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No such thing as scrap? Really?
In 2023 the American Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (AISR) decreed that there’s no longer such a thing as scrap. Henceforth it would be known as recycled steel. The 14th edition of ‘World Steel Recycling in Figures’ published by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) Ferrous Division followed their lead by replacing all use of…
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A global standard for protected areas
The IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas is a global campaign for successful nature conservation. At the heart of the initiative is the IUCN Green List Standard which aims to recognise and support quality management of protected areas around the world. IUCN commissioned OneWorldStandards to lead the development of the Green List standard…
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A chain of custody standard for steel
A chain of custody standard is needed to link ResponsibleSteel certified steel producers with steel users. An effective standard has to be practical for steelmakers, manufacturers and end-users to implement, support credible claims, create value, and above all else drive sustainability across the steel sector. ResponsibleSteel asked OneWorldStandards to consider the full range of chain…
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Mining standards review
The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) ‘State of Sustainability Initiatives (SSI)’ project provides objective, in-depth research into key aspects of voluntary sustainability standards. Flagship SSI reports cover the role of standards in the ‘Green Economy’ (agriculture), the ‘Blue Economy’ (fisheries), and the role of standards in biodiversity, transparency and poverty reduction. Matthew Wenban-Smith was…
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Land conversion and compensation
Many sustainability standards programmes aim to reduce or prevent the conversion of habitats with high conservation values into production areas. Often they specify that land managed by certificate holders cannot be converted, or cannot have been converted since some cut-off date. But what happens if a manager buys land that was converted by another party…
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Water Stewardship
Michael Spencer conceived the idea of establishing an international ‘water stewardship council’ in Australia in 2006. He brought Andrew Kinnaird and OneWorldStandards Director Matthew Wenban-Smith on board, and together they founded the Water Stewardship Initiative (WSI) to develop the concept. Determined to ensure that water stewardship would be developed globally and collaboratively, they then invited…
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ResponsibleSteel
ResponsibleSteel is a global, not-for-profit organisation created to maximise steel?s contribution to a sustainable world. Working collaboratively with its members, it has developed the world’s first independent, global standard and certification programme for responsibly produced net-zero steel. The founders of ResponsibleSteel contacted OneWorldStandards in 2016, seeking advice about the design and development of the programme.…
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Responsible Uranium?
There are more than 400 nuclear power stations in operation around the world today, generating around 10% of the world’s energy. Nuclear power is controversial, and its role in limiting climate change is contested. But nuclear power stations have long operational lives and new ones are being commissioned and constructed in China, India, Europe and…
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Green claims
Public awareness of the environmental and social impacts of consumption has been growing for decades – whether the issue is pollution, deforestation, intensive agriculture, or climate change. Many corporations have responded by making ‘green’ claims about their own products – for example that they are ‘organic’, ‘chlorine-free’, ‘low carbon’, or ‘made with wood from sustainably…
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ISEAL Membership
The Sustainable Eel Group (SEG)’s mission is to provide leadership for the restoration of healthy wild populations of the European eel throughout its natural range. SEG had already developed a sustainability standard for responsible eel fishers, ranchers and aquaculturalists, and had been operating a certification and labelling scheme for a few years. In 2015 the…
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Recent Posts
- “You can only recycle steel in an EAF” – Really?
- A ‘sliding scale’ for steel and glass?
- Mining and ResponsibleGlass
- Steel’s methane footprint
Tags
Chain of custody Claims Climate change Cullet GHG Glass Methane Mining Organisational development Research Scrap Standards Steel Water