Standards & Compliance Briefing: Asia Pulp & Paper, Bonsucro, LEED ND

Asia Pulp & Paper Group announced that three of its mills have earned SVLK certification, and are the first pulp and paper mills in Indonesia to achieve certification under the country’s new wood legality verification system. The SVLK system creates a chain of custody process designed to ensure that mills only receive and process timber from legal sources, and a requirement that all products exported from the country are traceable to verifiable points of origin, APP said.

Adecoagro’s sugar, ethanol and energy production cluster in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, has been certified under the Bonsucro Sustainability Standard. The Bonsucro certification is designed to assure the social, environmental and economic sustainability of sugar, ethanol and energy production from sugarcane. The standard meets the sustainability criteria set by the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, which mandates 20 percent renewable energy consumption for its member states by 2020, the company said.

Columbia University’s 17-acre Manhattanville campus in West Harlem has earned LEED Platinum certification from its Neighborhood Development rating system. The project is the city’s first LEED ND certification and the first university campus in the nation to earn the award. Columbia entered Manhattanville – which will come to fruition over the next three decades – into a pilot program for LEED ND in 2007, writes Real Estate Weekly.

The Portsmouth Water System’s new Madbury water treatment plant in New Hampshire has received LEED Silver certification. The $20 million plant replaces a 50-year-old facility at the same location, and is expected to produce energy savings exceeding 24 percent or $35,000 annually, writes the Foster’s Daily Democrat.

Newcastle United Football Club has earned Carbon Trust Standard accreditation after sustainability measures cut the club’s utility bills by about £200,000 over three years. Features of the energy efficiency program included replacing CFL lighting with LED systems, fitting infrared sensor-activated lighting, adding valve wrap insulation and a water heating system upgrade, Solar Power Portal said.

Solar power systems infrastructure provider Unirac, Inc. announced that it is the first company to be certified under International Code Council Evaluation Service AC428, “Acceptance Criteria for Modular Framing Systems Used to Support Photovoltaic Modules.” AC428 defines requirements for solar infrastructure including testing to withstand varying weather conditions, meeting the manufacturer-specified lifespan, and showing compliance with other durability and safety requirements, the company said.

New Jersey electronics recycling company AnythingIT said that it is now e-Stewards and ISO 9001 certified. The company holds the two new certifications in addition to ISO 14001 and R2, Recycling Today reports.