Month: September 2019

HeidelbergCement and Equinor sign a memorandum of understanding on CO2 capture and storage

Stuart Mitchell

On 5 September, the Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement, Dr. Bernd Scheifele, and the state-owned Norwegian energy Group Equinor signed a memorandum of understanding on the capture and storage (CCS) of CO2 at an international energy conference in Oslo. Since 2011, HeidelbergCement’s Norwegian subsidiary Norcem has been running a project dedicated to CO2 storage in the cement industry at its Brevik cement plant. The CCS project “Northern Lights”, which includes the project at the Brevik cement plant, has been initiated by the Norwegian government in three different industry…

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Peat use must be banned to hit zero-carbon targets says Veolia

Stuart Mitchell

It’s time to stop excavating our precious peatlands says the UK’s largest peat-free composter Veolia. The damaging practice has continued to grow despite national targets to phase it out. In 2011 the Government called for retailers to reduce peat use by 2020, but industry has shown lack of commitment to embrace these ambitions. Compost no longer needs to include peat as there is already a rich supply of natural green waste on our doorsteps which can match its planting properties pound for pound.  Richard Kirkman, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer,…

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University of Liverpool to divest from all fossil fuels

Stuart Mitchell

The University of Liverpool has committed to sell its remaining £2.8m holdings in fossil fuel companies by July 2022, which represents 1.2% of the University’s investment portfolio. This decision was influenced by the Guild’s Fossil Free campaign and approved by the University’s Council in July. The move to fully divest from fossil fuels builds on the University’s ethical investment policy introduced last year, which committed the University to exclude companies that derive more than 10% of their revenue from thermal coal and tar sands. This exclusion will now be broadened…

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thyssenkrupp climate targets approved – science-based and in line with global climate agreement

Stuart Mitchell

The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved thyssenkrupp’s climate targets. At the same time the organization has confirmed that thyssenkrupp is acting in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate conference, where the international community agreed to limit future global warming to well below two degrees. The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Its aim is to establish science-based climate targets as standard business practice, by defining and promoting best…

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CIPR welcomes ICO investigation into use of facial recognition technology

Stuart Mitchell

The CIPR’s #AIinPR Panel has welcomed the ICO’s announcement that it plans to investigate the use of live facial recognition technology in King’s Cross, London. The statement comes a day after the CIPR’s Artificial Intelligence Panel called on businesses to be transparent about the use of emerging technology. The ICO is the UK’s independent body set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. The ICO’s move to investigate this application of facial recognition in a public space is welcomed. Facial recognition remains…

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