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 , [...]

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I believe I was born to help protect the environment. My first vivid memory of the awe-inspiring power of nature came when, as a young teenager, I traveled with my family to the remote wilderness of Colorado for a pack trip deep into the Rocky Mountains. I remember feeling humbled by the Earth’s bounty and [...]

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Solar power satellites are the yin to the yang of Ronald Reagan’s 1980s Star Wars fantasy, and almost as old. Scientists for decades have explored the potential of using space-based solar cells to beam power to the Earth. It’s an idea with very long legs, as they say, but now the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [...]

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Target Corporation, one of the largest general merchandise store chains in the U.S., focused on making its stores more energy efficient in 1989 when it began using an energy management system (EMS) to conserve energy. The system at the company’s headquarters allows for company-wide energy policies to be implemented. In the early 1990s, Target began [...]

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We’ve all heard the good news: Improving efficiencies at your data center is a sure-fire way to cut energy costs and reduce GHG emissions. But, let’s face it. The prospect of greening a data center can seem overwhelming. After all, data centers are complicated, unwieldy and high-tech. Even the most intrepid sustainability manager may take [...]

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SC Johnson, maker of a variety of household products that include Glade, Drano and Scrubbing Bubbles, says in its latest sustainability report that it has reduced greenhouse gas emissions 27 percent at its worldwide factories over the last eight years. In the U.S., the Racine, WI, company reported a 17 percent reduction in GHG emissions [...]

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Xerox wants to be carbon-neutral … and that’s not all. The company also wants to: Eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals to achieve a zero toxic footprint. Develop a “zero waste to landfill” goal for its company-wide operations. Insure that 100 percent of its paper, by volume, meets stringent requirements for a sustainable paper cycle. [...]

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It’s a Consumer Reports or CNET type of comparison shopping service for the eco-conscious crowd. Eco-rate is the brainchild and a labor of environmental love and activism founded by a Seattle couple, Brycelaine Self and Colby Self. “The Eco-rate idea is to allow people to compare common household products, based not only on their green [...]

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Energy efficiency. It’s the cheapest, fastest, and cleanest energy resource available to your business today. Sure, rooftop solar panels and on-site wind turbines may seem like the epitome of ultra-green chic right now. But, whatever energy efficiency lacks in “glitz,” it more than makes up for in bottom-line benefits. It’s simple: reducing your company’s energy [...]

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PACE is a program where a city borrows money to lend to property owners for investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Loaned funds are paid back over 20 years through property tax payments. The program started in California and through the efforts of Hidary and the PaceNOW coalition it is now allowed in 15 states.

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In these parlous economic and perilous environmental times a firm focus on sustainable government practices sounds like a good exercise that could also serve as a valuable template for action outside of the government. It’s also impossible to imagine something this sweeping coming from the previous administration, another reason why President Obama’s recent Executive Order [...]

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A group of U.S. HVAC (heating, venting and air conditioning) manufacturers signed a deal Tuesday designed to improve regional efficiency standards and building codes throughout the country. The proposed standards are also aimed at balancing the desire for greater state and regional flexibility with the need for a uniform HVAC marketplace, and stabilizing the HVAC [...]

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Which comes first, the smart grid or smart-energy appliances, or does it matter? Whirlpool Corporation says it will produce 1 million smart-energy-grid compatible dryers by the end of 2011, continuing the company’s “legacy of innovation and leadership.” One niggling wrinkle about the announcement is whether the Benton Harbor, MI company would take this step on [...]

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The department store chain Kohl’s is being recognized for its environmental efforts. In Newsweek’s Green Rankings it ranked 18th overall, out of 500 companies. In addition to the overall ranking, Newsweek ranked Kohl’s number one among retailers for having the biggest solar power program of any retailer in the world, and pursuing green building certification. [...]

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As a sign of growing corporate support to climate change legislation, a string of companies have left the chamber in recent weeks.  Exelon, one of the largest utilities in the US and the third to leave the Chamber, made the announcement Monday. The Chicago-based company sells electricity and gas in four states and is the [...]

