves more ambitious renewables target, commits to palm oil phase-out

The European Parliament has voted to approve a set of new clean energy laws for 2030, outlining plans to increase the bloc's use of renewable energy and ban the sale of high-emission biofuels made from palm and soybean oil.

While renewables have been growing strongly, their growth isn’t large enough to reverse CO2 emissions trends, Birol said

'Bad news' and 'despair': Global carbon emissions to hit new record in 2018, IEA says

Global carbon emissions will rise to a new record level in 2018, making the chances of reaching a target to keep temperature increases to 1.5 or 2°C "weaker and weaker every year, every month," the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said.

Countries like the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark want to go far beyond what the Commission wanted

European Parliament revs up CO2 car limits

MEPs voted in Strasbourg on Wednesday (3 October) in favour of a 40% CO2 reduction target for light vehicles by 2030. The target is higher than that which the Commission has proposed and tough talks with national capitals now loom large on the horizon.

Stoffer revealed to edie that he will spend much of the year formulating “challenging but obtainable goals” for the future

Investment drive sees Smurfit Kappa reach carbon goal three years early

EXCLUSIVE: Paper-based packaging company Smurfit Kappa has surpassed a target to reduce emissions by a quarter three years ahead of schedule, with the company's vice president of development outlining how investment cycles helped accelerate progress.

Featured innovations include reusable pizza boxes and underground, automated bin systems

Intelligent highways and underground bins: the best green innovations of the week

A number of eye-catching and potentially transformational innovations have emerged that could help businesses and nations deliver on resource efficiency, low-carbon transitions and combat climate change. Here, edie rounds-up six of the best.

The EU ETS sets a cap on the total emissions from electricity generation and enables UK-based industries to purchase emissions reductions from overseas

European Commission moves to Brexit-proof Emissions Trading System

The European Commission has agreed on a new measure to protect its Emissions Trading System (ETS) against a potential breakdown in Brexit negotiations.

Some oil firms, such as Shell, believe the peak could come in the early 2030s or potentially even late 2020s due to growth in cars powered by biofuels and batteries

World petrol demand 'likely to peak by 2030 as electric car sales rise'

World petrol demand will peak within 13 years thanks to the impact of electric cars and more efficient engines, energy experts have predicted.

T&E, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth are among nearly 100 environmental groups protesting the proposal

New airplane biofuels plan would 'destroy rainforests', warn campaigners

A new plan to accelerate production of biofuels for passenger planes has drawn stinging criticism from environmentalists who argue that most of the world's rainforests might have to be cleared to produce the necessary crops.

Fasten your seat belt, sustainable air travel is preparing for take-off

We have hybrid cars, and it now appears that the prospect of being able to fly more sustainably is no longer beyond the realms of possibility.

The REA claims that the Government’s own Transport Energy Task Force had lobbied for a 10% ruling for the crop-based bioethanol

Government raises renewable fuel obligation, caps crop-based fuel use

The UK Government has confirmed that it will increase the percentage of petrol and diesel that is sourced from renewables used for vehicle use, while the use of crops in fuel production will also be capped.

Biogas trials have been conducted by Wyke Farms tractors, but range is still an issue

Political barriers hampering onsite biodiesel production

EXCLUSIVE: Biomethane generated from food and drinks process residues is emerging as a viable low-carbon alternative to diesel used in commercial vehicles, but a lack of political clarity has left the food sector "scratching the surface" of a potential closed-loop, onsite fuel system.

Under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations order, biofuel must be blended into petrol and diesel in the UK today at a rate of 4.75%

Biofuels needed but some more polluting than fossil fuels, report warns

Biofuel use needs to increase to help fight climate change as liquid fuels will be needed by aircraft and ships for many decades to come, finds a new report requested by the UK government.

While poultry litter biomass has received a boost across the country, using ground coffee waste for a similar purpose is expanding outside of London

Coffee grounds and poultry litter proving a viable biomass option in the UK

As innovative waste coffee recycling firm bio-beans expands its collection service across the University of Birmingham, the UK Government has revealed that Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants using poultry litter will receive the highest tariffs under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).

