Belgium Overtakes Germany as Second-Largest Biodiesel Exporter Worldwide

December 7th, 2021 IndexBox Leave a comment

IndexBox has just published a new report: ‘World – Biodiesel – Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights‘. Here is a summary of the report’s key findings.

This year, Belgium is overtaking Germany to emerge as the second-largest biodiesel exporter in the world. From January to July 2021, Belgium supplied biodiesel worth $2.1B abroad, while Germany’s exports were estimated at $1.8B. The Netherlands keeps the leading position with a biodiesel export value of $4.2B. In 2020, Germany ($2.3B) followed the Netherlands ($4.6B) in global export ranking, while Belgium ($1.5B) took third place. The average biodiesel export price grew by +11% y-o-y to $979 per tonne in 2020.

Global Biodiesel Exports by Country

Over the period from January to July 2021, the Netherlands remains the top biodiesel exporter worldwide, with a $4.2B value of the shipments abroad. Belgium ($2.1B) took second place in the global export ranking, followed by Germany ($1.8B).

In 2020, the amount of biodiesel exported worldwide amounted to 16M tonnes. In value terms, biodiesel exports were estimated at $15.9B (IndexBox estimates).

Last year, the Netherlands (4.7M tonnes), distantly followed by Germany (2.3M tonnes), Belgium (1.6M tonnes), Spain (1.5M tonnes), and China (0.9M tonnes) were the significant biodiesel exporters, together creating 70% of total exports. The following exporters – Argentina (597K tonnes), France (557K tonnes), Italy (494K tonnes), the U.S. (476K tonnes), Malaysia (402K tonnes), Canada (397K tonnes), Poland (365K tonnes) and Austria (289K tonnes) – together made up 23% of total exports.

In value terms, the Netherlands ($4.6B), Germany ($2.3B) and Belgium ($1.5B) constituted the countries with the highest levels of exports in 2020, with a combined 55% share of global exports. These countries were followed by Spain, China, Italy, France, Argentina, the U.S., Canada, Malaysia, Austria and Poland, which accounted for 38%.

Italy saw the highest growth rate of the value of exports in 2020, while shipments for the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth. The value of biodiesel exported from Italy rose from $719M to $1.1B.

The average biodiesel export price stood at $979 per tonne in 2020, rising by +11% against the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin; the country with the highest price was Italy ($1,289 per tonne), while Argentina ($784 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Italy, while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox Platform

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Vector Takes “Logistics with Purpose” to the Next Level

December 2nd, 2021 GT Staff Leave a comment

Global commercial shipping provider, Vector Logistics, announced its first-ever effort towards environmental wellness for client utilization this week. Carbon offsets is the main focus of Vector’s environmental service, established through the company’s partnership with the nonprofit Carbonfund.org Foundation. Not only does this enable clients to increase contributions towards a sustainable supply chain, but it also supports positive long-term effects on the industry as a whole.

“At Vector, we believe that a few caring people can and will change the world. And the truth is, we only have one world to share,” says CEO, Enrique Alvarez. “We are compelled to make clean, sustainable shipping a reality. ”

Living up to its primary value of “logistics with a purpose,” Vector selected Carbonfund.org due to its leading position in efforts against climate change and support of a cleaner business climate. Information released today confirmed that the nonprofit’s projects are always validated through a third party and vetted against the highest standards.

The carbon offsets effort is one of several options Vector will add to its environmental solutions portfolio. The company confirmed that additional options are in the works for 2022 to further support client goals in reducing their overall environmental footprint.

“Doing the right thing is a must, and there’s no time to waste. Together, we can make a difference both now and for generations to come,” Alvarez added.

To learn more and stay up-to-date on the latest solutions offerings, please visit: vectorgl.com

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States That Produce the Most Renewable Energy

October 11th, 2021 Commodity.com Leave a comment

Since President Joe Biden and a new Congress took office earlier this year, federal policymakers have been working to speed up the U.S. transition to clean and renewable energy sources. One of Biden’s first actions in office was to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord, the 2016 agreement in which countries pledged to significantly reduce their CO2 emissions. The Biden Administration followed this up with aggressive carbon reduction targets and the American Jobs Plan proposal, which includes provisions to modernize the power grid, incentivize clean energy generation, and create more jobs in the energy sector. Much of Biden’s agenda builds on prior proposals like the Green New Deal, which would achieve emissions reductions and create jobs through investments in clean energy production and energy-efficient infrastructure upgrades.

The transition to renewables has taken on greater urgency in recent years with the worsening effects of climate change. Carbon emissions from non-renewable sources like coal, oil, and natural gas are one of the primary factors contributing to the warming of the atmosphere, and climate experts project that to limit warming, renewable energy must supply 70 to 85% of electricity by midcentury.

Renewable energy still represents less than a quarter of total annual electricity generation in the U.S., but the good news is that renewable energy has been responsible for a steadily increasing share of electricity generation over the past decade. Most of the upward trajectory comes from exponential growth in the production of solar and wind power. In 1990, solar power generated only 367,087 megawatt-hours of electricity, while wind power was responsible for 2,788,600 megawatt-hours. Since then, technological improvements and public investment in wind and solar helped lower costs and make them viable competitors to non-renewable sources. By 2020, solar production had reached 89,198,715 megawatt-hours, while wind produced 337,938,049 megawatt-hours of electricity.

