DuPont’s Six Ways to Achieve Zero Landfill Waste
The following outlines six best practices that enabled DuPont’s success in achieving zero landfill waste stream results
New Life for a 100-Year-Old Flour Mill
The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By: JM Hutch The Hayden Flour Mill currently stands derelict and deserted like a sentinel at the century-old [...]
Suppliers Lag Behind in Reducing Carbon Emissions
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which has been collecting GHG emissions data from companies for nearly a decade, recently released a report which revealed that there is a gap that exists between the carbon reduction performance of companies and that of their suppliers. The study, conducted in partnership with Accenture, was conducted with 50 CDP member organizations including L’Oréal, Philips and Walmart, and more than 1,800 of their suppliers. It found that while 43 percent of companies surveyed have achieved year-over-year reductions in their carbon emissions, only 28 percent of their suppliers have done so.
Lessons from a Colorful Map of NYC Energy Use in Buildings
A team of researchers at Columbia Engineering has launched an interactive online energy map that breaks down the patterns of power consumption in practically every building in all five boroughs of New York City. Though the map is based on estimates rather than actual metered data, it does provide an easy way to compare real-life [...]
This Year’s Super Bowl Will Be “Super Green”
For the past 18 years, the NFL has been trying to decrease the environmental footprint of the largest annual sporting event in the U.S. – the Super Bowl. This year, the NFL is trying to outdo itself yet again by making Super Bowl XLVI the greenest on record.
Driving the Next Industrial Revolution Through Efficiency
By Ryan Matley, Rocky Mountain Institute President Obama’s call in his State of the Union address to capitalize on “the strongest two-year period of manufacturing growth since the 1990s” by encouraging businesses to bring work back to the United States can be accelerated with energy efficiency innovation. While Obama urged Congress to take a series [...]
Sustainability in Retail: Not an Oxymoron
Not only has the retail industry recognized that sustainability is here to stay, many leaders within the industry have moved from looking at sustainability as a cost center to seeing it as an opportunity to reduce risk, improve relationships with customers and employees, and deliver better products.
Energy Conservation in the Gulf: It’s Imperative
Since the discovery of oil just over a century ago, the Middle East has experienced major economic growth from this bountiful resource under the ground. The world was a different place then to what it is now. Oil, it seemed, was the answer to all our prayers and for the most part it has been, and for that we are extremely grateful.
Why Distributed Power Generation is a Natural Step
Now that the world’s population has officially reached seven billion and with around half of this now living in urban areas, new and creative strategies in energy generation are definitely needed for the increasing number of us, and distributed renewable power generation presents a viable and importantly, sustainable solution.
Cisco Brings Smart Cities Within Reach
The concept of the smart city is one that holds a lot of promise and potential in terms of how computerized, networked public infrastructure might improve energy efficiency, resource management, and the overall quality of life in cities. Cisco created an interactive infographic showcasing its smart, connected City of the Future. The company also recently announced the addition of a whole new suite of technologies and services that are aimed at helping utilities modernize their grids.
RMI Weighs in on Forces Affecting the Solar Market
Jesse Morris, Ned Harvey and Dan Seif of Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) held an online chat session on the Forces Affecting the Solar Market last week that was chock full of useful information. The session was held in a Q&A format.
10 Green Building Predictions for 2012
These trends, which range from a boom in certified multi-family construction to the advent of consumer friendly home energy technology, were identified by us based on discussions with a broad range of audiences over the latter part of 2011.
Dupont Building Innovations Achieves Zero Landfill Status
Dupont Building Innovations, Dupont’s building unit, achieved zero landfill status, the company announced on January 11, 2012. The company managed to send nothing to landfills by reducing, reusing and recycling manufacturing byproducts and waste at its manufacturing sites globally. Through its Drive to Zero landfill program, which began three years ago, the company reduced its [...]
UPS Earns LEED Gold Status for Corporate Offices in Atlanta
Despite UPS headquarters being 20 years old, the company just announced that it has become the first in the package delivery and logistics industry to gain LEED Gold Certification from the US Green Building Council. UPS submitted the building for review in May 2011 (shortly after the appointment of Chief Sustainability Officer Scott Wicker) and [...]
Chicago Plans Park 10 Times Bigger than Manhattan
The city of Chicago recently made headlines by becoming one of the most bike-friendly places as well as for promoting its recycling services. Now it aims to build the biggest urban park – this is remarkable because the city already has several green spaces. The new project is backed by the state and is said [...]
What a Billion-Dollar LEED Gold Project Looks Like
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was aiming for high marks in sustainability when it designed some elaborate green features into the Pentagon’s new $1 billion Department of Defense Office Complex in Virginia, and the good folks at the U.S. Green Building Council just rewarded it with LEED Gold certification earlier this month. Regular readers [...]
Campus Energy Wars: Effective Marketing Campaigns to Change Behavior
Building occupant behavior is the holy grail of energy efficiency. Environmental psychologist Doug McKenzie-Mohr describes strategies for crafting behavior change marketing campaigns. Several college campuses have successfully implemented similar campaigns to induce their students to more efficient behavior.
Pushing Energy-Efficiency Retrofits Closer to the Tipping Point
President Obama’s call for $4 billion worth of deep retrofit work resulting in energy-efficient buildings, half in the private sector, is a step in the right direction. Luckily, we’re not starting from scratch, and there’s already good headway in making existing buildings more efficient in both the public and private sectors, with clear and measurable benefits to our economy and job creation.
