Walmart, the world's largest retailer, recently announced a major initiative to address consumer concerns about harmful chemicals in its consumer products. The first step is to collaborate with its suppliers to develop a list of 10 harmful substances and work together to phase out their use. This list will be published once Walmart and its suppliers have discussed and decided which safer chemicals to replace them. This sustainable chemistry in consumables initiative will prioritize harmful substances in household cleaning products, cosmetics, and personal care products sold by Walmart and its subsidiary Sam's Club in the United States. The harmful chemicals in these products will be assessed based on their substitutability, product use, and impact. Under this policy, Walmart will also comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for Environment (DfE) guidelines for labeling its own-brand cleaning products. Since January 2015, these guidelines have required suppliers of certain product categories to disclose product ingredients on their websites. Walmart goes further, requiring suppliers to place this disclosure information on product labels. Starting in 2018, products still containing chemicals of high concern must disclose these chemical components on their product packaging labels.

Since its inception in 1999, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index annually selects multinational corporations worldwide for outstanding green business performance. The selection criteria include governance measures, social and environmental responsibility initiatives, climate change mitigation strategies, shareholder involvement, product management, energy efficiency, and financial health. This year, 3,300 international companies were invited for evaluation, but only 1,831 completed the entire questionnaire or completed the assessment using publicly available information. Top-performing companies in various industries in 2013 include: – Automotive Manufacturing: Volkswagen – Banking: Australia & New Zealand Banking Group –

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) conducted a survey on product manufacturers and consumers regarding corporate environmental commitments. The results showed that while 90% of manufacturers believed that corporate environmental policy was becoming increasingly important in their decision-making process, 40% of consumers felt that manufacturers were not doing enough in terms of environmentally friendly production processes or providing environmentally friendly products. According to UL's survey report, promoting environmental protection strategies in product manufacturing is now a priority for most companies, but consumers remain skeptical of corporate environmental commitments. Even so, the survey also showed that in 2012, 45% of consumers were willing to spend more money on environmentally friendly products, and this figure increased to 68% in 2013. UL has conducted this survey for three consecutive years, hoping to gain a better understanding of the priorities of global manufacturers and consumers in the manufacture, sale, purchase, and use of products. The survey included over 1,500 manufacturers in the United States, Germany, Brazil, China, and India, and consumers in over 1,500 of these countries. The questionnaire focused on key decision-making processes and emerging trends related to product quality, safety, and environmental transparency. The survey results show that for environmentally friendly products, 61% of manufacturers believe the product's environmental impact is more important than its impact on human health. However, for consumers, the result is exactly the opposite. 61% of consumers believe the product's impact on human health...

On July 18, 2013, the Official Journal of the European Union published European Commission Notice No. 681/2013. This notice amended Directive 2009/48/EC on toy safety, specifically revising the limits for the chemical substance barium. The revised portion entered into force in the EU on July 20, 2013. Part III of Annex II to Directive 2009/48/EC addresses the chemical properties of toys placed on the EU market. Part III states that toys must be designed and manufactured with the assumption that human health will not be compromised by exposure to chemicals or mixtures in the toy during proper use. The directive indicates that the European Commission has a responsibility to periodically assess the presence of harmful substances in toys, and if new evidence emerges showing that certain chemicals are harmful to children's health, the Commission may revise the limits for those substances. Paragraph 13 of Part III lists migration limits for substances contained in toys or toy components. These migration limits cover 19 elements, including barium, lead, cadmium, trivalent and hexavalent chromium, copper, mercury, and nickel. The recently published European Commission Bulletin 681/2013 further lowered the limit for barium. A 2007 report by the U.S. Toxic Substances and Disease Registry recommended that daily barium intake should not exceed 0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight. In light of this, the Commission requested its Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks to provide its opinion on migration limits for barium. The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks adopted a resolution on 22 March 2012.

The Austrian Environment Agency (UBA) has published documents proposing the inclusion of four hazardous substances in the EU's Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (RoHS 2). RoHS 2 currently restricts the use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment: lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, PBB, and PBDE. Its aim is to promote the recycling and reuse of electrical and electronic products and their waste, and to strengthen safe alternatives to hazardous substances. The four proposals are: – Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD); – ...

