Public consultation: Latvian forest certification system

Global pressure sensitive label manufacturer UPM Raflatac has worked hard to embrace the circular economy and sought a way to measure performance. The company tested the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circulytics tool and received an overall score of B, indicating that UPM Raflatac has made great strides in enabling circularity, but still has work to do in measuring output as a supplier in the packaging value chain. Circulytics is a tool that allows organizations to assess how circular they currently are via a broad set of metrics which deliver a company-level score. This score, alongside insights and analysis from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, helps businesses understand the extent of their success in adopting circular economy business opportunities. It provides a comprehensive picture of a company's circular economy performance — going beyond product and material flows — and highlights the most important development areas to concentrate on.

It's no secret manufacturing facilities use a lot of energy to make the cars, phones or, in Georgia-Pacific's case, paper towels that we use every day. But what if there was a way to encourage these facilities to reduce their energy consumption? It's a question Betsy Dutrow, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® industrial team leader, and her team asked. Their answer? The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry. The ENERGY STAR Challenge for Industry is a voluntary pledge manufacturing facilities make to reduce energy consumption by 10 percent in five years or less. It's open to manufacturing facilities across the world, and there are no penalties for mills that don't reach that number. Dutrow says, "It's an aspirational goal that, while it may sound difficult, is one we believe most facilities who take the challenge will end up achieving. We have seen energy intensive sites achieve a 10 percent reduction when they initially thought they would not. Additionally, we have seen plants in other industries reduce their energy consumption by as much as 30 and 40 percent." click Read More below for additional detail

Sonoco has upgraded its Hartsville wastewater treatment site to significantly reduce carbon emissions. The company began treating wastewater from its paper operations in the 1950’s and in 1987, an anaerobic lagoon was added to improve the system’s efficiency. Anaerobic wastewater treatment is a highly efficient treatment process that uses less energy and produces less sludge than conventional aerobic treatment. The organic matter in the wastewater is converted to carbon dioxide and methane. In addition to the anaerobic treatment, a cover on the lagoon had been capturing the gases and routing them to a flare for destruction. In partnership with renewable natural gas developer GreenGasUSA, new biogas equipment now converts any gaseous methane to pipeline quality renewable natural gas for use in homes and businesses using the existing interstate pipeline system. It’s expected to reduce Sonoco’s greenhouse gas emissions by 8,000 metric tons per year and provide renewable energy to South Carolina.