Supply chain standards organization GS1 has released the Global Protocol for Packaging Sustainability, developed by the Consumer Goods Forum. The protocol includes more than 40 environmental, economic and social indicators. These metrics have been added to the product information that supply chain partners can share on GS1’s Global Data Synchronisation Network.
Equitable Origin, a social and environmental certification group for the oil and gas industry, has partnered with Colombia and its Colombia Country Brand promotional initiative to promote certification of the country’s oil and gas production under the EO100 standard. EO100 is part of the Equitable Origin System, which combines a certification standard with a certificate-based market mechanism to reward leadership in corporate social responsibility in the oil and gas industry.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at the California Environmental Protection Agency has published an updated status list for chemicals being considered for addition to the Proposition 65 list, under the authoritative bodies mechanism. Several chemicals are subject to a notice of intent to list in 2014, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP say, and styrene may be subject to a notice of intent to list in 2015.
The National Coffee Association has engaged lobbying firm Political Solutions to help in its effort to roll back the scope of Proposition 65. Coffee makers and retailers are engaged in ongoing legal action in the state based on allegations that they failed to warn customers of the presence of acrylamide, which the NCA says is created naturally in the roasting process. The NCA has also engaged with the governor’s office, legislators and the state health agency to discuss ongoing Prop. 65 reforms.
UK manufacturers’ organization EEF plans to provide training and consulting to help businesses manage risks they face under the EU’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). EEF also plans an awareness campaign to publicize the risks and explain them simply. An EEF survey last year found that 30 percent of companies do not believe REACH is important to their business.
Audobon International has certified the Wolf River Boulevard Connector in Germantown, Tenn., as the first roadway in its Audubon International Signature Program, which requires properties to be managed according to site-specific Natural Resource Management Plans. The plans must address wildlife conservation and habitat enhancement, water quality monitoring and management, integrated pest management, water conservation, energy efficiency, waste reduction and management, and green building products and procedures.