But this evolution is uneven across the U.S., a product of differences in states’ economies, public policy toward renewables, and perhaps most importantly, geographic features. Even among states that lead in renewable energy production, these factors contribute to different mixes of renewable sources. For instance, Texas—the nation’s top producer of renewable energy—generates most of its renewable electricity from wind turbines. Runner-up Washington and fourth-place Oregon take advantage of large rivers in the Pacific Northwest to generate more hydroelectric power than any other state. And California, which is third in total renewable production, has been a long-time leader in solar energy thanks in part to an abundance of direct sunlight.

Meanwhile, states that lag behind in renewable generation include several states without the size or geographic features to scale up production, like Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, along with states whose economies are more traditionally dependent on fossil fuels, like Mississippi and Alaska.

To determine the states producing the most renewable energy, researchers at Commodity.com used data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to calculate the percentage of total electricity generated from renewable sources. Renewable energy sources include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and hydroelectric. In the event of a tie, the state with the greater five-year growth in renewable electricity production, between 2015 and 2020, was ranked higher.

Here are the states that produce the most renewable energy.

State	Rank	Percentage of electricity generated from renewables	5-year change in renewable electricity production	Total electricity generated from renewables (MWh)	Largest renewable energy source
Vermont	1	99.9%	+9.0%	2,155,177	Hydroelectric Conventional
South Dakota	2	80.5%	+55.0%	11,388,457	Hydroelectric Conventional
Maine	3	76.7%	-1.7%	7,674,956	Hydroelectric Conventional
Idaho	4	76.1%	+15.0%	13,456,149	Hydroelectric Conventional
Washington	5	75.0%	+5.6%	87,109,288	Hydroelectric Conventional
Oregon	6	67.5%	+9.5%	42,928,468	Hydroelectric Conventional
Iowa	7	59.4%	+85.6%	35,437,099	Wind
Montana	8	59.4%	+16.8%	13,872,119	Hydroelectric Conventional
Kansas	9	44.2%	+117.6%	24,117,519	Wind
California	10	42.6%	+38.9%	82,239,832	Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic
Oklahoma	11	39.7%	+91.9%	32,687,539	Wind
North Dakota	12	38.1%	+87.0%	16,084,768	Wind
Colorado	13	30.9%	+77.4%	16,724,964	Wind
Alaska	14	30.8%	+8.3%	1,931,545	Hydroelectric Conventional
Nebraska	15	28.9%	+115.7%	10,648,740	Wind
United States	–	19.5%	+43.9%	783,003,365	Wind

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Commodity.com’s website: https://commodity.com/blog/states-renewable-energy/

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Tackling the Hottest Topic in Packaging – Sustainability

October 5th, 2021 BoldtSmith Packaging Leave a comment

Almost every product needs a package. Whether that be a toilet shipping through UPS or a windshield shipping FTL into a vehicle assembly line. The world of packaging is full of trends, hot topics, and buzz words. One that has been a hot topic for the last 10 years is sustainability.

This article is going to look at the three pillars of package sustainability: Reduce – Reuse – Recycle. Let’s look at these three words through the BoldtSmith Packaging lens which focuses on creating optimized packaging solutions that lead to sustainable packaging practices.

Sustainability – Optimized Packaging

When seeking a sustainable packaging solution, it’s important to determine which R is applicable to your packaging goals.

Some products and supply chains are a great fit for recyclable/compostable materials. However, for those that are not, we focus on providing optimized packaging solutions that reduce the carbon footprint. This is where Reduce and Reuse come into play. Optimized packaging solutions lead to sustainable packaging practices because:

-Material: Selecting the best materials results in less material

-Freight: Eliminating air from master cartons leads to better freight efficiency which means less fuel burned

Is sustainability more than just a “feel good” marketing term that large corporations like proudly displaying on their websites and packaging? Keep reading and let’s find out.

Below are descriptions for what each of the three R’s are along with examples from projects we have completed in the past.

Optimized Packaging – Reduce

Reducing packaging materials has been a fundamental pillar in cost reduction. Reducing packaging materials also ties into package sustainability as this reduces the amount of trash being thrown away. This is relevant to all packaging materials whether that be corrugated, foam, aluminum, glass, etc. Eliminating materials that cannot be recycled is not always possible and open-loop supply chains will not allow for a returnable packaging system. This is where BoldtSmith Packaging looks to create optimized packaging designs that reduce the amount of materials used.

Read the below example on how we reduced the level of product damage while in parallel decreasing the amount of packaging material, costs, and freight.

Optimized Packaging Example – Reduce

A customer we have completed multiple projects for was having damage issues with their toilet’s shipping through a small parcel supply chain direct to consumer. They engaged us to develop a packaging solution that would reduce their damage from 12% to less than 1% while in parallel reducing material and freight costs.

Below is an overview of their current packaging vs our optimized solution.

