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From TPP to NAFTA: International trade in Trump’s America
Katherine Radin Civil & GovernmentWhen I wrote about the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in November of 2015, I concluded by asking where we would be in a year. At the time, the Canadian political landscape had seen the election of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau to replace Conservative leader Stephen Harper as the prime minister of Canada. A year later, the political landscape has changed once again, this time with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States of America.
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Scotland takes brave approach to climate change
Andrew Gaved Waste Management & EnvironmentalIn the U.S., the HVACR industry waits with bated breath to see what new President Donald Trump is going to do with regard to climate change policy — and what sort of restrictions he will put on the EPA. Meanwhile, across the Pond in the U.K., the Scottish government has shown a heartening amount of ambition for carbon cutting with its own draft climate change plan. In fact, the Scottish plan is so ambitious that it has thrown the spotlight on the U.K. Westminster government's own somewhat-more-conservative carbon cutting plans.
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Sustainability still on the horizon for manufacturers
Michelle Hickman ManufacturingYou can't turn around without hearing someone talking about the manufacturing industry. The current political climate has shined the economic spotlight back on manufacturers and their processes. While manufacturing jobs may be the dominant talking point on the minds of the media, politicians and society, the topic of sustainability still dominates the talk in boardrooms and processing floors. Companies are looking for ways to make their operations more efficient while not hampering the quality of products. They also seek to lower their costs and risks without negatively impacting the environment.
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US braces for climate backlash as 109 countries sign Paris Agreement
Andrew Gaved Waste Management & EnvironmentalThe election of Donald Trump has provoked alarm among some policymakers and industry bodies who fear he will row back on the emissions reductions they have worked toward in recent months. As climate leaders met last month in Marrakech, Morocco, to officially sign the Paris Agreement on climate change, committing the 109 signatories to firm targets on carbon reduction, U.S. policymakers pointedly used the opportunity to make clear that the nation did not share the president-elect's views.
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Amazon finished 2016 with a bang. What will 2017 bring?
Danielle Manley RetailAmazon has always been on the forefront of advancements in the retail world. From technology to delivery, Amazon is constantly disrupting the industry, so it's no surprise they closed out 2016 with a bang — a big bang.
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Trump question looms as US signs climate pact in Morocco
Andrew Gaved Waste Management & EnvironmentalIn fact, the events of the past couple of weeks have put the Brexit uncertainty in the U.K. into context. The multiple questions we might have over our future outside of the European community seem somehow less significant compared with the questions Americans must have over Donald J. Trump.
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Who put paper in my marijuana?
Jeff Ell ManufacturingThat's right folks, specialty paper is showing up in medical marijuana. Not literally, of course. But specialty papers like parchment, glassine and PTFE are all being used in the medical marijuana market. I don't think a soul out there reading this post has not seen or heard of the marijuana marketplace taking off. The adult usage in regards to market sales in 2014 was $373.8 million and then in 2015 in grew by 232 percent to $1.24 billion. This is the fastest growing market area to date, according to Leafly.com.
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Refrigeration industry glimpses its future
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingI recently attended the Chillventa exhibition in Nuremburg, Germany, which provides a biannual opportunity to see many within the European cooling industry in one place. The fact that so many manufacturers converge on Chillventa provides a rare chance to take the pulse of the industry and allows us to get an idea of what is on the collective minds of the supply chain.
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The growing popularity of flexible packaging
Alan Kelsky EngineeringFlexible packaging continues to overtake other forms of packaging as both consumers and brand owners often prefer it. Food packaging is designed to preserve and store contents while keeping products fresher, longer. Flexible packaging does even more, as it is great at achieving packaging goals and more eco-friendly than other forms of packaging because it takes less energy to produce — lowering CO2 emissions and their effect on the environment. Flexible packaging is also less expensive to produce than alternative packaging materials.
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Best of plastics: 3-D printing
Don Rosato EngineeringAlthough it's in its plastics industry end-use product infancy, 3-D printing is a disruptive, technology-driven innovation that will change the face of manufacturing in the coming years, provided additional plastic material development takes place.
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