Greenhouse gas emissions and data collection
August 11, 2008
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is an independent not-for-profit organization which seeks information on the business risks and opportunities presented by climate change and greenhouse gas emissions data from the world’s largest companies:
The CDP teamed up with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI) to offer a wealth of information to help corporations and also local cities gather accurate date on greenhouse gas emissions for reporting purposes. They have over 3,000 voluntary corporate entries in their databases already.
Get more information or download reports from their website.
Green business in San Francisco
July 2, 2008
Is ypur business in San Francisco Green? Looking for green businesses to buy from in San Francisco? Check out the San Francisco Business Program’s website.
They offer a number of ways to green your business, link to places to shop green in San Francisco, and post events and meetings related to greening not only your business but your life.
Green marketing
June 6, 2008
If you really want your business to be green, don’t leave out the marketing and partnerships. Look for marketing companies that can help you reach new partners who think like you do. Look for progressive companies who promote a positive attitude towards the environment and the world at large.We took a survey of marketing companies that can help you make green a part of your marketing plan. Ask your current marketing agency what their thoughts are on green. You might be surprised to find that they’ve been thinking a lot about it but think their clients might not yet be ready to talk about it. Let them know that’s a bad assumption and encourage them to get green.
Here’s a couple to think about.
Dwell Creative "Dwell Creative promotes progressive brands and causes that affirm positive environmental, natural and cultural character."
Featured in the New York Times and The Washington Post, this agency has lots to say about green marketing. Keep an eye on their blog too. These guys don’t pull their punches.
J. Ottman Consulting Jacquelyn Ottman is a voice for green marketing. NPR, Treehugger.com and the New York times have reached out to her for her knowledge about green products and marketing, and she’s written a 
book on green marketing.
Her client list includes several Fortune 500 companies, and her own company has made a serious commitment to be as green as possible, from ZipCar rentals to Free Trade tea in the office.
Do you know of a green marketing company? Got a green marketing story to tell? Tell us in the comments section or email us.
Lose the junk mail
May 12, 2008
Are you just plain tired of the pile of catalogs you get delivered to your door every day? Green Dimes is a service that can help you get off the mailing lists and stop the paper spam. There are three levels of service.
Free
Gives you information for DIY removal from junk mail lists – including access to their catalog screener so you can contact the catalog publishers directly. Download-able form letters to request removal from mailing lists.
$20- Premium
The same opt out information as the free account, but with automatic removal from many junk mail lists and quarterly reporting of list removals. Green Dimes will plant 5 trees in your name with their non-profit partners. (the offer is good for multiple names at the same address)
$36- Bundle
Everything in the premium package plus some green goodies. A reuse-able shopping bag, two compact florescent bulbs and a t-shirt.
Green Dimes has worked for over 5 million people to date. The company claims they can eliminate up to 90% of your junk mail. Isn’t it about time you reduced your junk mail?
Wal-Mart going Green
May 10, 2008
There’s a lot of discussion going on of late about Wal-Mart’s push to go green.
Wal-Mart has pledged to make its stores 20 percent more energy efficient by 2013, which will cut annual electricity use by 3.5 million megawatt-hours.
They’ve also unrolled a a plan to double the fuel economy of its trucks by 2015, which will save 60 million gallons of diesel fuel a year.
The company also published a benchmark carbon footprint. Wal-Mart estimates its U.S. operations were responsible for 15.3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2005.
About three-quarters of this pollution came from the electricity generated to power its stores. Take a virtual tour of a Wal-Mart store and hear how they are making changes in their test stores to experiment with how they can both reduce costs and their imact on the environment.
Perhaps more important than what they’re doing in their own operation, the comany is making great strides to educate their customers as well. Their website encourages users to think about how they shop, and highlights earth friendly products.
These changes have not been without controversy. Some say that this is just a smart move to reduce overhead. Others say it’s jumping on the green bandwagon to improve the company’s poor image in the public eye after the labor and health-care scandals of the last few years.
What do you think?
What the heck’s a Zombu?
May 9, 2008
It’s a super green friendly computer, that’s what.
The Zombu comes as a desktop or laptop device and runs on only 15 watts of power (about 10% of what the average computer uses). Not only that, it’s certified by a slew of green rating boards, and they even offer free recycling to eliminate e-waste.
Here’s the specs on the laptop.
- Processor: 1.5GHz, VIA C7-M Intel-compatible, low energy use
- Display: 15.4″ WXGA Widescreen (1440 x 900) and VGA output
- Memory: 512MB
- Hard Disk local storage: 60GB (58GB for your data)
- Optical Drive: DVD-ROM/CD-RW
- Graphics: VIA Chrome9 HC IGP (64MB shared memory, 128MB maximum)
- Audio: built-in speaker, microphone and headphone ports
- 3 USB 2.0 ports
- Ethernet: 10/100 Mbps built-in - broadband ready
- Wifi: Built-in 802.11b/g
- Power Supply: 65 Watt AC-DC Adapter
- Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, 2h30 to 3h, depending on usage
- Measurements: 14.1″ x 10.7″ x 1.5″ (35.8cm x 27.2cm x 3.8cm)
- Weight: 5.3lbs (2.4kg)
- Keyboard: American QWERTY
On top of that the computer is low cost, starting at $99 and $14.95/month.