Current Packaging

-Packaging Material Cost: $16.90 per unit

-Packaging Freight Cost: $383.76 via UPS Ground

-Annual Volume: 10,000 units

-Total Annual Cost: $4,006,000

-Damaged Units Annually: 1,200

Design #1: Non-Recyclable Packaging Solution

-Packaging Material Cost: $12.90 per unit

-Packaging Freight Cost: $310.08 via UPS Ground

-Annual Volume: 10,000 units

-Total Annual Cost: $3,222,800

–Damaged Units Annually: 100

Cost Difference Annually: $783,200; Damage Difference Annually: 1,100 units

For this example, we designed an optimized packaging solution that dropped their damage rate by less than 1% while in parallel saving them just under $800,000 annually in packaging material and freight costs.

Sustainability variables to consider:

1. Elimination of 1,100 damaged units annually

-Repairs and adjustments

-Return shipment and reverse logistics

-Expedited shipments costs for new product

-New packaging for new product

2. Smaller master carton and interior dunnage reducing the amount of packaging material needed

3. Smaller master carton meaning less space taken up during shipping reducing carbon emissions

Optimized Packaging – Reuse

Closed-loop supply chains offer a great opportunity for utilizing a reusable packaging solution. A common scenario of reusable packaging solutions is manufacturing companies receiving sub-assembly components from a local company.

Common reusable packaging solutions can include:

-Plastic or heavy-duty wood pallets

-Plastic or wooden crates

-Bulk containers such as drums, and IBC’s

-Plastic totes and boxes

-Dunnage

Optimized Packaging Example – Reuse

A large door and window manufacturer reached out to BoldtSmith Packaging looking for us to optimize their packaging for all the inbound components they use to build the doors and windows. This included frames, glass, locks, jambs, etc. They receive these components from domestic manufacturing companies. Steps of the project are outlined below along with the findings.

1. Visit the assembly facility to review all packaging material and processes associated with unloading, handling, and storing the components.

2. Brainstorm potential packaging solutions and develop 3D concepts with budgetary pricing

3. Present concepts to our customer and all component suppliers

4. Create packaging designs and specifications and send for pricing from packaging suppliers

5. Create financial analysis comparing current packaging to returnable solutions

6. Create packaging samples for line trials, lab tests and ship tests

7. Adjust design based on testing findings

8. Implement!

At the end of the project, it was determined that 10 of the 12 component suppliers would be transitioned into a returnable packaging solution. This transition saved the customer costs associated with the packaging materials and labor efficiencies were gained while in parallel eliminating expendable packaging solutions from the supply chain.

Optimized Packaging – Recycle

Utilizing recyclable packaging materials is great and we love presenting recyclable packaging options to our customers. Recycling plays a crucial role in minimizing waste and preserving the natural resources of the earth. They are a great fit depending on the product, supply chain, customer base, and most importantly, budget. When outlining our projects, we like to obtain the customer’s goals of the project and so often are we given the below objectives ranked by priority.

-Decrease packaging material costs

-Decrease freight costs

-Decrease labor costs

-Decrease product damage

– “Oh and make it recyclable”

Transitioning from non-recyclable packaging materials that are effective and cheap to 100% recyclable materials can be a cost-effective change depending on the product and packaging. However, there are situations where these recyclable materials are not a great fit. This can be based on who the customer base is, the product type, the supply chain, budget for packaging, etc.

Optimized Packaging Example – Recycle

A large knockdown furniture company reached out to BoldtSmith Packaging looking to transition away from non-recyclable foam in their products. The furniture items are manufactured domestically and ship through both small parcel and palletized supply chains.

We developed packaging designs with and without non-recyclable foam, completed transit testing and created a financial analysis comparing the various solutions. What we determined is that for small parcel shipping, we were not able to cost-effectively transition away from foam. However, we were able to utilize 100% recycled materials for their palletized furniture products.

This was a great balance between remaining cost-effective while exploring sustainable packaging materials. Click the below link to learn more about optimizing furniture packaging.

Contact BoldtSmith Packaging to discuss what we can do for you.

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How to Attract Millennial and Generation Z Employees with Eco-Friendly Initiatives

September 20th, 2021 Sarah Thibeau Leave a comment

By 2030, millennials and Generation Z (Gen Z) will be the central working force in society.

According to the 2018 Deloitte Millennials study, three-quarters of millennials and Gen Z respondents indicated they consider a company’s social and environmental commitments in deciding where to work. Two-thirds even said they would not accept a job that didn’t have a strong sustainability program. To make your business more appealing to younger generations of workers, you’ll want to think about going green.

Sustainability doesn’t always mean reusable water bottles and recycling, though that’s definitely part of building a sustainable business. Sustainability can also mean eliminating paper processes, streamlining workflows, and updating your business operations to create less waste. In these days of rapidly-changing work environments and shifting priorities, sustainability is something to keep at the forefront of your business plans.

Find your sources of waste

What’s the first thing you think of when it comes to eliminating eco-unfriendliness in business? My mind went right to the fact that companies have largely moved to paper-free internal communications. There are more opportunities to go green than just shifting to instant messaging and email communications, though! Even allowing for employees to work remotely is a sustainable practice that your company might already be participating in.

