Top Stories
Americans Could Reduce Emissions 15% Through
Simple Actions.—reliability high.
"Two new studies highlight the disparity between what the public can
do, and wants to do, to address energy issues and carbon emissions
resulting from lifestyles. An analysis released by the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC) finds that Americans can reduce U.S.
carbon pollution by 15%--or one billion tons of global warming
pollution--through collective personal actions that require little to
no cost. Suggested behavioral changes in the study include: reducing
unwanted catalog subscriptions, decreasing vehicle idling, using a
programmable thermostat, replacing seven lightbulbs with CFLs, setting
computers to hibernate mode, shutting off unused lights, and eating
poultry in place of red meat two days per week. All of the
recommendations offered in the study are available to be adopted
immediately, at little or no cost, and will reduce not only emissions,
but home energy, transportation and food costs as well." More about
consumer attitudes toward energy conservation. Story at Sustainable
Business News. Summary of Garrison Institute program here.
Green procurement set to become the norm.—reliability
high.
"Suppliers to the public and private sector will see their
competitiveness diminish over the next few years if they fail to
provide customers with information on their carbon footprint and
evidence that they are improving their environmental sustainability.
That is the stark warning from a group of procurement experts speaking
at a roundtable event hosted yesterday by the Carbon Trust Standard,
who predicted that the number of organisations adopting demanding
sustainable procurement criteria will only increase. The trend is
particularly apparent within the public sector, where the launch 18
months ago of a Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement within
the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has led to an overhaul of
government procurement policies." From BusinessGreen.
Green Procurement Can Deliver Significant
Business Benefits.—reliability medium.
"Results of studies presented by SMI and BrainNet showed that green
procurement is not only a driver for a sustainable transformation of
processes in many companies, but a factor with a direct and positive
impact on the success of a company. ... One study by SMI analyzed
procurement managers' 'willingness to pay' to avoid corruption and
ensure social and ecological sustainability. The results revealed that
one of the most important drivers of sustainability in procurement is
not training, but a functioning system of sanctions where sustainable
procurement is rewarded and non-sustainable procurement is penalized."
More highlights of the studies and of conference. See 2Sustain.
PDF
of summary.
Companies,
Industries, Markets and Supply Chains
Chevron To Build 3.7-MW Solar Project.—reliability
high.
"Chevron Energy Solutions and East Side Union High School District in
San José, California have announced the start of construction on a
3.7-megawatt (MW) solar project that is expected to provide more than
US $1.5 million in budget relief to the district's general fund in the
first year and $7.6 million over five years. It is anticipated that the
project will reduce the district's electric utility costs by 30 percent
and deliver $36 million in savings over the life of the project.
Chevron Energy Solutions will design, build, operate, maintain, measure
and guarantee the solar energy system’s performance for the district."
Story at Renewable
Energy World. [Flat roof = make
money.]
P&G Launches U.S. Campaign to Highlight
'Future Friendly' Products.—reliability high.
"Future Friendly, which has been in place in the United Kingdom and
Canada since 2007, is a multi-brand and multi-platform effort to raise
awareness about greener products and greener practices. In addition to
featuring the Future Friendly logo on the packages, P&G is also
working to educate its customers on how best to reduce the impact of
their daily lives." "Research has found that the vast majority of the
resources used by consumer products happens not in manufacturing,
shipping or at their end of life, but in how they're used at home."
"Procter & Gambel also today released the results of a survey
conducted with Ipsos Public Affairs documenting the state of the green
marketplace. Among the findings of the study: Nearly three in four (74
percent) report they would switch to another brand if it helped them
conserve resources without having to pay more and a similar amount (69
percent) report they would recommend the product to others." Other
highlights. See story at GreenBiz.
Mislabeled Plastic Bottles Vex PET Recyclers.—reliability
high.
"A preponderance of bottles falsely labeled as PET or PET-compatible
is causing problems for recycling companies, reports PlasticsNews.
David Cornell, technical director for APR, said it becomes problematic
when too many copolymers, which increase melt strength and enhance
processability, are added to the mix. In that case, the 'resulting
polyester no longer behaves like PET bottle polymer and may not process
well together,' he told Plastics News." From Environmental
Leader. [And
you thought your supply chain was
tough to manage. Recyclers have the toughest supply chains of all?]
[Crossposted from HaraBara.com courtesy of HaraBara, Inc. Copyright © 2010 HaraBara, Inc.]