Find out more, and give some thought to going a little greener with your next computer purchase.
Greener by Design: Strategies, Tools, and Markets for Product Innovation
May 9, 2008
June 12-13: a two-day hands-on event focuses on finding ways to green mainstream products.
Participants will hear from leading companies large and small, as well as the top green product designers and participate in innovative techniques that combine the best elements of a traditional conference and an experiential workshop. Register or find out more.
Timberland – putting their best foot forward
May 7, 2008
Who better than a company known for their hiking and rough and ready work-boots to think about their company’s environmental impact and do something about it? Not only do they use recycled materials and low impact inks in their packaging, they use re-cycled materials for many of their products.
They’ve reduced their chemical usage and carefully select the ones the do use and they are increasing their organic consumption. They’re also making sure their suppliers are stepping up by conduction environmental audits for tanneries that supply them. They are also creating strategic partnerships with organizations that share their values to expand their impact on the industry and the world.
Find out more about Timberland’s dedication to corporate social responsibility, and next time you go out to but hiking boots, ask how the company you’re buying from makes the world a better place.
Start with paper
April 27, 2008
You’d be surprised how much money you can save on paper with just a few tips. Why not start saving money, water and trees today? Here’s how.
First the facts
10,000 sheets of copy paper each year are used by EACH worker in the US.
The United States single-handedly consumes 30% of the world’s paper.
Over 40% of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper
The total costs of using paper in the office can run 13 to 31 times the cost of purchasing the paper in the first place!
What does that mean? For every sheet of paper used, calculating purchasing costs, storage, copying, printing, postage, disposal, and recycling—So, a ream of paper that you paid $5 for can cost up to $155!
Citigroup did a study that showed if each employee used double-sided copying to save just one sheet of paper a week, the firm would save $700,000 a year.
Environmental costs
It takes more than 12 ounces of water to make one sheet of paper.
Over 40% of wood pulp goes toward the production of paper.
What can you do?
- Set your printer defaults to print double-sided, and make double-sided copies when possible.
- Use paper printed on only one side in your fax machine, for draft copies or internal documents, or as scratch paper.
- When you’re done with single sided copies, cut them into 1/2 or 1/4 sheets and staple together to use for notepads
- Use the print preview to spot formatting errors and blank pages before you print. Proofread first, and use the spell/grammar tool to help avoid errors that can cause documents to be reprinted.
- Print only the pages you need. If only a few pages of the document are needed, print only those pages instead of the whole report.
- Promote a “think before you copy” attitude. Consider sharing some documents with co-workers, or using presentation software instead of printing for meetings
- Email memos and newsletters that employees should see, but do not need to keep.
- Use revision features in word processing software instead of printing out drafts and making hand-written comments.
- Store forms electronically so hey can be printed only when needed.
- Create electronic versions of letterhead, so when you move or the letterhead needs updating you don’t throw all the old stuff away!
- Buy recycled-content paper, preferably made from paper pulp recycled without chlorine.
- Fix the copiers and printers. A copier that works well is less likely to jam and this helps save paper
- Use shredded non-sensitive documents for packing material.
Greening Aviation
April 19, 2008
Greening some of our major transportation modes is a complex problem. Take a look at what the EU is doing to make airlines greener.
Green insulation
April 7, 2008
Thinking of getting your home insulated? There are a ton of options out there now to the old standard fiberglass batting or foam. Take a look at a few of the new high performance alternatives.
Aerogel.
Aerogel uses nanotechnology to produce a thin sheet of insulation with a lot less space, it’s mold resistant and has excellent moisture resistance as well. a 1/4 inch sheet of Aerogel adds R3 to your home, which would require as much as 1 inch of foam or fiberglass. Nasa uses it for space suits and on the Mars rover. It has many other applications as well, from paits and cosmetics to catching space dust on the Stardust spaceecraft…
Blown incellulose.
There’s a growing trend for using recycled paper, treated with fire retardents and anti-fungals. Many of these products are easy to install yourself. You can rent the spraying equipment and do an average attic in a day. That siad, the process is quite messy and you’ll need to wear a mask and protective clothing. Once the product dries there is limited off-gassing, these products tend not contain formaldehyde, and commonly used borate flame retardants are not bio-accumulative.
Cotton Batting
Several products have come out now that are made in large part of re-cycled denim apparel. The denim is chopped and treated with anti-fungals and fire retardants (borate) and come in the same familiar form as fiberglass, but without the itchy glass fibers. It’s relatively in-expensive, a breeze to install and has better acoustic and vapor transmission ratings than fiberglass.
Soy-based polyurethane
The advantages of blown in foam in an older house are easy to see, but foam has often been seen as environmentally unfriendly. This soy based version is made of re-cycled plastic, vegetable oil and soy, and fills the gaps with green (literally) foam that is mold and fire retardant with no VOC’s.
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