The EPA may use its subpoena authority under Section 11 of the Toxic Substances Control Act to compel companies to give it chemical data that they provided to the EU for REACH compliance, ChemicalWatch reports. Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, said the agency will seek to determine if the REACH database has any data that the EPA doesn't have. The agency then plans to ask US companies to provide information voluntarily, and will consider subpoenas if they refuse.
The ISO 14001 technical committee working group, SO/TC 207/SC WG 5, will aim to publish the revised environmental management standard in June or July 2015, according to certification company LRQA. The working group decided a target timeline at its recent meeting in Padua, Italy. It aims to finish preparation of a draft international standard this June, followed by balloting from September to December, with balloting for a final standard in April and May 2015. During the meeting, committee members reviewed over 350 pages of comments related to the second committee draft.
Personal care company Method has unveiled designs for what it hopes will be the world's first LEED Platinum manufacturing plant in its industry, to open in early 2015. Designed by William McDonough + Partners, the plant's features include a refurbished 230-foot wind turbine, solar panels, large amounts of natural light, and native land renewal across 22 acres. Method is also selecting Cradle-to-Cradle certified materials.
RP Abrasives, a metal finishing company specializing in passivation, has announced compliance with RoHS 2. RP Abrasives uses a citric acid bath in conjunction with a proprietary process to remove free iron from stainless steel, increasing its rust resistance.
Wm. Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co., in Winona, Minn., has earned R2:2013 and RIOS:2006 certification.
Last year the UK easily met its waste electrical and electronic equipment collection target, to collect at least 4kg of WEEE per capita. But as a proportion of new products placed on the market, the amount of WEEE collected fell to 34 percent, compared to 35 percent in 2012, Lets Recycle reports.
Data center provider Cosentry announced that its Omaha-Midlands Data Center has achieved LEED Gold Certification. Omaha-Midlands was awarded Energy Star Certification in both 2012 and 2013, and Cosentry says energy and water-saving measures at the center have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
Property management firm Phillips Edison & Company's Salt Lake City office has received LEED Silver certification for commercial interiors. The office used building materials with recycled content, employs motion and sound sensors for lighting and mechanical systems, and features doors made of FSC-certified wood. The Hamilton Partners 22-story office tower at 222 Main Street, which houses Phillips Edison's office, is LEED Gold certified.
Corporate responsibility consultant LRN has achieved LEED Gold for Commercial Interiors for its New York City office. The building features an air filtration system that brings in 30 percent more outdoor air than city code requires. This and other changes have saved the company 725,728 kWh per year, and avoided over 800,000 pounds of CO2 emissions, LRN says.
Mobile phone distributor and recycler Reagan Wireless has earned LEED Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance certification for its nearly 50,000 sq ft of office and warehouse space in Deerfield Beach, Fla. Almost 100 percent of waste from daily operations is now diverted from landfill, and the company has upgraded lighting and installed solar photovoltaic panels. The company also has Responsible Recycling (R2), ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certifications.
Multinational engineering firm Vepica has received what the company says is the first LEED certification in Venezuela, for its 82,000 sq ft, five-story headquarters in Caracas. Key features include a rooftop solar-panel installation.
Vancouver's NSDA Architects has won the first Sustainable Forestry Initiative award, part of the 10th annual Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards. The firm won for its use of SFI-certified wood in the Kordyban Lodge, a Canadian Cancer Society care facility in Prince George, British Columbia.
