Sustainability Momentum Sdn Bhd

The city of York has recently launched the UK’s first low emission taxi incentive in their bid to reduce air pollution in the historic city. The green taxi incentive is currently supported by Harrogate-based Vantage Motor Group’s dealership where taxis and mini cabs drivers are offered £3,000 towards the price of a low emission taxi as well as half-price taxi licensing. To qualify for the grant, drivers must be registered to work in York and choose a hybrid or electric car that emits under 100g/km CO2.

Brewery in Unites States have united together to lobby for a stricter Clean Water Act to protect the main ingredient of their products; Water. As 90% of beer is water, brewers across the country are really concern with their water source as good water makes great beer. Craft brewers have jointly called on President Obama to move forward with stricter guidelines on water protection as it not just ensure the production of great beer but also for the 117 million people who rely on these rivers and streams for drinking water, and the millions of homeowners who live in flood-prone areas and need the flood protection that healthy wetlands can provide.

The world’s largest offshore wind farm located in the Thames estuary, Britain, was recently opened by Prime Minister David Cameron. The wind farm, consisting of 175 wind turbines, has a capacity of 630 megawatts that is estimated to reduce annual CO₂ emissions by approximately 900,000 tons. The wind turbines, supplied by Siemens, will generate enough power to supply 500,000 household in Britain.

Panasonic Asia Pacific launched a recycling program in Singapore targeting home appliances and electronic waste on Friday. The Heartland E-Waste Recycling Programme will run from July to December 2013 to raise awareness on the nature of electronic waste and to encourage recycling of e-waste. Ten collection points have been selected to store the e-waste and a monthly collection will be carried out by the town council.

Picture Source: http://www.thenewstribe.com/

Coca- Cola has recently launched a new addition to its drink packaging – the iconic ‘Coke’ bottle made entirely out of ice. The new design, which is currently only available in Columbia, freezes water into a bottle shape at -13 degrees, before filling it up with the Coca Cola beverage. To keep fingers from getting cold when holding the bottle, the company has equipped each Coke ice bottle with a rubber band that bears the Coca-Cola logo. Once the bottle is empty, it liquefies and the band “doubles as a keepsake bracelet fans can wear,” the release stated. With Coca-Cola plugging the design as environmentally friendly, some have critiqued that the bottles require so much extra refrigeration that it negates the environmental benefits.

Researchers in the Netherlands have recently invented paving blocks (or also known as photocatalytic pavement) which have been found to cut city smog by nearly half. Vehicle and industrial emissions emit nitrogen oxides (or also known as NOx) which react with other atmospheric compounds to form smog. By spraying the paving blocks with titanium oxide, researchers found, after a yearlong study, that these pavements reduced smog into less harmful chemicals. This ‘smog-eating’ street is already being deployed and tested out in other cities around the world.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announces that the Africa’s Western Black Rhino has become officially extinct. Another subspecies, the Northern white rhino was last seen in 2006 which was also on the brink of extinction at that time due to illegal poaching. If conservation measures are not taken, the Asia’s Javan Rhino might go extinct as well.

Australia has officially filed a case at the International Court of Justice against Japan’s annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean. Australia’s convinced that Japan is only hiding its commercial exploit of whale hunting behind its claim of its research program JARPA II. Australia is adamant Japan has violated the 1986 moratorium where commercial whaling has been banned globally. Japan however has responded that an official task force have been formed to defend Japan’s whaling practices and it is scientific and legitimate under the convention. Once a verdict has been reached, it will make or break the whale eating culture of Japan.

Vietnam is striding ahead of its neighbours in South East Asia with regards to Environmental Protection education. The country’s Department of Education and Training of all provinces has started developing lesson plans for their general schools while universities and colleges have been asked to develop their own. Training, education materials and content would have to be developed for the educators too. Apart from that, schools will also organise activities and campaigns to disseminate information and laws on environment in accordance to environmental events such as the Vietnam Sea and Island Week.

Almost 200,000 hectares of Tasmania’s old growth forest has been listed as world heritage and have ended a three-decade fight between environmentalists, politicians and logger. The forest has now been given the highest level of environmental protection in the world following the submission of proposal from the Australian Government. Miranda Gibson, the environmentalist who has been protesting against logging by living at the top of the 60 metre eucalypt tree from December 2011 to March 2013 was thrilled at the decision and glad she won’t need to protest there again.