Good afternoon. Thursday (16th June) was World Refill Day – a campaign spearheaded by UK-based environmental campaign group City To Sea, perhaps best known for its ‘Refill’ work. While City to Sea marked the occasion with a new Bristol-wide coffee cup reuse and return scheme, other organizations took different approaches.
The Body Shop issued an update on its in-store refill schemes for products such as shower gels, confirming that refill stations have been installed in 556 of its stores worldwide. Also in retail, Sainsbury’s launched a refillable version of its own-brand handwash, claiming that shoppers who use the one-litre refill pouches will use 85% less plastic than purchasing four 250ml bottles. You can learn more about World Refill Day and the refill revolution here.
For any new subscribers, welcome to our re-branded By Shax newsletter (ex-Kwip) and thank you for reading. If you missed the announcement a few newsletters ago, you can read it here. As always, if you have any feedback or comments to help us improve (or if you just want to chat), simply reply to this email or shoot us a note here.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Blockchain bookings
A new blockchain-enabled service whereby businesses can purchase sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) equivalent to the amount needed to cover their business flights is launching today, spearheaded by Shell, Accenture and American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). Called Avelia, the scheme is offering around one million gallons of SAF in the first instance, which its co-founders claim makes it the largest of its kind to date. This amount of fuel could cover 15,000 individual business traveller flights from London to New York. There are many business flight schemes through which customers can either offset the emissions related to their tickets or purchase SAF, but this is believed to be the first of its scale to utilise blockchain. Business customers will be able to book flights using the American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT) platform and request verification that SAF, equivalent to that which would have been used if their flights had directly been powered with the maximum blend of 50%, has been produced and supplied. Verification will be provided in the form of blockchain-generated tokens, which have a tamper-proof audit trail.
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INNOVATION
Smart designs help education
In the heart of the Thar desert in Rajasthan, Indian students brave blistering 45 degree temperatures to attend class, but the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School doesn’t need any air conditioning as its unique sustainable design keeps it cool. The school was designed by New York-based architect Diana Kellogg, with the goal of the entire community benefiting from the school. A large exterior wall wraps around the school’s perimeter, while an interior wall encloses the school’s classrooms. In the middle, there is a large oval courtyard and the building is powered by rooftop solar panels, which also work as a shade-giving canopy. It is cooled by a geothermal energy system, and lime-plastering on the inner walls keeps it insulated. Jalis (perforated lattice stonework) protect students from the sandstorms that whip through the area while allowing natural sunlight in. Water harvesting systems collect and recycle rainwater throughout the school. Thanks to the school’s unique oval build they can study in peace despite sweltering temperatures and regular sandstorms. The project was commissioned by CITTA, an American non-profit dedicated to supporting development in “some of the most economically challenged, geographically remote or marginalized communities in the world.”
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THE LOW DOWN
- Australia signs new carbon emissions target
- Floods devastate India and Bangladesh
- Nepal to move Everest base camp from melting glacier
- Microsoft retires Internet Explorer after 27 years
- Global regulators set out climate checklist for banks
- KFC partners with FareShare for national food redistribution scheme
- Scientists find long-extinct giant tortoise alive in the Galapagos
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#ShowerThoughts
- If you boil drinking water to kill germs, you're still drinking them, they're just dead.
- It's your parent's job to raise you. Your adult relationship with them is their performance review.
- We could probably save a lot more on car insurance if they didn’t pay for so many commercials.
- Your bones will probably never make contact another person’s bones.
- The first guy who ate cheese was so hungry that he was ok that his milk has gotten so bad that it has transformed itself from a liquid to a solid.
r/Showerthoughts
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#RiddleMeThis
What force and strength cannot get through, I with a gentle touch can do.
And many in the street would stand, were I not a friend at hand. What am I?
Solution
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