A new ASTM International standard is designed to aid in the selection of lightweight aggregate best suited for use in the design and construction of vegetative roof systems. The standard is called E2788, Specification for Use of Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate (ESCS) as a Mineral Component in the Growing Media and Drainage Layer for Vegetative (Green) Roof Systems. Subcommittee E60.01 on Buildings and Construction, part of ASTM International Committee E60 on Sustainability, developed the standard.
Calvert Investment Management’s sustainability research department has reviewed Chesapeake Energy Corporation, finding that the company no longer meets investment benchmark standards for “Governance and Ethics and for Environment.” If approved, the deletion of Chesapeake Energy from the Calvert Social Index will take place in September 2012, Calvert said.
Seven Kellogg bakeries, in Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio, have maintained their EPA Energy Star certification, putting them in the top 25 percent of similar facilities for energy efficiency. Last year, the EPA awarded the same facilities the first-ever Energy Star certification for bakeries, the packaged foods company said.
The International Civil Aviation Organization’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection has unanimously agreed on CO2 metrics for emissions from various aircraft types. The new CO2 metric system accounts for fuselage geometry, maximum take-off weight and fuel burn performance at three different cruise conditions. The agreement is an important step toward the establishment of a worldwide CO2 standard for aircraft, Green Car Congress said.
The UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has developed PAS 141 accreditation to prevent the illegal export of WEEE. The standard will ensure that reprocessing centers are independently assessed by United Kingdom Accreditation Service-endorsed certification bodies. Under EU guidelines, WEEE exports have to be tested to verify that the products are for reuse, but prior to the release of PAS 141, UK environmental agencies had no specific tests to check for illegal exports, writes Plastics and Rubber Weekly.
The British Plastics Federation has issued guidelines for plastics companies to correctly use and interpret the terms ‘bio-based’, ‘biodegradable’, ‘compostable’, ‘oxo-biodegredation’, and other environmental claims on plastic products. The BPF said that the guidance is not intended to supersede existing UK/EU legislation, advertising codes or government guidance for making environmental claims about a product.
The ASTM Committee D02 on Petroleum Products and Lubricants has called for submissions for its symposium on Thermal and Oxidative Stability of Biodiesel Blended Fuels in conjunction with the December 2012 standards development meetings. ASTM asks for abstracts by August 9 covering topics including evidence of fuel instability as experienced by various stakeholders, potential fuel quality and stability issues in storage, the impact of fuel additives on instability of biodiesel blended fuel products and appropriate test methods for defining instability.
Boston-based John Hancock Financial has earned LEED Existing Building Operations & Maintenance certification at four Boston properties, including the first Platinum LEED-EB building in New England for its headquarters building at 601 Congress St. in Boston. The three other properties earned LEED Gold, in an 18-month project managed by UGL Services, the property services company said.