Strategy

The oil industry’s next threat could be in the grocery aisle.A worldwide movement to limit single-use plastics in food packaging poses a challenge for Canada’s fossil fuel sector, at the same time that large companies struggle with volatile prices, pipeline constraints and the global rise of electric vehicles.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would join other countries and ban as early as 2021 a range of everyday plastics that are frequently discarded after a single use, including forks and knives, shopping bags and stir sticks.The move is part of wider efforts by the Liberal government to improve Canada’s dismal recycling rates and reduce pollution, just five months shy of a federal election in which the environment and climate change promise to be major issues.The proposed ban would align with European Union regulations on single-use plastics, and a global push that some analysts and energy companies say has major implications for global oil demand and industry revenues.The oil industry supplies chemical manufacturers with the building blocks needed to make resins that are used to create plastic products.

Lab-grown meat is getting a lot of attention along with plant-based meat substitutes.

Eleven million people were employed in renewable energy worldwide in 2018 according to the latest analysis by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

Husky Energy was fined $3.8 million for a pipeline oil leak that fouled a major river, harmed fish and wildlife and tainted the drinking water supply for thousands of people in Saskatchewan.

The operator of 7-Eleven Denmark took home the 2019 NACS International Convenience Retailer of the Year Award during an awards ceremony on June 6.

A national ban on the most harmful single-use plastics will very likely force foodservice operators, restaurants and fast-food outlets to find non-plastic materials for takeout and delivery containers but plastic bottles for water and soda are more likely to be improved rather than phased out.

The fast-growing market for meat alternatives has a surprising new player: Tyson Foods.

The transition from animal meat to plant-based alternatives will unleash a new era of agricultural productivity and Canada is well-positioned to benefit, Beyond Meat founder Ethan Brown said last week.