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First Destination for UNEP’s Green Passport Program: Brazil
Monday, October 13th, 2008The international community is about to launch a “Green Passport” program to promote “sustainable holidays,” and guess where the concept is being field tested first: a small colonial era town in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro (RJ) state, Paraty.
The Green Passport is a project of the International Task Force on Sustainable Tourism Development (ITF-STD) created under [...]
Minas & São Paulo Adopt a Green Purchasing Program
Sunday, September 28th, 2008Two of Brazil’s biggest markets — the states of Minas Gerais (MG) and São Paulo (SP) — each created in August a state program for sustainable public purchasing and contracting that, if done properly, can have a major impact on Brazilian markets — even more so if other states and the federal government follow their [...]
Paraná Takes Aim on New Beer Packaging
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008First aseptic cartons, then long-necked beer bottles, now one-liter glass beer bottles. Hmmm, do you think maybe Paraná environment officials are focused on packaging waste issues?
Earlier this month Paraná’s Environment Secretary, Rasca Rodrigues, again used the press to get a company to the negotiating table. He publicly attacked the new one-liter beer bottle — dubbed [...]
Brazil Adopts New Battery Rules
Friday, September 12th, 2008Brazil’s National Environment Council (CONAMA) just replaced the country’s groundbreaking 1999 rules on the environmental management of batteries and piles (pilhas) with even tougher ones.
Manufacturers should take note, since legislators and regulators in other Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations will. The original rules served as a reference point for many LAC policymakers, particularly since [...]
Promoting Tourism in Brazil’s National Parks
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008Synopsis in English: Environment Minister Carlos Minc recently announced a package of R$50 million to stimulate ecotourism in six federal conservation units (unidades de conservação federais - UCFs) with a view to investing in infrastructure (primarily visitor centers, belvederes and guided trails) and contracting concessions for visitors services (restaurants, guides, etc.). Adventure tourism will also [...]
The Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard / Scorecard de Sostenibilidad de los Biocombustibles / Indicadores de Sustentabilidade em Biocombustíveis
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
IDB launches interactive Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard
Web application enables assessment of sustainability of biofuel projects relating to food security, land use, labor conditions
The Inter-American Development Bank released an interactive tool known as the Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard on September 9th, as part of a comprehensive effort to ensure that biofuel investments produce [...]
From Banners to Reusable Shopping Bags
Saturday, September 6th, 2008Synopsis in English: The more I find out about the work of Paraná’s Zero Waste (Desperdício Zero) Program — particularly its creativity in finding new and different ways to promote and spark interest in recycling — the more I like and admire their work.
Remember the solar water heater made of used PET bottles and [...]
Minas Gets Tough on Environmental Enforcement
Thursday, August 28th, 2008Last year I blogged about how the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais was giving its environment inspectors the digital tools they need to make their jobs easier.
Since then I have kept one eye on Minas and the inspectors of its State Environment System (Sisema), not only because of the changes in enforcement that they are [...]
Update: Among the World’s Top PET Recyclers
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008Who was #2 in PET recycling in 2006 (the last year for which there are comparable figures among nations)?
Did you answer Brazil?
In 2006 Brazil recycled 180 kilotons (Kt), representing about 51.3% of the PET sold in the country during that year. This means that Brazil recycles at double the rate that the US does, and [...]
Update on Paraná Showdown with Long-Neck Beer Bottles
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Synopsis in English: For those of you curious about the outcome of that ultimatum that environment officials in Paraná gave to producers and distributors of long-neck beer bottles to take responsibility for their wastes or else, only two distributors (out of the expected five) and a representative of the glass manufacturers industry association (instead of [...]
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