Bicycling has seen an unprecedented rise in popularity, support, and accessibility these days, worldwide. To be sure part of this can be credited to the faltering global economy. In the US, there’s also been a willingness on the part of both federal and state government (questionably motivated Republican threats aside) to make an investment in [...]

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A panel at the 2011 Net Impact Conference in Portland, OR featured professionals from the local beverage industry discussing ways they approach sustainability.

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As a blogger and social media focused PR person for numerous companies, I spend a lot of my time swimming in the tweets, statuses, shares, +1s and thumbs. I’ve a low tolerance for social media used poorly. There are plenty of examples out there, and it’s clear that a lot of companies are simply trying [...]

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Boyd Cohen, Ph.D., CO2 IMPACT Cities are now home to a majority of the world’s population and are on the front line in the battle against climate change.  While action at the federal level in the U.S. has been painfully slow, cities in the U.S. are starting to lead by example at a local level. [...]

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This post is part of a blogging series by economics students at the Presidio Graduate School’s MBA program. You can follow along here. By Izabel Loinaz As it has been said, every challenge offers an opportunity.  This easily can be said for the professional sports industry in the US. The Challenge: Annually, millions of swag [...]

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Many of you reading this have a glass of water sitting nearby. Water is typically seen either neutrally, something that just comes out of your tap, or contentiously, a wasteful carbon intensive purchase whose plastic containers generate huge amounts of waste annually. What if your water purchase was actually beneficial to many people, and its [...]

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How do you thrive as a newer, bamboo focused business in a tough economy, one that’s halved the market in recent years, and actually grow by 40% in that same time? Be everything a customer could need. Do more than people in your category are known for. Operate in a way that others may disagree [...]

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You hear so much about green cars these days, from the ubiquitous Prius to the rarified Tesla. But what if you want to take matters in your own hands, but aren’t, shall we say, mechanically inclined? Green Drop Garage in Portland, Oregon is an unusual amalgamation of things, something that should be replicated widely, if [...]

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Mention solar, and advocates of this renewable energy source salivate at the thought of solar panel farms spreading across California’s Central Valley, farther south in the Mojave, and in wide open spaces in Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.  Solar companies have found a hub in Pasadena, and the industry performs decently in the Southland as [...]

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If you’ve done any digging into the green building realm, whether it’s as a homeowner, contractor, or just a design fan, it’s a cluttered field that can start to look all the same. But then there are certain companies that get your attention. Portland, Oregon based Eleek does that for me. Beyond being gorgeously designed, [...]

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Fair trade has come a long way in a short time, the most visible face of it being coffee. No longer the provence of niche coffee shops, Wal-Mart, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonalds all offer Fair Trade options. So it was interesting when I heard from Martin Barrett of Portland Roasting that they now go beyond [...]

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Recycling. It’s everywhere these days, having gone far beyond the usual suspects and showing up in the most mainstream of retailers. Upcycling is catching on thanks to the company unafraid to embrace big brands and big boxes, TerraCycle. But there’s a problem, as Portland’s Institute for Material Sustainability points out: Most of what we call [...]

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Increasingly, private companies are looking for ways to reduce their parking expenses and mitigate clean-air compliance problems by offering employees cheap or even free bikes. Now, once committed motorists are riding their bikes to work at an increasing rate. On September 30, the US Census Bureau released the latest figures on who is biking to [...]

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The green networking space is getting crowded. Countless online resources are available where green-minded professionals can connect and interact. But you know that a profession has truly arrived when bona fide professional associations arise to support and promote it. Several niche organizations have sprung up to serve professionals in specific areas like CSR or supply [...]

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With remakably little difficulty or cost, the city of Portland, Oregon, has succeeded in lowering its greenhouse gas emissions essentially to the level in 1990. While other cities have squabled about the costs of such an endeavor, or ignored it altogether, Portland has laid out a series of investments and infrastructure projects that have made [...]

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