Japan to lessen LNG supply chain’s environmental impact
Japan plans to collaborate with Australia and other Southeast Asian countries to reduce the impact that the LNG supply chain puts on the environment, which includes natural gas exploration and production; treatment and liquefaction; shipping as well as receiving and distribution. The burning of LNG is said to emit half as much carbon dioxide as coal.
Industry Minister, Hiroshi Kajiyama announced the decision at the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference. The announcement comes as some investors are beginning to act on their environmental concern and as Japan is looking to stabilize its procurement of energy resources.
Japan is the largest consumer of liquefied natural gas which accounts for 20% of global consumption. The country uses the gas to generate nearly 40% of its power.
Japan is promoting the idea of capture and storage in order to strengthen its environmental standing. With this approach, carbon dioxide which is generated at the production field is immediately collected and buried. The country will consider bringing capture and storage operations to other Asian countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
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Selfridges opens sustainable Christmas store 75 days in advance
Luxury department store Selfridges has become the first major retailer to launch its annual Christmas range with a dedicated shop-in-shop at its Oxford Street flagship store in London. The range is also available on its ecommerce website, while a selection will also be in their Birmingham and Manchester stores.
With just 70-odd days to go until Christmas Day, the retailer said that this year’s range must be more sustainable. It is their largest sustainable range yet and includes decorations, crackers, cards and wrapping paper that have one or more sustainable attributes. The new sustainable collection features many brands including artisan and small enterprises often based in the UK, and over 1,000 different product lines.
The products on offer include pre-loved decorations, making use of recyclable materials. They are clearly labelled with their sustainable credentials, such as being forest-friendly, plastic-free, or made from materials that are recycled like glass or paper.
Selfridges has said that its new Christmas range falls in line with the Project Earth sustainability initiative which was launched in summer 2020. It features a commitment to ensuring that materials with the biggest environmental impact that are used throughout the business come from certified, sustainable sources by 2025.
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Mercedes-Benz plant expansion set to be complete by 2022
A plant expansion costing $53.6 million is coming to Mercedes-Benz U.S. International in Vance. Set for completion in 2022, the 500,000 square foot facility is expected to bring more than 370 new jobs to Tuscaloosa County. The battery plant is part of an overall $1 billion expansion of its current facilities that the company unveiled in September 2017.
The main function of the new facility will be to serve as a storage and sequence facility for parts which are used in electric vehicles. The completion of the facility will follow the construction of a warehouse for the new vehicle service parts for the plant, along with a new battery plant that will manufacture the batteries for the fully-electric line of Mercedes-Benz vehicles which are expected to be available within the next decade.
The facility near the Tuscaloosa plant is part of a global production network of eight factories and the only one in the United States. This network of battery factories will allow Mercedes-Benz to offer at least one electric vehicle in each model series by 2022, which includes the production of an all-electric SUV.
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Have a good weekend.