Green Business Juin 08

8/8/2019 Green Business Juin 08

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OAKLAND, Calif. -- Suppliers and retailers must take advantage of

collaboration to develop sustainable supply chains, according to a report.

Capgemini's "Future Supply Chain 2016" report looks at new concerns

companies must take into account to improve their operations and

reduce their impact on the environment.

Issues like carbon dioxide emissions, energy reductions and traffic

congestion already are or will be just as important as current supply

chain concerns such as on-shelf availability and cost efficiency.

Various collaborations are listed as part of what the report says a "future

supply chain" will need in order to reduce its costs, use of energy, use of

resources and CO2 emissions.

Supply chains will need to collaborate on warehousing and

transportation, the report says. By sharing space and delivery systems,

companies can reduce their physical footprint, drive down costs and cut

their emissions.

Traffic congestion will continue to be a concern as more areas urbanizeor urban areas expand. One solution the report puts forth is to develop

city replenishment hubs, warehouses near urban areas where several

retailers would keep goods to be taken in to the city. The companies

would use a shared transportation system to reduce the number of

vehicles on the road.Companies need to start working with these

concerns in mind, the report says, because external forces such asresource scarcity, urbanization and sustainability regulations are a reality

or on the horizon.


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PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The H.J. Heinz Company has declared plans to cut

its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2015, and has identified

a number of areas in its operations to improve to meet that goal.

Along with reducing energy consumption by 20 percent through

efficiencies, Heinz plans to have 15 percent of its energy come from

renewable sources.

The company aims to reduce transportation by 10 percent through

improving distribution patterns, using fuller truckloads, more direct routes

and sending shipments by rail.

Heinz also aims to reduce packaging by 15 percent, water use by 20percent and solid waste by 20 percent. In its agricultural operations, it

plans a 15 percent reduction in carbon emissions, 15 percent reduction

in water and five percent improvement in yields by using hybrid tomato

seeds that require less water, fertilizers and pesticides.

Various facilities are developing or have such sustainability programs in

place. Heinz's Ontario, Ore., facility is working on a program to turnpotato peels into biofuels as well as treat and reuse 90 percent of the

water for potato production.

And while a Fremont, Ohio, facility is working on reducing solid waste by

10 percent, the company's Dundalk, Ireland, facility recycles 95 percent

of its plastic and 99 percent of its cardboard, wood and steel.


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AMSTERDAM, NL -- TNT, a transportation and delivery company, will

replace more than 100 diesel truck with all-electric trucks over the next

year and a half.

The company will swap out trucks in the United Kingdom, China and

Amsterdam to test other, cleaner trucks.

The zero emission, battery-powered Newton trucks are manufactured in

the U.K. and designed to replace diesel trucks in urban areas. The trucks

have a top speed of 50 miles per hour and have a range of 70-100 mileson a single charge. The batteries can be fully charged in six-eight hours.

The 7 million ($13.7 million) initiative is expected to reduce the

company's carbon dioxide emissions by about 2.8 million pounds a year.

TNT runs about 45,000 trucks in Europe.

Before deciding to start replacing diesel trucks with Newtons, the

company tested the trucks out for 18 months in London. TNT's

operations in China, Australia and the Netherlands are testing out other

electric and hybrid trucks. Last week the company started using two

battery-powered delivery vans in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in

China. In April, TNT introduced 10 diesel-electric hybrids in Australia,

and the company plans to try out other Smith Electric vans and trucks in

the Netherlands.
http://www.tnt.com/http://www.tnt.com/


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Conference 1

People in Belgium have felt the impact of rising oil prices via a rise in the price of the

country's favourite food, the chip. A bag of fried potato pommes frites in Brussels now

costs about two euros ($3), up 4% in the past year.

That is despite a 24% drop in the cost of potatoes. The government has launched an

investigation but the chip-makers blame their price increase on more expensive petrol for

transport and fuel for their factories.

It is a similar story across the eurozone region, where food price inflation reached 6% in

April. The overall inflation rate stood at 3.3%.

