The 90-day trial will allow UPS to test EVI’s walk-in electric vans (WI) in three separate locations: Sacramento, San Francisco and Reno.

EVI has fitted the vans with Lithium-Ion batteries. These batteries provide an operating range of 90 miles (144 km) and a top speed of 60 mph (96 km/h). They typically take three to ten hours to recharge.

“UPS has been supporting emerging alternative fuel technologies since the 1930s with our first electric powered vehicles operating in New York City,” says Mike Britt, Director of Automotive Maintenance and Engineering. “We currently operate over 2,000 alternative fuel vehicles worldwide with a variety of hybrid, electric and natural gas technologies. This project extends our commitment to addressing our environmental impact in the communities where we operate.”

It’s worth noting that earlier this year, EVI received California Air Resource Board (CARB) approval for the EVI walk-in electric vans. Customers who purchase the EVI-WI can take advantage of a $20,000 CARB rebate through the Hybrid Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP).

HVIP was designed to kick-start the low-emission hybrid truck and bus industry. The program helps companies offset about half of the incremental additional cost of eligible hybrid medium- and heavy-duty vehicles using a simplified purchase voucher. According to the HVIP website, this amount was deemed critical by fleets and manufacturers to assist the early market. HVIP is also designed to assist fleets and dealers by reducing this cost right at the time of purchase, and has been designed to simplify implementation. Dealers request a voucher with their fleet customers at the time of order; the amounts are pre-set for each qualified vehicle.

Clean-energy advocates would like to see the HVIP, the first program of its kind in the nation, become a model for effectively spurring clean vehicle technologies.

According to dailybreeze.com, the Port officials are delaying the ban so that trucking companies have enough time to comply with provisions of the program that were deemed last month to be legal by a US District Judge.

The Port of LA’s Clean Truck Program was launched in 2008, and it targets major sources of air emissions – ships, trains, trucks, cargo handling equipment and harbor craft –at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The program establishes a progressive ban on polluting trucks, while also eventually prohibiting independent owner-operator truck drivers.

It’s that last point that has proven contentious. Almost immediately after the Clean Truck Program was launched the American Trucking Associations filed a federal lawsuit, claiming that the port was trying to impose labor controls on the trucking industry. An injunction was imposed, and the program stalled. Last month’s ruling allows the Port of LA to fully implement its Clean Truck Program, but now the ATA says it intends to file an appeal and will seek to keep the injunction in place.

Unfortunately, it sounds as though the legal wrangling concerning the Clean Truck Program is far from over. Although both sides appear to agree on the clean air goals proposed for the nation’s busiest port, labor issues are trumping those ambitions.

According to Maines, the new lighting system, manufactured by Digital Lumens, will:

• Reduce energy use by 87 percent,

• Save 1,726,108 kWh per year (more than enough electricity to power 200 homes for a year), and

• Eliminate 1,240 metric tons of CO2 emissions.

The Digital Lumens solution combines LED-based fixtures, networking, and software, as a one-for-one retrofit of highbay warehouse lights.

“Lighting represents about 20% of our warehouse electricity costs, and a great opportunity to reduce our facilities’ costs and improve operational efficiency,” says Pat DeOrdio, Vice President of Operations, Maines Paper & Food Service, Inc.  “We evaluated the Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System and found that it enables us to significantly reduce our energy consumption, improve overall safety by increasing light levels, and decrease maintenance.  This solution delivers numerous operational and environmental benefits, and positions us to better serve our customers’ needs.”

And those “customer needs” are increasingly related to sustainability and broader CSR initiatives.

“Sustainability considerations are moving deep into the supply chain, and Maines is a leading example of leveraging energy efficiency to simultaneously improve the bottom line and the green footprint,” explains Tom Pincince, president and CEO of Digital Lumens.

The first comprehensive report of its kind, this study surveyed 291 of the largest transport companies in the world, including those that cover road, rail, sea and air transport. The results show that:

• Even though the transport industry now accounts for 13 percent of global emissions and is one of the fastest energy-demand sectors, responsible for 60 percent of oil consumption in high-income countries (OECD countries), only 36 percent of transportation firms have set carbon and energy reduction targets. By comparison, over half (51 percent) of the ‘Global 500 Index’ of companies across all sectors have set reduction targets.

• Only 9 percent of the transport companies participating in the study report information on current investments in emissions reduction and alternate low-carbon options. Just 4 percent report on future investments.