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Intelligent transport seems more like an oxymoron than a green transportation initiative, especially in the U.S., but with impetus from IBM there are positive results to report on two fronts: city congestion and pollution. The controversial debate about using taxes and fees to control wasteful driving habits while helping the environment could enter a new [...]

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The silver lining of this economic crisis is the hope that a new, green economy will emerge. A revitalized mindset focused on open source, social innovation, clean tech and green jobs marked by shifts towards cleaner transportation, energy independence and a renewed focus on sustainability and energy efficiency. Sandra Kwak, like many Americans and businesses, [...]

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Alcohol service may seem like the least likely industry to be taking up the challenge to go green, but increasingly, bars are seeing good return on investment for a variety of sustainability initiatives.  Getting bars to understand the win-win involved in waterless urinals, energy efficient lighting and sound systems, organic beer and wine, and going [...]

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Leave it to the Scots to find ways to get energy out of whiskey. If you like your whiskey neat or even if you don’t this is pretty neat — Helius Energy Plc and the Combination of Rothes Distillers (CoRD) formed a joint venture known as Helius CoRDe, which will build and operate a biomass [...]

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The US government is in the process of forming a new program designed to boost struggling home appliance manufacturers and retailers (and the environment) by spurring cautious consumers to buy energy efficient models. The program will reward consumers who buy qualifying Energy Star models of appliances (refrigerators, washing machines, etc…), hopefully increasing sales while reducing [...]

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UPDATE: Unilever has denied the claim that it’s developing a room temperature ice cream. Given all the buzz this story has created, it seems like a good idea for the next R&D cycle! Chances are you’re an ice cream fan. Maybe you even consider yourself the real emperor of ice cream or at least an [...]

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If lighting is the jewelry of a piece of architecture, the U.S. Capitol may soon be dressing to impress – if Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has her way. Pelosi is seeking to illuminate the Capitol dome with energy efficient lighting, making it a literal, physical example of environmental responsibility.

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Photo Credit: Metropolis Magazine and Envision LEED-Certified “green buildings” consume less energy, require fewer resources to build, and generate less waste than conventional buildings.  Oh, and they have higher market value.  And did I mention their occupants are happier, healthier, and sometimes even smarter? That’s not some hippie propaganda.  Those are all findings from well-documented [...]

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In recent years, both business and individuals have gotten increasingly clear that it’s necessary to reduce our energy consumption, both for the emissions it produces and the increasingly limited sources of it. Or have they? For most people, aside from their monthly energy bill, there’s little connection to the rest of the world when it [...]

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During a press conference last week, Yahoo’s co-founder David Filo announced plans to build energy efficient data centers in New York. Standing by his side was New York Governor David Patterson and Senator Chuck Schumer. Filo also announced Yahoo would not be investing in carbon offsets anymore. According to a blog post by Filo, data [...]

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Just when you thought the stairs were your only option for arriving sustainably to your office chair, it’s time to think again. A Spanish company, MP Ascensores, has released its preliminary plans for the MP-E3 elevator that will operate using an integrated approach to green technology. These ecological elevators will bring a new element to [...]

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Earth Day happens for the 40th time today. And some aren’t too pleased with how big, commercial, and opportunist it’s gotten. That it’s become like going to church on Easter, a once a year empty gesture without lasting ramifications or lifestyle changing. But then along comes a company like Energy Circle, who are doing something [...]

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“The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Invent It” This iconic quote from Alan Kay, the computer science pioneer, provided an appropriate context for a recent presentation given by Dan Reicher, Google’s Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives. Mr. Reicher addressed a full auditorium at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) describing Google.org’s [...]

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Vampire energy loss describes the considerable amount of energy sucked up by computers, home electronics and appliances that go into sleep or standby mode when you’re not using them. In the home, these Vampires represent between 5 and 8 percent of a single family home’s total electricity use per year, according to the Department of [...]

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Johnson Controls is a major (but little talked-about) manufacturer of, among other things, heating and cooling systems for buildings. Now, however, the company is starting to really showcase its sustainability chops and is leading by example: it recently flipped the switch on a 1,500-panel solar energy system at its headquarters in Glendale, Wisconsin. This is [...]

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