Compliance & Standards Briefing: UN Insurance Principles, WEEE, Tesco Fuel

by | Aug 16, 2011

This article is included in these additional categories:

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative held its fourth of seven meetings last week in Auckland in an effort to develop sustainability principles for the insurance industry. The final principles, which are scheduled for launch in June 2012, are expected to serve as the global framework for insurance companies to better manage environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities.

Titan America says three of its Virginia plants were among the first to be certified this week by the National Ready-Mixed Concrete Association’s new Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification Program. The plants include Clear Brook Ready-Mix, in Clear Brook, Suffolk Ready-Mix Concrete in Suffolk, and Bryan Park Ready-Mix in Richmond.

CSA Standards has announced that it is selling the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard in Canada, according to Cien Magazine. The new standard outlines best practices for streamlining energy consumption.

The UK’s Environment Agency has proposed strict guidelines for electrical waste collection plans and obligations, seeking to streamline the more than 40 WEEE programs across the country, RapidOnline said.

Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Scottsdale, Ariz., are the most recent jurisdictions to adopt the International Green Construction Code as a regulatory tool to increase energy efficiency and complement voluntary green building rating systems, according to the International Code Council.

Supermarket giant Tesco has become the first U.K. retailer to receive a Renewable Obligation Certificate for biofuel from OFGEM, the government’s energy ombudsman. Tesco spent two years developing the ethanol bio fuel, created from organic waste products, and the certification confirms that the fuel contains absolutely no traces of traditional fossil fuels and is 100 percent renewable. Tesco is now using the fuel in specially adapted combined heat and power generators at two stores, in Dumfries, Scotland and Cheetham Hill, Manchester (pictured).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to shale gas operators, asking them to certify by Aug. 29 that they will not use grandfathered facilities for salty wastewater disposal, the Standard Speaker said. A DEP spokeswoman said the certification letter is legally enforceable.

The Times Union reported that New York’s Public Service Commission is taking public comments through Aug. 18 on whether trash burning should be added to the list of renewable energy technologies. Covanta Energy Corp., which operates seven trash-burning power plants in the state, wants the change so that it would become eligible for state subsidies under the Renewable Portfolio Standard. The company recently paid a fine for dioxin emissions from a plant in Connecticut.

Additional articles you will be interested in.

Stay Informed

Get E+E Leader Articles delivered via Newsletter right to your inbox!

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Share This