Sustainable Cities and Communities

Businesses across Virginia are commending Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposed rule that would cut carbon dioxide emissions from the Commonwealth’s electricity sector by 30 percent between 2020 and 2030.

The McAuliffe Administration will present their proposal to the State Air Pollution Control Board later today in Richmond.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of America Recycles Day, national nonprofit Keep America Beautiful and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc. (ISRI,) today are hosting the 2017 “State of Recycling” Forum in Washington D.C., presented in partnership with Keurig Green Mountain. The topic for this year’s “State of Recycling” Forum is: Plastics: Improving Quality. Driving Demand.

As rapidly growing cities in developing countries become key frontiers of international development, urban areas require dynamic, local solutions to build resilience and sustain inclusive economic growth.

Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful celebrated recycling -- and America Recycles Day -- with a Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting to announce its enhanced electronics recycling trailer. With help from two local sign makers, Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful (KNB) enhanced its electronics recycling trailer with a decorative wrap, creating an education tool in the process.

Dr. Stuart Cowan will join the senior management team and lead Capital Institute's efforts to grow an international network of place-based regenerative community hubs. Hubs will receive support to nurture a launch team, tell their stories and share their lessons, map their regenerative assets, measure key indicators, create an action plan, implement key regenerative projects, and access regenerative investment capital.

By the time Bechtel’s Alba Potline 6 Aluminum project in Bahrain reaches peak construction in mid-2018, there could be more than 10,000 skilled craft workers on site. Like most construction projects in the Middle East, Alba will rely to a large extent on the commitment and dedication of expatriate workers, from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, and other countries.

The International WELL Building Institute™ (IWBI™) today released its Manufacturer’s Guide to WELL™, a guide that aims to help manufacturers who produce sustainable building products and materials navigate the WELL Building Standard™. IWBI used the occasion to reiterate its intention to keep the global WELL Building Standard (WELL) focused on setting design and policy protocols and performance thresholds that buildings and communities should strive to achieve to improve the health of the people in those spaces.

While energy conservation efforts in Japan are progressing, household energy consumption continues to rise. The Japanese government has set a goal for more than half of all newly- constructed detached houses to be ZEH by 2020, and almost all newly-built houses by 2030. However, ZEH accounted for only about 4.3% of newly built detached houses in fiscal 2016, indicating a low rate of adoption.

We are combining start-up funding, incubation, and integration to accelerate Bechtel’s efforts to drive technological innovation and sustainability across the enterprise.