• Road transportation accounts for 80 percent of the sector’s total CO2 contribution, followed by air (13 percent) and sea transportation (7 percent).

• Just 53 percent of transport companies surveyed responded to CDP’s request, indicating a lower level of engagement compared to the ‘Global 500’ which had an 82 percent response rate.

• Asia had the highest percentage of companies reporting on investment in low-carbon alternatives (48 percent). Europe had 36 percent. Just two companies in the US (8 percent), reported on investment in low-carbon alternatives.

On the bright side, the CDP report also points out that there are a small handful of companies reporting significant investments in low-carbon initiatives and innovations in the transport sector. The list of recognized companies includes: Air France-KLM, Easyjet, Canadian National Railways, Toyota, and UPS.

“As the first real glimpse into the transport sector’s impact on climate change, I’m pleased to see that there are some clear leaders making good progress in setting targets and making investments in low-carbon alternatives,” says Zoe Tcholak-Antitch, vice president and head of Investor CDP. “The overwhelming conclusion, however, is that the sector as a whole needs to transform and realize the opportunity to make a profound impact on the environment and the business benefits to reducing emissions. Those companies which are already investing in that transformation will be better positioned for a carbon constrained world.”

The full Carbon Disclosure Project Transport Report is available here.

Again and again, I’ve seen how sound CSR policy translates into solid business success, and that’s precisely why the title of Aneel Karnani’s recent Wall Street Journal article, The Case Against Corporate Social Responsibility, caught my eye.

In sum, Karnani’s basic premise is that CSR efforts are either irrelevant or ineffective. “The idea that companies have a responsibility to act in the public interest and will profit from doing so is fundamentally flawed,” he writes . . .

. . . and I’m sure it won’t surprise you to learn that I whole-heartedly disagree.

The concept of CSR isn’t flawed. What’s flawed is the mindset that adheres blindly to the tired, old mantra that claims “the business of business is doing business.”

Sure, businesses want to make profits. But ultimately, the ability to make profits is affected by social and environmental issues. Scarce natural resources drive up prices. Poverty and poor education impact the workforce. The list goes on and on, and any company with ambition must realize that they have no choice but to engage –not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because in the end, a commitment to CSR helps mitigate risks and ultimately, benefits the bottom line.

McKinsey & Company deep dives into these issues in the report, Shaping the Future: Solving Social Problems through Business Strategy. Sub-titled, “Pathways to sustainable value creation in 2020,” this paper encourages a shift in mindset, a new approach that enables companies to create value while simultaneously addressing social problems.

As Mike Duke, CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., explains in the report, “More will be expected from market leaders and globally successful companies, and those companies who are most involved will be most successful, creating an upward spiral.”

Bill Weldon, from Johnson & Johnson, agrees. “We all have to contribute to sustainable solutions over time –not any one group can do it alone,” he says. “You cannot assume that everyone else will address the problem and that you do not have to engage. If we do not align ourselves and work in a collective way on these social issues, everybody will be worse off.”

So, despite Karnani’s outdated and hollow insistence that CSR is ineffective and irrelevant, I’m going to side with business leaders like Duke and Weldon and continue to make the Case for Corporate Social Responsibility. In our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, there really is no other way to achieve long-term business success.

Here are a few of the details:

• Out of the 47 firms evaluated for this scorecard, 30 improved their scores –and a few did have impressive gains. Kenmore, for example, climbed 29 points. Lego rose 22 points, and AB Electrolux increased 19 points, moving into the second-highest place in the Large Appliance sector.

• But, most of the improvements weren’t as significant. In total, 32 of the 47 firms lost ground, held steady, or gained fewer than five points out of 100.

“Small improvements will not meet this challenge — we need real innovative leadership to solve the climate crisis, and as large investors in renewable energy technology begin to turn away from the US to other parts of the world more poised to lead, the implications for slow-moving business are certainly concerning,” Turner says.

Climate Counts also found wide variation between sectors. For instance, the scorecard evaluates 15 pharmaceutical firms, and all but three scored higher than 50 points. But, a quick scan of the toy sector tells a different story. In fact, this sector appears to be completely failing to address environmental issues. Of the 13 toy companies Climate Counts analyzed, eight scored zero. Hasbro ranked the highest, with 37 points.

The complete scorecard with rankings in all 17 sectors is available here.

