Search Results for: France

BY EMMA JACKSON

A LITTLE healthy competition can drive innovation – and often pays off for those who think outside the box. The beverage industry is no exception, and drinks industry awards continue to recognise some of the industry’s most creative ideas.…

BY LAWRENCE J SPEER

RECYCLING initiatives at Renault have boosted the use of recycled plastics in new cars and cut purchasing costs on some parts, but have yet to bring major cost savings for the French carmaker.

"If we order a piece in recycled plastic, we systematically insist on paying less than if it was made from virgin plastic," Fabrice Abraham, Renault’s recycling engineering manager, said during a recent environmental seminar in Paris.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A NEW European Union (EU) body coordinating around Euro EUR1 billion in food-related research from 20 European countries has started work. The ‘scientific advisory board for the EU joint programming initiative (JPI) on agriculture, food security and climate change’ will plan and manage national food industry research securing future supplies and reducing climate emissions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has fined 17 producers of prestressing steel Euro 518 million for operating a cartel that lasted 18 years until 2002 and covered all but three of the then 15 European Union (EU) member states – Britain, Ireland and Greece.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) may be legally a single market, food prices range widely across its 27 member states. The most recent survey of 500 comparable products by Eurostat, the EU’s statistical agency, shows last year (2009) the price of a comparable basket of food and non-alcoholic beverages was more than twice as high in the most expensive EU country than the cheapest.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

SILK is deeply ingrained in the cultures of south-east Asian countries. "In Laos every stitch of clothing used to be made of silk, even baby diapers," said Mark Sloneker, founder of sustainable, fair-trade website Orijyn (www.orijyn.com), which sells Laotian silk products abroad.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is facing a serious budget shortfall to meet its commitments to fund the construction of the ITER international fusion reactor, needing to find an additional Euro EUR1.4 billion from 2012 to 2013. Detailed financial reports from the European Commission show that contingency budgets are woefully insufficient to deal with the growing cost of building the reactor in Cadarache, southern France.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

The success of Tesco and Sainsbury’s private label drinks products in Britain cannot be denied. In a time when many companies are tightening their belts and streamlining their product mix, these supermarket retailers are expanding their own-label (to use the standard UK term) drinks range – and consumers are benefiting.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ROLL-OUT of the European eCall in-car emergency system is approaching critical mass with 20 countries now committed to operating its supporting infrastructure. The European Commission today announced another five countries were implementing eCall services – Belgium, Denmark, Luxemburg, Malta and Romania.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IN a month highlighting that many European Union (EU) countries are living beyond their financial means, it was timely perhaps for the European Commission to note that member states also have unsustainable water policies.

In short, many EU governments are failing to prevent the abstraction of fresh water at rates exceeding nature’s ability to replenish supplies.…