http://www.environmentalleader.com Environmental Leader Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:49:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/durable-refit-materials-can-reduce-buildings-carbon-footprint/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/durable-refit-materials-can-reduce-buildings-carbon-footprint/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:00:39 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=69480 Using durable construction materials in maintenance and renovation projects can lessen a building’s the long-term carbon footprint, according to Texas A&M University research. The research, by architecture Ph.D student Manish Dixit, compared the relationship of energy used in maintenance and renovation processes, or “recurrent embodied energy,” to the building’s service life and life cycle energy [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/durable-refit-materials-can-reduce-buildings-carbon-footprint/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/policy-enforcement-briefing-carb-diesel-vehicles-china-vs-eu-ets-mexico-climate-law/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/policy-enforcement-briefing-carb-diesel-vehicles-china-vs-eu-ets-mexico-climate-law/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:50:49 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=69458 California’s On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles (In-Use) Regulation has shifted the reporting date to March 30, 2012, for most privately and federally owned diesel fueled trucks and buses with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 14,000 pounds. The regulation requires installation of PM retrofits for heavier trucks beginning January 2012, and replacement of older [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/02/06/policy-enforcement-briefing-carb-diesel-vehicles-china-vs-eu-ets-mexico-climate-law/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/26/report-retrofits-more-green-than-new-builds/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/26/report-retrofits-more-green-than-new-builds/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:14:46 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=68987 Renovating old buildings is better for the environment than building new structures, according to a report by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. According to The Greenest building: Quantifying the Environmental Value of Building Reuse, renovating an existing historic office building in Chicago reduces the building’s impact on climate change by up to 12 percent [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/26/report-retrofits-more-green-than-new-builds/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/25/tarlton-taps-progressive-for-retrofit/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/25/tarlton-taps-progressive-for-retrofit/#comments Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:20:24 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=68885 Progressive Lighting & Energy Solutions is to undertake an energy efficiency improvement project for Tarlton Properties, located in Menlo Park, Calif. The project includes the installation of building efficiency controls and a lighting retrofit at the 47-acre, 13-building business park. Progressive, in participation with Pacific Gas & Electric, secured funding through a combination of third [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/25/tarlton-taps-progressive-for-retrofit/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/13/drop-research-into-new-energy-sources-and-improve-efficiency-says-aceee/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/13/drop-research-into-new-energy-sources-and-improve-efficiency-says-aceee/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 08:21:35 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=68325 America is thinking too small when it comes to energy efficiency, while also making the mistake of “crowding out” economically beneficial investments in energy efficiency by focusing on riskier and more expensive bids to develop new energy sources, according to a major new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The Long-Term Energy [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/13/drop-research-into-new-energy-sources-and-improve-efficiency-says-aceee/feed/ 1 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/12/multifamily-block-refit-analysis-should-increase-retrofit-financing/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/12/multifamily-block-refit-analysis-should-increase-retrofit-financing/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:38:50 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=68272 It may soon become easier for owners of multifamily housing blocks to secure financing for retrofits and efficiency upgrades, according to a report by Deutsche Bank. Recognizing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Multifamily Underwriting addresses a key bottleneck for private capital flowing to the sector: The lack of confidence in projecting energy savings against [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/12/multifamily-block-refit-analysis-should-increase-retrofit-financing/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/10/annual-electric-efficiency-budgets-jump-25/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/10/annual-electric-efficiency-budgets-jump-25/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:25:59 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=68106 U.S. ratepayer-funded electric efficiency budgets increased from $5.4 billion in 2010 to $6.8 billion in 2011, according to a report by The Edison Foundation’s Institute for Electric Efficiency. According to Summary of Ratepayer-Funded Electric Efficiency Impacts, Budgets, and Expenditures (2010 – 2011), From 2007 to 2011, the average annual growth rate for electric efficiency budgets [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/10/annual-electric-efficiency-budgets-jump-25/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/06/aceee-report-sees-rapid-growth-in-home-efficiency-programs/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/06/aceee-report-sees-rapid-growth-in-home-efficiency-programs/#comments Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:54:32 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=67946 There has been a rapid growth in the number and budgets of natural gas energy efficiency programs for U.S. homes, according to a report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. A National Review of Natural Gas Energy Efficiency Programs says that nationwide the budgets for these programs reached $942 million in 2010, up [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/06/aceee-report-sees-rapid-growth-in-home-efficiency-programs/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/04/calif-dmv-retrofit-set-for-summer-completion/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/04/calif-dmv-retrofit-set-for-summer-completion/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:55:49 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=67766 A $130 million retrofit of the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ headquarters (pictured) in downtown Sacramento is set to conclude this summer, reports Government Technology. The renovation project began in 2009 and is adding an energy management system, thermally-efficient windows, modifications to the interior to allow more natural light in, LED lighting and a half-megawatt [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2012/01/04/calif-dmv-retrofit-set-for-summer-completion/feed/ 0 http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/12/28/pillow-renovation-helps-hilton-concord-go-green/ http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/12/28/pillow-renovation-helps-hilton-concord-go-green/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 19:57:07 +0000 Environmental Leader http://www.environmentalleader.com/?p=67568 The Hilton Concord hotel in the San Francisco Bay Area is incorporating environmentally friendly systems, including such innovations as a low temperature dishwasher and “pillow renovation,” into a refit. The pillow renovation system uses the Pillow Vac system to sterilize and renovate most of its pillows ready for reuse, reducing the number of discarded pillows. [...]]]> http://www.environmentalleader.com/2011/12/28/pillow-renovation-helps-hilton-concord-go-green/feed/ 4