Laura L. Barnes: Corporate environmental responsibility

[Corporate environmental responsibility] The 100 "Most Sustainable Companies," 2006 Edition

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:06:43 GMT

The 2006 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations, the second annual such rankings, has just been released at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland. Despite its flaws, it's probably the best indicator of which large companies around the world are leading the race to the top. [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] Timberland Reveals Its "Nutritional" Footprint

Fri, 03 Feb 2006 16:03:59 GMT

Timberland, the often-maverick maker of footwear and apparel, last week unveiled a self-described "nutritional label" it plans to put on all of its shoeboxes in the coming year. It's the first time a footwear or apparel company has sought to label its products with information on their environmental and community impacts. It's a step in the right direction -- though it raises more questions than it answers. [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] Web 2.0 and the New Corporate Watchdogging

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 18:06:36 GMT

A new suite of Internet tools is allowing activists to better connect the dots about companies' social and environmental promises and performance. And that could put new juice into the movement aimed at getting companies to say what they do, and do what they say. [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] Corporate Responsibility -- The Connected World in 2006

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 17:55:08 GMT

Government policy, NGO engagement, innovation, transparency, and increased accountability will be the big themes for the coming year, say authors Tobias Webb and Paul Hohnen. [GreenBiz.com]

[Solar energy] Patagonia Completes Solar Power Carport

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 17:41:29 GMT

The Patagonia clothing company, which has a history of socially and environmentally conscious actions, recently completed the installation of a large solar photovoltaic carport project at its Ventura, California headquarters. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

[Renewable energy] Air Force and Whole Foods Top EPA's List of Renewable Energy Users

Fri, 27 Jan 2006 16:05:28 GMT

(Washington, D.C.-January 25, 2006) The 2006 Green Power Top 25 list, released today, includes a diverse set of U.S. companies, organizations and government institutions that have voluntarily bought the most renewable energy and are part of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Green Power Partnership. EPA also announced its Green Power Partners are now purchasing more than 4 million megawatt hours of renewable energy, an increase of nearly 100 percent since the end of 2004.

The 2006 Top 25 green power purchasers are buying enough energy to power more than 300,000 homes a year, which is also comparable to removing the emissions of nearly 400,000 cars from the road annually. More than half of the Top 25 EPA green power purchasers are comprised of U.S. corporations, a number that continues to increase every year.

"EPA's partners continue to meet President Bush's call to diversify our nation's energy supply by promoting alternative and renewable energy sources," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "These leaders in environmental stewardship are making the voluntary decisions to switch to green power - helping to decrease our nation's overall dependence on foreign sources of power."

The U.S. Air Force once again leads the green power Top 25 list, purchasing more than 1 million MWh annually for Air Force bases across the country. The Air Force has held the No. 1 spot since the Top 25 list started in September 2004. Whole Foods Market surpassed both Safeway, Inc., and Johnson & Johnson to lead all corporate purchasers after increasing their purchase to more than 450 thousand MWh annually of renewable energy. EPA and the U.S. Department of Energy follow the U.S. Air Force in purchase size for government institutions in the Top 25.

Green power is electricity generated from environmentally-preferable renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, and low-impact biomass and hydro resources. Green power accounts for nearly two percent of America's electricity supply, but voluntary purchasing of renewable energy is accelerating renewable energy development.

The complete list of Top 25 EPA Green Power Partners is as follows, listed in order of purchase size:

1.         U.S. Air Force
2.         Whole Foods Market
3.         U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
4.         Johnson & Johnson
5.         U.S Department of Energy
6.         Starbucks
7.         The World Bank
8.         Safeway, Inc.
9.         U.S. General Services Administration (Region 2)
10.        HSBC North America
11.        City of Sand Diego, Calif.
12.        New Jersey Consolidated Energy Savings Program
13.        Advanced Micro Devices/Austin, Texas Facilities
14.        WhiteWave Foods
15.        Staples
16.        Austin (Texas) Independent School District
17.        Mohawk Fine Papers, Inc.
18.        The Tower Companies
19.        FedEx Kinko's
20.        U.S. Amry/Fort Carson
21.        University of Pennsylvania
22.        Montgomery County, Md.
23.        Hyatt Regency/Reunion & DFW Airport Hotels
24.        Western Washington University
25.        Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary EPA program that seeks to increase the use of green power among leading U.S. organizations. Partners in the program switch to green power for a portion of their electricity needs in return for EPA technical assistance and recognition. The Green Power Partnership currently has more than 600 Partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities.

