FEATURES AND NEWS
The new IBM supercomputer intended to measure the affect of climate change in the U.K. is being criticized for producing a large amount of GHG emissions, RedOrbit reports. Met Office’s super computer, to begin operations later this year, will emit an estimated 14,000 tons of CO2 annually, according to Dave ... Read more »
GE announced it will be an anchor partner in Masdar City, touted to be – when completed – the world’s first carbon-neutral, zero-waste city powered entirely by renewable energy. In a joint Masdar-GE agreement, the two companies outlined plans to house a new Ecomagination Center, which will focus on sustainable ... Read more »
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. announced plans to follow in Southern California Edison’s (SCE) footsteps with equity investments in a large-scale renewable energy project. The plans will be similar to SCE’s $875 million, 250-megawatt rooftop solar project, explained Peter Darbee, PG&E’s CEO and chairman. He did not disclose other details ... Read more »
Intel plans to test the potential for using photovoltaic solar energy to power its data centers. The company has set up an array of 64 Sharp solar panels, capable of generating 10 kilowatts of electricity, at its facility in Rio Rancho, NM – the Inquirer reports. The panels could also ... Read more »
Clear Standards, a provider of enterprise carbon management and sustainability systems, is reaching out to individuals with the launch of “Carbon Tracker,” a free GPS-enabled carbon footprint application for the iPhone. Carbon Tracker lets users calculate the carbon footprint from daily commuting, vacations, or business trips and it uses the ... Read more »
Partner Content
Sainsbury’s announced that it is planning to divert all UK food waste away from landfill to a biomass plant by this summer. The supermarket giant is fast-tracking the plan at its 28 Scottish stores, BBC reports. Under the plan, all of the unsold food from Sainsbury grocery stores will be ... Read more »
“Natural claims” were featured on 23 percent of all food and beverages launches globally, according to The Mintel Global New Products Database. It is the most common claim on food and beverages launches in 2008, Marketing Daily reports. Natural claims include phrasing like “all natural,” “no additives/ preservatives,” “organic,” and ... Read more »
Over the past decade, colleges everywhere began introducing green-themed MBA programs in response to growing interest from students. Now those choices are paying off, BusinessWeek reports. New students are still interested in the environment, of course. But an even bigger draw is the fact that despite the struggling job market ... Read more »
The Energy Information Administration released their Annual Energy Outlook 2009, presenting a number of U.S. energy consumptions and production projections for the next few decades. Some of their key predictions: No growth in U.S. oil consumption. This is the first time in over 20 years that the EIA did not ... Read more »
Just last year only 20 percent of flat panel display (FPD) shipments boasted green features. But according to DisplaySearch, 70 percent of FPD shipments are expected to tout a variety of environmentally friendly features by 2012 – and by 2014, all FDP are expected to have them, EE Times reports. ... Read more »
Partner Content
Green insurance products can help building owners transfer risks, writes Dianne Saxe and Jackie Campbell in Lawyers Weekly. Some insurers offer 10 percent discounts on traditional pollution legal liability insurance for LEED-certified buildings, for example. There is also energy-saving insurance, which insures building owners against the risk that capital improvements ... Read more »
Covalence recently published their annual Ethical Rankings from a study of over 540 companies across 18 different industries. They used data from 2002 to Nov. ’08 and ranked companies according to waste management, labor standards, environmental impact of production, information to the consumer, human rights policies, plus 40 other criteria. ... Read more »
The U.S. Steel industry has reduced its energy intensity per ton of steel shipped by about 33 percent since 1990 – an improvement on the 29-percent reduction reported in 2006, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). The results far surpass the mere 7 percent reduction (1990-2012) called ... Read more »
Recreational Equipment Inc. is now a member of bluesign technologies ag, allowing the company to use the bluesign independent standard as part of its product design and sourcing process, CSRwire reports. Bluesign, founded in 2000, is a solution that addresses textile environmental, health, and safety strategy. The standard considers the ... Read more »
The Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee painted a bleak picture on the future of the U.S. electric grid in a series of reports it recently issued, Ars Technica reports. The three reports: Report on Electricity Supply Adequacy (PDF), Report on Smart Grid (PDF), Report on Energy Storage Technologies (PDF) ... Read more »
Today there are pressing economic, environmental and social issues that are challenging the status quo and changing the way we do business. China may be better placed than other nations to ride out the current financial crisis, with IMF officials predicting economic growth in 2009 to be 8.5%, compared with ... Read more »
Trendwatching.com says that in 2009, corporations will do more to get in touch with Generation-G (for generosity), consumers disgusted with greed and its current consequences for the economy and who long for institutions that care. One of the generosity-related trends that may make some waves this year is Eco-generosity. “Expect ... Read more »
A Wal-Mart store in Aguascalientes, Mexico has installed a solar power system that will generate 20% of the store’s energy needs. With over 1,056 solar panels totaling 174 kW installed, it is the largest photovoltaic complex in Latin America, according to ANES (the Mexican Solar Energy Association). The 1,056 solar ... Read more »
Second Line Stages, a New Orleans studio currently under construction, is poised to become the first LEED certified studio in the U.S., CoStar Group reports. The 90,000-square-foot studio is being built on a brownfield site in the Lower Garden District. The $32-million facility is aiming for LEED Silver certification for ... Read more »
The Port of Seattle Commission approved funds for a new environmentally friendly pre-conditioned air project at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. A complete design for the project is expected by January 2010, with construction set to begin later in the year. The project completion date is expected to be December 2012. ... Read more »
Green marketers are wondering how President Barack Obama’s election and inauguration will affect public perception of green products and services, writes DMNews. Observing that the first half of 2008 was probably the peak of green marketing, observed Russ Meyer of Landor Associates. But in the last six months, green marketing ... Read more »
With the economical and political changes over the last several months, as well as promises of stimulus packages, new hybrid technologies, and better grid systems, 2009 can be seen more as a rebuilding year, according to Rick Nicholson, Energy Insights’ Vice President of Research. Below, Nicholson’s top 10 predictions for ... Read more »
Aviation industry experts say emissions levels are falling by about 2 percent per year as older airplanes are replaced by more fuel-efficient aircrafts. To adjust, the Advisory Council for Aerospace Research in Europe (ACARE) set three new main targets for the industry to achieve by 2020, the Guardian reports. Based ... Read more »
Representatives of twenty-two nations met in Tokyo last week to discuss how to reduce GHG emissions – over 20 percent of which are caused by the transportation sector – RedOrbit reports. Transport ministers, including those from large polluters in the U.S., China, and India, took part in the meetings which ... Read more »
The E Floor, a product developed by Panasonic Electric Works, was recently given the Chairperson’s Award at the Eco-Products 2008 expo held in Tokyo, reports Green Building Elements. The E Floor is a new type of flooring touted by its maker as “special hard chip board” made of 100 percent ... Read more »