Amazon AI-enables building sustainability efforts

Official 2014 emissions data have just been released and the downward trend in emissions from the sector has continued — 2014 emissions being 13.5% lower than those in 2013 and an impressive 42% lower than in 2008. While some of this reduction can be attributed to lower production, the great majority has been delivered by investment in new power generation and a continued focus on energy efficiency. Allowing for changes in production levels, the figures show that the amount of EU ETS reported carbon dioxide emitted by UK paper mills (per tonne of production) has fallen by a third in just seven years — from 0.64 tonnes CO2 per tonne of product to 0.42 tonnes.

Most people know that wood fiber—one of the most recyclable and renewable natural resources on the planet—is the principle raw material used in making paper and paper-based packaging. But that’s just one branch (if you’ll forgive the terrible pun) on the tree. Over decades of research and development, the forest products industry has innovated ways to use those same natural resources in literally hundreds of other products, including many you’d never suspect.

On a recent holiday to Prince Edward Island, I was served a drink with a paper straw … the first paper straw I have seen in a long time! I could hardly contain my excitement and began talking to the waitress about my “paper” life. She responded by saying “yes, there is a paper movement underway” … Wow! Interesting that someone outside the paper industry is saying this. Recent stories about the impact of materials in our waste streams - like plastic in our oceans, or the increasing amounts of electronic waste - have changed how companies think about the materials used in their manufacturing process. There is a movement to get away from the "one-and-done" model of the linear economy, toward a more “circular economy,” where the reuse, refurbishment, recycling and end-of-life disposal of a product factors into the manufacturing design. In a circular economy, manufacturing is done in a way that builds the overall health of the process - financially, environmentally and socially. Click Read More below for additional information.