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Noting that "no major breakthrough" was possible at the climate change conference in Cancun, environment minister Jairam Ramesh said that the focus of the international community had now shifted to what measures needed to be taken "post-Cancun".
The minister, who initiated the discussion at the Major Economies Forum in New York yesterday, pointed out that the discussion at MEF had revolved around discussing what would be the likely outcomes at Cancun, Mexico.
"Clearly now the focus is on post-Cancun...we recognise that there is no breakthrough possible in Cancun but let's now try to cut our losses and see what we can do after Cancun," Ramesh said.
"So we get a set of COP (Conference of Parties) decisions at Cancun and let those decisions serve as a further basis of further action post-Cancun," he said, after the MEF meeting.
The countries present in the two-day MEF meeting are Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States.
Countries that come to the conference in Cancun, later this year, are expected to produce a legally binding treaty to combat climate change, which the conference in Copenhagen failed to do.
Instead, two-weeks of negotiations yielded the non-binding Copenhagen Accord, which was produced by 29 countries, but principally drafted by the United States, China, India, Brazil and South Africa, in the last few hours of the Conference.
It was criticised by certain countries including Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba for having left the majority of the nations out of the negotiating process, and led to charges of a "trust deficit" between the developed and developing world.
Key elements of the Accord included a limit 2 degree rise of global temperature, 100 billion dollars on finance in long term finance to developing countries and 30 billion dollars to short-term finance to the poorest and most vulnerable countries.
The minister reiterated that one of the reasons for the lack of progress in Cancun is the absence of any action towards dispensing of $30 billion by developed countries promised at Copenhagen.
India and other emerging economies do not benefit from this aid. "We should be realistic of what you can expect to do in Cancun," Ramesh said.
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Graphic Packaging to Use Recycled Wastewater
WaterGraphic Packaging will use recycled wastewater from a new $20 million project that will reduce water use at the Sparta Aquifer in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, according to a report in the Monroe News-Star.
According to the report, the city of West Monroe, LA, is building a 45,000-square-foot water treatment facility along the Ouachita River, near an existing treatment facility. The aquifer supplies almost 71 million gallons of water demand daily, though it is only being replenished with 51 million gallons. The project will recycle 10 million gallons for use in Graphic Packaging’s production process. Construction is likely to complete early next year.
Environmental Leader previously reported on another wastewater development in Louisiana involving Siemens and the Petroleum Environmental Research Forum. The partnership is collaborating to test a new biological reactor for industrial wastewater treatment.
GE meanwhile, is collaborating with Consol Energy on a new water recycling system using advanced filtration membranes and thermal water treatment technology that will allow Consol to recycle 99 percent of the water it uses at its coal mine in Oakwood, VA.
According to the report, the city of West Monroe, LA, is building a 45,000-square-foot water treatment facility along the Ouachita River, near an existing treatment facility. The aquifer supplies almost 71 million gallons of water demand daily, though it is only being replenished with 51 million gallons. The project will recycle 10 million gallons for use in Graphic Packaging’s production process. Construction is likely to complete early next year.
Environmental Leader previously reported on another wastewater development in Louisiana involving Siemens and the Petroleum Environmental Research Forum. The partnership is collaborating to test a new biological reactor for industrial wastewater treatment.
GE meanwhile, is collaborating with Consol Energy on a new water recycling system using advanced filtration membranes and thermal water treatment technology that will allow Consol to recycle 99 percent of the water it uses at its coal mine in Oakwood, VA.
Sustainability as the Enabler of Technology
Within companies, the sustainability agenda has moved from green marketing to sustainability communications and from simple compliance to a source of innovation.
Companies that have invested in ‘greening’ their internal processes, such as their supply chain, now have a good story to tell and are looking for new and interactive ways to take their consumers on their sustainability journey with them.
Digital sustainability is an innovative concept that allows companies to do just that. By integrating environmental, social and economic sustainability topics into every day conversations online, brands are beginning to make sustainability issues both accessible and normal. They are also demonstrating how sustainability can help people to do good and feel good through interaction with brands, organisations, and each other.
Brands have recognised that there is a tangible commercial opportunity to use digital channels to not only communicate sustainability but to enable positive and collective change. This shift has shed light on the emergence of four mega trends that have resulted from the convergence of sustainability and digital:
Awareness: CSR practitioners have recently woken up to the fact that they can use digital platforms to build awareness and a “fan base” or community around the topics that consumers are most passionate about, in order to push their message further than ever before. One of the most recent examples of this was Greenpeace’s viral video which attacked Nestle’s palm oil sourcing methods. Following an extensive backlash from the digital community that included almost 1.5 million views of their Kit Kat advert, over 200,000 e-mails sent and countless Facebook comments, the multinational company introduced a ‘zero deforestation’ policy.
