ArcelorMittal found guilty of price fixing

European Union regulators on Wednesday fined steel producer ArcelorMittal euro276 million ($337 million) for secret deals to fix steel prices for nearly two decades with 16 other steel makers.

ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel maker, received the largest fine based on the size of its operations and revenues — but also won a reduction for cooperating with investigators. It says it educates workers to make sure all business activity meets legal and ethical standards.

The Associated Press: EU fines steel producers for cartel.

Fleet drivers should be rewarded for ‘green’ driving

Fleet drivers should be rewarded for ‘green’ drivingPublished: June 29, 2010 The best way to cut back on a business’s carbon footprint is to reward eco-friendly driving with bonuses and gifts.That’s according to Andrew Yeoman, managing director of Trimble MRM Europe – one of the leading experts in telematics and in-vehicle technology.Yeoman says companies must step up their efforts to reduce their fleet’s carbon footprints and while there’s technology available to help monitor fuel consumption, it inevitably comes down to the way a vehicle is driven.

via Fleet drivers should be rewarded for ‘green’ driving.

MIT Researchers See Natural Gas as the Choice for Lower Carbon Emissions

A new report out of MIT explores the carbon-reduction challenges faced by the United States, and concludes Natural gas is best.

The scenario goes like this, according to MIT: Nuclear power, renewable energy and carbon capture and sequestration are relatively expensive next to gas. Conventional coal is no longer a major source of power generation in the United States. “Natural gas is the substantial winner in the electric sector: The substitution effect, mainly gas generation for coal generation, outweighs the demand reduction effect.”

via MIT Researchers See Natural Gas as the Choice for Lower Carbon Emissions – NYTimes.com.

The Link Between China, The Yuan and Commodities

Interesting analysis here:

A lot of the immediate impact of China’s decision to allow its currency to float higher is being felt by commodities and commodity producers – as in, they’re going up.

Pierre Lapointe, global macro strategist at Brockhouse Cooper, noted that commodities are actually one of the reasons for China making the decision in the first place. Chinese consumer prices are above the target range, but producer prices look even worse: They have surged 7.1% over the past 12 months, mostly because of higher commodity prices.

via The Link Between China, The Yuan and Commodities — Seeking Alpha.

How companies think about climate change – McKinsey Quarterly – Energy, Resources, Materials – Environment

You might find this interesting:

Against a backdrop of rising global concern about the environment and climate change, a McKinsey Quarterly survey finds that executives view climate change issues as important for their companies, seeing both opportunity and risk. The survey,1 which included respondents from a range of industries (some 40 percent of whom are evenly split between finance and manufacturing, with another 8 percent in energy, transport, or mining), finds that fully 60 percent of global executives view climate change as important to consider within their companies’ overall strategy. Further, nearly 70 percent see it as an important consideration for managing corporate reputation and brands, and over half say it’s important to account for climate change in such varied areas as product development, investment planning, and purchasing and supply management. About one-third of respondents say their companies places more emphasis on climate change than on most other global trends.

via How companies think about climate change – McKinsey Quarterly – Energy, Resources, Materials – Environment.

Aluminum industry getting greener

Quebec’s aluminum companies said yesterday they’re well on their way to meeting their commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Representatives of the major aluminum companies announced yesterday that they are on track to meet targets set in 2007, cutting the equivalent of 150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year from 2008 to 2012. They will be verified by external auditors.

via Aluminum industry getting greener.