October, 2022 – Volume 15, Issue 10
Beam Suntory to invest $400M in sustainable expansion of Jim Beam distillery
EPA selects recipients of more than $9 million in pollution prevention grants
6K has a new formula for sustainable EV batteries
Sustainability-related Events
Optimizing Cooling Tower Water Efficiency using Existing Routines
How to Track Waste in Portfolio Manager
ENERGY STAR – Portfolio Manager Webinars
View these and other sustainability-related events on the KPPC Events Calendar.
Amplifying the latest sustainability news, perspectives and events
Beam Suntory to invest $400M in sustainable expansion of Jim Beam distillery
Spirits maker Beam Suntory plans to invest more than $400 million to expand production at its Booker Noe distillery in Boston, Kentucky, where it makes Jim Beam.
The expansion will increase the capacity of the distillery by 50% while cutting its greenhouse gas emissions in half through the use of anaerobic digesters that will produce renewable natural gas to power the facility.
Read the full article on the Supply Chain Dive website.
Ascend Elements began construction of its largest electric battery recycling and engineered materials manufacturing facility in Kentucky
Ascend Elements began construction of its largest electric vehicle battery recycling and engineered materials manufacturing facility with a ceremonial groundbreaking. Leaders of the fast-growing startup were joined by Gov. Andy Beshear, local business and community leaders, and EV battery industry executives during the midday event in Hopkinsville, Ky.
The facility will help meet North America’s growing demand for lithium-ion battery materials, specifically engineered precursor (pCAM) and battery-ready cathode active materials (CAM). When finished, the Apex 1 facility will produce enough pCAM and CAM to equip 250,000 EVs per year.
Read more about the new facility under construction on the Batteries News website.
EPA selects recipients of more than $9 million in pollution prevention grants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 32 recipients across the country that will receive over $9 million in pollution prevention (P2) grants made possible by recurring appropriation to EPA’s P2 program. These grants will allow states and Tribes to provide businesses with technical assistance to prevent or reduce pollution before it is even created, while also reducing costs.
Selected grantees will, if awarded, document and share P2 best practices that they identify and develop through these grants, so that others can replicate these practices and outcomes.
6K has a new formula for sustainable EV batteries
6K’s new microwave plasma process takes on multiple sustainability challenges for EV batteries including carbon emissions, energy use, water conservation, waste management, supply chain security, and equitable workforce development.
According to 6K, its new UniMelt process can produce the latest generation of NMC 811 batteries while generating 70% less greenhouse gases than conventional battery manufacturing. 6K also states that its processes only uses 10% of the water and 30% of the energy used in conventional methods.
Read the original article to learn more about this process on the Clean Technia website.
Hospitality and green cleaning: Discover five ways facility managers can benefit from environmentally-friendly cleaning protocols
There are countless ways to signal excellence and stand out from the competition in the hospitality industry. A hotel might offer great amenities, proximity to local attractions, or affordable prices. A restaurant could offer unique cuisine, a generous happy hour, or live music.
But in this industry especially, the absence of one basic factor will send customers running in the opposite direction. Without it, you’ll certainly stand out—but in exactly the wrong way; that one basic factor is cleanliness.
In hospitality, cleanliness is necessary, and facility managers look to use the most potent cleaners and disinfectants available. This is understandable, but it’s ultimately misguided.
Read more about why hospitality management professionals should focus on environmentally-friendly alternatives on the Facility Executive website.
Gigaton PPA: Walmart, Ørsted and Schneider Electric announce first cohort for renewable energy supply chain program
Walmart Inc., Ørsted and Schneider Electric today announced that they have successfully convened the first cohort of suppliers to participate in Walmart’s renewable energy accelerator: Gigaton PPA.
Five suppliers, Amy’s Kitchen, Great Lakes Cheese, Levi Strauss & Co., The J.M. Smucker Co. and Valvoline Inc, have collaborated to execute an aggregated purchase of renewable energy from Ørsted’s Sunflower Wind Farm located in Marion County, Kansas. Over the 12-year term of the agreement, the purchase is expected to generate approximately 250,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) annually of new renewable power, or the equivalent of avoiding the carbon emissions from more than 458,000 gasoline-powered passenger cars driven for one year, according to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
Find out more about the Gigaton PPA on the Walmart Corporate website.