Personalisation: This incredible power given to individual consumers through the brand in its digital form has also led to the growing individualisation of information, interaction and engagement. Companies are using this shift from mass information to value and relevancy as a way of communicating with their customers and reacting to their needs. Brands such as DoGood Headquarters have developed a browser plug-in for end consumers to download, which gives them the choice “to see green, charitable, and health and wellness advertising… and donates 50% of the earned profits from said advertising back to green initiative and charities.”
Traceability: Pioneering brands are using digital traceability to enhance transparency. Dole’s organic labelling scheme allows customers to track each piece of fruit through a unique code, from the farm it was grown on to the journey it took. This cradle to table view emphasises the importance of Dole’s accountability throughout the supply and transportation chain. This emphasis on accountability will become essential with the advances in digital allowing for more detail and connection with the journey of the brand.
The new role of the consumer: Integrated throughout these trends is the new role of consumers, who have been imbued with the power to move beyond boycotts and protests, to begin shaping and defining how brands behave. Companies such as Pepsi and Pampers have used the power of crowd-sourcing to unleash the creative potential of their audiences, enabling them to fulfil their ambitions either for a cause or for personal empowerment. These engagement platforms have facilitated genuine two-way dialogue, which we predict will sit at the heart of all future development within the leading brands of tomorrow.
In our increasingly fragmented world, sustainability is set to play a crucial role in allowing consumers to engage in meaningful and lasting relationships with those around them as they seek to live better, more connected lives. As marketers, our job is to give them the tools so that together we can build this brighter future.
Companies that have invested in ‘greening’ their internal processes, such as their supply chain, now have a good story to tell and are looking for new and interactive ways to take their consumers on their sustainability journey with them.
Digital sustainability is an innovative concept that allows companies to do just that. By integrating environmental, social and economic sustainability topics into every day conversations online, brands are beginning to make sustainability issues both accessible and normal. They are also demonstrating how sustainability can help people to do good and feel good through interaction with brands, organisations, and each other.
Brands have recognised that there is a tangible commercial opportunity to use digital channels to not only communicate sustainability but to enable positive and collective change. This shift has shed light on the emergence of four mega trends that have resulted from the convergence of sustainability and digital:
Awareness: CSR practitioners have recently woken up to the fact that they can use digital platforms to build awareness and a “fan base” or community around the topics that consumers are most passionate about, in order to push their message further than ever before. One of the most recent examples of this was Greenpeace’s viral video which attacked Nestle’s palm oil sourcing methods. Following an extensive backlash from the digital community that included almost 1.5 million views of their Kit Kat advert, over 200,000 e-mails sent and countless Facebook comments, the multinational company introduced a ‘zero deforestation’ policy.
Personalisation: This incredible power given to individual consumers through the brand in its digital form has also led to the growing individualisation of information, interaction and engagement. Companies are using this shift from mass information to value and relevancy as a way of communicating with their customers and reacting to their needs. Brands such as DoGood Headquarters have developed a browser plug-in for end consumers to download, which gives them the choice “to see green, charitable, and health and wellness advertising… and donates 50% of the earned profits from said advertising back to green initiative and charities.”
Traceability: Pioneering brands are using digital traceability to enhance transparency. Dole’s organic labelling scheme allows customers to track each piece of fruit through a unique code, from the farm it was grown on to the journey it took. This cradle to table view emphasises the importance of Dole’s accountability throughout the supply and transportation chain. This emphasis on accountability will become essential with the advances in digital allowing for more detail and connection with the journey of the brand.
The new role of the consumer: Integrated throughout these trends is the new role of consumers, who have been imbued with the power to move beyond boycotts and protests, to begin shaping and defining how brands behave. Companies such as Pepsi and Pampers have used the power of crowd-sourcing to unleash the creative potential of their audiences, enabling them to fulfil their ambitions either for a cause or for personal empowerment. These engagement platforms have facilitated genuine two-way dialogue, which we predict will sit at the heart of all future development within the leading brands of tomorrow.
In our increasingly fragmented world, sustainability is set to play a crucial role in allowing consumers to engage in meaningful and lasting relationships with those around them as they seek to live better, more connected lives. As marketers, our job is to give them the tools so that together we can build this brighter future.
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