Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit

Chrysler Pulling Plug on EV Development? Maybe Not

2009-11-20T17:00:34Z

It wasn’t all that long ago that Chrysler Corp. pocketed more than $12.5 billion in government bailout funds to avoid a bankruptcy filing, promising on the way to the bank to build more fuel efficient cars and produce electric vehicles by 2011. About three years later the U.S. carmaker has launched no hybrids – although plans [...]

Paul Hawken on the State of the Markets

2009-11-20T18:52:19Z

Sustainable Industries continues to impress me. Yesterday’s SI Economic Forum featured Paul Hawken, well-known author (Ecology of Commerce, Natural Capitalism, Blessed Unrest) and sustainability guru (the mind behind Wiser Earth and a variety of other startups). And while Mr. Hawken is a big draw, the discussion panel that followed also included some real movers and [...]

Live Near a Waterway? HydroVolts Can Power Your Home

2009-11-20T17:15:18Z

At Tuesday’s Academy Awards of Cleantech (The Cleantech Open), attendees were all abuzz about Seattle-based HydroVolts, winner of the $20,000 Cleantech Open sustainability prize. HydroVolts has created a floating in-stream hydrokinetic turbine that generates distributed renewable energy anywhere around the world. Hydrovolts’ vision is to provide renewable energy to millions of people around the [...]

h.u.m.a.n. Reinvents Vending with Eco-friendly Machines and Healthy Snacks

2009-11-20T08:03:03Z

h.u.m.a.n. Healthy Vending is on a mission to change the world–one snack at a time. The Los Angeles -based company is turning the $30 billion/year vending industry on its ear by using state-of-the-art, energy efficient machines filled only with healthy foods and drinks. In addition, h.u.m.a.n. (short for “helping unite man and nutrition”) donates 10 percent of [...]

It’s a Wrap: Amazon Launches Frustration-Free Packaging Certification Program

2009-11-20T17:18:30Z

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to remove a newly purchased item from its super-strong packaging. You pull and you tug, you rip and you cut, but no matter how hard you try, the packaging just won’t budge! Whether it’s a brand new DVD, a new electronic gadget, a child’s toy or a box of [...]

Self Reporting Doesn’t Cut it: Why We Need a National GHG Measurement System

2009-11-20T06:59:45Z

Say you’re the Mayor of San Francisco. You’re spending million of dollars every year to increase energy efficiency, install solar panels and encourage the use of electric cars — all in an effort to lower your city’s greenhouse gas emissions, in line with (hypothetical) newly-enacted Federal greenhouse gas reduction guidelines. Meanwhile, the (hypothetical) Mayor of Sacramento, [...]

Ecofactor Smart Thermostat System Wins Cleantech Open

2009-11-20T08:09:57Z

A maker of thermostat data systems that claims to be able to reduce heating and cooling costs for buildings by 20-30 percent won Grand Prize at this year’s Cleantech Open, one of the leading environmental technology competitions in the country. Ecofactor makes integrated systems that calibrate a residential or commercial thermostat for maximum energy efficiency without [...]

The Ultimate in “Clean” Tech: Sludge?

2009-11-20T07:24:46Z

Pop quiz: what does our municipal sewage waste that gets processed at wastewater treatment plants, and the great Pacific garbage patch, have in common? Well, not much…yet. A clean tech startup by the name of Micromidas may change all that, and in the process, change the game for plastic packaging. Micromidas won the EPA’s 3P (People, Prosperity, Planet) [...]

Can A Company That Makes Roundup Be Sustainable?

2009-11-20T17:26:38Z

While waiting for the PBS show, the NewsHour, to begin, I saw a Monsanto advertisement which said, “Monsanto…producing more, conversing more…that’s sustainable agriculture.” On Monsanto’s website the company states its commitment to “help farmers produce more and conserve more” by 2030. One of the ways Monsanto will achieve its goal is through “developing improved seeds.” In [...]

Why Genea Energy Made Forbes List Of Most Promising Companies

2009-11-20T17:35:39Z

Southern California-based Genea Energy is ranked number 13 on Forbes’ America’s Most Promising Companies list. Doug Schneider, Genea Energy’s CEO, said, “Forbes saw in Genea a special potential for growth, and that just echoes what our management team has been saying all along. We have a very special business — we’re just beginning to see [...]

Oliberté Footwear: The Shoes with Soul

2009-11-20T11:33:22Z

When it comes to footwear, comfort, style, durability and affordability are important aspects when picking out a pair of shoes. But there is a lot more that goes into shoes than just our feet. Canadian-based footwear company Oliberté, is stepping up and reaching out to impoverished African communities and making a difference in a big way. In [...]

Sustainability Lessons Learned Hitchhiking the Real Estate Cosmos

2009-11-20T07:38:27Z

By Martin Melaver Recently, I’ve been reading with my son The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. We’re at that point in the story when our travelers arrive on the planet of Magrathea. Magrathea, you may recall, made a name for itself millions of years ago by specializing in building designer planets for the super-wealthy. Then, out [...]

Notes from the Cleantech Open Awards Gala

2009-11-20T09:23:37Z

At the last minute, I decided to attend Tuesday night’s Cleantech Open Awards Gala, and was pleasantly surprised at just how many companies with game-changing technologies were participating in the event. From the finalists to the runners-up to last year’s winners, the promise of what was on display was truly astounding, and gives me quite [...]

Data Storage Startup, Energy Manager, Win GreenBeat Innovation Contest

2009-11-20T00:08:53Z

The winner of the Innovation Competition, held as part of the GreenBeat 2009 conference in San Mateo, California, today, is actually a pair of winners. The judges could not quite settle on one of the 11 entrants and so instead awarded both Locust Storage, a startup (just out of stealth mode today) and CPower [...]