*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Atlanta, GA | Posted: February 10, 2014
Barbara Christopher
Industrial and Systems Engineering
404.385.3102
Summary Sentence:
Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at ISyE, and team developed an assessment for Kimberly-Clark on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers.
Full Summary:
Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems at ISyE, and team developed an assessment for Kimberly-Clark on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers.
Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment
Valerie ThomasValerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Associate Professor of Natural Systems in the Stewart School of Industrial & Systems Engineering, worked with Georgia Tech’s Institute of Paper Science and Technology, directed by Norman Marsolan, to develop an assessment for Kimberly-Clark (K-C) on the environmental and broader sustainability issues related to using non-forest alternative fibers. K-C, the world’s largest tissue manufacturer, partnered with Georgia Tech on this project to more fully understand and responsibly manage the impact of its decisions on fiber. Read more about the study here.
Thomas and Wenman Liu, a PhD student in the School of Public Policy, evaluated a wide range of environmental impacts, including water use, biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, and ecosystem impacts, as well as broader issues regarding land use and sustainability.
In addition to its efforts to reduce its forest fiber footprint, K-C has announced its plan to transition at least 50 percent of wood fiber sourced from natural forests to alternate fiber sources by 2025. This broad, new initiative is expected to help protect biodiversity and reduce the impacts of fiber that the company uses, while ensuring the fiber is sourced in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Equally important, the initiative will also help insulate the company from continuing volatile price fluctuations in the world fiber market.
With a joint appointment in the School of Public Policy, Thomas’ research interests include energy and materials efficiency, sustainability, industrial ecology, technology assessment, international security, and science and technology policy. Thomas is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Physical Society.