In order to identify more ways to be more eco-friendly, think about where waste comes from in your business. Is there any low-hanging-fruit like removing paper plates from the lunch room or offering composting bins around the office? Acting on the more apparently unsustainable elements of your business gives you a tangible place to start, and might just inspire more sustainability across the board.

Once you’ve tackled those more apparent waste generators, consider which departments might use the most paper or the most manual processes. Is there a way to streamline those departments and create less waste? Now is the time to get creative and re-think antiquated processes!

Re-imagine workflows and processes

This is where sustainability meets creativity. Changing up processes might seem counterintuitive. Doesn’t re-training require paperwork? Actually, it doesn’t take much to make it eco-friendly when you have the right partners and systems in place. Updating antiquated systems is an underutilized opportunity for increased sustainability!

For example, many unsustainable workflows exist in accounts payable (AP) departments. From sending physical checks to keeping paper records, there are a lot of manual processes (not to mention a lot of paper) going on in the back office.

If you’re hoping to attract millennial or Gen Z employees to your AP team, you might want to look into AP automation. You can automate the entire payment workflow, address the growing fraud and security risks associated with ACH payments, and ensure the resiliency of payment workflows all without using a shred of paper.

If it’s possible to make your AP department sustainable, it’s possible to find eco-friendly opportunities in pretty much any department! Once you’ve refined your processes and streamlined previously wasteful departments, it’s time to share.

Be public about your sustainability efforts

There’s nothing wrong with a bit of bragging about sustainability efforts. It might inspire more eco-friendly ideas from current employees, consumers respond well to companies that are environmentally friendly, and sustainability messaging can be a valuable recruitment tool.

In 2021 the Journal of Cleaner Production found that younger people are willing to accept a lower salary to work for sustainable companies. This isn’t to say that implementing sustainable processes and initiatives is the key to lowering overall company spend, but it is incontrovertible proof that sustainability really matters.

Going green isn’t only important to potential recruits. According to a 2020 study by IBM, “Nearly eight in 10 respondents indicate sustainability is important for them. And for those who say it is very/extremely important, over 70 percent would pay a premium of 35 percent, on average, for brands that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.”

Obviously, you don’t want to print a load of paper flyers or hire a plane to skywrite about your sustainable initiatives, but email blasts and website posts are paper-free and effective ways to share what you’ve done to become more eco-friendly. You might even consider forming a “green committee” to keep the sustainable ideas flowing.

Sustainability efforts can help you recruit employees, save money, and even increase your bottom line. Whether that means composting leftovers or automating entire departments, sustainability is worth keeping at the forefront of your mind and your business plan.

___________________________________________________________________

Sarah Thibeau is the Digital Media Specialist at Nvoicepay, a FLEETCOR company.

Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

How Sustainable Practices Can Bolster the Global Economy

August 20th, 2021 Dylan Berger Leave a comment

Consumer demand for sustainable products is at an all-time high, likely due to a growing understanding of how consumption and energy use can impact the environment. In response, businesses are prioritizing sustainable practices and committing to goals to reduce consumption of resources, production of carbon emissions and generation of waste products.

While discussions of sustainability often center on the cost of sustainable practices, they could also be a major driver of growth for markets around the world. This is how eco-friendly practices could bolster the global economy as sustainability becomes a top business priority over the next few years.

Low-Waste Manufacturing and Safeguarding Raw Materials

Often, a key benefit of new sustainable technologies is their ability to reduce waste. They help manufacturers do more with less, reduce costs and ensure the availability of resources in the future.

For example, additive technologies, like 3D printing, are generating interest partly because they produce very little waste compared to conventional manufacturing. The process of adding material to a base via printing, rather than cutting it away to create the desired shape, makes it easier to minimize the by-product a project generates.

The growing availability of sustainable printing materials, like wood and metal, means manufacturers can also use 3D printing to mass-produce items with minimal waste.

These goods can also be more sustainable than those produced traditionally.

Some research has also found that 3D printing can use less energy than conventional manufacturing techniques, further reducing the environmental footprint. By reducing waste and resource consumption, sustainability may help manufacturers reduce costs and secure a competitive advantage.

Other manufacturing approaches look to recapture existing waste or find ways to turn it into resources other businesses may overlook. Reclaimed and recycled materials are an increasingly popular method for making manufacturing processes more sustainable.

Even as raw materials become more expensive, businesses can keep costs low by finding ways to take advantage of used materials that were set to go to landfills.

Practices that conserve limited raw materials in the first place can also safeguard future profits. Sustainable aquaculture can help fishermen limit resource consumption while avoiding overharvesting, which can result in smaller hauls and lower available revenue in the future. Sustainable lobster fishing uses techniques like v-notching — the marking of female lobsters with eggs — and trap size limits to preserve a population large enough to meet current and future demand.

In most industries, the availability of future resources will be dependent on current resource use to one extent or another. Sustainable resource generation and low-waste manufacturing are essential for businesses wanting to secure future growth.

