FEATURES AND NEWS
Colorado is one of a handful of states with a private non-profit like Energy Outreach Colorado (EOC) that pulls together financing from disparate sources to fund energy efficiency improvements at low-income, multi-family properties. Vermont, Oregon and New York are others. In Denver, EOC worked with the sustainability manager for a ... Read more »
Testa Produce has been an EPA Green Power Partner since April 2012. The produce distribution company occupies a 91,300-sq-foot facility in Chicago’s Industrial Stockyards Park, where 18 percent of the facility’s annual electricity needs are supplied by an on-site 750-kW wind turbine and about 180 solar panels. In addition, all ... Read more »
The higher temperature ranges and increased humidity levels set for data centers by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) have spawned innovative ideas for data center cooling, according to the Wall Street Journal. For instance, REI is utilizing evaporative cooling at its data center near ... Read more »
Ameresco’s biomass cogeneration facility located at the US Department of Energy Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC, is using storm-damaged timber as a result of the major ice storm in the region during February. Ameresco has been working with local officials and collectors to utilize the damaged wood for renewable ... Read more »
The so-called internet of things has a new player as Smartcool Systems provides a tool to automate energy efficiency and energy management in small commercial buildings. A collaboration with an energy management system (EMS) is showing savings of 25 percent. The company signed a software licensing agreement in December with smartACR, ... Read more »
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Since CivicAction launched the Race to Reduce smart energy office challenge in Toronto in 2011, participating landlords and tenants in that city have reduced their collective energy use by 9 percent, reports The Globe and Mail. Currently over 175 buildings are registered in Race to Reduce, representing over 67 million square ... Read more »
Most companies today manage operations globally, across national borders. Regulatory requirements are constantly evolving and it’s becoming more & more challenging to understand which regulatory changes may impact your company. Ned Ertel, CEO of RegScan, leading regulatory provider of regulatory compliance services to companies worldwide, will share his expertise on the latest ... Read more »
Our research found that stakeholders are generally optimistic about natural capital accounting, such as the PUMA/Kering Environmental Profit and Loss account. The EP&L was widely considered an innovative and helpful exercise, spurring the sector into discussion and some action. The value of monetizing environmental and social impacts is seen as ... Read more »
Takeaway: The US, UK and several other nations are concerned that an upcoming IPCC report does not put enough emphasis on the financial benefits of tackling global warming. Tamar Wilner is Senior Editor at Environmental Leader PRO.
Rio Tinto will divest its 19 percent stake in the Pebble Mine project in Alaska and donates its shares to two state charities. The proposed gold, copper and molybdenum mine is under review by the federal government for its impacts on the nearby Bristol Bay watershed and its sockeye salmon breeding ... Read more »
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New York City’s attempt to eliminate high-polluting forms of oil burned for heating buildings is running into difficulties caused by costly conversions and insufficient infrastructure. The New York Times reports the cheapest, heaviest and dirtiest forms of heating oil, No. 6 and No. 4, were contributing more soot pollution than ... Read more »
Avon has announced plans to phase out the antibacterial chemical triclosan from its cosmetic and personal care products, the company has announced. Although the company says that scientific evidence “supports the safe use of triclosan,” Avon has instead made the decision after bowing consumer pressure to drop the chemical from its ... Read more »
SCS Global Services has certified the recycled content in Krion Nature Lux Series, a solid surface material manufactured by SystemPool, for use in kitchens, bathrooms, restaurants and other applications. The SCS certification focused on the acrylic portion, which constitutes less than half of the product by weight. Each Krion product was ... Read more »
City leaders need to work closer with businesses to meet sustainability goals, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) says in a new report that highlights findings of the Urban Infrastructure Initiative (UII). WBCSD says the UII is one of the most groundbreaking global urban sustainability initiatives to date and ... Read more »
The Gulf Coast petrochemical corridor has attracted foreign investment because of cheap natural gas and lower costs, Fuel Fix reports. The price advantage of US-produced ethane, used in plastics manufacturing, over naptha is a key factor. Naptha is derived from petroleum, which is more expensive. More than $90 billion of ... Read more »
Electric bus manufacturer BYD Motors and the Long Beach Transportation (LBT) terminated a contract for 10 electric buses on a technicality. BYD said the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) withdrew funding when the company failed to direct a percentage of the contract to minority-owned businesses, as part of a federal mandate. LBT ... Read more »
DriveLogik says its new product can provide fleets with up to a 10 percent fuel savings per vehicle and reduced maintenance costs. A hardware package and monthly subscription-based software reporting includes driver performance reports to help identify driver performance. Customized instant alerts via mobile devices also identify major driving events. ... Read more »
In the global market for building energy management software, six suppliers – Envizi, eSight, IBM, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Verisae – are market leaders, according to independent analyst firm Verdantix. Verdantix’s report, Green Quadrant Building Energy Management Software 2014, compares 14 building energy management applications to help corporate buyers select ... Read more »
WegoWise says its measurement and verification business grew 77 percent in the last year and now measures energy savings for more than 2,100 building retrofits. WegoWise automatically tracks and benchmarks utility use across building portfolios to identify the worst performers ripe for upgrades. The company’s measurement and verification services compares ... Read more »
IT provider SRA International was awarded a contract to provide IT support to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Protection Partnership Division (CPPD) Energy Star program. The five-year agreement is valued at $38 million if all options are exercised. The Energy Star program systems maintained by SRA enable submission ... Read more »
Thousands of buildings in New York City use No. 6 and No. 4 heating oil, causing soot pollution. In 2011, the city instituted a four-year plan to phase out No. 6 by July 2015, but at this point, more than half of the buildings that use the heating oil have ... Read more »
The AOBA Alliance, a subsidiary of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA), extended its energy services supplier agreement with Constellation through 2020. Under the terms of the agreement, AOBA Alliance participants located in the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania have access to competitive electricity ... Read more »
A funding partnership involving Citibank and Kilowatt Financial to bundle energy efficiency loans for homeowners could eventually help small to medium businesses gain access to funding for energy retrofits. Earlier this year, Kilowatt Financial closed a $100 million debt facility from Citibank to finance energy efficiency loans for homeowners. With ... Read more »
Cwm Taf University Health Board in Wales has installed IGEL “thin clients” – computer terminals that divert the bulk of their processing to a remote server – across its hospitals, clinics, surgeries and administration offices saving management time and cutting energy costs. The IGEL units use 30 W compared to ... Read more »
Alcatel-Lucent’s research arm, Bell Labs, unveiled an app that forecasts trends in energy consumption and efficiency based on a wide variety of traffic growth scenarios and technology evolution choices. The Global ‘What if’ Analyzer of NeTwork Energy ConsumpTion (G.W.A.T.T.) app shows how much power is consumed at each point in ... Read more »