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One elusive white whale in the fight against climate change has been carbon capture: tech that could scrub carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but hasn’t yet been developed at scale.

The trick is finding the right material that can bind to carbon atoms released into the air. Now, scientists from Clarkson University say they’ve found the best one yet — waste milk.

The unpleasant-sounding research, which was published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems, could help us control carbon emissions — and prevent the food waste that contributes to them.

Green Carbon

Currently, dairy farms throw away 50 million gallons of perfectly-good surplus milk every year, according to a Clarkson press release on the study. Instead of pouring it down the drain, the scientists found milk to be a cheap source of activated carbons — the porous material that sticks to carbon — which are more environmentally friendly than other sources being explored.

As the climate crisis intensifies, a growing number of consumers have begun to see healthy soils as a potential solution. As a result, soil-building techniques like cover crops and diverse crop rotations are increasingly in the limelight. But for many dyed-in-the-wool organic farmers, they’re old hat.

“These are practices that have been part of organic certification for decades now,” said Laura Batcha, CEO of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), during a September media briefing to kick off a campaign positioning organic farming as a climate solution.

GEODIS' online emissions calculator that determines the carbon footprint of a freight shipment is freely available on its website.

Accessed via https://geodis.com/geodis_carbon_calculator/form, the calculator measures air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions generated by an individual shipment’s journey, comparing the performance of different modes of transport (air, rail, road, sea, inland waterway, etc.).

For each shipment of goods, the calculator gives an overview of the various options, making it an invaluable aid in choosing the most environmentally friendly transport, said GEODIS. At the same time, the tool performs calculations that take into account the goods being shipped, their origin, destination and mode of transport before providing a quantitative evaluation.

The UK Government is being urged to tax food producers according to the carbon footprint of their products, raising concerns that this cost would be passed onto consumers.

At Tops Friendly Markets, social responsibility and sustainability have always been at the core of the company’s mission, upholding standards that ensure the reduction of environmental waste and energy consumption while providing its customers with sustainably sourced, high-quality products. So when the opportunity came to take a closer look at the packaging of its produce items to make a change for the better, it simply made sense.

Another way Tops produce department has committed to its environmental impact is its partnership with local growers like Intergrow, who is now the sole provider of greenhouse-grown tomatoes for Tops. Now instead of bringing this product from Leamington, ON (255 miles away) or Mexico (2,000 miles away), product will be transported from Albion, NY (45 miles away) or Webster, NY (75 miles away), 52 weeks a year helping Tops to reduce its carbon footprint, another testament to Tops belief in supporting local growers and reducing its environmental impact.

Traditionally produce from any local grocery is packaged on foam trays which is non-biodegradable, considered a main source of marine debris, and even during manufacturing is said to emit HFC’s or hydrofluorocarbons, which negatively impact the ozone layer and climate change.

Concrete, being the universal building material of choice for countless structures, also has a huge environmental footprint mostly due to carbon dioxide emissions from the production of cement. That is why researchers are now experimenting with root vegetables and recycled plastic in concrete to see…

An Indo-Australian collaborative effort is using nano-biotechnology to make fertilisers that improve crop yields, while reducing carbon footprints On an average, a farmer in India has to use about 100 kg of various conventional fertilisers to grow 1 acre of paddy. While some part of the fertiliser is absorbed by the plants, the…

Greenhouse company Edible Garden® today announces the launch of an equity crowdfunding campaign via crowd investment platform Republic, which will help fund the commercialization of the company's  greenhouses. "This will further reduce our carbon footprint and expand access to its USDA-Certified Organic, sustainable…

Study after study outlines the growing importance of environmental sustainability among consumers. Food waste, package waste, carbon footprint and other sustainability-focused initiatives have become areas of cross-population interest, particularly in Europe. In the United States, too, consumer demand…

Changes to a Delta greenhouse will help grow vegetables using about half the amount of natural gas to heat the facility, lowering its carbon footprint, increasing its energy efficiency and supporting a clean economy. “By working together with B.C. growers, we’re investing in more sustainable ways to…

California Giant Berry Farms’ corporate headquarters has been awarded Gold under Total Resource Use and Efficiency (TRUE) Zero Waste certification program.

The Gold certification recognizes California Giant’s achievement of diverting 91.24 percent of its office waste away from landfills and other waste outlets over the past twelve months.

Administered by Green Business Certification Inc., TRUE validates businesses’ efforts to define, pursue and achieve their zero waste goals, which in turn, reduces their carbon footprint and supports public health.

With TRUE’s holistic approach and step-by-step guidance from Measure to Improve LLC, California Giant committed to implement permanent process improvements to reduce their use of materials, encourage reuse and recycling and foster a zero waste culture throughout the organization.

“I am absolutely thrilled that California Giant has achieved this Zero Waste Certification. Especially during these unprecedented times, it is an outstanding display of dedication from our California Giant Family,” said Eric Valenzuela, director of food safety and sustainability. “Over the past year we documented, trained and literally climbed into dumpsters to reach the target diversion rate. Under the stellar guidance of Measure to Improve, the staff worked really hard to achieve this goal as part of our overall arch of sustainability.”

Sustainability pushes a lot of our hot buttons—it’s a political issue, an economic concern, and a social conversation. Some people even see it as a moral matter. Sometimes it’s on the back burner, but then it blazes back into the headlines. Sustainability is, arguably, an industry unto itself, since the economic impact on companies trying to adhere to government guidelines or react to consumer preferences can be in the billions of dollars across a wide range of markets. Sustainability demands are hitting a variety of industries, not just food and beverage. For example, the move from the internal combustion engine to the electric vehicle can be called a “sustainability” issue.

The Eight Elements of Sustainability 1. Consumer preferences 2. Climate change 3. Food insecurity 4. Food waste 5. New foods 6. Packaging 7. Regenerative agriculture 8. Transportation and regulatory restrictionsIn light of the many disruptors in the food and beverage industry and most recently, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, sustainability is now front-page news. This article will discuss eight reasons why sustainability is now one of the defining issues in food and beverage manufacturing. Future articles in this series will examine each issue in more detail.

Dole Food Company has ordered 500 energy-efficient Star Cool reefer units from Maersk Container Industry (MCI), which, in co-operation with the leasing company Textainer, is expected to deliver the boxes in January 2021.

The units will be enhanced with Star Cool’s smart fresh air control system AV+, a solution that reduces energy consumption. Star Cool units can control the speed of the reefer compressor to match the specific cooling demands of the cargo and therefore perform at the highest level of both precision and energy efficiency, according to a MCI statement.

Dole will pick up the new reefers with their own container vessel newbuilding Dole Maya from the port of Qingdao in China.

It is safe to say that 2020 was a year unlike any other. The COVID-19 pandemic brought on significant changes to everyday life across the world. It also brought some significant challenges to businesses from retail, to restaurants and manufacturing. The supply chain industry faced a challenge like no other when shutdowns began and manufacturers were left scrambling to come up with a backup plan. Although these challenges were tough to handle, it gave the industry a much-needed eye opening to make the changes needed in order to avoid this from happening again.

Welcome to the Plant Based Products Council Newsletter- our final issue for 2020! We’ll be back the first week of 2021. In the meantime, read on for the latest in PBPC news and activities, as well as some of the amazing innovations, trends, and developments happening right now in the sustainability and bioeconomy world! If you missed our last edition, check it out using the link below.

PBPC Newsletter December 3, 2020