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Environment ministers want more done to guarantee renewable production and to support local businesses in the hydrogen supply chain

Five EU countries object to bloc's latest hydrogen 'manifesto'

Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain have issued a joint letter calling on the EU to clearly prioritise renewable energies under an EU-led project aiming to accelerate hydrogen deployment, research and infrastructure.

Skanska's EV policy and the UK's largest community solar park: The sustainability success stories of the week

As part of our Mission Possible campaign, edie brings you this weekly round-up of five of the best sustainability success stories of the week from across the globe.

Absolut’s scope 1 and 2 emissions for the last financial year were 847 tonnes of CO2e

Absolut Company to go fossil-fuel-free by 2025

The Absolut Company has announced that all production of its Vodka products will be fossil-fuel-free by 2025, as part of a wider ambition to become carbon-neutral by 2030 without relying on offset use.

ITV reaches more than 40 million viewers in the UK every week

ITV commits to net-zero emissions by 2030

ITV has built on a recent science-based targets announcement by committing to reaching net-zero emissions across the business by 2030.

Sky recently unveiled a new commitment to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030

Football broadcast on Sky Sports to be certified to highest sustainability standards

Sky Sports has confirmed that all Premier League and English Football League matches broadcast across its sports channels will be certified to sustainable production levels.

Sharma visited Instagroup in Wokingham. Image: Gov.uk

'Crack on': Alok Sharma implores businesses to join £2bn Green Homes Grant

Business Secretary Alok Sharma has called on tradespeople across the UK to access the Government's new £2bn Green Homes Grants scheme to mobilise efforts to improve the energy efficiency of the UK's housing stock.

The ‘Race Against Climate Change Live’ summit featured an array of sports stars and climate experts

Greenest team on the greenest grid: Can carbon-neutral racing energise the climate debate?

EXCLUSIVE: With Formula E team Envision Virgin Racing confirming that it has achieved carbon-neutral status, the company's managing director Sylvain Filippi believes the sport can use its platform to showcase "exciting" low-carbon solutions to inspire a broad audience.

ITV has committed to Albert certification for programmes across all of its channels, and aims to achieve this by the end of 2021

ITV commits to 46% reduction in emissions through 1.5C science-based targets

Broadcaster ITV has outlined new targets to reduce emissions by more than 46%, reach 100% renewables and certify its studios and programmes to sustainability standards.

Regenerative Organic farming builds healthy soil to trap in more carbon and the Certification also focuses on social prosperity for farmers

Patagonia ups regenerative agriculture efforts

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has launched new campaigns to highlight the benefits of regenerative organic agriculture in tackling the climate and ecological crises, having launched a new range of cotton T-shirts sourced from farms promoting sustainable agriculture methods.

Mastercard will support more than 60 financial institutions in using more sustainable materials in their cards and value chains

Mastercard unveils biodegradable, ocean-bound and recyclable plastics card drive

Mastercard has launched a new initiative to get its customers to switch to cards made from recycled, biodegradable and ocean plastics, in a bid to reduce the amount of excess plastic that is landfilled each year.

Sky has repeatedly said that is views offsetting as part of a wider patchwork of solutions to decarbonisation, rather than a silver bullet

Director's (carbon) cut: Sky goes carbon-neutral across all original shows

Broadcaster Sky has achieved carbon-neutral certification across the entirety of its original programme portfolio, after offsetting all emissions generated by the 41 shows it produced in 2019.

In order to maintain B-Corp status, companies must submit new data every three years, regardless of their size or sector. Image: WeTransfer

WeTransfer achieves B-Corp certification, pledges carbon neutrality

Digital file transferring service WeTransfer has today (10 June) confirmed that it has achieved B-Corp certification, joining more than 3,000 other businesses including the likes of Ben & Jerry's, The Body Shop and Cook.

