Hearst Acquires 20,000 Acres of Sustainably Managed Timberlands in Siskiyou and Shasta Counties, California

Starbucks Corp. tackled a wide range of global responsibility projects in 2014, including the ongoing minimization of its environment footprint. In its annual 2014 Global Responsibility Report, the coffee giant noted that it opened its 500th LEED-certified store in 2014, and that 98% of company-operated new stores opened in the United States in 2014 were built to LEED standards. Globally, the percentage stands at 64%. Starbucks said is has experienced some technical challenges in international markets where the U.S.-based LEED certification program is still gaining traction. It is working with the U.S. Green Building Council to increase adoption of the LEED standards.

Crown Holdings, Inc. is now operating all 14 of its beverage can plants in the U.S. and Canada on renewable energy. It is the first metal packaging manufacturer to achieve this milestone, which is the result of a 15-year wind power Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Longroad Energy. With the VPPA in effect and all of Crown's manufacturing facilities in the U.K. already completing a similar transition, 27.5% of the Company's global operations are now using renewable electricity. This accelerated usage of alternative power sources serves as a major step in Crown's plan to employ 60% renewable electricity by 2030, 90% by 2040 and 100% by 2050—targets established in Crown's Twentyby30 initiative, a comprehensive sustainability program that addresses climate issues among other areas of urgent global concern. The action also supports Crown's Twentyby30 goal to decrease Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within its global operations, targeting a 50% combined reduction in absolute Scope 1 (fuel) and Scope 2 (electricity) emissions. The transition reflects Crown's commitment to the RE100, which is led by The Climate Group and CDP and focuses on accelerating the transition to zero carbon grids at global scale.

Appleton Coated has received the WWF Environmental Paper Awards 2016 (Category “Striving for Continual Improvement”) for screening the forest, climate, and water footprint of selected paper products with WWF’s Check your Paper Method. Appleton Coated senior vice president of marketing & customer services, Ann Whalen, comments, “Appleton Coated strives to make it easy for customers to choose environmentally-responsible papers. WWF recognizes our efforts to expand our offering of higher post-consumer recovered fiber products. In areas where we have made less progress than desired, the WWF focus on transparency and continuous improvement pushes us to be more innovative and diligent in those efforts.” click Read More below for additional detail