The industry's long-awaited draft FAQ on the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Waste Directive was published in July 2013. The guidelines, published by the European Commission's Environment Directorate, aim to assist manufacturers in understanding the requirements of Directive 2012/19/EU, the Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE Directive). The directive has been revised and the revised version came into effect on August 13, 2012. EU member states must convert it into national legislation and implement it domestically before February 14, 2014; the old WEEE directive of 2002 will also be abolished on that day. When the committee prepared its latest draft FAQs, it took two approaches. First, the FAQ document published in August 2006 should remain unchanged, except for provisions whose legal basis has been changed by the revised version of the Directive. Second, if the second edition FAQ document of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS Directive) answers the same question, the answer should be the same as the answer to the WEEE Directive FAQ (unless the two questions involve different matters). The FAQ is a guidance document and is not legally binding. The committee may update the document as necessary. The committee will solicit industry opinions on the draft FAQs for the WEEE Directive until August 30, 2013. The revised version of the WEEE Directive aims to increase the recovery, recycling and recycling rate of waste electrical and electronic products in the European Union. The scope will gradually expand to all waste electrical and electronic products, but there are certain exemptions. According to the revised version of the Directive, the definition of "producer" includes importers. WE

The Philippines has passed a law mandating safety labeling for toys and games. Under the country's consumer law, product packaging must clearly display warning statements. The environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition welcomed the law, hoping it will help address the problem of deceptive toy labeling in the Philippines. According to a 2012 survey of commercially available toys conducted by the EcoWaste Coalition, 60% of the 518 toys sampled had excessive levels of heavy metals such as antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury. None of these problematic products had warning labels. Furthermore, the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers against purchasing lipsticks that have not been registered with the FDA, as they may contain high concentrations of lead and other heavy metals. According to the FDA, most of these substandard products originate from China or are counterfeit goods sold by street vendors. The agency has called on local authorities to confiscate these products. For detailed information on the Toys and Games Safety Labelling Act, please refer to the official website (English): http://www.gov.ph/2013/09/03/republic-act-no-10620/ For the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notice, please refer to the attachment (English): Health Warning on Buying Unnotified Lipstick in the Market.

A study by MIT's Space and Environment Laboratory indicates that air pollution causes approximately 200,000 premature deaths annually in the United States, based on emissions from industrial chimneys, vehicle exhaust pipes, shipping and rail transport, and residential and commercial heating. The age of death for those whose cause of death is related to air pollution is typically ten years earlier, with emissions from road transport being the most deadly, causing 53,000 premature deaths each year, followed by power plants, which cause 52,000 premature deaths annually. Lead researcher Steven Barrett, assistant professor in MIT's Department of Space and Environment, stated, "Over the past five to ten years, the relationship between air pollution and premature death has accumulated a great deal of scientific evidence and political attention. Air pollution is a common problem in all cities and urgently needs to be addressed." The research team collected data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Emissions Inventory for 2005. 2005 data was the most recent available at the time of the study. Although the data only reflects emissions in 2005, Barrett stated that the results still reflect the health risks associated with air pollution today. Barrett's research team divided the raw data into six groups based on pollution sources: power generation, industry, residential and commercial, road transportation, marine transportation, and rail transportation. They then input the emission data from these six groups into an air quality model simulating the effects of particulate and gaseous emissions in the atmosphere. To determine which emissions had the greatest impact, the team removed each emission group from the simulation and observed changes in pollutant concentrations. The researchers analyzed data from 5,695 U.S. cities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has launched an online sports resource directory, which is said to help teams, sports venues, and sports leagues save on event costs, reduce carbon emissions, improve waste management, conserve water and energy, and make other sustainability efforts. In addition, the new directory includes information that can help teams obtain sustainability certification. The Green Sports League was founded to reduce the negative environmental impact of sports activities, and the EPA is one of its founding members. The EPA points out that this directory also supports President Obama's Climate Action Plan, which focuses on reducing carbon emissions and improving energy efficiency. According to current data, more than 200 college and university sports programs have prioritized green initiatives, including installing solar panels, conducting energy-saving diagnostics, upgrading water-saving systems, promoting waste recycling and food waste composting, etc. The website for the U.S. online sports resource directory is: http://www2.epa.gov/green-sports Source: Environmental Leader (2013-08-27)