Creating New Markets With Innovative Sustainable Products

Some products also create new opportunities for consumers. Many of these sustainable items are driving significant growth and reinvigorating markets that have been struggling over the past few years.

One of the best examples of these products is the e-bike, a transportation option often recommended to people wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. Unlike electric vehicles, which are typically thought of as a sustainable alternative to conventional cars, e-bikes create a sustainable transportation option that fills a formerly neglected demand niche.

These bikes are outfitted with a small electric motor and battery. They offer improved mobility and range over a standard bicycle, without the high speed or mechanical complexity of a vehicle like a moped or motorcycle.

In areas where environmental factors make bike travel impractical — like steep hills or long distances between important locations — e-bikes may still function as an effective means of travel. Also, because they can be plugged into any standard outlet, users in areas without EV infrastructure can adopt the bikes without worrying about running out of charge.

There is significant evidence that demand for e-bikes is one of the primary drivers behind the growth in bicycling right now. As imports of pedal-only bikes tanked in 2019 and 2020, there was an explosive increase in e-bike demand. Estimates of the market growth often have it on track to grow noticeably faster than the bike market in the near future, and some observers predict these bikes will eclipse standard options in the next few years.

For people living in or returning to cities and other population-dense areas, transportation options like e-bikes are likely to become much more popular. While bikes aren’t always an effective transportation option, e-bikes may mean consumers won’t have to turn to gas-powered methods — like public transit, conventional cars or mopeds — to get around.

Reducing Resource Consumption

The ongoing pivot to sustainable practices is also changing how and where businesses operate. One of the most significant changes has been in how buildings are designed, built and operated. Companies and architectural firms are starting to take advantage of innovative design techniques and new smart technology to reduce the resources needed to keep new buildings operational.

For example, whole-building design techniques change how structures are organized to save money or reduce energy consumption. Clever window placement can significantly increase the amount of natural lighting an office receives. This can make a building more pleasant for its occupants and reduce electricity costs.

Smart lighting systems, which can automatically adjust artificial sources based on the time of day and how much natural light a room is receiving, can optimize things even further.

Similar design strategies can help businesses cut down water usage or optimize an HVAC system. According to some industry experts, the use of high-performance HVAC equipment can result in cost cuts, emissions reductions and energy savings of up to 40% or more.

Whole-building design techniques can offer greater savings while also reducing the amount of work HVAC systems need to perform to keep a building comfortable. This can reduce the wear and tear in normal operations, meaning components may not have to be replaced or repaired as often.

Sustainability Is Driving Growth Around the World

In the near future, sustainable practices will be key drivers of business growth.

The more mindful use of resources will help ensure businesses minimize waste and keep raw materials available well into the future. New building design strategies will make offices and factories more comfortable and efficient, reducing resource consumption while boosting productivity.

Sustainable business strategies may also meet customer demands that were previously being ignored, such as the use of e-bikes. All these practices will help drive the economy to new heights and help the planet at the same time, something that benefits everyone.

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U.S. States Producing the Most Wind Energy

August 13th, 2021 Commodity.com Leave a comment

“Meteoric” is one way to describe wind energy’s rise to the top of America’s renewable energy industry.

Amid repeated calls from scientists and activists to undertake measures to curb global warming, lawmakers, politicians, and the energy industry have responded. Foremost in that effort is the call for carbon-free energy production via alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Many states have followed suit, with governors from coast to coast implementing wide-ranging initiatives meant to gradually reduce the carbon footprint of power generation in the coming years.

Wind generation is at the leading edge of the movement toward clean energy production. Fields of wind turbines across the country have slowly started to increase their proportion of total energy production. And just this year, President Joe Biden announced measures meant to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy.

While U.S. offshore wind production currently lags behind that of other developed nations, its onshore capacity is second only to China. Wind energy’s share of total utility-scale electricity generation in the U.S. grew from less than 1% in 1990 to about 8% last year.

In 2019, more than $13 billion was invested in wind power, and the amount of new generation capacity added to the nation’s electrical grids through wind projects was greater than all other sources except natural gas. Driving the investment may be the simple fact that it’s far cheaper to install wind farms than it is to build hydroelectric plants and solar farms. Alongside the value, the federal government subsidized wind construction with tax credits. The result? Wind generation exceeded hydroelectric power for the first time in 2019.

While tax credits and reasonable construction costs have increased wind’s popularity, perhaps its greatest advantage is availability. Wind regularly barrels across the Midwest and the Texas-Oklahoma border at average speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, a key speed range, as turbines reach their rated generation capacity when winds hit 26 to 30 miles per hour.

This explains why the Midwest and the West South Central region are home to the top wind-generated electricity producers in the nation. Texas leads the nation in total wind energy production, generating more than twice as much wind electricity as the next state. And while the Lone Star State’s wind energy makes up a significant portion of its renewable energy generation (92%), Kansas’ renewable energy generation relies on wind more than any other state. Kansas’ wind turbines produce more than 99% of its renewable energy and 42% of total.

The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. To determine the states producing the most wind energy, researchers at Commodity.com calculated each state’s annual wind energy production, measured in megawatt-hours. Researchers also calculated the absolute change in wind energy production since 2010, wind’s share of total energy production, and wind’s share of total renewable energy production.

