Gap Inc. Ramps Up Renewable Energy

The annual Green Apple Awards, which recognise, reward, and promote environmental best practice around the world, saw Nicholas Power, Head of Key Accounts and Supplier Management at DS Smith Recycling, collect the award on 12th of November 2018 at a carbon-neutral ceremony in the Houses of Parliament. DS Smith won the award due to its long-standing partnership with Tesco, which has seen the national retailer divert 100% of its residual waste from landfill. The company was also recognised for its wide range of innovative projects, including logistics excellence, having helped Tesco to double the amount of waste carried in one load, which has halved the number of trips required for transporting waste streams. “We’re pleased to have received this award for environmental best practice, which highlights the dedication of teams across Tesco and DS Smith in allowing this partnership to achieve its full potential. Click read more below for additional detail.

Trees and wood fiber are more than just the renewable natural resources from which we make our everyday products. They serve as an important source of renewable energy. In 2020, 73 percent of the energy for our pulp and paper mills came from renewable sources. This is better than the industry average of about 65 percent, according to the American Forest and Paper Association. Our mills also generated the equivalent of 71 percent of their electricity needs, reducing their dependence on the grid. This renewable energy comes from biomass — byproducts from our manufacturing process, such as black liquor, bark and wood residues. Unlike coal or other fossil fuels, energy captured from biomass results in net zero emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the long term. Biomass (wood, wood waste and biofuels) is the United States’ largest source of domestic renewable energy, supplying more energy than wind and solar combined.

On 11 November 2015 in Helsinki, Finland, the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Board of Directors approved the Requirements for Sourcing FSC Controlled Wood (FSC-STD-40-005 V3-0). The standard has now been published on the FSC International website, and it is planned that it will enter into force on 1 July 2016. The approved standard – which can be downloaded here – outlines the requirements for organizations with an FSC chain of custody certificate to implement a due diligence system to avoid material from unacceptable sources which cannot be used in FSC Mix products. Unacceptable sources are the five categories of controlled wood, which are defined in the standard.