Ben & Jerry’s has met the B Lab standards for socially responsible businesses to become a Certified B Corp member. The ice cream maker is the first wholly-owned subsidiary to gain B Corp certification. As a subsidiary of Unilever, Ben & Jerry’s has met additional transparency requirements to earn its B Corp certification, making its full B Impact Assessment and relevant excerpts from its governing documents visible to the public, the company said.
Sustainable building organization Earth Advantage Institute has launched its Earth Advantage Commercial (EAC) green building certification program aimed at small commercial buildings. EAI said the updated program offers a green building certification that is accessible and cost effective for commercial buildings smaller than 100,000 square feet. Ninety-five percent of all commercial buildings fall into this smaller category, the organization said.
Wetlands International has announced the approval of a new carbon trading category – Wetlands Restoration and Conservation – by the Verified Carbon Standard. The carbon trading category allows for the measuring and crediting of climate benefits from wetlands, including mangroves, freshwater tidal coastal wetlands, salt marshes, seagrasses, floodplains, peatlands, and other wetland types.
SCS Global Services had validated the Madre de Dios Carbon Offset Project under the Verified Carbon Standard, allowing the project to generate carbon credits that will finance the protection of Peruvian rainforest habitat. The Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) project is part of the Ecological Corridor, Vilcabamba-Amboró, in the Peruvian Amazon. The project also has earned Climate, Community & Biodiversity Alliance Gold status, SCS said.
Northwest Hardwoods’ western hardwood operations have achieved Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) chain-of-custody certification, for ethics and sustainability in forest products. Geneva-based PEFC is the world's largest forest certification system. Northwest Hardwoods can provide certified alder, Pacific coast maple, birch, ash and hemlock from its five western US facilities, the company said.
3M Canada's Brockville Tape Plant is the first facility in Canada and the second in the world to attain accreditation for the ISO 50001 standard for energy management as well as reach Platinum Level under the Superior Energy Performance program. Natural Resources Canada's ecoENERGY Efficiency for Industry program provided $155,000 in support of the energy management initiative at 3M's plant, Canada's Office of Natural Resources said.
Mac Arthur Corporation, a Michigan-based supplier of labels and die-cut components, has achieved certification to the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard. The certification demonstrates that Mac Arthur Corporation's EMS is operating effectively and in conformance with the standard. The company also uses Forest Stewardship Council-approved materials and water-based inks whenever possible, and a filtrated wastewater system, Labels & Labeling said.