Currently, all Andrex toilet tissue and dry packaging are 100% recyclable

Andrex to use 30% recycled content in plastic packaging

British toiletries brand Andrex has confirmed that its packaging will consist of 30% recycled plastic content, as it pushes forward with an ambition to reach at least 50% recycled plastic content by 2023.

Water UK's 'Fine to Flush' certification symbolises that flushing them won't contribute to damage to UK sewers

Aldi toilet wipes certified as 'fine to flush' by Water UK

Supermarket Aldi has confirmed that its range of moist toilet tissues and toddler toilet wipes have been certified by Water UK as safe to flush down the toilet, citing that they won't contribute to sewer blockages or environmental waste.

Currently, 71% of the silver and gold in Pandora’s jewellery comes from recycled source

Pandora to reduce emissions by sourcing only recycled gold and silver

The world's largest jewellery brand, Pandora, has announced plans to stop sourcing mined silver and gold in its products by 2025, a move that is expected to cut its emissions from the use of the materials by more than two-thirds.

edie Explains: The circular economy

This new and updated edie Explains guide breaks down everything there is to know about achieving a circular economy for your business.

edie Explains: Carbon offsetting

What is carbon offsetting in the terms of a businesses’ carbon emissions strategy? How does the carbon offset process and its market work? And, at what point should a business turn to carbon offsetting?

Caught Out: Why UK supermarkets must stop fishing the feed

Earlier this year, Feedback and Changing Markets Foundation revealed that UK shoppers unwittingly consume 2.5x more fish than they think when they eat farmed seafood such as salmon and prawns.

The decentralised energy toolkit for business

This free Decentralised Energy Toolkit breaks down how organisations can utilise distributed energy solutions to take control of their energy use and realise various competitive and environmental benefits – from increased energy resilience and better efficiency to reduced emissions, lower costs and new revenue streams.

Mission Possible: Achieving a sustainable future for RETAIL

edie’s insight report series provides an in-depth exploration of the steps that sustainability and energy professionals within Britain's retail industry can take to achieve a sustainable future, today.

Each of these success stories exemplifies how businesses are ramping up ambitions and actions in all areas of sustainable development

Wooden turbines and Schneider Electric's net-zero homes: The sustainability success stories of the week

As part of our Mission Possible campaign, edie brings you this weekly round-up of five of the best sustainability success stories of the week from across the globe.

The disclosure digest - Five steps to align sustainability with investor needs

This report is based on a session of discussions and co- creation hosted in association with edie’s 2020 Sustainability Leaders Forum. The half-day event took place on 3 February in London and saw sustainability managers from a wide range of businesses take part in collaborative roundtables. During the discussions, sustainability managers outlined key challenges and discussed the exciting new opportunities in the areas that mattered the most.

Unilever’s chief executive Alan Jope reflected that amidst a global pandemic it was the duty of business to repair a broken capitalism mode

Unilever's Alan Jope on repairing capitalism, Covid-19 and Sustainable Living Plans

Providing an update to Unilever's flagship Sustainable Living Plan as it enters its 10th and final year, chief executive Alan Jope reflects on the need to double down to protect the planet and society during the pandemic by "driving a new model of capitalism".

edie Explains: Net-zero carbon business

What is 'net-zero' in the context of business emissions? Which organisations are most suited to adopting net-zero carbon strategies? And, what is the impact of the coronavirus on the net-zero movement?

Lewis was speaking to edie as part of our ENGAGE week of content

Why science, society and sustainability will matter more for business post-pandemic

Ball Corporation's President for Beverage Packaging Europe, Middle East & Africa, Ron Lewis outlines his thoughts on why sustainability will continue to be an important boardroom topic post-pandemic, and why a focus on society and the environment will be a focus moving forward.

Yorkshire Tea worked with TIST (The International Small Group and Tree Planting Programme) to encourage smallholder tea farmers to plant fruit and nut trees around tea gardens

Yorkshire Tea achieves carbon-neutral certification for operations and products

Yorkshire Tea has announced that all its products are carbon neutral from field to shelf, following a five-year programme to reduce emissions across its supply chain and operations.

