Europe has sent a little more than half the plastic waste it used to ship to China to other parts of Asia since Beijing’s environmental crackdown closed the world’s biggest recycling market in January. Recycling closer to home is held back by the fact that the plastic is often dirty and unsorted, the same reasons China turned...

The following questions can test any business’ approach to becoming a sustainable organization: How can we increase use of recycled and bio-based materials? Evaluating material alternatives through compatibility and footprint analysis is one of the best ways to help answer this question. How can we prevent our products from ending up in landfill? Understand the...

Ernst and Young, in cooperation with GreenBiz Group, conducted a survey in late 2011 which covered a wide range of topics related to corporate sustainability and reporting. The results show that while interest in these areas continues to rise, the tools are still developing. Conclusions drawn from the outcome of the survey suggest a number of...

In the 20-year gap between the two Rio summits (1992 – 2012), the earth’s population has grown from 5.4 billion to more than 7 billion – a leap of almost 30 %.  This has had a knock-on effect on global use of natural resources, in tandem with increasing per capita consumption levels. Although greenhouse gas...

The EPA has published greenhouse gas emissions projections for the period 2011 to 2020.  The projected trends for greenhouse gases and give a picture of Ireland’s ability to meet EU and international targets with respect to greenhouse gas emissions: Ireland can comply with its Kyoto obligations (2008 – 2012) with regard to greenhouse gas emissions....