The European Central Bank, which sets interest rates for all 15 countries which use theeuro, admits it cannot bring inflation down to its 2% target rate in the short term.

There is not much the European Commission can do about rising oil prices and their

knock-on effects. It leaves it to individual countries to decide how much tax they put on

oil.

Many governments are under pressure to make tax cuts to offset the inflation. Recent

protests by fishermen in France, who blockaded Channel ports, underline how strongly

many European citizens feel about the issue.

Peering just a few months ahead to estimate food prices has been a tough game

recently.

Peering 10 years ahead might seem impossible, especially when some of the

assumptions made for the new UN Food and Agriculture Organisation report already look

questionable.

For example, one key assumption made is that crude oil prices will peak at $104 a barrel

by 2017, within variations along the way.

The price is already well above that, and some reputable analysts are now predicting oil

will go to $200 a barrel.

High oil prices push up costs for farmers in the developed world.

Fertiliser needs oil for its manufacture, while shipping costs have risen substantially.

But it is the poorest in the world who face the bleakest future - 800 million people whodid not have enough to eat on a daily basis even before the recent huge rise in prices.


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The report emphasises the need for humanitarian aid to fill the gap in the short term,

and the World Bank has now announced major support to help developing countries.

Farewell, cheap food

Poor people in cities, who can spend half of their income on food, are the most

vulnerable.

Governments across the world - particularly in a belt of countries across North Africa,

from Mauritania to Egypt - are looking nervously at rising food prices and wondering

about the political impact if things do not ease soon.

The main conclusion of the report, that prices will fall from the high spike seen at the end

of 2007, will console them.

But there is a sting in the tail: prices will level off at a far higher average level than seen

before the crisis erupted. The long era of cheap food is over.

There is an opportunity here, too. The higher prices mean that investment in agriculture

will become more attractive, although the report emphasises the need for spending in

training, education and infrastructure to exploit the available talent.

But the increased interest in agriculture also has a downside, as "non-commercial

traders" - speculators in normal language - have come into the agricultural commodity

market.

Apart from drought, speculation was the other factor named in the report as being

responsible for the record highs and the recent volatility in markets.

From 17% in 2005, their share of the futures market rose to 43%. And the FAO report

says they could leave as fast as they came.

Biofuel battles

The report is a glimpse into a new world of trading relationships. There has been a lot of

notice taken of China's new involvement in Africa, but less attention paid to its equally

intense interest in Latin America.

By 2017, China will have become the world's second-largest oilseed and vegetable oil

importer, and Brazil will be easily the largest exporter, outstripping the US.


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Biodiesel production (mostly from soybeans) is entirely dependent on government

subsidy, since the report emphasises that its production cost will remain higher than the

cost of conventional diesel production.

So the political battles will increase over whether biofuels should be encouraged.

Biofuels are here to stay, with or without state support. Again, Brazil is the main engine

of growth here, both in terms of production and consumption of biofuels.

But the US is catching up, with as astonishing 40% of US maize production

predicted to go on biofuels by 2017.

Conference 2

Car giant Ford has sold its luxury UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover

to Indian company Tata.

Tata, India's biggest vehicle maker, is paying $2.3bn (1.15bn) for the British brands

after months of negotiations over price and supply relationships.

The negotiations started last June when Ford announced its intention to sell the

companies as a package.

Jaguar and Land Rover employ about 16,000 staff at UK plants in the West Midlands and

Merseyside.

Although Land Rover remains profitable, Ford has never managed to make money from

its investment in Jaguar.

Ford has been forced to sell the two companies, based at Solihull and Castle Bromwich in

the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside, in order to concentrate on its loss-

making core US car business, which it hopes to turn around in the next two years.

The $2.3bn price tag is about half the amount Ford originally paid for the marques,

leading some analysts to argue that the purchase was a mistake.

"How can you call it anything else?" said Erich Merkle, an auto expert for US consulting

company IRN.

"You have to cut your losses at some point. It's been draining them of cash and

resources."

Ford sold its iconic Aston Martin marque to a UK-led investment consortium in a deal

worth $955.2m last year.