Evian achieves carbon neutral certification globally

Danone-owned bottled water brand Evian has confirmed it has achieved carbon neutral certification across all the countries where the brand operates, following efforts to improve the efficiency of facilities and logistics and reducing lifecycle emissions of its bottles.

The company had recently surpassed its 2020 targets to reduce emissions by 50% against a 2009 baseline and reduce energy use in its buildings on an absolute basis by 50% against a 2013 baseline

Pearson to halve value chain emissions as part of approved science-based target

Learning and education company Pearson has had targets to halve its operational and value chain emissions by 2030 approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

edie explains: Energy-from-Waste

This new edie explains guide looks at Energy-from-Waste (EfW) and the associated technologies and issues surrounding the topic.

Chanel sets 1.5C science-based targets, pledges 100% renewable energy

Luxury fashion and fragrance giant Chanel has committed to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, under a new 1.5C-aligned set of sustainability targets.

Danone Waters UK is also working to achieve B Corp accreditation by the end of 2020

Danone Waters closes in on 100% recycled plastic and carbon-neutral goals in the UK

Danone has announced that Evian bottles will be made using 100% recycled plastics in the UK, while also achieving carbon neutrality in the UK for Evian and Volvic brands.

Ball announced that it has been sourcing 100% renewable electricity for beverage operations in the UK, EU and Serbia since the start of the year

Ball Corporation achieves ASI certification and meets 100% renewables target

Aluminium packaging manufacturer Ball Corporation has been certified to Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) standards for environmental, social and governance impacts, while also revealing it is powering its operations in the UK, European Union (EU) and Serbia with 100% renewable electricity.

The Fine to Flush Certification is designed to assess if products can be flushed without any detriment to the operation of the sewer system

Andrex wet wipes certified as 'fine to flush' by Water UK

British toiletries brand Andrex has today (27 February) announced that its washlet wipes range has achieved Water UK's 'Fine to Flush' certification, which symbolises that flushing them won't contribute to damage to UK sewers.

The global palm oil industry generates more than $50bn annually, but traditional plantations have driven widespread destruction of tropical rainforests

Kellogg's revamps deforestation and palm oil policies after environmental protests

Kellogg's has pledged to source 100% physically deforestation-free certified palm oil by 2025, following campaigns by green groups and schoolchildren.

Five key takeaways from edie's net-zero energy masterclass

Last week, edie undertook a masterclass with Smartest Energy on evolving your energy strategy for net-zero, which included a case study with property giant JLL.

The roundtable heard from experts representing organisations across the retail sector value chain

Servitisation and social media storytelling: How retailers are approaching sustainability in 2020

January is now probably just as synonymous with retail discounts as it is with New Year's resolutions. But following a year of unprecedented climate activism, how are retailers planning to increase sustainability action and embed a 'purpose-beyond-profits' approach in 2020?

It may feel like sustainability has dominated pop culture in 2019, but does progress exist beyond pockets of discussions? Image: BAFTA

How has pop culture responded to the climate emergency in 2019?

From Coldplay cancelling their tour until they can find a carbon-neutral option, to James Bond producers debuting the spy's first fully electric car, all the signs point to sustainability shaping pop culture. But how deep does this impact run, and what's in store for 2020?

Zalando avoided 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018

Zalando commits to onsite solar and green building certification across fulfilment centres

Online fashion platform Zalando has committed to placing solar panels and low-carbon technology on all its new and existing fulfilment centres by 2023, as the company pushes ahead with its net-zero commitment.

Childbase Partnership runs 43 day nurseries throughout the South of England, providing for nearly 6,000 children aged between six weeks to five years

Childbase Partnership sets net-zero emissions target for 2030

UK childcare and education provider Childbase Partnership has announced a radical new commitment to achieve a net-zero carbon footprint across its nurseries and head office by 2030.

