GreenBiz.com Green Business News

TV Recycling Picks Up Speed with LG, Waste Management Partnership

GreenBiz Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:35:29 +0000

The two companies are teaming up to recycle televisions and computer monitors at hundreds of locations around the country as hotels upgrade displays to flat-panel and HDTV systems.

How Second Place (or Third) Can Mean a Win for Designers Everywhere

Jess Sand — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:21:10 +0000

The Cooper Hewitt People's Choice Award was the only category in the Smithsonian Institution's recent National Design Awards to be opened to public voting, and over 6,000 designers, consumers, and interested citizens spoke up. Some of the biggest design names in the country were nominated. But it was an independently produced sustainable design website that managed to squeeze past the designerati to place in the final three.

Companies More Likely Than Ever to Invest in Efficiency Retrofits, Study Says

GreenerBuildings Staff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:03:33 +0000

Seventy-four percent of corporate real estate executives now say they would be willing to pay a premium to retrofit office space they own to achieve sustainability goals, according to results of a new survey by CoreNet Global and Jones Lang LaSalle.

Sainsbury's CEO Demands New Focus on Green Economy

Luke Walsh — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:07:28 +0000

The chief executive of a leading supermarket has demanded the government tackle a lack of trained workers with green skills.

Cartier Taps Green Mining Firm for Responsibly Sourced Gold

Marc Gunther — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:00:51 +0000

All too often, behind the glitter of gold are ugly environmental and social costs: Unregulated mines creating toxic wastes, child laborers working under grim conditions, rivers and bays polluted with waste.

'LEED for Landscapes' Aims to Green the Nation's Greens

GreenerBuildings Staff — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:22:09 +0000

The United States' first voluntary rating system for sustainable landscapes launched last week, a development its creators hope will do for the landscaping sector what LEED did for the building industry.

Is the U.S. News Media Failing to Do Its Job on Climate Change?

Michael B. Mercier — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:30:00 +0000

It sure seems that America is out of touch with the rest of the world regarding global warming, and that the world is slapping us in the face to awaken us from our stupor.

Green Consumers and the Recession: Is It Really Different This Time?

Joel Makower — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:24:46 +0000

Is a green shopping ethic alive and well, or has "saving the earth" taken a backseat to "saving the day?"

Steven Chu: The Nerd in the Cabinet

Marc Gunther — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:40:18 +0000

The current Secretary of Energy is also a Nobel Laureate and former physics professor at UC Berkeley, and a self-described 'energy conservation nut.'

SRI Field Continues to Shift with RiskMetrics' Acquisition of KLD

Robert Kropp — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:46:31 +0000

The rapidly changing landscape of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research providers received another major update this week as RiskMetrics Group announced the acquisition of KLD Research & Analytics. The acquisition, which has been widely anticipated for a month, follows RiskMetrics' purchase of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, like KLD a provider of ESG research, in February.

Nike Debuts Latest Collection of 'Considered Design' Products

GreenBiz Staff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:04:47 +0000

Nike will debut a new collection of athletic footwear Saturday made with environmentally preferred materials. A portion of revenue from the N7 line will support Native American youth sports through the N7 Fund.

Johnson Controls: The Quiet Company Raises Its Voice and Its Profile

Leslie Guevarra — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:51:57 +0000

Though a giant in the buildings and automotive industries, Johnson Controls Inc. was long considered a quiet company — seldom a major presence outside its lines of business. That's changing as the firm increasingly raises its voice and its profile to spread its mantra of "Efficiency Now."

Diversey Ups Emissions Reductions Investments, Earns Bigger ROI

ClimateBiz Staff — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:40:33 +0000

One year after setting a goal to cut corporate emissions by 8 percent before 2013, Diversey CEO today announced the company had already surpassed that target, and upped the goal to a 25 percent reduction in the same time frame.

Green Buildings Continue Impressive Growth, New Market Study Finds

GreenerBuildings Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:26:01 +0000

The Green Building Market and Impact Report, released this morning by GreenerBuildings.com, measures the beneficial impacts that LEED-certified buildings have on energy, water, worker productivity and more, and charts the growth of the green marketplace in the coming years.

The Green Building Market and Impact Report 2009

GreenerBuildings Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:46:12 +0000

This second annual report, by Rob Watson and the GreenBiz.com editorial team, explores the impacts that LEED-certified buildings have already had on energy, water, waste and employee productivity -- and projects those impacts for the next 20 years.

Beyond the Black Cloud: Looking at Lifecycles

Dave Douglas — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:49:15 +0000

Looking at the full impact of any type of product or device -- rather than, say, the cloud of exhaust in front of you on the highway -- opens the door to a whole new understanding of how design affects the environment.

Business Owners Beware: Quick Fixes Can Cost More Than Smart Energy Savings Strategies

GreenerBuildings Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:53:54 +0000

Looking to save a little money this fall and winter by turning down the thermostats in your offices? Think again before you fiddle with those temperatures settings. Doing that alone could cost you far more than you save, especially if employees take their workplace comfort into their own hands.

