CannedWater4Kids (CW4K) and INX International Ink Co. have joined forces to send a rush delivery of drinking water to help in the Hurricane Harvey disaster relief efforts. A truckload of 52,800, 12-ounce cans of fresh, purified water is scheduled to arrive today at a Red Cross Distribution Center near Houston.
Hurricane Harvey made landfall for the first time on August 25 and landed a devastating blow to the Gulf Coast of Texas. A multiple-day event, the Category 4 storm with 130 mph winds was the most powerful hurricane to hit the US in more than a decade. Damage caused by the high winds, torrential rains and record flooding displaced more than 30,000 people and prompted more than 17,000 rescues.
The effects of Hurricane Harvey will impact southeast Texas for a long time. Fortunately, humanitarian efforts from companies including CW4K and INX are helping the efforts in Texas.
“This is the first of many truckloads we hope to send,” said Greg Stromberg, CannedWater4Kids water charity CEO. “Without hesitation, we helped. It was the right thing to do because clean, safe drinking water is a valuable resource. One doesn’t realize how valuable until it is gone.”
“We are doing our part as good corporate citizens,” remarked Renee Schouten, director of marketing for INX. “It is important to be there for people, in good times and in bad. Providing clean water to communities enduring a crisis will aid in recovery and hopefully give some sense of comfort to those in need.”
Added Stromberg, “Coordinating and financing the water delivery was a team effort. We couldn’t have done it without the help of INX International and the Red Cross organization. Their help and support was incredible.”
CW4K is no stranger to disaster relief. Whether it was the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti, Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey in 2012, or help for the lead-contaminated municipal water supply in Flint, MI, the 501c3 charity was there with clean, safe drinking water packaged in 12-ounce aluminum beverage cans.
Stora Enso’s Global Responsibility Performance Report 2014 has won four awards in the independent annual sustainability report review, commissioned by FIBS, Finland’s leading non-profit corporate responsibility network. The four awards include the best sustainability report, best reporting on Human Rights and on Tax Footprint and the top choice of a consortium of Finnish corporate sustainability students.
In FIBS’ review Stora Enso’s report was particularly acknowledged for its extensive and transparent sustainability reporting, with a special focus on reporting related to the target-oriented management of human rights.
Desertification is one of the major environmental problems faced by Maghreb. The sustainable use of forests in these countries would help to mitigate and adapt to this global change.
This is why MENFRI, the Mediterranean Network of Forestry Research and Innovation, gathered together forestry experts in Barcelona this summer to discuss opportunities and challenges brought by innovative solutions such as forest certification in the Mediterranean region.
“If in the northern Mediterranean PEFC certification is well developed, it’s not the case in the south,” explained Sarah Price, Head of Projects and Development at PEFC International, who travelled out to Spain to take part in the meeting. “The MENFRI project is therefore a great opportunity to discuss how forest certification could help Mediterranean forests and their products to be better valued.”
Paper manufacturing is based largely on the use of renewable natural fibers. Until the mid to late 1800s, non-wood plant fibers, in the form of linen and cotton rags and hemp ropes, were the main raw materials for the pulp and paper industry. Increasing demand and developments in low cost wood pulping resulted in a large expansion of the wood-based pulp and paper industry during the early to mid-1900s. Today, wood is the dominant fiber resource for the pulp and paper industry accounting for 90% of the world’s fiber utilization.1
Is tree-free paper really better for the environment? Are current environmental claims about tree-free paper accurate and substantiated? To answer these questions, we reviewed literature on the topic from experts in the field.