The challenge calls for businesses to invest in “nature-based solutions” such as enhancing biodiversity and reforestation to act as carbon sinks

Gucci boss calls on business leaders to deliver net-zero supply chains

Gucci chief executive Marco Bizzarri has called on business leaders to sign up to a Carbon Neutral Challenge that sees businesses deliver greenhouse gas emissions reductions across their entire value chain in order to achieve net-zero emissions.

EasyJet will also look to champion carbon capture technologies and sustainable aviation fuels in order to decarbonise its flights and operations. Image: EasyJet

EasyJet to offset all flight emissions, pushes for electric aircraft vision

EasyJet has become the first airline to operate net-zero flights, after agreeing to offset all emissions from fuel starting today (19 November) and will continue to work on rolling out electric aircraft in the future.

The new rail line and wood pellet loading bay with sawmill residues in view at Drax LaSalle BioEnergy. Image Drax

Drax launches sustainable biomass strategy

Drax has outlined how it will use the latest science and best practice to ensure that biomass use is sustainably sourced and not linked to deforestation, with the UK Governments former chief scientific adviser Sir John Beddington confirmed as chair of a new Independent Advisory Board (IAB).

Pictured: Fish caught in The Gambia, where much FMFO originates. Image: Peter van der Sluijs / CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

Report: 'Sustainable' seafood in UK supermarkets 'wiping out wild fish stocks'

Farmed seafood sold in British supermarkets is regularly being fed with feed produced using methods which are "stripping the oceans bare and damaging marine ecosystems", a new investigative report has claimed.

Bentley Motors installed a solar carport at the site, consisting of 10,000 solar modules. The array has a 2.7MW capacity covering 1,378 parking spaces

Bentley achieves carbon-neutral certification at solar-powered Crewe plant

Bentley Motors' corporate headquarters and main manufacturing facility in Crewe has achieved carbon-neutral certification, with a solar-powered carport, green energy contracts and carbon offsets used to decarbonise the plant.

Since 2005, RJC membership has grown from 14 to more than 1,100 organisations across the jewellery value chain

Responsible Jewellery Council joins UN Global Compact to act on SDGs

The Responsible Jewellery Council has forged a new partnership with the UN Global Compact which will see members such as Swarovski, Tiffany & Co and the De Beers Group, develop actions that align and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Iceland was criticised by Feedback for failing to stock any meat sourced through sustainable certification schemes

UK supermarkets accused of over-producing low-quality meat

Anti-hunger charity Feedback is calling for big-name UK supermarkets such as Iceland, Lidl and Asda to offer "less and better" meat, in order to minimise their climate impacts.

(L-R) Presenter Joanne Wade OBE, chief executive, ACE, compere Michaela Strachan and Ibstock Brick’s Michael McGowan

Meet the sustainability leader: Energy Efficiency - Ibstock Brick

With entries now open for edie's Sustainability Leaders Awards 2020, this new feature series showcases the achievements of the 2019 winners and reveals their secrets to success. Up next: The winner of our Energy Efficiency Award, Ibstock Brick.

The contractually obliged suppliers represent almost 21% of O2’s supply chain emissions

O2 recertified to highest Carbon Trust standard for supply chain emissions management

Telecoms giant O2 has been recertified to the highest possible level of supply chain management to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Thai Union relies on the oceans for its business and is recognised widely as a leader for its approach to sustainability

SDGs In Action: How Thai Union is achieving Goal 14 - Life Below Water

Welcome back to edie's new editorial series which breaks down exactly how businesses are turning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into action. Up next: seafood-based food producer Thai Union outlines how it is creating healthy oceans by changing seafood for good.

The BCI-certified cotton sourced by fashion brands in 2018 was equivalent to 1.5 billion pairs of jeans

Fashion industry sourced record amount of sustainable cotton in 2018

Fashion brands and retailers collectively sourced more than one million metric tonnes of sustainably certified cotton through the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) last year, breaking the industry standard operator's record.

