Nov 22, 09
More Corporations Are "Greening" Supply Chains
Savvy business sometimes requires only a flip of a lid. When Stonyfield Farm switched from plastic to foil lids six years ago, the organic yogurt company avoided 16 percent of the energy costs associated with producing its containers. Similar savings have been discovered throughout Stonyfield's manufacturing, transportation, and packaging divisions since the company began measuring its carbon footprint in the early 1990s, according to Chairman Gary Hirshberg. "Our carbon footprint is...
World Bank Initiates Carbon Footprint Analysis
Responding to pressure from the environmental community and U.S. lawmakers, the World Bank plans to estimate the carbon footprints of its future projects. The Bank, in collaboration with the world's leading multilateral development banks, is creating a common method for estimating a project's associated greenhouse gas emissions. The assessments are expected to bring greater transparency to the financial institutions' development portfolios and to encourage developing-country clients to...
Software for Sustainable Business
Around the world, companies large and small are feeling pressure from socially responsible investors, conscious customers and government regulators to clean up their acts. The emerging sustainability software market promises to help them understand how to do that, with new tools that can help turn sustainability from a concept into a well-defined strategy. The demand for transparency in businesses continues to grow. Initiatives such as the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Global Footprint...
Private Equity Gets Principled
By Chris Alden Better late than never? That would be a forgivable reaction to the news that 13 global private equity firms – who between them hold stakes in some of the biggest names in British business, such as Birds Eye, Boots and United Biscuits – have taken a key step towards integrating environmental and social concerns into their businesses, by signing up to a new set of guidelines on responsible investment. The signatories, all members of the Private Equity Council,...
Energy and Global Warming News for May 13
Solar Hot Water for Toronto Homeowners Solar Thermal comes to Canada (!), and guess who’s selling them the solar panels: not us. In an innovative joint venture, Canadian natural gas giant Enbridge Gas Distribution has teamed up with green electricity marketer Bullfrog Power and the City of Toronto to promote solar thermal systems that promise to slash residential hot water heating costs by as much as 60 percent, or about $260 per year. Under the program, announced Tuesday, London-based...
Seizing the Moment to Build a Sustainable Economy
As we headed to the polls here in the U.S., the economy, the environment, and our collective common sense told us the old ways are not working. The stumbling financial markets show the consequences of unfettered pursuit of profits in a system that has no debits on the ledger for environmental degradation and no credits for a social conscience. The troubled climate is bringing home the cost of fouling the air and abusing fragile ecosystems. And inequitable use of resources is widening the gap...
The Green Computing Update
This article was written by Jeremy Faludi in November 2007. We're republishing it here as part of our month-long editorial retrospective. This is the last installment in our green computing update. Part 1 dealt with data centers, Part 2 was about components, Part 3 covered whole machines, and what happens to machines at the ends of their lives. In Part 4, I examine how the use of computers helps to create a brighter, greener future, from telecommuting and teleconferencing, to e-commerce,...
Eco-Labels Enable Smarter Decision Making
This article was written by Jeremy Faludi in September 2007. We're republishing it here as part of our month-long editorial retrospective. How do chic snobs judge the classy versus the trashy? With designer labels. For green shoppers, the equivalent is eco-labels. We have the US Energy Star and the EU Flower instead of Gucci and Prada, but green consumers have already shown themselves to be highly targeted, brand-conscious buyers. The first eco-label was Germany's Blue Angel; others...
Using Digital Tools to Examine the Planet
This article was written by Alex Steffen in June 2007. We're republishing it here as part of our month-long editorial retrospective. I write this from the medieval town of Visby, in the shadow of the ruined church of Saint Clement, on Sweden's Gotland island. I've stayed here for a few days on my way to the Tällberg Forum, hoping for a chance to catch my breath. It's a beautiful place, Visby, a UNESCO World Heritage site of old buildings, tiles roofs, cobblestones, ancient churches and a...
Worldchanging Interview: Timothy Burroughs of ICLEI USA
This article was written by Worldchanging San Francisco local editor Matt Waxman in February 2007. We're republishing it here as part of our month-long editorial retrospective. Timothy Burroughs is a Program Officer at the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) USA Office based in Oakland. ICLEI is the leading global organization and network of local governments promoting sustainable development. I first met Timothy last November when he came to the Town of Moraga...
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