EPA updates the list of green power purchasers quarterly. For more information on green power, visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

[Environmental policy] Study: United States Ranks 28th In Environmental Performance

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:41:46 GMT

New Zealand ranks first in the world in environmental performance, according to the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index (EPI) produced by a team of environmental experts at the environment school at Yale University and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The study is available on the web at http://www.yale.edu/epi. [Source: Environmental Protection E-News]

[Grants] The Alcan Prize for Sustainability

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 18:32:27 GMT

Aluminum and packaging company Alcan, Inc. and the International Business Leaders Forum have announced the Call for Entries for the 2006 $1 million Alcan Prize for Sustainability.

The Alcan Prize is open to all not-for-profit, nongovernmental, and civil-society organizations based anywhere in the world that are working to advance the goals of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. The Alcan Prize was created to recognize the not-for-profit sector for its contributions to global sustainability, and to underline the belief that all sectors of society must work together to achieve sustainable development.

Last year's Alcan Prize winner was the Aga Khan Planning and Building Services Pakistan. In addition, the program's Adjudication Panel named five other NGOs as recipients of grants worth $15,000 each; those grants allow a suitably qualified senior member of staff to participate in the one-year, part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Cross Sector Partnership accredited by the University of Cambridge (http://www.cpi.cam.ac.uk/pccp/).

[Schools] Earn a Degree to Implement Renewable Energy

Fri, 20 Jan 2006 17:29:12 GMT

A new onsite graduate program from the New College of California in the Bay Area is offering an accredited Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in Sustainable Enterprise. Dubbed the "Green MBA," its curriculum comprises basic business fundamentals that provide essential general business skills, courses that focus on sustainability and entrepreneurship, and a core leadership series. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

[Biofuels] VW, Shell and Iogen to Study Producing Cellulose Ethanol in Germany

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:21:30 GMT

Volkswagen (VW), Shell and Iogen signed a letter of intent at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2006 recently held in Detroit, Michigan, to assess the economic feasibility of producing cellulose ethanol in Germany. Produced by Iogen, this biofuel can be used in today's cars, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 90 percent. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

[Wind power] Whole Foods Market Buys 100% into Wind Power

Fri, 13 Jan 2006 16:16:10 GMT

What Whole Foods Market calls the "largest wind energy credit purchase in the history of the United States and Canada" may well be true, with 100 percent of the company's electricity used in all of its stores, facilities, bake houses, distribution centers, regional offices and national headquarters in the U.S. and Canada to be supplied by the purchase of wind energy credits. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

[Climate change] Work Hard They Will: The New Dynamics of Climate Change

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 21:42:24 GMT

U.S. efforts on climate change are coming strictly from the bottom up. By Michael S. Ashford with Al Jubitz [Source: ClimateBiz.com]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum Makes a Difference

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 21:26:46 GMT

For more than 20 years, the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum (SBF), an initiative of the West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC), has been bringing together regional furniture and textile manufacturers, architects, contractors and other businesses to discuss business in relationship to the environment.

The history of the SBF marks a series of paradigmatic shifts in the thinking of the group. For example, their first reaction to antipollution regulations was defensive: they would at best comply with the law but do little else. In the mid-1990s, they moved to the intermediate posture of recycling materials, which was not required by law but helped appease environmentalists. But, in scarcely a decade, the consensus has moved toward a wholehearted embrace of renewable resources and energy conservation as a way of replenishing nature and maximizing profits.

The SBF enables companies to share information about waste reduction, renewable materials, energy conservation and "best practices" to help save the environment during the quotidian activity of making money. The most compelling aspect of the forum is the willingness of its participants' companies, often in direct competition with one another, to collaborate, sometimes to the point of treating proprietary information as a common resource.