The Ecology Center, a non-governmental organization based in Michigan, recently released the results of a survey on picnic and related products. The survey found that over 96% of 58 commonly used outdoor picnic and related products contained detectable substances of concern. The Ecology Center indicated that substances of concern detected at levels exceeding 40 ppm included antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and phthalates. The products also tested positive for potentially brominated flame retardants, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and organotin compounds. Approximately one-third of the products were found to contain more than three of these hazardous substances. The hazardous substances targeted in this survey are all linked to health problems, typically leading to asthma, birth defects, cancer, learning disabilities, and infertility. Many of these hazardous substances have been banned or restricted in the United States for use in children's products. The tested products included folding chairs, parasols, water toys, tablecloths, placemats, and picnic baskets, all purchased from eight of the top ten retailers in the United States. However, products found to contain harmful substances came from Home Depot, Lowe's, Target, Walgreens, and Walmart. While there are currently no regulations mandating that picnic-related products be free of these harmful substances, these large corporations still have a responsibility to safeguard the health of consumers and ensure safety.

Environmental economists say that August 20th this year is Ecological Liability Day. By this day, humanity has consumed the total amount of Earth's renewable natural resources for the year. The concept of "Ecological Liability Day" was first proposed by the international environmental think tank Global Footprint Network, based on ecological footprint data such as the total amount of natural resources, human resource consumption, and who consumes which resources. According to these calculations, as of August 20, 2013, humanity has exhausted the Earth's annual natural resources, and for the remainder of the year, natural resources will enter a state of overdraft. Global Footprint Network points out that since 2001, Ecological Liability Day has moved forward by three days each year, and by one month every ten years. Ecological Liability Day was October 21st in 1993, moved to September 22nd in 2003, and this year it is August 20th. Global Footprint Network has developed "National Ecological Footprint Accounts," providing comprehensive data on human demand for natural resources. Each country generates approximately 6,000 data points annually to track and compare the needs of 232 countries, territories, and regions, calculating whether the Earth's biocarrying capacity can meet those needs. Data shows that humanity's demand for renewable ecological resources and services is equivalent to more than 1.5 Earths. By the middle of this century, human demand will increase to 2 Earths. However, in 1961, human demand could be met with just 0.7 Earths. "Deforestation, fish population collapse, and atmospheric carbon dioxide accumulation..."

With increasing international emphasis on environmental issues, the EU's RoHS (Restricted Use of Hazardous Substances) directive has incorporated environmental requirements into trade conditions, restricting the levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in electrical and electronic products exported to the EU. As a major exporter of electrical, electronic, and information and communication products, Taiwan has developed the national standard CNS 15663, "Guidelines for Reducing the Content of Restricted Chemical Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment," to assist domestic industries in adapting to international environmental trends and to ensure that products sold domestically meet international environmental standards. For the testing of six chemical substances in electrical and electronic equipment—lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)—the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) has established two national standards: CNS 15050 "Determination of Six Controlled Substances (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Hexavalent Chromium, Polybrominated Biphenyls, and Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers) in Electrical and Electronic Products" (published on June 7, 2000) and CNS 15479 "Determination of Mercury Content in Fluorescent Tubes" (published on May 26, 2011). These standards are available for reference by all sectors. The BSMI stated that since countries internationally manage the restriction of these six chemical substances in electrical and electronic equipment primarily through regulations, and there are currently no domestic regulations to rely on, CNS 15663 covers applicable product categories, types of restricted substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers), content standards, and labeling methods, serving as a guideline for the industry.

