Ahead of the Curve Archive

Papermaking Towards the Future

14 May 2014 The survey consisted of a Delphii survey as well as personal interviews/discussions with 130 respondents from 21 countries including: 84% who work within the pulp and paper industry, 77% who work in R&D, and 37% who refer to themselves as "futurists."

A Graduate’s Guide to getting Hired

07 May 2014 Graduation is almost here. And while it’s a day you’ve been working toward for four (or more) years, the closer it gets the more your sense of dread escalates.

Ronald McDonald wears a new-and-improved sustainability hat

30 Apr 2014 McDonald's has announced new goals for sustainability and social responsibility by 2020—including sustainable beef production—but at least one environmental group found the goals too modest and not transparent enough.

Canadian dollar depreciation is credit positive for most Canadian industries

23 Apr 2014 A depreciating Canadian dollar is generally credit positive for Canadian companies, says Moody's Investors Service.

Greener Packaging for Boston

16 Apr 2014 Demonstrating that recyclable packaging can survive one of NAFCO’s [the largest regional seafood distributor in the Mid-Atlantic] longest shipping routes, Global Green USA coordinated a pilot in which water-resistant packaging that is 100% recyclable with regular cardboard could be used to bring Chesapeake Bay seafood five hundred miles to a Boston location of a major grocery chain.

U.S. Manufacturing Growing Steadily

09 Apr 2014 U.S. manufacturing continues to step it up with another solid gain in output this year...3.5% or better. Nearly five years after the Great Recession ended, it continues to outpace the rate of overall GDP growth.

Buzz Worthy Print Beats Digital in Influence

02 Apr 2014 Is it possible that print magazines have more clout than their digital counterparts? Oh yes. A new study finds that print still ranks highest when it comes to generating word-of-mouth buzz.

Appvion marks 60 years of making carbonless paper

26 Mar 2014 What began as a search for a better receipt paper resulted in the invention of an office productivity phenomenon that continues to be an indispensable part of the business world, even in today’s digital age.

Fortum, UPM and Valmet jointly developing technology to produce advanced biomass based fuels

19 Mar 2014 Fortum, UPM and Valmet have joined forces to develop a new, winning technology to produce advanced high value lignocellulosic fuels, such as transportation fuels or higher value bio liquids.

Coming up with brilliant ideas when the pressure's on

05 Mar 2014 I define creativity as "the ability to develop great ideas while under pressure. Pressure creates diamonds, so why shouldn’t it also create great ideas?