Torbjorn's Blog

In the first six months of the "Bag the Bag" program, IKEA Canada has reduced its Plastic Bag use by 90 per cent across the country. Last October, IKEA Canada conducted a survey with its customers and received more than 60,000 responses, which concluded that plastic bags were an environmental issue that needed action. Shortly thereafter, the retailer began charging for its plastic bags, donating

Federal and provincial policies that promote the production and use of ethanol fuel to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are misguided, according to a Commentary released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. The strategy should be reconsidered, says the study, since the net environmental benefits of ethanol fuel are uncertain, and the costs to consumers and governments are high.

In The Ethanol

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion says he doesn't think the Green Shift environmental company is being hurt by his party's use of the same name for its carbon tax policy and "it will be OK."

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More than 8 billion disposable cups are thrown out every year in Canada., according to Change The World For Ten Bucks: 50 Ways To Make A Difference. Buy a resuable mug for your coffee

Biometric fingerprint payment, interactive dressing room assistance and intelligent shopping trolleys could depart the realms of science fiction for the real world, as a TNS study reveals that new technologies look set to revolutionize the way we shop.

Six in 10 Internet-connected consumers across the globe believe that they will be able to pay for purchases using just their fingerprint by 2015 - with this innovation rated top by the greatest proportion of people questioned. The UK is most in favour of this shopping solution - with 31 per cent giving it their thumbs up. Canada ranked slightly below average with 24 per cent in favour, but above their neighbours to the south. In the United States, 19 per cent support the concept.

A confident 73 per cent of shoppers say that they expect to be using interactive touch-screens in dressing rooms to communicate with sales assistants by 2015.

For Canadians, the interactive dressing room rated highest among all future retail technologies presented, in terms of both appeal and likelihood to use.

Interestingly, as with fashion, shopping priorities change dramatically between countries. While Chinese consumers rate the concept of an in-store holographic sales assistant far above other countries (named as first choice by 59 per cent compared to an average of 23 per cent), German shoppers are far more concerned about having a body scan to help their clothes to fit.

Consumers across Canada, the US, Europe and Asia ranked these concepts among a range of futuristic product innovations which look set to revolutionize the way we shop over the next decade. Next generation Web-based services, new technologies and the need for tighter security and faster shopping will drive demand - with concepts as far-fetched as networked refrigerators automatically ordering groceries likely to fuel new product developments.

TNS's New Future In Store report surveyed 4,500 primary household shoppers online in eight countries - Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, UK and US - and asked them to comment on 12 innovations.

Other result highlights include:

• 41% of consumers see biometric fingerprint payment as having 'high appeal' - rising to 69% in China but falling to 24% in Germany
• 81% of consumers believe collaborative product development Web sites will be in use by 2015. Canada rated higher than average in both  appeal and likelihood to use
• The concept of receiving product sales and promotion information via mobile phone (based on location) rated lowest among the future retail technologies surveyed
• North American consumers are most keen on 'smart' shopping carts - consumers in France and Germany are least interested
• 3D body scanning is most popular amongst Germans (21%) compared to an average of 12%
• Spaniards are keener than other Europeans on the concept of a fridge networked into other devices to order groceries and have them      delivered. 29% of Canadians claim they would likely use this technology, a rate slightly below the average
• 59% of Chinese consumers rank a holographic sales assistant as their top innovation - while Japanese and British like this least, at 15%

Ah May: the leaves are opening, flowers blooming, your eyes are a watery haze and your nose is running like a faucet. Allergy season is here!

In its Spring edition, Allergic Living magazine looks at the hidden toll of spring allergies and finds a lot more than cases of the sniffles. In fact, there is widespread "presenteeism" on the job - in which allergic employees show up but are too irritable, congested and sleep-deprived to do a proper day's work. And the costs? One study puts it at a staggering $593 per employee a year - ahead of high stress.

Speaking of stress, Allergic Living for Spring also reveals the growing level of anxiety among children with food allergies. The problem, according to experts, starts with well-meaning parents who talk too openly with young children about the risk of death from anaphylaxis. Rather than preparing their children to manage the condition, the kids become scared, and by school age are mistrustful and anxious.

For excerpts from the issue, see www.allergicliving.com

 

CIBC is taking a major step towards preserving Canada's boreal forest by switching its office paper supply to FSC-certified paper. This includes copy, printer and fax office paper, and also client statements, statement envelopes, ABM envelopes, and annual reports. CIBC also has cut its office paper purchases by 22 per cent since 2004 by implementing environmental best practices.

On April 1, CIBC switched its office copy, printer, and fax paper to FSC-certified stock, equivalent to approximately 365 million sheets a year, across its Canadian operations.

Annually, CIBC is transitioning to FSC-certified stock:

            -   203 million sheets of client account statement paper

            -   116 million statement envelopes

            -   76 million ABM envelopes

CIBC has printed its annual report on FSC-certified paper since 2006. 

FSC is an international certification and labeling system that guarantees that purchased forest products come from responsibly managed forests. Under FSC certification, forests are certified against a set of strict environmental and social standards, and fibre from certified forests is tracked all the way to the consumer through the chain of custody certification system. The end result is products in the marketplace carrying the FSC logo.

FSC certification helps protect the long-term health of boreal forests found in Canada, Russia, United States, and Scandinavia. Canada's boreal forest, which covers more than one-third of our landmass, is the largest intact forest remaining on the planet, rivaling the Amazon in size and ecological importance. It stores twice as much carbon per acre as tropical rainforests, helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Visiit: www.cibc.com.

A national magazine picked Planet Organic Markets as the top organic food retailer across Canada.

The survey of 14 major grocery retailers by Corporate Knights magazine gave Planet Organic an overall "Excellent" rating or an 'A', while Planet's most direct competitor, Whole Foods, garnered second spot with a 'B+'.

Other major retailers such as Loblaws, Safeway and Sobeys came in with distant 'C' ratings, meaning they were either "showing potential" with their organic food retail sections or were "average."

Corporate Knights magazine is distributed in a variety of ways across the country and specifically through the May 1st edition of the Globe and Mail. The magazine rated all of the 14 food retailers in five categories, ranging from the amount of local organic foods they carried, to consumer education and in-store conservation initiatives.

Visit: www.planetorganic.ca

Hudson's Bay Company (Hbc) has entered into a three year partnership with Canadian companies The Global Group and Harkel Office Furniture to furnish its newly redesigned head office in Brampton, Ontario, with eco-friendly products.

Hbc and The Global Group are Canada's largest companies in their respective fields. Harkel Office Furniture has a 28 year history of providing superior service in this country. This partnership is one of the largest of its kind in the Canadian market place. This announcement helps mark Hbc's 338th anniversary.

Through this partnership, The Global Group will manufacture eco-friendly furnishing for approximately 1200 new work units in Hbc's Brampton office. Harkel Office Furniture will distribute and service the office furnishings. Harkel is expected to have all the furnishings installed at the Brampton office by the Winter 2009. The newly designed office will house Hbc's buyers and retail operations personnel.

The primary products to be provided are manufactured out of recycled aluminum. These products will not get dumped in the landfill at the end of their lifespan. They are designed to be easily recycled to create new aluminum products.

The partnership signifies Hbc's ongoing commitment to social responsibility embodied in its Global Mind brand, which promotes social and environmental sustainability in its policies, processes and products.

Elected officials, environmental organizations as well as ordinary Canadians of all political backgrounds should take note of the lifetime achievements of recently-deceased U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day. Nelson's work prompted the head of the Washington-based Wilderness Society to describe Nelson as "the founding father of the modern environmental community". Earth Day,