Welcome back to the Planet Forward blog for another edition of our weekly green news highlights. This week: Masdar, the World’s First Sustainable city in United Arab Emirates, located seventeen kilometres from Abu Dhabi; the Grand Canyon is cleaning up and banning bottled water in favour of reusable bottles at refill stations; and Kraft accomplishes zero waste at 36 plants. Just click on the links to learn more.

(Image Credit: LAVA)

Let’s begin with Masdar: The World’s First Sustainable City.  The first sustainable city called Masdar, which in Arabic translates as ‘the Source’ will be located in United Arab Emirates, seventeen kilometres from Abu Dhabi.  The design behind Masdar will be developed by Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA).  The plan to build the city will occur in seven stages and it’s targeted for completion sometime between 2020-2025.  Six buildings of stage one were completed in 2010 with the balance suspended until 2015. Once completed, Masdar City will accommodate 40,000 residents, 50,000 commuters, and over 1,500 companies.  No cars or personal vehicles will be permitted within the city.  Masdar will be a tribute to sustainability with the following “design elements:

• Zero carbon, zero waste, zero emissions transportation system
• Fossil fuel free
• Powered 100% by renewable energy sources
• “Sunflower” umbrellas that can mediate outside temperature
• Wall surfaces that adapt to changing temperatures
• Rooftop gardens
• Adaptive building facades that adjust to capture sunlight
• Underground water storage
• Sustainability-minded five-star hotel, central plaza, convention center, entertainment complex, and shops”

At a hefty $18.7 billion (US) pricetag, the city footprint will extend 6 square kilometres. “Sunflower umbrellas (see image) will create shade, reflect desert sunlight, and store heat during the day. At night in Masdar, the umbrellas will close, releasing the heat stored during the day and opening up the space for shopping, dining, luxury lodging and even the headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency.” Incredible, and hopefully this will inspire future urban developments to follow suit.  Watch the video below.

Grand Canyon to ban bottled water sales. Visitors expressed concern that empty plastic bottles scattered around the park are spoiling views of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  The ban was proposed previously and “became controversial when it was delayed in late 2010 after what the public interest group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility charged was pressure by The Coca-Cola Company. The company and park officials have denied such a claim.” Now the ban is coming to fruition, according to Reuters. “The National Park Service has approved a plan that would eliminate the sale of bottled water within 30 days, after nearly $290,000 was spent to install 10 water stations inside the park.” This means that visitors will use the 10 water stations available to refill reusable water bottles.  Clearly refilling reusable water bottles over buying plastic bottles is a more sustainable solution and will help preserve the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon. “Our parks should set the standard for resource protection and sustainability,” John Wessels, the park service’s intermountain region director, said in a statement.  With 4.5 million tourists visiting the Grand Canyon annually, it’s estimated that “disposable bottles account for 20 percent of the park’s waste and 30 percent of its recyclables.” 

Kraft Foods Wages War On Waste, One Plant At A Time.  The Kraft corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability program hones in on six areas: waste management, agricultural commodities, packaging, energy, water and operations related to transportation and distribution. By the end of 2010, Kraft had eliminated 42 percent of its wastes.  In a press release, Kraft explained what they’ve done (and are doing) to reduce waste.  “We’re waging war on waste, one plant at a time,” said Christine McGrath, Vice President, Global Sustainability.  “Today, we have 36 facilities in 13 countries that send zero waste to landfills, and we’ve reduced our manufacturing waste by 50 percent since 2005.  Our strategy is simple: generate less waste and find new uses for the waste we do produce.  And our employees are doing just that.”  Approximately 90 percent of Kraft’s manufacturing waste is recycled or reused.
 
Stay tuned for more green news.

February 9, 2012
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