High-end US jeweler Tiffany & Co. reported a higher-than-expected profit and raised its full-year forecast, while Zale Corp reported a loss caused by price markdowns.   Tiffany & Co. doubled its second-quarter net profit to $80 million, compared with $40 million a year earlier.  Sales increased 11 percent to $734 million due to strong growth in the Asian-Pacific and European regions.

Terminal efficiencyMoving cargo through VancouverÔÇÖs largest container terminal company can be a balancing act, Morley Strachan explains to Gary Toushek. TSI Terminal Systems Inc. began as a stevedoring company on a small wharf in the Vancouver, British Columbia harbor more than a century ago, and today the company operates two major terminals, Vanterm and Deltaport. Between these two terminals, TSI handles nearly two million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e., large shipping containers) of cargo every year.

Green with healthGreen and sustainable practices are the repeat prescription for Health Management Associates, Ruari McCallion reports. Healthcare is about more than pills, potions and operations. Health Management Associates, Inc. (HMA), based in Naples, Florida, is following a ÔÇ£greenÔÇØ and sustainable route to patient well-being.ÔÇ£HMA has reduced the quantity of volatile organic compounds by using low-VOC materials in our buildings. We follow a ÔÇÿbake-outÔÇÖ process,ÔÇØ says Randy Holly, vice president of design and construction for HMA.

A material differenceKeith Regan learns how employee longevity, intense training and a culture of improvement have made Grenzebach Corp. a market leader in materials technology, positioned for expansion into new markets. The parent company of Newnan, GeorgiaÔÇôbased Grenzebach Corp. was founded in Bavaria, Germany, in 1960 with seven people.

Not if, but whenThe director of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center tells Keith Regan that itÔÇÖs only a matter of time before the key is found to creating transportation biofuels out of grasses and trees. The current crop of biofuels generates more than its share of heated debate. Created from the sugars in corn and soy, the existing version of ethanol puts transportation needs in competition with food supplies.

Official openingsAfter writing last year about De BeersÔÇÖ progress towards its first diamond mine in Canada, Martin Ashcroft finally has the opportunity to cover not one, but two official openings. A long and winding road reached a milestone in July with the historic official opening of two new diamond mines in Canada. On Friday 25 July, De Beers Canada cut the ribbon on its Snap Lake mine, located 220-kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories.

A strong currentAs the official energy supplier to the Province of Qu├®bec, Hydro-Qu├®bec finds energy in both the water and the air. Hydro-Qu├®bec owns and operates 53 power generating facilities across the Province. In 1944, the Qu├®bec Hydro-Electric Commission was created by the provincial government from the electric and gas assets of Montreal Light, Heat and Power Company Consolidated.

Better healthcare by designOWP/PÔÇÖs healthcare practice director Deb Sheehan tells Keith Regan that the firm focuses on the care itself first and the bricks and mortar second. OWP/P has carved out a global reputation for its integrated architecture, interior design, engineering and consulting work to clients worldwide.

Sharing expertisePushing the envelope on sustainability comes naturally at the University of Victoria, Sarah Webb explains to Gary Toushek. "When you see how beautiful our campus here is, beside the ocean, with gardens and open spaces and aesthetically pleasing green buildings, any student interested in sustainability issues instinctively wants to apply those aspects to life at home and in the community at large, and it can be a rewarding experience.ÔÇØ Sarah WebbÔÇÖs energy and enthusiasm reverberates through the phone line as she describes the wide ran

All part of the planWith a new mission and a higher profile, Vancouver Island University is in the midst of its first major campus master planning initiative in decades, and Keith Regan reports that sustainability is included in every facet of that plan. In the spring of 2008, the British Columbia provincial government introduced legislation that will change the institution long known as Malaspina University College into a fully chartered university known as Vancouver Island University.