The new sugarcane-derived plastic is made using an innovative process that transforms sugarcane into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) –a plastic commonly used for product packaging. The new packaging   remains 100 percent recyclable in existing municipal recycling facilities, and represents a significant step forward in sustainable packaging because it is made from a renewable resource –unlike traditional plastic, which is made from non-renewable petroleum.

Initially, P&G plans to use the new packaging for its Pantene Pro-V, CoverGirl and Max Factor brands –a strategy that the company says is consumer-driven.

”This innovation is truly consumer-driven. As we talk with women around the world, they tell us that they want to make themselves more beautiful without making their environment less beautiful,” explains Gina Drosos, Group President, Global P&G Beauty. ”With this new packaging innovation, women can have confidence that their favorite brands are helping to make a difference.”

As I have posted about before, the Coca-Cola Company is also pursuing sugarcane-derived plastic packaging for its beverages. The company made headlines last year with the introduction of its PlantBottle, which recently won a packaging innovation award.

The new program will offer €450m ($572m) in subsidies and a further €900m in low-interest loans to cutting-edge technology projects. About €190m ($241m) will be invested before the end of the year 2010, with €290m set aside over the next 4 years up to 2014. All told, the program, called Démonstrateurs et plates-formes technologiques en énergies renouvelables et décarbonées et chimie verte, will provide €1.35bn ($1.7bn) of financial support to the renewable energy sector over the next four years.

According to analysts, this move may signal a shift in strategies for France, which has traditionally favored more established alternative energy technologies, such as nuclear and wind.

“While the French government has historically backed mature, low cost, carbon emission-free technologies like nuclear and onshore wind, these funds will directly assist companies at the other end of the energy cost spectrum,” Charlie Hodges, an industry analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance in London said in a press release.

As a complement to this new energy investment program, the French government is hoping to attract some €2bn ($2.5bn) of private sector investments.

NSK, which is headquartered in Tokyo, has been recognized among the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.

In the announcement last week, NSK said that in 2009 employees in the United States contributed to environmental savings of:

• 8,952 barrels of No. 2 fuel oil

• 15,137 mature trees

• 5,694,000 gallons of water

• 986,000 kW hours of electricity

• 19,525 gallons of gasoline

• 18,131 cubic yards of landfill airspace

“NSK staff and management are very committed to acting in a green manner,” says Marcia Fournier, NSK’s Manager of Environmental Health & Safety. “We recently had a group of employees take it upon themselves to investigate their workplace and then work with their peers to significantly reduce the facility’s waste. It’s that type of initiative and commitment that is driving NSK to the forefront of sustainability in both our products and our working practices.”

I particularly like the way NSK links environmental stewardship to product development. According to the company’s website, NSK believes its role in environmental protection and social development involves:

• Minimizing energy consumption and energy losses by controlling and facilitating the movement of objects with the minimum of friction.

• Maximizing the life of customers’ products by producing durable and reliable products.

• Developing solution-oriented products tailored to the specific requirements of our customers.

For example, NSK offers a bearing reconditioning program that allows its customers to reduce waste and increase efficiency, and the company is actively supporting the electrification of automobiles.

In many ways, the Yangtze has taken the brunt of China’s colossal economic growth, and even though the river provides China with 35 percent of its fresh water, it now ranks number one on WWF’s list of the ten most-threatened rivers in the world. For Coca-Cola, which operates 39 bottling plants in China, the partnership with WWF represents an opportunity to strengthen its commitment to water stewardship while mitigating its water risks.

A recent post at Knowledge@Wharton explains how non-profit/for-profit partnerships such as this one can be mutually beneficial:

For environmental groups, such alliances add clout to their projects, an important factor in drumming up support and funding from the general public and other corporations. Coca-Cola’s rural program “is really making a difference in the Yangtze,” notes Chris Williams, director of fresh water conservation at the WWF. “If we could get this kind of involvement from a wider range of private-sector actors in the Yangtze, the results could be considerable.”

For companies, such undertakings bolster their image and brand, according to Piet Klop, a senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank World Resources Institute (WRI). “The last thing a branded company would want,” he states, “is to end up in a newspaper [report] saying it is operating a bottling plant in an area where households cannot even access clean drinking water.”

According to the article, the WWF-Coca-Cola partnership has evolved into a $24 million, seven year commitment to support fresh water programs globally. Obviously, Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company, recognizes the critical significance of integrating water issues into its overall strategic business planning. Water scarcity risks are growing in many parts of the world, and as I have posted about before, it’s time for all companies to assess and better manage their water footprints.