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No significant changes

The companies said there would not be any "significant changes" to Jaguar or Land Rover

employees' terms of employment on completion of the sale.

They said that staff, trade unions and the UK government had been kept informed of

developments and supported the move.

Tata said the deal should be completed by the end of the summer, subject to applicable

regulatory approvals.

The purchase will give Tata the opportunity to expand its presence in the passenger car

market beyond India and gives it the clout necessary to compete with international

players.

In January, Tata launched the world's cheapest car, the Nano, priced at $2,500

(1,250).

By contrast, the starting price for Jaguar's latest sports car, the XF is more than 32,000

($64,000).

"We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of

our automotive business," Tata said.

"We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavour to preserve and build

on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact.

"We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the

management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the

growth of the business."

Alan Mulally, the president and chief executive of Ford, said he was "confident" that the

brands would continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship.

"Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we

implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable

growth for all," he added.

Terms

Under the terms of the deal, Ford will contribute about $600m to the Jaguar and Land

Rover pension plans.


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Ford will continue to supply Jaguar and Land Rover for differing periods with engines,

stampings and other car components, in addition to a variety of technologies.

In addition, Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover

dealers and customers during a transitional period of up to 12 months.

"It seems as though they have resolved some tricky supply issues," said Ernst & Young's

automotive expert Eric Wallbank.

"The deal will give Ford the cash to revive its fortunes in the US and focus on its core

brand, while it adds an important plank to Tata's automotive ambitions," he added.

Conference 3

Higher food prices may be here to stay as demand from developing countriesand production costs rise, says an influential report.

A report by the UN's Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the body for rich nations,

the OECD, said prices will fall, but only gradually.

It said the current price spike was higher than previous records, partly due to bad

weather ruining crops.

But factors, such as rising biofuel demand, will keep future costs high.

The FAO said speculators were also to blame for volatile commodity markets.

Soaring bills

In its annual Outlook report, the FAO predicted beef and pork prices might be 20%

higher by 2017, wheat could be up to 60% more expensive and the cost of vegetable oils

might rise by 80%.

World prices for wheat, maize and oilseed crops doubled between 2005 and 2007, and

while the FAO expects these prices to fall, the decline may be slower than after previous

spikes.

As well as key factors such as weather, supply and demand and energy costs,

speculators are also to blame for making commodity prices more volatile, the FAO says.

It is also concerned about the increasing use of crops for biofuels.

"Biofuels are the largest new source of demand for agriculture and are causing higherprices," said Merritt Cluff, one of the authors of the report.


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"We are very worried particularly about biofuel policy. US government incentives for

ethanol producers are distorting the market," he added.

Looking ahead, climate change may also affect crop harvests, pushing up prices further.

But the hardest-hit by rising food costs will be the poorest people on the planet, where a

large share of income is spent on food, the FAO warned.

"We are hugely concerned about the poorest and we expect the number of

undernourished people to rise," said Mr Cluff.

The FAO believes the commodity boom has forced some in the developing world to spend

more than half their income on food, particularly those countries that have to import

much of their food.

But even then, its outlook may be too conservative, says BBC international development

correspondent David Loyn, since predicting future oil prices is a near-impossible task.

One key assumption made is that crude oil prices will peak at $104 a barrel by 2017 says

our correspondent. But as he points out, the price is already well above that, and some

reputable analysts are now predicting oil will go to $200 a barrel.

And he added that while there may be a drop in food prices in coming years, "there is a

sting in the tail.

"Prices will level off at a far higher average level than seen before the crisis erupted," he

said. "The long era of cheap food is over."

Rising food bills have triggered protests, riots and panic buying in some developing

countries.

Earlier this month, the FAO calculated the amount of money being spent globally on

importing food was set to top $1 trillion (528bn) in 2008, a 26% rise on the previousyear.

However, the food crisis could also shift the epicentre of global agriculture from

developed to developing countries and the FAO predicts that emerging economies will

dominate in the production and consumption of most basic foods in 10 years.


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Green Business Juin 08

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