Waitrose rolls out Europe's first 500-mile biomethane trucks

As part of an ongoing transition towards alternatively- fuelled trucks and lower fleet emissions, Waitrose has spent the early months of 2017 trialling Europe’s first 500-mile biomethane trucks, with plans to scale-up the project over the coming years.

In practice: Costa's new low-carbon coffee roastery

What makes Costa Coffee’s new £38m roastery in Basildon "one of the most sustainable buildings in the world"? This free case study provides an overview of all the low-carbon and resource-efficient features of the retailer's flagship sustainability project.

Beware false sustainability solutions

It is inescapable and undeniable that we live in a finite world. It is also becoming widely accepted that we are using resources and polluting air, land and water at unsustainable levels. That's why the term 'sustainability' is pervading many aspects of government policy, locally, nationally and internationally, and prompting business and industry to radically change the ways they operate.

The five-year project will see SEAT provide CNG vehicles to test the new fuels over a total test run distance of 120,000km

Breakthroughs for biofuel in aviation and transport sectors

Car manufacturer SEAT has provided insight into its innovative project that turns wastewater into a biomethane fuel capable of reducing CO2 emissions by 80% compared to traditional vehicles, while NASA has released data on the viability on using biofuels in jet engines.

How to win the war on waste in the UK

Many EU senior officials are now saying that the move to a circular economy is an economic and environmental necessity. As fossil fuels subsidies come to an end and the UK triggers Article 50, there is a sense of urgency to create a society where nothing is wasted to ensure we don't fall behind the rest of Europe and the world in our actions to save the planet.

Around 2,500 commercial flights have now taken place using some amount of biofuels

EU sees 'strategic advantage' of biofuels in aviation

In sectors like aviation where decarbonisation options are limited, there is a strategic advantage in encouraging the use of biofuels, a European Commission official has said.

First Mile's chief commercial officer Joe Allen (left) and Caffè Nero's commercial director Matt Spencer (right) are pleased by the success of the ongoing partnership

Caffé Nero reports coffee-waste-to-biofuel success, plans expansion

Italian-style coffee shop chain Caffé Nero is looking to extend an innovative coffee-to-biofuel recycling scheme beyond greater London after a successful partnership with recycling company First Mile and technology firm Bio-Bean.

PwC currently recycles or reuses around 85% of the waste it produces, generating £500,000 for the firm annually in the process

Going Circular: PwC's staff engagement success story

As part of edie's engagement month of editorial content, Matt Mace takes a closer look at the innovative behaviour change approaches being adopted by PwC as the professional services firm seeks to mobilise waste reduction efforts of thousands of staff members to deliver a closed-loop organisation.

Birmingham Town Hall. A series of workshops will provide Midlands businesses with specialist expertise about advanced thermal technologies and biological conversion processes

UK businesses to accelerate bioenergy opportunities through EU grant

A European Union (EU) funded project is set to support firms across the West Midlands to reap the economic and environmental benefits from bioenergy and thermal technologies.

Heathrow Airport's chief executive John Holland-Kaye gave this speech on day two of edie’s Sustainability Leaders Forum

Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye speech: 'Airport expansion a model for sustainable growth'

Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye took to the stage at edie's Sustainability Leaders Forum this week to announce that all of the Airport's energy usage will be generated from renewable sources within the next few months, ahead of its controversial expansion. Here's a full transcript of his speech.

The industry claims that ethanol produced in Europe has 64% greenhouse gas (GHG) higher savings compared to petrol, which is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of 4 million cars

EU risks missing climate goals without 'sustainable' biofuels, experts warn

The European Commission's proposal to gradually phase out "sustainable" first generation biofuels will prevent the EU from meeting its 2030 climate goals, experts claim.

Transport Minister John Hayes indicated that the Government will support greater integration of biofuels into the UK’s transport energy mix to complement the growth of EVs

Government unveils £20m funding for low-carbon freight projects

The UK Government has unveiled £20m investment for firms developing low-carbon vehicle projects as part of an overarching plan for all new cars and vans to be zero-emission by 2040.

