FEATURES AND NEWS
Businesses with Clean Water Act permits to discharge wastewater must now file reports electronically instead of filing written paper reports, according to an EPA rule finalize yesterday that modernize Clean Water Act reporting for municipalities, industries and other facilities. The final rule will require regulated entities and state and federal ... Read more »
Bayer CropScience has agreed to pay $5.6 million to resolve violations of federal chemical accident prevention laws at its facility in Institute, West Virginia, where an explosion killed two people in 2008. Under the settlement with the US government, Bayer committed to spending $4.23 million to improve emergency preparedness and ... Read more »
There were six fewer fatal occupational injuries in the solid waste injury in 2014 (27 fatalities) compared to 2013 (33 fatalities), Forester Daily News reports. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics has released preliminary findings from its 2014 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Data. Refuse and recyclable materials collection ... Read more »
PepsiCo’s environmental sustainability programs saved the company more than $375 million since its goals were established in 2010, according to Pepsi’s 2014 sustainability report. The savings were achieved through the company’s water management, energy, sustainable packaging and waste-reduction initiatives. During the same time period, the company delivered double-digit net revenue ... Read more »
An increasing number of global businesses are adopting the international environmental management systems standard ISO 14001, according to the latest ISO 14001 data, which shows that the number of certificates issued worldwide has grown 7 percent in one year. The worldwide total of certificates now stands at 324,148. Data published ... Read more »
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Americans don’t recycle as much as the EPA thinks and are sending more than twice as much waste to landfills, according to a study on solid waste disposal rates. Yale University researchers looked at the records for more than 1,200 landfills and published their findings in the journal Nature Climate ... Read more »
The Water Research Foundation has released a request for proposals aimed at identifying water and wastewater projects that are “amenable to a public private partnership approach for energy cost savings and green gas…emission reductions.” The background on RFP #4634, which is budgeted at $150,000, is that funding for water and ... Read more »
Ingersoll-Rand has won two awards form the North Carolina Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The Irish company – which has its U.S. headquarters in Davidson, N.C. – received the Thomas Edison Award for its Climate Commitment. That is a five-year commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas refrigerant footprint ... Read more »
A major energy-efficiency upgrade at Brookhaven National Laboratory is expected to generate more than $1.3 million in energy savings each year. In addition to direct cost savings, the energy-efficiency improvements will make the lab eligible for rebates (pictured) and other financial incentives. The work was performed under a utility energy ... Read more »
Bloomberg posted a long feature on what it calls “the world’s greenest building.” The Edge, which is being developed by OVG Real Estate in Amsterdam, offers many energy efficiency features, some of which are being developed in conjunction with the main tenant, Deloitte. An example of a low cost way to ... Read more »
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Cree has introduced the KR8 and LR6 LED downlights. The KR8 is an architectural downlight that gives the company’s portfolio to handle ceiling heights from 8 feet to 40 feet. The KR8 covers commercial and retail applications with 6,000 lumens to 8,000 lumens outputs. It incorporates Cree’s WaveMax technology ... Read more »
Ringdale’s CT Energy Monitoring and Data Logger is aimed at energy and facility managers seeking to closely monitor and detect abnormalities in building power. It comes with Ethernet connectivity for single- or three-phase power systems. The platform measures root mean square (RMS) current and voltage. This enables managers to locate ... Read more »
For example, on August 28, 2015, the CEC convened state agencies for a workshop to address California’s Drought Response. The workshop was held in conjunction with a rulemaking at the CPUC called the Water-Energy Nexus Proceeding. CEC workshop participants discussed current drought effects and provided updates on state actions to ... Read more »
The Department of Energy’s detailed warts-and-all evaluation of its $500 million stimulus-funded Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP) — an innovative initiative to explore the potential for new marketing strategies and program designs to encourage building energy upgrades that result in significant energy savings and economic stimulus – shows that comprehensive efficiency programs ... Read more »
In efforts to improve water management, businesses are increasingly using — and spending money on — sensors and data analytics software to conserve water, the Guardian reports. Banyan Water and Apana are two companies marketing their water technology products to businesses. Earlier this month Banyan Water said its smart water ... Read more »
The New York City ban on foam foodservice items has been overturned by the New York State Supreme Court. In her ruling that overturned the polystyrene foam ban, Judge Margaret Chan said the “one undisputed short answer to whether EPS is recyclable is yes: single serve EPS is recyclable.” Restaurants, ... Read more »
BT Group is the best at carbon measuring and reporting, narrowly beating Marks & Spencer, according to Carbon Clear’s annual report ranking carbon measurement and reporting efforts of FTSE 100 companies. In 2014 both companies shared first place. Marks & Spencer placed second this year. The other companies in the ... Read more »
Here’s the latest news on hirings, promotions and departures among environmental leaders. Volkswagen: In the wake of allegations that the automaker has been using an emissions testing defeat device in its diesel-engine cars, Martin Winterkorn has resigned as the company’s CEO, a position he has held since 2007. No successor has been ... Read more »
To increase recycling of universal wastes such as lamps, ballasts, batteries and other products that contain hazardous substances, Covanta and Veolia have partnered to make Veolia’s RecyclePak program available to businesses, consumers and cities. Universal waste is material designated as hazardous waste but containing materials that are very common. While ... Read more »
Novozymes has launched a new enzyme for ethanol producers who want to reduce their use of chemicals without sacrificing yield. Liquozyme LpH is an alpha-amylase effective at low pH that thins the mash by breaking down starch into shorter dextrin chains. A more fluid mash ensures more efficient operational performance ... Read more »
BASF is expanding its range of engineering plastics for electric and hybrid vehicles, which BASF says will allow automotive manufacturers to save on weight and installation space around the battery and at the same time help to improve safety in e-mobility. Tailor-made Ultramid and Ultradur materials are now available globally ... Read more »
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport received a rebate check for $45,901 from Georgia Power this week. The check was for upgrades to thousands of taxiway fixtures on the north and south runways last year. Georgia Power says that the new LEDs last as long as 200,000 hours. Areas that got the ... Read more »
Most companies consider energy management to be an essential aspect of corporate strategy, according to Deloitte’s 2015 resources study, published by the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions. The report is based on 600 online interviews with business decision-makers who are responsible for energy management practices at companies with more than ... Read more »
PEZY Computing, a microprocessor company headquartered in Japan, has taken the top three spots on the Green500 list. It did so by using 3M’s Fluorinert Electronic Liquid in the ExaScaler’s immersion cooling process. Supercomputers run very hot and require massive amounts of energy to cool. The immersion cooling process uses engineered ... Read more »
Short-Term Price Benchmark* Trends ERC’s average power price benchmark pretty much treaded water last week after climbing for the previous two weeks. No states posted a meaningful change in their benchmark price for retail power compared to the previous week. This is in the face of a four-day decline in ... Read more »