Standards & Compliance Briefing: Solar Finance, Freedom Foods, ICC Global Services

by | Jan 17, 2013

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Solar industry companies including Distributed Sun and DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions have established the truSolar Working Group, a consortium that aims to develop uniform financial standards for solar projects. Less than 5 percent of US lending institutions are actively involved in financing solar projects due to concerns about industry risks, and the group says their efforts should lower transaction and capital costs, and improve project finance liquidity. Founding member companies include ABB, Assurant, Inc., Mosaic, PanelClaw, SMA America, Standard & Poor’s, Booz Allen Hamilton, Rocky Mountain Institute and US national labs NREL and Sandia, the group said.

The UK Salmon and Trout Association has issued a report critical of the RSPCA/Freedom Food certification process. S&TA obtained its data under a freedom of information request to the public and statutory authorities on two Freedom Food certified farms, Wester Ross Fisheries and Scottish Salmon Company, the association said.

The International Code Council has shifted its Global Services Division to the International Accreditation Service, an ICC subsidiary. ICC’s position in the international building safety market is expected to benefit from the partnership with IAS, an accreditation body active in 26 countries, the council said.

UL International Italia has been accredited to conduct the following test procedures for the US Department of Energy’s LED Lighting Facts label: IES LM-79 for total flux and color (required label metrics and some optional electrical and color metrics; LM-79 sections 9 and 12) and IES LM-79 for intensity distribution (some optional metrics; LM-79 section 10). Since June 2012, LED Lighting Facts accepts test reports only from Testing Laboratory Partners on the Approved Testing Laboratories list, UL said.

Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach in Phuket, Thailand, has received Green Globe certification. The luxury hotel property has installed a high-efficiency air conditioning system, uses water from its own treatment plant, and its purchasing policy favors suppliers based on their environmental and social practices. Sustainability consultancy Farnek Avireal conducted the audit, Green Globe said.

The Martin-Brower Company’s Enfield distribution center has earned its ISO 14001 certification. The Enfield operation is the tenth US-based Martin Brower operation to be ISO 14001 certified, the distribution services provider said.

The Watauga High School in Boone, N.C., has earned LEED Silver certification for new construction. The facility, designed by SfL+a architects, includes a rainwater collection system used to flush toilets, a geothermal heating system beneath athletic fields and an orientation to allow use of natural sunlight, the Watauga Democrat writes.

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