Industry Welcomes Conservation & Logging Agreement in the Great Bear Rainforest

UPS, which operates one of the largest commercial trucking fleets in the world, announced it has placed a reservation for 125 of Tesla’s new fully-electric Semi tractors. The new tractors will join UPS’s extensive alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle fleet, comprised of trucks and tractors propelled by electricity, natural gas, propane and other non-traditional fuels. “For more than a century, UPS has led the industry in testing and implementing new technologies for more efficient fleet operations. We look forward to expanding further our commitment to fleet excellence with Tesla,” said Juan Perez, chief information and engineering officer. “These groundbreaking electric tractors are poised to usher in a new era in improved safety, reduced environmental impact, and reduced cost of ownership.” Click Read More below for additional information.

As a producer of metal packaging, Crown Bevcan Europe & Middle East is acutely aware of its responsibility to ensure as much of its product remains within the circular economy as possible. In the U.K., for example, some nine billion canned drinks are consumed each year – 30% of which are enjoyed on-the-go. However, only 42% of local authorities provide recycling bins in public spaces – a figure that Crown is committed to help increase.

As a major producer of beverage cans for the U.K. market, Crown is dedicated to ensuring it facilitates and encourages the recycling of as much of that packaging as possible. In addition to supporting a wide range of initiatives – such as the Every Can Counts programme and the Metal Recycles Forever mark – Crown purchases Packaging Recovery Notes (PRNs) to comply with U.K. packaging waste regulations, the proceeds going towards the recycling infrastructure. Crown recently partnered with Ecosurety to support the “Leeds by Example” initiative in Leeds, U.K., run by the environmental behaviour change charity, Hubbub. The organization’s research showed that the city did not provide on-the-go recycling options for food and beverage packaging. As a consequence, the amount of food and drink packaging placed into general waste bins on the streets of Leeds city centre could fill a 20-foot shipping container every three days. Click Read More below for additional detail.

Combatting illegal logging and trade within the European Union is the focus of an agreement signed between the NGO Elephant Action League and the partners of the EU TREES project – organizations focused on fighting wildlife and forest crime. The agreement, which will last until the end of the TREES Project in April 2016, will enable the TREES Project partners to make use of the Elephant Action League-funded WildLeaks whistleblower platform. WildLeaks will receive anonymous information related to any forest crime, such as illicit timber extraction, log laundering, illegal timber transport and trade, forest products tax fraud, etc., through its secure platform, after which the information will be processed by project researchers.