Energy Dept. Shells Out Another Half-Billion Dollars in Stimulus Funds

GreenBiz Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:10 +0000

A slew of new renewable energy and energy efficiency projects funded by the Department of Energy in the past week adds another $531 million to the stimulus funds already handed out this year.

The Anthozoans Are Coming to Save Us! Corals Offer Concrete Solutions to Our Carbon Woes

Tom McKeag — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

The method corals use for building their homes is worlds away from the way humans have been making cement and concrete, but one company has developed an innovative method for using seawater (which corals also utilize to make calcium) to both make cement and sequester carbon dioxide.

Cadbury and Sprint to Save Tons of Waste with New Greener Packaging

GreenBiz Staff — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:13:37 +0000

Cadbury will abandon its customary round metal tins in favor of square, recyclable cardboard boxes for its Roses and Heroes chocolate lines, while Sprint's new recyclable casing for its wireless accessories will save the company about $2.1 million a year.

Owens Corning Works to Keep Roof Shingles Out of Landfills

GreenBiz Staff — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:33:24 +0000

The company's Preferred Roofing Contractors who pledge to recycle their shingle tear-offs will be able to take them to drop-off recycling and processing centers provided by Heritage Environmental Services.

Will the Financial Meltdown Lead to an Investment Revolution?

Marc Gunther — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:53:59 +0000

Not much good has come of the Great Recession, but a recent day-long event showed that investors are at least starting to think more thoroughly about risk and sustainability in their portfolios.

Atlanta Named Most Toxic U.S. City, Las Vegas is Least Toxic

Jonathan Bardelline — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:55:00 +0000

Forbes has ranked the 40 largest metro areas to determine the most, and least, toxic cities in the United States. Las Vegas and Sacramento rank among the cleanest, while Atlanta and Detroit were named the dirtiest.

The Big Picture on Eco-Engineering Our Environmental Impact

Dave Douglas — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:15:02 +0000

The huge environmental impact of the simple lightbulb offers a perfect example of the scale and scope of the challenges the world faces in reducing humanity's footprint -- and also points out the five hurdles that must be overcome to make it happen.

Hotel Guests Need Help Staying Green on the Road, Study Finds

Sookhan So — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:19:36 +0000

A study by researchers at Virginia Tech's Pamplkn College of Business finds that even individuals who are resource-efficient at home are much more wasteful when on the road, and stronger education programs are needed to bridge this gap.

Go Slow, Stay Low: A Mantra for a Greener Economy

Stephen Linaweaver — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:07:06 +0000

That's generally the advice when learning how to paddle a canoe. It works equally well for companies trying to successfully navigate a sea change from a consumption-based economy to one that puts greater value in sustainability.

Next Wave of TerraCycle Products to Come From Huggies, Kleenex Packaging

GreenBiz Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:23:14 +0000

The company that built an empire by turning worm poop into fertilizer and cookie wrappers into backpacks has set its sights on the used plastic packaging from Huggies diapers, Scott toilet paper and Kleenex tissue.

Greenpeace Takes IT Giants to Task on Climate Action

GreenerComputing Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:45:37 +0000

Google, Microsoft and IBM are singled out for not doing enough to put IT's power to work on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in the latest release of Greenpeace's Cool IT Challenge.

Water-Saving Technologies Help Abbott Save 1 Billion Gallons a Year

GreenBiz Staff — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:05:32 +0000

The pharmaceutical giant set a goal of cutting its water consumption to 40 percent below 2004 levels by late 2011, relative to sales. The company announced Monday its efforts have yielded a 37 percent normalized reduction, bringing the company very close to its goal two years ahead of schedule.

Is Simple the New Green?

David Almy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:26:13 +0000

The last couple of years were witness to a stampede of product launches featuring green attributes and positioning. Today, however, the marketing herd is currently shifting its attention to a new direction: simplicity.

Sustainable Value in Automobile Manufacturing

GreenBiz Staff — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:40:20 +0000

The study looks at the sustainability performance of 17 leading car manufacturers worldwide between 1999 and 2007, providing a full account of the societal impacts of car production, including issues such as the volume of greenhouse gas emissions from production facilities and the number of work accidents recorded by a company.

BMW and Toyota Create Most 'Sustainable Value,' Report Finds; GM, Fiat Among Laggers

GreenBiz Staff — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 20:30:37 +0000

A new study measures the sustainable performance of worldwide auto manufacturers from 1999 to 2007, comparing resource use efficiency of production for factors such as emissions, work accidents, waste generation and water use.

Answers to Green Marketers' Questions on Ecolabels

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:35:26 +0000

GreenBiz.com’s October 15, 2009 webinar on "The Green Marketing Landscape: Ratings, Labels, and Certifications" yielded far more questions than we had time to answer during the allotted 60 minutes. We've selected questions from among the hundreds asked and submitted them to our three speakers, who graciously provided answers.