The Rainforest Alliance is committed to supporting cocoa-growing communities increase farmer income while conserving the environment and wildlife

Tesco switches to sustainable cocoa for own-brand products in time for Easter

UK supermarket Tesco has announced that all cocoa for its own-brand chocolate is now sourced from farms that are Rainforest Alliance Certified.

Through the lens of SDG 15, Asia Pulp & Paper is committed to improving the livelihoods of the farmers and communities that it interacts with

SDGs In Action: How Asia Pulp & Paper is achieving Goal 15 - Life On Land

Welcome to edie's brand new editorial series which breaks down exactly how businesses are turning the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into action. First up: paper manufacturer Asia Pulp & Paper (APP) reveals how it is driving out deforestation while improving the livelihoods of its workers in Indonesia.

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.

Certified & sustainable

One of Europe's most influential thought leaders on sustainable development, writer and broadcaster Jonathon Porritt, on the need to support certification programmes that deliver zero deforestation.

The RCP, which has seen membership reach 34,500 physicians in the UK, has also implemented new waste management processes to reduce its plastic waste and increase its recycling

Royal College of Physicians achieves Carbon Trust Standard certification

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) has been recognised for recording a 30% reduction in its carbon footprint over a three-year period by becoming the first royal college to receive the Carbon Trust Standard certification.

The Co-op's chief commercial officer Michael Fletcher (first from left) made the comments during a Fairtrade conference in London

Co-op: Fair pay for supply chain workers 'could be the next plastics'

As more companies begin to emphasise the importance of human rights across global supply chains, the Co-op's chief commercial officer Michael Fletcher has noted that supply chain worker treatment could have a “David Attenborough moment” and become the next big sustainability issue for consumers.

The new target will see Interface developing factories and products that sequester more carbon than they emit

Interface unveils goal of becoming carbon negative by 2040

Modular flooring firm Interface has set a new target of becoming carbon negative by 2040, building on a 2020 ambition of having “no negative environmental impact”.

Revisions to the Standard have been made to reflect current industry trends

ISO 50001 revised to reflect changing energy landscape

The ISO 50001 energy management standard has been revised for the first time since it was published to account for trends such as rising energy costs and climate change.

The jeans, which took more than a year to develop, are made from organic cotton and coloured with dye derived from plant waste

Cradle to Cradle: C&A launches 'world's most circular' jeans

Fashion retailer C&A has this week launched the world's first Gold level Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified jeans, and is now providing other clothing brands with the tools they need to produce equally sustainable denim garments.

Palm oil is a $50bn-a-year commodity, but traditional plantations have driven widespread destruction of tropical rainforests

Big-name investors make joint call for stronger palm oil certification standards

More than 90 institutional investors representing more than $6.7trn in assets under management have jointly urged the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to strengthen its draft certification standards before they are finalised in November.

Thai Union has said it would like to extend the partnership for a further four years to drive further action in the tuna sector

How collaborating with WWF helped Thai Union drive sustainability sector-wide

EXCLUSIVE: More corporations should consider partnering with public-sector organisations if they wish to go beyond improving their own sustainability strategies to drive industry-wide improvements, according to Thai Union’s award-winning global director of sustainable development, Darian McBain.

PepsiCo has announced it will not purchase palm oil from land that has been cleared since the end of 2015

PepsiCo on track for palm oil goals despite NGO concerns

PepsiCo has released an updated sourcing policy in a bid to source 100% certified sustainable palm oil by 2020, a move that the Rainforest Action Network has described as a "dodge and cover" action plan.

MSC and FOS certified more than nine million metric tonnes of fish in 2015

'Label shopping': Is the certification scheme model broken?

Voluntary certification schemes have fiercely denied claims from a new report that that are providing cover for companies that are "destroying the planet", raising questions of whether the abundance of certification offers is watering-down sustainability efforts.