SBFs influence doesn't stop on the shores of Lake Michigan. Members of the forum are increasingly sought out by manufacturers in other part of the country (including the automakers of southeast Michigan), to create similar platforms for sustainable practices. [Source: Metropolis, Dec 05, p 70, by Stephen Zacks via GreenClips.com]

[Green lifestyle] Thinking green while staying chic

Thu, 29 Dec 2005 18:28:06 GMT

Patagonia, the granddaddy of environmentally conscious clothing, is getting more competition as the market for organic and other eco-conscious clothing grows. [Environmental Health News]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] Microsoft, Other Major Companies Complete Phase-Out of PVC Plastic

Fri, 09 Dec 2005 22:04:19 GMT

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2005 - Microsoft, along with Kaiser Permanente, Crabtree and Evelyn, and others, have joined the fast-growing ranks of major corporations demonstrating concern about the environmental health impacts of their products or packaging by phasing out PVC plastic (polyvinyl chloride or vinyl). [GreenBiz.com]

[Climate change] DuPont Tops BusinessWeek Ranking of 'The Top Green Companies'

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 15:22:36 GMT

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2005 - The magazine's first-ever list ranks companies who have taken action to fight climate change. [GreenBiz.com]

[Global reporting initiative] Report Examines Companies' Success in Applying GRI Economic Performance Indicators

Tue, 06 Dec 2005 15:01:33 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 6, 2005 - Business for Social Responsibility has released a new report that reviews how well the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Economic Performance Indicators have been applied by 33 companies, including GE, McDonald's, Novo Nordisk, Shell, Starbucks, and Toyota. [GreenBiz.com]

[Climate change] Institutional Investors to Insurance Industry: Act Now on Climate Change

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:07:21 GMT

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2005 - A coalition of 20 leading U.S. investors urged 30 of the largest publicly-held insurance companies in North America to disclose their financial exposure from climate change and steps they are taking to reduce those financial impacts. [GreenBiz.com]

[Environmental awards] Wal-Mart Wins 2005 Waste News Environmental Award

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:05:34 GMT

AKRON, Ohio, Dec. 5, 2005 - The magazine's editorial staff considered more than 50 nominations and some internally identified companies, before choosing Wal-Mart for its 2005 Environmental Award. [GreenBiz.com]

[Hospitality industry] Ultimate Relaxation -- Without the Environmental Strain

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 22:04:22 GMT

Reporter Eriko Saijo profiles an ecologically sensitive full-service resort with some ambitious goals for waste reduction, renewable energy use, and environmentally sensitive management. [GreenBiz.com]

[Renewable energy] Corporate Green Power Effort Expands to Europe

Mon, 05 Dec 2005 17:41:25 GMT

Some of the largest companies in the world this week announced they have increased their purchases of renewable energy. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and members of its Green Power Market Development Group announced 185 new MW of renewable energy purchases and projects, bringing the total number of MW under contract to 360 -- the average size of a coal-fired power plant. [Source: RenewableEnergyAccess.com]

[Sustainable design] Designing for the Environment Turns Intel Fabs Green

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 23:20:47 GMT

How does a manufacturer push technological boundaries without causing environmental problems? For Intel, it all comes down to design. By John Harland and Tim Mohin [GreenBiz.com]

[Green meetings] The Greening of Meetings

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 16:07:31 GMT

My latest monthly "Toiling Point" column on Grist is up. The focus this month is on how to create more environmentally responsible meetings and events. What started years ago as a handful of small and largely symbolic practices -- printing on recycled paper and recycling name badges, for example -- has taken a far more substantive turn. [Joel Makower: Two Steps Forward]

[Green lifestyle] Things of Desire

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 22:15:05 GMT

via Grist Magazine:

Until recently, the life of an eco-manufacturer hasn't been easy: "Here's this product we made! It looks a little funny, but it's good for the planet! And it -- hey, come back!" But with prominent companies jumping on the green bandwagon and technologies improving, sustainability is getting, dare we say it, hot. (Well, warmish anyhow.) This means all kinds of opportunities for growth, says a Vancouver-based ad agency founder -- if only the industry can figure out how to sex it up a notch. New in Soapbox: Things of Desire [Gristmill]

[Corporate environmental responsibility] Chicago: Companies Asked to Help City's Clean Water Efforts

Wed, 30 Nov 2005 22:09:26 GMT

Source: Chicago Sun-Times, 11/29/05.

Companies that agree to cough up $800 a month for the privilege would have their names and logos attached to one of 200 signs promoting clean water, under a mayoral plan advanced Monday amid concern about "sign pollution" in Chicago. [Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) News]