Here are the states producing the most wind energy.

State	Rank	Annual wind energy production (MWh)	Change in wind energy production since 2010 (MWh)	Wind share of total energy production	Wind share of total renewable energy production
Texas	1	83,620,371	57,368,961	17.3%	92.0%
Oklahoma	2	29,008,131	25,200,048	34.0%	87.2%
Iowa	3	26,304,990	17,134,653	42.0%	96.2%
Kansas	4	21,123,539	17,718,474	41.5%	99.6%
Illinois	5	14,459,597	10,005,963	7.8%	96.0%
California	6	13,735,069	7,656,437	6.8%	14.1%
North Dakota	7	11,213,025	7,117,384	27.3%	77.9%
Minnesota	8	10,964,869	6,173,146	18.5%	75.8%
Colorado	9	10,852,376	7,400,525	19.3%	77.3%
Nebraska	10	7,211,092	6,789,447	19.3%	83.2%
New Mexico	11	6,892,087	5,059,905	19.6%	81.1%
Washington	12	6,677,261	1,932,582	6.3%	9.0%
Oregon	13	6,568,889	2,648,882	10.6%	17.0%
Indiana	14	6,216,030	3,281,987	6.1%	85.7%
Michigan	15	5,825,705	5,465,365	5.0%	58.7%
United States	–	295,882,483	201,230,237	7.2%	40.6%

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Commodity.com’s website: https://commodity.com/blog/states-wind-energy/

Archives, Global Trade Daily, State Spotlight, Utilities

U.S. States Most Dependent on Fossil Fuels

August 9th, 2021 Commodity.com Leave a comment

With the effects of global climate change becoming increasingly apparent, policymakers across the U.S. are moving to reduce the nation’s reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels.

At the beginning of his term, President Joe Biden rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, and in April, the Biden Administration announced aggressive new greenhouse gas reduction goals, including an overall aim to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas pollution to half of 2005 levels by 2030. Meanwhile, nearly 40 states have adopted renewable portfolio standards to facilitate a transition away from fossil fuels for energy production to renewables.

Despite these efforts, however, fossil fuel consumption remains deeply entrenched in the U.S. economy, and it could take years to transition away from fossil fuels as the country’s primary energy source.

Petroleum remains the leading source of energy in the U.S., accounting for approximately one-third of energy consumed. Energy consumption from natural gas expanded over the last decade as the rise of hydraulic fracturing made it less costly to extract. Most of that growth has come at the expense of coal, which represented 22.7% of the energy consumed in 2008 but just 13.1% a decade later. And while nuclear has held steady and renewables have continued to grow with improved technology and greater scale, fossil fuels still represent more than 80% of total energy consumption in the U.S. each year.

One example of the difficulties of shifting away from fossil fuels is consumers’ relationship to gasoline and car travel. Recently, gasoline prices have been on the rise again: prices dropped sharply in 2020, as many travelers and commuters stayed off the roads during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with many public health restrictions being relaxed as cases decline and more people get vaccinated, prices have topped $3 per gallon nationally for the first time since 2014. But despite what the laws of supply and demand might suggest, rising prices do not strongly affect driver behavior: research shows they tend to purchase the same amount of gasoline regardless of how much it costs. Instead, breaking drivers’ reliance on fossil fuels will depend on auto manufacturers providing more hybrid and electric options, whether by choice or by policy, like California’s zero-emission vehicle regulations.

State-level data reinforces that there is a long way to go before the transition away from fossil fuels is complete. Every single U.S. state derives at least 50% of its energy from fossil fuels, and a total of nine states derive more than 90% of their energy from fossil fuels. Among the most dependent are small states like Delaware and Rhode Island, which import most of their energy from elsewhere, and states with rich stores of fossil fuels, like Alaska, West Virginia, and Kentucky. At the other end of the spectrum are states like Washington, Oregon, and New Hampshire, which rely more on nuclear and renewables like hydroelectric power and derive less than 60% of their energy from fossil fuels.

To find the states most dependent on fossil fuels, researchers at Commodity.com used data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to calculate the percentage of total primary energy consumption from coal, natural gas, and petroleum in 2018 (the most recent available data). Researchers also calculated the percentage of total primary energy consumption derived from renewable sources, as well as the largest fossil fuel source.

Here are the states most dependent on fossil fuels.