Bio-bean became the first company in the world to industrialise the process of recycling waste coffee into biofuel in 2012

Costa partners with Bio-bean to convert 3,000 tonnes of coffee waste to biofuel

The UK's largest coffee chain Costa has entered into a partnership with biomass recycling firm Bio-bean, which will see 3,000 tonnes of Costa's waste coffee grounds used as biofuel.

The situation is balanced on a knife edge. We must come up with clear action plans and turn top-line guidance into a real framework for collective action

Climate action in a post-Trump world: game over or business as usual?

As part of edie's Sustainability Leadership Month of editorial content, Grosvenor's group sustainability director Kate Brown has penned this exclusive opinion piece, explaining the need for businesses to develop clear action plans and drive forward with sustainability leadership, regardless of the turbulent political backdrop.

DfT confirmed details of the new £390m funding for future transport technology, and outlined several proposals to develop renewable fuels in aviation

Government prepares for green transport revolution with EV and sustainable aviation frameworks

British transport is set for a significant low-carbon boost with several new Government consultations and funding schemed announced over the past few days in a bid to drive a green transport overhaul.

CNG gas engines meet the latest Euro-6 air quality standards and are roughly 50% quieter than diesel engines

UK retailers pioneer ground-breaking biomethane transport fuel

A host of British retailers including Waitrose, John Lewis and Argos have been named as the first long-distance lorry users of a renewable biomethane fuel launched today (1 December), which is said to be 35-40% cheaper and 70% less CO2-emitting than diesel.

Transport is responsible for around a quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions, making it the single biggest emitting sector in the continent

Diesel vehicles burnt almost half of Europe's palm oil in 2015

The share of Europe's imported palm oil being used up by diesel cars and trucks has reached an all-time-high, despite further evidence of its harmful environmental effects, according to a new report from an independent industry forecasting group.

BioSNG can be transported through existing natural gas networks to be used in domestic, commercial and industrial heating and CHP applications

Work set to begin on pioneering green-gas-from-waste plant in Swindon

Work is set to begin on a pioneering gas from waste plant in Swindon following the completion of financing.

T&E noted that because these biofuels would count as “zero-emission fuels”, they would make the EU's transport emissions look 478 million tonnes lower than they actually are

Leaked biofuel plan set to increase European transport emissions

A leaked draft of the European Commission's (EC) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) has revealed that a promised phase-out of food-based biodiesels will not be met, with new proposals set to increase European transport emissions by 219 million tonnes by 2030.

The fuel is believed to be the world’s first of its kind produced from forest wood

Alaska Airlines flies first commercial jet powered by forest biomass

Alaska Airline passengers have taken to the skies in a "world-first" commercial flight running on sustainable alternative jet fuel made from forest residuals from the Pacific Northwest.

The process could be retrofitted across 65% of the world’s steel mills, leading to the creation of 15bn gallons of AtJ fuel – representing around 19% of global aviation fuel

Virgin unveils aviation 'game-changer' with alcohol-to-jet fuel

Virgin Atlantic has today (14 September) announced that an innovative partnership with carbon capture company LanzaTech has successfully produced 1,500 gallons of low-carbon, alcohol-to-jet (AtJ) fuel.

One potential method to reduce emissions from shipping is the use of biofuels. The Sustainable Shipping Initiative is already exploring how biofuels could be used as an energy source

European Commission urged to revamp bioenergy and shipping policies

The European Commission has been greeted with across-the-board support from MEPs to include emissions from shipping in the European Union's 2030 emissions reduction target, while non-profits are also calling for improved bioenergy policies.

Currently, around 12% of the conventionally-fuelled ground fleet is being replaced by these new fuel-mix vehicles

UPS reaches one billion miles target for 'Rolling Laboratory' green fleet one year early

Logistics company UPS has revealed it has passed the one billion miles milestone for its "Rolling Laboratory" of electric, natural gas, biofuel and hybrid delivery trucks one year ahead of schedule.

New legislation includes emission standards for cars, vans and - for the first time in Europe - trucks

Vehicle emissions standard forms 'centrepiece' of EU's low-carbon vision

A new legislative proposal from the European Union (EU) that creates binding targets for Member States to reduce emissions in the transport, buildings, agriculture, waste, land-use and forestry sectors will hinge on the ability to accelerate low-carbon technology and fuels in the automotive industry.