The latest survey shows that, with the imposition of a carbon tax and a long-term decline in electricity demand, the energy industry in eastern Australia reduced its CO2 emissions by 12.2 million tonnes last year. Carbon emission indicators show that the annual emission reduction for power plants supplying the ACT, NSW, Tasmania, Victoria, parts of Queensland, and southern Australia fell by 6.9%, lower than the national average of -2.2%. The increase in the carbon tax from AU$23 to AU$24.15 per tonne, effective July 1st this year, has further boosted the hydropower industry and also eroded the market share of coal-fired power generation. The survey indicates that the fiscal year from June 30, 2012 to June 30, 2013 saw the lowest coal demand in decades. Conversely, the market share of hydropower and wind power has also increased significantly over the past year. While there is no direct evidence to equate the imposition of a carbon tax with reduced carbon emissions or lower electricity consumption, the push for energy conservation projects, the rapid adoption of solar energy, and political debates surrounding reduced factory output and the costs of carbon emissions are all reminding people to pay more attention to energy-related issues. Once the public begins to recognize the importance of energy conservation, carbon reduction will become easier. Source: Eco-Business (July 3, 2013) (PIDC)

A survey of chemicals used in 18 textile supply plants across Asia for major fashion brands revealed that only two plants provided sufficient information about the chemicals they used. The survey, conducted by Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), investigated the use and management of chemicals in 20 textile plants across Bangladesh, China, India, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Eighteen of these plants were specifically investigated for their chemical management systems and inventory checks. The survey showed that most of the surveyed plants could not obtain information from suppliers about the chemicals in complex mixtures, indicating room for improvement in chemical management, inventory, and communication. Common chemicals used in these plants included dyes, auxiliaries, detergents, and lubricants. While many of the chemicals in these mixtures are well-known, suppliers were unwilling to provide information on the chemicals in proprietary formulas. This investigation also revealed that some factories were using restricted hazardous substances during production. Heavy metals, short-chain chlorinated paraffins, perfluorinated compounds, alkylphenol ethoxylates, and phthalate salts were detected in the wastewater and sludge discharged from these factories. This comes as Greenpeace continues to pressure fashion brands to detoxify their products.

Soil is heading towards an "endangered" state! Experts say this fact must be incorporated into our collective consciousness to feed the 9 billion people expected by 2050! One of the key components in reversing soil degradation is carbon, but it's also an element that contributes to global warming. If we want to continue maintaining normal diets and combat global warming, we must remember to "keep carbon in the right place." This conclusion was reached at the international symposium on "Soil Carbon Sequestration" held in Reykjavik, Iceland at the end of May, involving 200 researchers from over 30 countries. Anne Glover, Chief Scientific Advisor to the European Commission, stated, "All life needs soil." "While soil is invisible to most people, it provides an estimated $1.5 trillion to $13 trillion in ecosystem services annually." The soil beneath our feet is a magical world teeming with tiny, wondrous organisms. A single handful of soil can contain 500,000 different species, including ants, earthworms, fungi, bacteria, and other microorganisms. She noted that almost all of our food comes from soil, with only 1% coming from the ocean. Soil sustains the life of plants worldwide, and plants are a primary source of oxygen—another vital ecosystem service. Soil purifies water sources, prevents pollutants from entering streams and lakes, and mitigates flooding. Soil absorbs vast amounts of carbon, second only to the ocean. As Grafford says, "It takes 500 years to form..."

A new study indicates that green building has emerged in the hospitality and retail industries. Statistics show that over 50% of retail owners with green building plans are implementing green building projects this year, jumping from 18% in 2011 to 38% this year, with a projected growth rate of 52% by 2015. In the hospitality industry, the percentage implementing green building plans for more than half of their annual project plans has risen from 28% in 2011 to 48% this year, and is expected to reach 64% by 2015. Green building projects are defined as those that meet LEED or other green building standards, or demonstrate energy conservation, water conservation, improved indoor air quality, and resource conservation. Two-thirds of retail owners (65%) and 73% of hospitality owners stated that they continuously practice green operations. What forces drive the green building trend? Undeniably, the substantial commercial benefits following the implementation of green building programs are the primary driving force: – Reduced annual operating costs: Retailers save an average of 8% in annual operating costs, while the food and beverage industry saves approximately 1%. – Reduced energy consumption: Both retail and food and beverage industries reduce energy consumption by 15%. – Increased asset value: Retailers see a 7% increase, and the food and beverage industry sees an 11% increase. – Increased return on investment: Retailers see an increase in return on investment.