Environmental Leader

Building Trust: Stakeholder Engagement Matters

Environmental Leader — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:33:19 +0000

This week, Environmental Leader is presenting a five part series By Jonathan Ballantine entitled “Building Trust in Corporate Responsibility.” Here is part one - Stakeholder Engagement Matters. In the past few years corporate responsibility has undergone a major surgical face lift and is no longer seen as a fluffy element of business or as an exercise in [...]

Oregon Ag Firm Adopts Biogas Generation

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:06:14 +0000

A biogas unit will generate twice as much electricity as is needed to run the operations at Stahlbush Island Farms in Oregon. The $10 million plant, which operates on fruit and vegetable waste, will generate enough electricity to supply the equivalent of 1,100 homes. Construction of the biogas project took about 14 months, according to a [...]

Lighting Retrofits Help Hotels and Data Centers Cut Energy Costs

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:33:00 +0000

Lighting and compact fluorescent lighting (CFL) retrofits are some of the easiest ways businesses including luxury hotels and data centers can cut their energy costs. Hotel lighting, for example, can account for up to 35 percent of a hotel’s energy bill, reports Hotel Interactive. Energy-efficient lighting by itself can reduce electricity use by up to 75 [...]

Whole Foods U.S. Supermarkets Earn Organic Certification

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:35:35 +0000

Whole Foods Market has announced that each of its 273 U.S. stores has been individually certified organic by CCOF, a non-profit, USDA-accredited third-party organic certifier. Whole Foods Market became the first national chain to be certified under the USDA’s national organic standards in 2003. In November 2008, the USDA’s National Organic Program declared there could no [...]

MIT Project Uses Electronic Tags To Study Trash, Recycling

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:32:36 +0000

With a goal of converting more trash into recycling, volunteers for an MIT research project are attaching electronic tags to items put in the trash in New York City and Seattle. By following the trash through the system, from point of disposal to the garbage dump, researchers hope to highlight the environmental impact of urban trash [...]

Hall Wines Site Gets 35% of Energy from Solar

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:21:00 +0000

The St. Helena location of Hall Wines is getting 35 percent of its electricity from on-site solar arrays. With that, and other sustainable features, the winery has been certified gold under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. It is the first winery in California to achieve the gold certification, according to a press [...]

Solar Power Generation to Double by 2010

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:06:32 +0000

A glut in solar panel capacity may mean this is the best opportunity for businesses to buy their own solar installations. New research suggest that global solar capacity may double by 2010, led by incentives in the U.S. and China. New investments in clean energy could rise to $450 billion in 2012, or triple the $150 [...]

Study Aims to Find Evidence of Sustainability in Outsourcing

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:49:06 +0000

In a move with supply chain implications, the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) is conducting a study to determine the importance of corporate social responsibility in outsourcing. Throughout July, IAOP is surveying outsourcing providers, customers and advisors on their actions and views on CSR, sustainability and environmental responsibility. Results should come out this fall. The survey [...]

Gill Farms - From Onions to Energy

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:25:35 +0000

Gills Onions is using onion juice from its processing plant to power a 600 kilowatt fuel cell electricity generation unit that will slice $700,000 in energy costs from the bottom line. Gills Onions, one of the nation’s largest onion growers and processors, estimates the $9.5 million system will pay for itself in about six years, with [...]

Upgrades Net 40% Energy Savings for Oregon Office Building

Environmental Leader — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:44:28 +0000

Environmentally-friendly building upgrades at Columbia Square, a 313,000-square foot office building and flagship property of Melvin Mark Companies in Portland, Ore., have yielded a projected energy savings of up to 40 percent and a reduction in ozone-depleting refrigerants with the installation of a high-efficiency chiller. The building has also earned Energy Star certification, which means it [...]