ClimateBiz.com

Fiduciary Responsibility: Legal and Practical Aspects of Integrating ESG Issues into Institutional Investment

GreenBiz Staff — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:55:00 -0700

A powerful group of asset managers, representing around USD 2 trillion in assets under management, argues in this report that integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decisions is no longer just a luxury, but a legal responsibility.

Legally Binding Disclosure of Environmental Risks Moves Closer to Reality

GreenBiz Staff — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 10:00:00 -0700

A new United Nations report published this week suggests advisors to institutional investors may end up in court if they ignore environmental and social concerns. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission may reportedly consider whether to force public companies to tell their investors about the financial and physical risks they face from climate change.

Onion Power: Tops, Tails and Skins Become Electricity

Matthew Wheeland — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 05:56:00 -0700

Gills Onions, a large-scale onion processor in Oxnard, Calif., is unveiling a first-of-its-kind method of turning waste from business operations into electricity and major cost savings.

U.K. Low Carbon Transition Plan Puts Government In Charge of Renewables

James Murray — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:16:00 -0700

The U.K.'s Low Carbon Transition Plan released Wednesday secures wide-ranging praise as the government outlines how it plans to deliver deep emission cuts of 34 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

China and U.S. Partner for Clean Energy R&D

GreenBiz Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:56:00 -0700

The world’s top two emitters of greenhouse gases will launch a research center to explore low-carbon technologies for green buildings, clean cars and carbon capture and storage.

Cloud Computing Highlighted as an Emissions-Reduction Strategy

GreenerComputing Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:24:00 -0700

Companies using outsourced data centers can save thousands of dollars per year in energy costs, as well as make significant cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a recent study.

Discarded Food Finds New Life as Electricity

Tilde Herrera — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:17:00 -0700

Unwanted, thrown away food in the San Francisco Bay Area soon find new life as electricity. The East Bay Municipal District plans to dramatically boost the amount of food scraps it converts to energy via anaerobic digestion from 90 tons per week to 1,000 tons, or 200 tons per weekday.

Climate Follies: Bankrolling Dirty Power in Developing Countries

Mindy S. Lubber — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:22:00 -0700

While the industrialized world is struggling to cut its emissions, and is gearing up to negotiate a new international climate treaty in Copenhagen this December, it is simultaneously bankrolling the construction of thousands upon thousands of megawatts of new coal-fired power in developing countries.

Chemical Industry Touts Carbon Emissions Saved By Chemical Products

GreenBiz Staff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:01:00 -0700

In 2005, chemical products and technologies like insulation, fertilizers and CFLs helped save more than two to three times as many greenhouse gas emissions than they contributed to emitting.

Efficiency Projects Save Texas Instruments $5.1M

GreenBiz Staff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:36:00 -0700

The company's efforts trimmed energy use by 5 percent and water consumption by 7.3 percent, while overall greenhouse gas emissions shrank 2.8 percent.

Ford Developing Laser Ignition to Cut Exhaust Emissions

Tilde Herrera — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 12:42:00 -0700

Ford Motor Co. and researchers at the University of Liverpool are developing a car ignition system that swaps spark plugs for a laser beam to start vehicles while generating fewer greenhouse gas emissions. The technology may also overcome the cold-start issue for vehicles running on biofuels.

IBM and Cisco to Help Amsterdam Become a 'Smart City'

GreenBiz Staff — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0700

IBM and Cisco will join Accenture to help the City of Amsterdam in its quest to become the European Union’s first “smart city.” The pilot project will serve as a testing ground to prove that smart grid technologies can better manage energy use and transmission while also reducing electricity outages and congestion.

L.A.'s Coal Ban Leads to Another Abandoned Power Plant

Tilde Herrera — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:36:00 -0700

The Sierra Club enjoyed a victory last week when a Utah-based utility announced it would walk away from plans to build a coal-fired generating unit in the state. According to the environmental group’s tally, 100 coal plants have been foiled or abandoned since 2001, the beginning of an era it dubbed the “Coal Rush.”

California's Solar Cities

GreenBiz Staff — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:55:00 -0700

This report from the nonprofit Environment California charts the growth of solar power installations in California, and ranks that state's top cities for solar development.

Solar Incentives in S.F. Show How Smart Green Investments Pay Off

Gavin Newsom — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:17:00 -0700

Since San Francisco's solar energy incentive program GoSolarSF launched last year, the city has seen a 450 percent increase in applications over the previous year; putting the city in third place over much larger and sunnier California cities, and providing environmental and economic boosts despite a sluggish economy.