Draft Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) Chapters Now Available
The first four chapters of the Sustainable Land Development Code (SLDC) were released to the Santa Fe, NM Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and the public at the December 13, 2011 BCC Meeting. The SLDC will implement the goals, policies, and strategies of the adopted Sustainable Growth Management Plan (SGMP), which was approved in November [...]
Green Building in the Silicon Valley
BY SARAH BACKHOUSE Future360 travels to the Silicon Valley to experience bleeding edge green building technologies. Lunera, Enlighted, Soladigm and Cypress Enviro Systems promise to transform lighting, lighting controls and windows and turn analog buildings into digital ones.
Windows of the Future: Carbon Nanotubes and On-Site Energy Generation
In the building industry, designers and builders must balance a client’s desire for expansive outdoor views with the need to minimize solar heat gain and loss. Often, these desires are not well balanced and solar heat is allowed to penetrate through windowpanes and into a space.
Nature + Humans = A Tormented Love Affair
The following post is part of the course work for “Live Exchange” the foundational course on communication for The MBA Design Strategy Program at California College of the Arts. The rest of the posts are presented here. By: Sarah Nuernberger “The Cartesian dichotomy or paradigm has reinforced other ancient western cultural expressions of nature domination [...]
Don’t Know Where to Start? Check Out the Sustainable Energy Guide
Last week we released Sustainable Industries’ new microsite, the 2012 Sustainable Energy Guide. The guide contains an overview of everything an Operations or Facilities Manager needs to get started on the road to sustainability. We get a lot of questions about transitioning to renewable energy and purchasing carbon offsets and you’ll find updated information about [...]
Wendell Pierce Rebuilds Green in New Orleans
By: Sarah Backhouse Future360 travels to New Orleans, Louisiana to meet actor and star of Treme, Wendell Pierce. Pierce is on a mission to rebuild Pontchartrain Park using renewable energy and clean technology.
North Carolina Takes Reins For Green Future
The sustainability movement is making waves in North Carolina, at least that’s the impression one might have gotten from the budding enthusiasm at yesterday’s GreenNC: Building for a Sustainable Future in Durham, North Carolina. Mayor Bill Bell opened up the conference by bragging about his Bull City, which has become a hub for social and [...]
$4 Billion for Energy Efficient Buildings and Green Jobs
The list of President Obama’s We Can’t Wait initiatives now includes a major new investment program for upgrading the energy efficiency of buildings. Announced last week, the program consists of $4 billion worth of public and private funding that will create thousands of new green jobs related to retrofitting office buildings, industrial plants, government facilities, [...]
Miami: Greener than You Think
The sparse city center forever immortalized in the 1980s by Miami Vice is now a mega-metropolis densely populated by condos and skyscrapers—monolithic structures of steel, concrete, and glass glistening off the waters of Biscayne Bay under the warm Florida sun. But there are plans underway to green this metropolis.
Charlotte to Install First Airport Worm Composting System
While it seems logical that many restaurants have already begun to reap the benefits of installing onsite worm composting operations, airports may not be the first place people would think of to have such systems in place. The Charlotte Douglas International Airport will change that fact when they open a $1.1 million recycling center in [...]
U.S. Green Building Council Launches New LEED Apps
The U.S. Green Building Council has just launched a new app service that should help make it easier for builders to get the most bang out of their LEED buck. The new service, called the App Lab, is a catalog of applications created by third parties that are integrated with LEED data. App Lab is [...]
Current Engagements
Where We’re Going
Have your event listed here.
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.
Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.
NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.
Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!
SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.
SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.
Have your event listed here.
Webinar: Feb 17Greening Stonyfield Farm: As a consultant with Stonyfield Farm for the past 12 years, Switzer Fellow Tim Greiner will discuss efforts to broaden and deepen sustainability within the company. He will discuss the company's efforts to track its environmental impacts, barriers the company had to overcome.Webinar: Feb 29Product Scorecards for Sustainability: Product scorecards that detail and evaluate environmental and sustainability aspects of products are increasingly adopted by leading companies. This webinar covers the best practices in this area and a case study by Seventh Generation.NY: Mar 19-20Wall Street Green: The longest running and most comprehensive environmental market event in the industry. The Wall Street Green Summit covers cutting edge content, industry developments and features the practitioners and the leaders of tomorrow.Bay Area: Mar 22-23GRI Certified Training: Demand for sustainability experts is growing rapidly as companies look for proven professionals. For companies, GRI trained employees mean faster implementations and better use of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework. Join our partner ISOS group for this two day session. Early bird discounts apply!SF: Mar 26-28Cleantech Forum San Francisco: The 2012 Cleantech Forum San Francisco will mark the 10th anniversary of Cleantech Forums, the annual gathering of the global clean technology innovation community. Our theme this year is “The Power of Global Partnerships,” an exploration of how strategic relationships are playing an ever more important role in the future of clean technology. For a $300 Discount use code "VIPofTriplePundit " More Info.SF: April 10-12 Navigating the American Carbon World: The must-attend event for professionals in the carbon landscape. Over the past decade, NACW has consistently provided informative content, thoughtful discussions and outstanding opportunities for collaboration.Have your event listed here.
Partners
Recent Comments