State	Rank	Percentage of energy derived from fossil fuels	Percentage of energy derived from renewables	Total energy consumed from fossil fuels (trillion BTU)	Total energy consumed from renewables (trillion BTU)	Largest fossil fuel source
Delaware	1	96.4%	3.6%	213.1	8.0	Petroleum
Alaska	2	95.9%	4.1%	584.8	25.0	Natural Gas
West Virginia	3	95.4%	4.6%	1,103.3	53.7	Coal
Rhode Island	4	95.0%	5.0%	189.1	10.0	Natural Gas
Kentucky	5	94.1%	5.9%	1,616.5	102.1	Coal
Wyoming	6	93.5%	6.5%	793.2	54.9	Coal
Indiana	7	93.4%	6.6%	2,617.2	185.9	Coal
Utah	8	93.1%	6.9%	830.0	61.3	Petroleum
Louisiana	9	92.1%	3.7%	3,895.5	155.0	Petroleum
Texas	10	89.9%	7.1%	12,752.3	1,009.0	Petroleum
Ohio	11	89.7%	4.7%	3,040.2	158.6	Natural Gas
Hawaii	12	89.4%	10.6%	261.8	31.1	Petroleum
Colorado	13	88.8%	11.2%	1,305.1	164.6	Natural Gas
Mississippi	14	88.2%	6.1%	1,116.6	76.8	Natural Gas
Missouri	15	88.0%	5.9%	1,608.7	108.5	Coal
United States	–	80.5%	11.2%	81,238.0	11,281.6	Petroleum

For more information, a detailed methodology, and complete results, you can find the original report on Commodity.com’s website: https://commodity.com/blog/states-fossil-fuels/

3pls, Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

The Future of Sustainable Manufacturing is a Hybrid Approach

August 4th, 2021 Dale Manning Leave a comment

If you’re in the retail business, one of your worst nightmares is being stuck with boxes and boxes of unsold inventory taking up space in your warehouse. Wasted stock can be a huge cost to your bottom line and pose serious risks to your business.

For eco-conscious brands, a lot of unsold inventory is also detrimental to the environment, especially if the products are textile-based. Of the more than 100 billion items of clothing produced each year, some 20% go unsold leftovers are usually buried, shredded, or incinerated (Forbes).

Businesses that end up in an overstock situation generally use traditional bulk manufacturing which requires products to be made and then warehoused until they are shipped. While there is a risk of costly unsold inventory, bulk production can also be economically effective if a product is proven to be a best-seller.

On the opposite side of the spectrum sits on-demand manufacturing–a process by which goods are produced only when they are needed and in the quantities required, eliminating the cost and effort of storing and managing inventory. Although on-demand products are not produced at economies of scale, businesses can more easily and quickly test and go to market with new products and designs.

Previously, businesses would need to choose one method or the other but with recent advancements in technology in the past decade, retailers can get the best of both worlds through hybrid manufacturing. An economically and environmentally sustainable solution, a hybrid approach blends the cost-effectiveness of bulk production with the risk-free per-order fulfillment process of on-demand manufacturing.

How Hybrid Works

Before adding any new item to product lines, experts recommend testing them through on-demand manufacturing to ensure viability. An on-demand approach gives retailers the freedom to sell more SKUs and products that they might not think will take off en masse. Once retailers know a product has the potential to move into mass production, the switch can be made. Eventually, when interest wanes and the product becomes more evergreen but to a smaller audience, retailers can realize ongoing value by going back to an on-demand approach.

Having spent a career as the former VP of On-Demand at One Live Media, an eCommerce agency that works in sports, music, and entertainment, I am well versed in fulfilling merch orders for thousands of sports teams and artists including but not limited to the L.A. Lakers, KISS, Willie Nelson, and Zac Brown Band. Before getting stuck with a warehouse full of stuff, my team would run every new product through the on-demand cycle. Most of the brands we worked with fulfilled 25-60% of their orders through on-demand and the rest with mass production. It’s important to find the right mix of on-demand products and bulk inventory in order to optimize sales.

Why Utilize a Hybrid Approach

Adapt to trends quickly without risk. Culture is now manufactured on-demand. In the past, consumer trends were generally set by businesses. However, in the recent decade, the tables have turned and consumers are setting trends on social media. Because buyers are now changing the way we capitalize on culture, it is affecting how brands produce and manufacture products on-demand. With a hybrid approach, brands can quickly mock up a design and add the product to their online store without prepaying for costly order minimums by first using on-demand manufacturing. If the product doesn’t fly off the shelf, then you can simply remove it from your store and not have to worry about piles of unsold inventory. If it proves to be successful, then they can switch the production process to bulk manufacturing.

Improve cash flow. When a business utilizes a blend of on-demand and bulk manufacturing for its products, it can more easily optimize its cash flow. For bulk products, they can get a higher per product profit margin due to economies of scale. For on-demand products, they don’t have to pay for costly inventory or order minimums, freeing up a business’s cash flow. This liquidity allows brands to boost revenue-driving activities such as marketing, which increase sales, and ultimately grows their business.

Shift toward sustainability. Being eco-conscious is no longer a consumer marketing trend, it is a real practice many businesses are implementing in their business model. Because on-demand manufacturing allows companies to produce only what consumers order, it eliminates unnecessary production and harmful waste—saving both the business’s bottom line and the environment.

Be better prepared for economic disruptions. When COVID-19 disrupted supply chains across all industries last year, many retailers were forced to shut down and were left with boxes of unsold inventory. When utilizing on-demand manufacturing in a hybrid approach, it is important to look for a provider that manages a distributed supply chain network. This type of fulfillment process allows on-demand manufacturing providers the ability to carry a large number of product SKUs in more than one facility, therefore orders of that product are able to be fulfilled in multiple locations. That means if one location closes or has an external disruption— they can seamlessly move order fulfillment to another facility.