Pieters call for collaboration is built on the efforts that Mondelez has put in place to attempt to boost the prosperity of its suppliers

Mondelez calls for 'brave' collaboration to bring cocoa supply chain out of poverty

EXCLUSIVE: The head of Mondelez's Cocoa Life sourcing programme has called on the cocoa industry to "be brave" when exploring new ways to enhance supply chain practices that ensure cocoa is sourced sustainably while bringing smallholder farmers out of poverty.

Strong collective performance across the UK supermarket industry is held back by Iceland, Morrisons and Marks and Spencer (M&S)

Aldi tops UK supermarkets for sustainable seafood products

Aldi has edged out Sainsbury's and Lidl in offering the largest amount of sustainable seafood to UK customers, according to new findings from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Icebreaker is now using a “Baacode” that enables consumers to trace fibres in clothing all the way back to the farm

How Icebreaker's first transparency report aims to disrupt the outdoor apparel industry

A New Zealand-based outdoor apparel company's attempt to disrupt the industry by reducing plastic synthetics has been highlighted through its first Transparency report, which provides complete disclosure into supply chain contracts, living wage commitments and edible packaging innovations.

ESOS Phase 2: beyond compliance and added value

Many businesses were caught out by Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) in 2015 - either because the qualification criteria were obscure, or the communication from the Environment Agency (EA) didn't get through, or just because other priorities pushed ESOS to the bottom of the pile. Either way, ESOS Phase 1 was a bit of a scramble, and may not have been entirely valuable to your business (other than avoiding a fine!).

Duvoisin believes that sustainability can act as a differentiator in today’s market

Sustainability a competitive advantage for business, says Nespresso boss

EXCLUSIVE: Businesses aiming to become sustainability leaders cannot ignore approaches to communication in an age where consumers and stakeholders are actively engaged on corporate approaches to societal and environmental needs, the chief executive of Nespresso has claimed.

B Corps are on the move – why it’s time to join in

Ella's Kitchen certified as a B Corporation two years ago this February, only the second company ever to certify whilst being part of a PLC, after Ben & Jerry's with Unilever. However becoming a B Corp was always about something bigger than its impact on Ella's Kitchen.

ESOS – The Challenges Last Time

We are now in Phase 2 of ESOS and, although the deadline of 5th December 2019 may seem a long way off, you should now be thinking about the compliance process. But how can you learn from the challenges last time?

Energy management experts from manufacturing and retail firms across the country came together to discuss the potential solutions to some of the biggest challenges around energy resilience

Energy resilience roundtable: Paving the path to a clean energy future

Energy management experts from some of the world's biggest manufacturers and retailers recently came together for an exclusive roundtable hosted by edie and Centrica Business Solutions to explore some of the biggest challenges and opportunities when it comes to building energy resilience.

B Corp businesses grow 28 times faster than national average

New research has revealed that businesses within the purpose-driven B Corp movement are growing 28 times faster than the national economic growth of 0.5%.

Waitrose's ethical supplier scheme expands out of Africa for first time

Waitrose is expanding its ethical trading initiative beyond Africa for the first time, with pineapple growers in Costa Rica set to be backed by extra investment from the British retailer.

The 14-page edie explains guide helps environmental professionals understand exactly what they need to do before, during and after the ISO 14001 certification process

ISO 14001: edie launches updated practical guide to implementation

Organisations and professionals with an interest in the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard now have access to an updated, comprehensive 'edie explains' guide which breaks down all of the key information required to gain certification.

PTPN employees more than 121,000 people and generated 63% if its $2.5m global sales from palm oil production

Unilever to increase sustainable palm oil production in Indonesia

Global consumer goods firm Unilever has struck a deal with a government-owned palm oil plantation firm in Indonesia to create a support framework that enables local mills and smallholders to produce palm oil according to standards of no deforestation and no peatland deterioration.