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Timberland Announces Eco-Packaging Initiative

The Timberland Company (NYSE: TBL) today announced a first for environmental disclosure – it will include a “nutrition label” on all footwear packaging. The label will provide information to help guide people in the purchase process: where the product was manufactured, how it was produced, and its effect on the environment. It will appear in stores in 2006. In addition, all footwear boxes will be made of 100 percent recycled post-consumer waste fiber. Messaging inside the box will ask customers “what kind of footprint will you leave” and provides a call to action for them after purchase. Said Jeffrey Swartz, Timberland’s President and Chief Executive Officer, “Our goal is to reduce our impact on the environment while engaging consumers to take action. This packaging and labeling initiative should make our industry more transparent and give consumers the information they need to make smart buying decisions.” The “nutritional label” has three sections: The “Manufactured” section gives the name and location of the factory where the product was made. The “Environmental Impact” section reports how much energy is needed to produce Timberland footwear and how much of Timberland’s energy is generated from renewable resources such as the sun, wind or water. The […]

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Germany: Lurgi to Build World's Largest Biodiesel Project

Lurgi AG, a subsidiary of the GEA Group, has received a ?64-million order to build the world’s largest biodiesel project in Piesteritz, Eastern Germany. The order was awarded by Neckermann-Renewables GmbH, a firm based in Wrzburg, Germany. Since July, the firm has received nine contracts to build biodiesel plants with a total value of over EUR 200 million and with an annual output in excess of one million tons of biodiesel. When the new plants are completed, between 60 and 70 percent of global output of biodiesel will be produced using Lurgi technology, and 70 to 80 percent in Germany. The new plant will use rapeseed to produce more than 200,000 tons of biodiesel per year and is due to come on stream in December 2006. The plant will be the first in Germany to provide an end-to-end production process – from the introduction of the seed and its processing to the prepressing and extraction stages and, finally, to the processing of crude oil and the production of biodiesel. Lurgi will be supplying all the equipment and materials as well as commissioning the plant and training the customer’s staff. This is the third biodiesel order that Lurgi has been awarded […]

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Chevron Wins 2006 Corporate 'Irresponsibility' Award

Chevron’s troubled brand image took another battering today after the California-based oil giant won the 2006 Public Eye on Davos Award for corporate irresponsibility in the environment category during a ceremony coinciding with the Davos World Economic Forum. Other 2006 winners were Walt Disney Corporation and Citigroup. Chevron (formerly ChevronTexaco) had been nominated by San Francisco-based non-profit Amazon Watch for the corporation’s refusal to clean up one of the planet’s worst environmental disasters, in the Ecuadorian rainforest, triggered by toxic dumping from 1967 to 1992. Chevron is currently a defendant in a historic class-action trial in Ecuador brought by 30,000 rainforest dwellers. The Public Eye on Davos Awards are given each year by Swiss environmental organizations the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura-Friends of the Earth and coincides with the official World Economic Forum in Davos, attended by government officials and corporate executives. According to Amazon Watch, Chevron’s crude waste releases in Ecuador were at least 30 times larger than the Exxon Valdez spill, and the toxic waste has now permeated the water table in an area greater than the size of Rhode Island. Texaco reaped $30 billion in profits from its operations in Ecuador. Throughout the contaminated area, most local […]

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Maxwell Receives 200,000-Unit Ultracapacitor Purchase Order

Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL) announced that General Hydrogen Corporation, a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cell-based power systems for electric forklifts, has placed a 200,000 unit, three-year, purchase order for Maxwell’s BOOSTCAP ultracapacitors to enhance performance and energy management in its Hydricity Pack technology. Dr. Richard Balanson, Maxwell’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said that the purchase order is part of a strategic supply agreement through which General Hydrogen will source ultracapacitors exclusively from Maxwell and receive strategic pricing if volume thresholds specified in the purchase order are reached. He said that each Hydricity system incorporates 30 to 120 BOOSTCAP MC2600 2,600-farad ultracapacitor cells, and that General Hydrogen anticipates that its volume requirements will escalate rapidly over the next three years. “General Hydrogen is a leading integrator of fuel cell power systems for a range of industrial vehicles, particularly battery-electric forklifts,” Balanson said. “This is one of dozens of high-volume industrial and transportation applications that are creating a multi-billion-dollar opportunity for ultracapacitors in the coming decade, and we continue to move aggressively to strengthen Maxwell’s capabilities and global reach to capitalize on that opportunity.” Frank Trotter, General Hydrogen’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said that Hydricity Pack power systems […]

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Western Wind Completes $9M Financing

Western Wind Energy Corporation (WND.V) announced it completed a $9 million equity financing with Pacific Hydro Limited of Australia. Pacific Hydro is purchasing a further 4,333,333 units of the Company at a price of $1.50 per unit. Each unit will comprise of one (1) common share and one (1) share purchase warrant. Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one (1) additional common share, for a period of two years, at a price of $1.60 per share. Western Wind Energy and Pacific Hydro will also execute a formal and binding Alliance Agreement whereby Western Wind will contribute its assets, contracts and people into a joint venture relationship with Pacific Hydro for future wind farm developments. The joint venture equity will be split 51/49 in favour of Pacific Hydro with Pacific Hydro being the project manager on these projects. Western Wind will provide its expertise related to zoning, engineering and design supervision, property acquisition and PPA negotiation. Pacific Hydro will provide it’s development, engineering, financial and legal capabilities. The Alliance Agreement is being initiated with over $900 million in power sales agreements executed by Western Wind Energy. The underlying benefits of the Alliance Agreement are expected to be the development […]

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Itron Reports Record Orders for 2005

Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced it received a record number of new orders in 2005, a total of $655 million. 2004 also had record bookings of 358 million. Fourth quarter new orders of $149 million include the Company’s largest order ever for its distribution line design software, received from Pacific Gas & Electric, and contracts for over 2 million automatic meter reading (AMR) modules and AMR-equipped meters. For the full year 2005, new order bookings include contracts to automate over 10 million electric, gas and water meters. “Our success rate in winning new orders in 2005 demonstrates that the business case for Itron’s technology is very compelling for many utilities,” said LeRoy Nosbaum, chairman and CEO. “While we continue to be very excited about the prospects for fixed network AMR and AMI in the future, Mobile AMR technology provides our customers with a valuable tool for controlling costs, increasing operating efficiency and improving customer service. And, our wide range of software solutions gives our customers leading edge tools and analytics needed to make better, more informed decisions across their operations.” Itron is scheduled to release financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2005 on February 14, 2006 at approximately […]

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