It has never been easier to embrace a hybrid manufacturing approach. Many retailers can use traditional manufacturing for bulk products that sell all year round in conjunction with on-demand for short-term collaborations and innovative, trending designs. Because on-demand doesn’t require a large amount of startup capital, it is a low-risk method that can lead to high returns. The ease and efficiency of on-demand combined with the cost-effectiveness of traditional manufacturing is truly paving the way for the future of sustainable retail.

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Dale Manning is Head of Market Expansion at Gooten

Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily, Warehousing

How Cameron’s Coffee Tracks Their Products from Bean to Carton with a WMS

July 25th, 2021 Luc Larocque, Sales Executive, Generix Group Leave a comment

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee and their Mission:

A smooth cup: Part of Cameron’s mission is to provide a smooth cup of coffee by handpicking the best beans in the world. However, their mission goes beyond that.

All around the world: Cameron’s Specialty Coffee is directly involved with the farmers supplying them with their coffee beans. Members of their team go around the world to meet farmers and their families to build a relationship based on social responsibility. Cameron’s is therefore dedicated to help their farmers grow in a healthy environment.

A Green Company: Cameron’s feels responsible not only for its partners but for the environment. Therefore, they strive for eco-friendly processes. They are dedicated to minimizing their footprint through big and small actions such as minimizing water consumption and using recyclable materials.

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee’s Supply Chain Needs

To accomplish their goals, Cameron’s Coffee had to overcome three challenges, all of which required a change to their inventory management.

-Responding to growing eCommerce demand

-Responding to growing expectations for traceability in the Food and Beverage industry

-Replacing their paper-based processes

By first replacing their paper-based process to an electronic one, we can simultaneously resolve their other challenges. Adapting inventory processes enables employees to be more efficient, and the reduction in error would equip Cameron’s Specialty Coffee with the right strategy to satisfy their online customers. The same goes for satisfying visibility standards by tracing all ingredients, where use of real-time data instead of paper processes would yield greater inventory visibility and traceability.

Sustaining growth: Cameron’s saw much growth in the last few years. eCommerce grew particularly fast during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, Cameron’s was purchased by a larger Colombian company, which also increased the scale of their operations.

Using a WMS

Cameron’s Coffee turned to Generix to automate their processes and implemented WMS Solochain.

Managing growth: As a result of a 50% growth in demand, they had to enlarge their warehouse space by more than 25% between 2018 and 2020. Switching from paper-based processes to a WMS and automation made sure that Cameron’s could absorb all this growth without being overwhelmed by it. The implementation of the WMS also enabled them to do more with less: they did not have to increase the headcount of their finance department. They simply made it more efficient.

Attracting the New Generation of Warehouse Employees

Opting for the WMS solution also allowed smooth integration of the new processes with the warehouse employees as well as with those from finance. Employees prefer using tablets and computers to stacks of paper because they are polyvalent and interactive. It also relieves them from having to carry around a lot of material such as pens, notepads, and clipboards and all while operating warehouse equipment such as forklifts. The tablet replaces all those objects and are easy to carry.

To maximize efficiency, the system also needs to be user-friendly. The employees from Cameron’s Specialty Coffee reported that they adjusted quickly and easily to their new tool. Learning the ways of the warehouse was also made easier on new employees since processes are clearer in the WMS display than learning every corner of the warehouse by heart.

Warehouse automation also made work easier for people in the finance team since they could easily understand all the warehouse workflows and processes. Gone are the times of having to read people’s handwriting on sheets of paper.

In the end, automating the processes by making everyone’s job easier, eliminated most errors, whether they be found in the production chain, inventory count, or in shipping.

Optimized Processes

Thanks to the visibility offered by the WMS, Cameron’s Coffee is now able to reduce waste in its production chain by repurposing coffee beans. For example, if by mistake a batch is over-roasted, it can be easily re-routed to be utilized in the production of a darker roast. The WMS helps ensure that the correct type of bean and roasting degree is respected.

Amy Fitzgerald spoke to us about the implementation process and how enthusiastic the end-users were about switching to a more automated process: “Everyone likes to use electronics, it’s just exciting”, she said. The switch to high tech was also welcomed by end-users since it provided more accuracy for their tasks, leading them directly to locations and preventing errors. This made everyone’s day brighter.

Cameron’s Specialty Coffee had goal-specific challenges which were solved by streamlining processes and optimizing their warehousing operations and production by implementing the WMS and MES.

Generix Group North America provides a series of solutions within our Supply Chain Hub product suite to create efficiencies across an entire supply chain. From Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Transportation Management Systems (TMS) to Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), such platforms can deliver a wide range of benefits that ultimately flow to the warehouse operator’s bottom line. Our solutions are in use around the world and our experience is second-to-none. We invite you to contact us to learn more.

Belgium Overtakes Germany as Second-Largest Biodiesel Exporter Worldwide

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Percentage of electricity generated from renewables

5-year change in renewable electricity production

Total electricity generated from renewables (MWh)

Largest renewable energy source