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Brussels proposes new ‘green’ products system

The European Commission has announced plans for a new system aimed at clarifying definitions of ‘green’ products for sale within the

Campaign for GE-free seafood in the USA

Compass Group adds sustainability software to the menu

The food service giant uses the Carbon FOODprint dashboard to scrutinize menu choices, energy consumption, water usage and waste disposal.

South Korea called to task by Greenpeace over alleged illegal fishing

Greenpeace East Asia has accused South Korea\'s fishing industry of creating \'illegal fishing scandals and human rights abuses\' which \'have earned the country a bad reputation that is jeopardising its fish trade with the US and the EU\'.

'Sustainable fishing' certification too lenient and discretionary

The certification of seafood as “sustainable” by the nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council is too lenient and discretionary, a study by a consortium of researchers has found.

UTZ Certified to harmonise standards for coffee, tea and cocoa

UTZ is in the midst of a revision process for its coffee, cocoa and tea Codes of Conduct. While remaining internationally accepted and credible, UTZ anticipates that multi-stakeholder consultation rounds will lead to improvements of its sustainability standards to ultimately drive better farming practices. Regular standards review is a core requirement of ISEAL\'s Standard-Setting Code. The revision being undertaken by UTZ focuses, amongst other things, on items such as environmental criteria and climate change, living wage or income, transparency of premium distribution, productivity and criteria on Banned Crop Protection Products. Click here to learn more and participate. New in the process is that the three UTZ codes for coffee, cocoa and tea will be harmonised for more efficiency in the field. The end result will be one generic Code of Conduct, for individuals as well as for group certification, with commodity specific modules. Stakeholders are given ample opportunity to provide input on a range of topics via a series of workshops in the various producing regions as well as via public consultation rounds. The outcomes will be catalogued and decided upon by the Standards Committee. The current UTZ codes for coffee, cocoa and tea date from 2009. With the goal to launch the new codes in early 2014, UTZ is fully up to speed with these requirements. The UTZ Certified Code Development Procedure fully complies with the Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards of the ISEAL Alliance of which UTZ is a full member. Ensuring that a standard continues to function effectively and achieve its aims is one of the hallmarks of credibility for a standard-setter. The landscape in which we operate is always evolving, so a good standards organisation must be ready to adapt - to respond to new stakeholder needs and challenges, address growing issues and strengthen the strategies for delivering impact. The Standard-Setting Code requires standards to be reviewed at least every five years. According to the Code, \"standards shall be reviewed for continued relevance and for effectiveness in meeting their stated objectives.\" Public consultation allows stakeholders to have input in the review process and affect the decision to revise the standard. Importantly, the results of monitoring and evaluation activities, as outlined in the ISEAL Impacts Code, should factor into the review and be used to assess whether a standard is achieving its goals and/or if changes are required to increase its effectiveness. For more information about the revision of UTZ Certified\'s Codes of Conduct and to access the feedback forms to participate, click here. To download the ISEAL Standard-Setting Code, click here. To find out more about good practices in standard-setting, watch the video below

IKEA invests in CO2 textile dyeing

STOCKHOLM – IKEA GreenTech, an IKEA Group venture capital company has invested an undisclosed sum in Dyecoo Textile Systems, which produces machines for dyeing textiles with carbon dioxide instead of water. The move is being seen as a way to speed up the development of processes and machines that can dye cotton with liquefied carbon dioxide rather than water.

Keeping Things Clean the Eco-Friendly Way

PORI, Finland, April 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Clean Solutions Finland recently launched a new range of household cleaning products designed to help keep the home fresh and a clean, while at the same time ...

Is there a business case for building green?

A new report argues that green building can play a key role in tackling climate change and resource conservation issues.