Standards & Compliance Briefing: Water Stewardship, LEED, ISO 14001, 50001

So far 12 companies, utilities, and communities in Brazil, Canada, China, India, South Africa and the US have confirmed that they will implement the Beta AWS Standard, which the Alliance for Water Stewardship calls the world’s first international water stewardship standard. Foz | Saneatins, the water utility in the Brazilian state of Tocantins, is already applying the standard in the Taquarussu watershed. The AWS released the first draft of the standard earlier this month, and the final version is expected in the first half of 2014.

San Francisco Toyota has become California’s first LEED Platinum car dealership, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The automaker has 1,200 dealerships in the US, of which 27 are LEED-certified, and company environmental strategy manager Jana Hartline said the certified dealerships have cut energy costs by an average of 26 percent.

The Smithsonian National Zoo‘s new elephant facility is LEED Gold-certified. The addition has 8,943 sq m of indoor and outdoor space, Mother Nature News reports, and according to the zoo, includes operable skylights, green roofs and over 100 geothermal wells.

The 300 Tower Parkway Building in the Lincolnshire Corporate Center, in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnshire, Ill., has been awarded LEED Silver certification. The project included an irrigation system, energy efficiency improvements to mechanical systems, and restrictions on certain chemicals used to clean the building and landscape the property, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Mondi’s paper mill in Raubling, Germany, has won ISO 50001 energy management certification. The company assembled a team from all areas of the mill to carry out improvements to water circulation and vacuum system maintenance, and trained all employees in energy management. In Q4 2012 the mill was also recertified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and FSC Chain of Custody standards, Packaging Europe reports.

Saudi Readymix, the leading concrete producer and supplier in Saudi Arabia, has received ISO 14001 environmental management certification for four factories, AMEinfo reports. The company says the rest of its 30 factories will apply in Q3 and be certified by the end of the year. The firm has a dedicated quality, health, safety and environment department with more than 15 HSE officers.

Sensient Food Colors Europe, a provider of food coloration services, has achieved ISO 14001 certification, Food Ingredients First says. The company trained staff on environmental management and enhanced risk assessment in all departments, and says the new system will minimize energy, water and raw materials consumption while reducing waste and emissions.