A round-up of business news, including Ikea, Air Products and Tetra Pak.
Ikea has announced that all the cotton it uses in its products, from sofas to towels, is from sustainable sources. The Swedish company claims it is the first major retailer to use 100% sustainable cotton grown to the Better Cotton standard. The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) was established in 2010 and works with cotton farmers to reduce their use of water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Meanwhile, BCI has reported that 1.2 million farmers participated in its programme in 2014, a 79% increase from 2013, and that "better cotton" made up 7.6% of global cotton production last year.
Air Products reports that it has achieved almost all its 2015 environmental sustainability goals. The industrial gases company's latest sustainability report reveals that it has reduced greenhouse-gas emissions from its production facilities by 7% against a 2007 baseline; cut water intensity in 2014 by 5% from 2013, resulting in a 28% overall reduction in water used to make each product since 2009; and cut energy consumption (primarily natural gas and electricity) at its large air separation units on an intensity basis by 7% against a 2007 baseline.
Packaging company Tetra Pak has published an update on its sustainability aspirations and said it was making good progress towards its long-term objectives, including capping carbon emissions in 2020 at 2010 levels. In 2014, emissions across its value chain fell by 16%, despite a 14% rise in production. The firm also reported that 650,000 tonnes of its beverage cartons were recycled globally in 2014, up from 623,000 tonnes in 2013. In January, Finnish dairy producer Valio became the first firm to sell products in Tetra's Rex bio-based carton, which is made entirely from plant-based materials.
United Biscuits has converted another six Euro VI vehicles to "ultra biofuel". It brings to 16 the number in its delivery fleet powered by waste oil. The firm said the vehicles were operating a duel-fuel system, with biofuel making up 85% of the total fuel consumed. This generated an overall carbon saving over conventional diesel of 82.5%, equivalent to removing 1.5 million truck miles from the road each year.
