Business Operations | GreenBiz.com

IBM's 'Building Whisperer' on the future of smart buildings

Chrissy Coughlin — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:00:29 +0000

IBM's Dave Bartlett dishes on his efforts with the company's Smarter Planet campaign and why he is so optimistic about his work.

ICYMI: Hectares of sustainable food news, ESG pro profiles & more

Matthew Wheeland — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:13:15 +0000

It's a research-heavy week here at ICYMI HQ, with studies detailing everything from profiles of ESG professionals to solutions for sustainable cities.

What we should really call 'sustainability' work

Steve Voien — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:00:28 +0000

In part two of a two-part series, we uncover the ideal umbrella term for the work currently known as sustainability. Or CSR. Or Triple-Bottom-Line.

An up-close assessment of Walmart’s sustainability index

Alisha Staggs — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:22:36 +0000

Does the retail chain measure up? EDF's Bentonville office weighs in.

Is there an 'I' in sustainability?

Nancy Hirshberg — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:30:55 +0000

Sure, there's no "I" in team, but when it comes to sustainability, what kind of recognition is right for a chief sustainability officer?

3 myths about product life cycle assessments

Mikhail Davis — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:00:08 +0000

These three persistent myths about LCA each have a grain of truth, but also a fundamental misunderstanding.

Ending the alphabet soup in the [insert word here] field

Steve Voien — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:29 +0000

CSR. ESG. CS&ER. Triple bottom-line. How can we achieve sustainability if we don't know what to call it? A modest proposal, in two parts.

Some light in clean tech investing, despite the gloom

Dan Seif — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:54 +0000

The vast majority of clean energy investment not coming from VCs is actually a positive indicator for the maturation of clean energy markets.

Plasticity Forum: Adidas and others find gold in plastic

Rikki Stancich — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:00:47 +0000

Faced with a tide of post-consumer plastic trash, organizations are thinking up innovative ways to profitably harness this potentially vast revenue stream.

How to select a CEO for the Collaboration Economy

Eric Lowitt — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:10 +0000

The seven habits of highly collaborative leaders.

Why data can put us on the road to better building performance

Jim Sinopoli — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:00:55 +0000

Lack of data for building automation control systems can create a host of problems and cost organizations money.

VERGE Boston: M2M's 'huge leap forward' on energy savings

harrystevens — Wed, 15 May 2013 15:00:43 +0000

New technologies that enable billions of devices to collect and analyze data can help systems operate with startling efficiency.

When will emerging economies embrace sustainability?

Eric Whan — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:00:45 +0000

While not top-ranked, there are business to watch in Brazil, Russia, India and China.

3 things green tech firms can learn from the smartphone wars

Andrew Riley — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:00:11 +0000

What's true for the iPhone rings true for others.

Can you survive the 5 tectonic shifts to the business landscape?

Anna Clark — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:50 +0000

In this Q&A, the author of "The Upside of Down" shares how his concept of societal resilience can help companies prepare for change.

Adidas Group scores big with sustainability venture capital fund

Elizabeth Turnbull Henry — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:00:01 +0000

Footwear company's greenENERGY Fund invests in a portfolio of efficiency projects that target a strict 20 percent annual return on capital.

VERGE Boston: 'Welcoming our new robotic overlords'

Heather Clancy — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:55:41 +0000

While technology's productivity benefits may eliminate certain jobs, advances in mobility, analytics and robotics are inspiring a new age of efficiency and innovation.

VERGE Boston: How private sector innovation will ease urban congestion

Heather Clancy — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:30:31 +0000

Data analytics, mobile apps will be central to success car-sharing networks and other sustainable transportation alternatives.

Ford tests roadmap for smarter telemedicine

Heather Clancy — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:00:24 +0000

In India, advanced information technologies coupled with SUVs are rewriting the rules for sustainable rural health care.

How can I sell myself in a 30-second elevator pitch?

shannonhoude — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:00:52 +0000

Our resident career coach helps a freelance sustainability consultant improve his answer to the question: "What do you do?"

Public-private partnerships turn waste into cash

Natalie Hummel — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:00:24 +0000

Converting waste from one company into a feedstock stream for another can generate revenue while reducing virgin material and energy use.

VERGE Boston: How ARPA-E creates the future of energy

harrystevens — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:04:19 +0000

Cheryl Martin, deputy director of the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy talks energy innovation at the 2013 VERGE conference in Boston.

Mark Tercek in conversation with Joel Makower

Joel Makower — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:00:47 +0000

The CEO of The Nature Consevancy talks about his new book and the future of business and natural capital.

How a city can be more like a forest

Mark Tercek — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:00:07 +0000

An excerpt from "Nature's Fortune," a new book by Mark Tercek and Jonathan Adams.

Massive efficiency gains hidden in cellphone networks, says study

Thibault Worth — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:40 +0000

Technology and proposals developed by GreenTouch consortium members promise to cut energy use in communication networks by 90 percent.

Boston becomes latest city to order building energy benchmarking

Minot Frye — Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:27 +0000

Large commercial and residential buildings must report annual energy and water use, but aren't required to act on the results.

5 ways to make transparency a brand advantage

Mitch Baranowski — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:00:45 +0000

Top brands showcase the five ways to effectively craft branding messages about transparency.

ICYMI: Some good climate news, competition for home energy data & more

Matthew Wheeland — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:00:14 +0000

In this week's sustainability news roundup, we find big progress on climate policy, big commitments from a UK retailer and competition in the big home-energy market.

3 ways business can benefit from Scope 3 emissions reductions

Ryan Schuchard — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:46 +0000

New guidance from the GHG Protocol on value chain emissions marks an important milestone for companies looking to track the business benefits of emissions reductions.

Kaiser, Metro Health bet big on sustainability

Keith Sutter — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:30:57 +0000

Sustainability is steadily becoming strategically integrated into all departments at hospitals and health care systems.

Who's leading the corporate sustainability Twitterati?

Hugh Byrne — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:00:56 +0000

Just about every corporate sustainability pro is tweeting these days. We've done some analysis of who's actually getting their message across.

Patagonia's new VC fund to invest in trailblazing green firms

SustainableBusiness.com — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:30:59 +0000

The $20 million dollar fund will focus on companies that share its environmental values with a focus on clothing, food, water, energy, and waste.

How gamification can help your business play on sustainability's team

Paula Owen — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:38 +0000

Gamification can turn mundane tasks into adventures, give people motivation to get involved and show the possibility for success, all key elements for putting sustainability into action.

Big data means big savings for big buildings

Scott Jordan — Thu, 09 May 2013 12:00:08 +0000

Implementing a measurement and verification plan is essential to meet facility sustainability goals.

Nest Labs: Automating the demand side of the smart grid

Jamie Fine — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:30:46 +0000

Want proof that the smart-grid ecosystem is alive and well? Nest Labs' news that it has signed partnerships with some of the US's biggest utilities should suffice. But more innovation is still needed.