Enviance Blog

Welcome to the Enviance Blog!

Hello! Thank you for visiting our Blog!   Here you can find information and updates on the latest corporate and legal developments around energy and carbon emissions management, corporate responsibility, water and waste management, cap and trade, carbon taxation and carbon accounting, environmental compliance, EH&S and Environmental ERP best practices.   We encourage you to read throught our posts and leave comments and suggestions with your feedback!   Sincerely,   The Enviance Team

3 Questions with... Dr. Paul Schwab, Purdue University

The Enviance team is excited to bring you another installment in our 3 Questions series, where we ask industry experts about their organization’s environmental programs, perspectives on environmental policy, and how they reduce their own environmental footprint.

For this edition, we interviewed Dr. Paul Schwab, Professor of Soil Chemistry in the Department of Agronomy and Director of Natural Resources and Environmental Science (NRES) Program at Purdue University. Schwab and his students and faculty participated in this year’s Environmental March Madness Tournament for environmental studies, advancing all the way to the Final Four Stage.

Dr. Schwab joined Purdue University in 1997, and was named Director of NRES in July, 2008. He received his B.S. degree in Mineral Engineering from Colorado School of Mines, and completed his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees at Colorado State University.

Q: What is the most important skill set the next generation of environmental professionals will need?

A: Young environmental scientists entering the work force will need cutting-edge knowledge combined with classical, everyday skills. Today’s scientists have at their fingertips vast expanses of digital data, and they must know how to access, condense, interpret, and synthesize that information. A functional knowledge of the many facets of Geographical Information Systems is critical and sets apart the well-trained professional. Equally important is the ability to effectively communicate in written and oral form to allow the less technical among us to comfortably comprehend highly complicated networks of facts.

Q: As an educator, how do you stay on top of the most important developments in the environmental science and sustainability fields?

A: Progress in environmental research and generation of new information never ceases. Staying abreast of these advances can be an overwhelming task. I stay current because I chose a long time ago to not abandon my scientific research. Conducting and publishing new studies requires constant awareness of advances in the field. This is aided further by reviewing manuscripts of other authors and serving on editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals. Environmental educators are also fortunate to have access to fantastic textbooks covering a broad range of topics or focusing on a specific discipline.

Q: What steps do you take to curb your own environmental footprint?

A: At an institution such as Purdue University, the students are keenly aware of the fragility of our planet, and they refuse to let anyone forget this critical point, even their professors. As a result, I never stop thinking about the impact of my lifestyle on our global home. As a family, we have made our house energy efficient, conserve water at every opportunity, avoid the production of excessive waste, recycle whenever possible, and force ourselves to be intelligent consumers. At work, we are helping our large university think globally and project into the future. We have a long way to go, but Purdue is making great technological strides in becoming a more sustainable member of the family on Earth.

Enviance User Conference: Compliance Today, Leadership Tomorrow

Two weeks ago, the Enviance User Conference continued its annual tradition of bringing together some of the world’s leading experts on environmental compliance and sustainability. Professionals from the oil, gas, coal, retail, manufacturing and utility industries met to discuss the latest trends in environmental compliance, voluntary greenhouse emissions reporting and AB 32 enforcement.

And while Subpart W and Title V compliance were among the hot agenda items, one of the most interesting features of this year’s conference was the participation of March Madness Environmental Tournament winner, Colby College. Through February and March, Enviance partnered with Environmental Leader to host a “March Madness” tournament that identified the 16 most prolific environmental undergraduate programs in the country, with the naming of an eventual National Champion.

That champion was Colby College and, as a result, Enviance invited Dr. Philip Nyhus, Colby’s assistant professor of environmental studies, to represent the college and present at the conference.

Dr. Nyhus presented to a crowded room of environmental professionals about what today’s higher education institutions are doing to prepare the environmental leaders of tomorrow. The discussion lasted over an hour as Dr. Nyhus engaged with representatives  from some of the world’s largest companies on how higher education institutions can better collaborate with private industry to ensure that tomorrow’s environmental professionals succeed as they enter the workforce.

Questions and comments ranged from teaching students better basic lab skills to the importance of real-world internships, but the common theme seemed to be that private industry, NGOs and regulatory bodies all could do a better job at working together to achieve their common goals, and perhaps that mission could be instilled in today’s students.

The discussion also got us thinking that colleges would make a great venue to bring together alumni that represent private industry, the public sector and nonprofits together to have a calm, productive dialogue about the future environmental regulation in the confines of their alma mater. Nothing fosters cooperative spirit like having something in common.  

The world of environmental governance, risk and compliance continues to get more complex, and our hope is that simple, informal dialogue can help cut through the clutter and develop solutions that answer the needs of all stakeholders.

Earth Day 2012: A Look Back, And Thoughts on What is to Come

Today, 175 countries around the world join Enviance in celebrating the 42^nd annual Earth Day, a holiday that has helped garner support for pieces of environmental legislation like the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.

We wanted to take a look back at progress made since Earth Day 2011, and provide our thoughts on the coming year.

We’ve seen some unexpected shifts in supporters, and opponents, of clean energy: In August the U.S. military, perhaps the most conservative organization in the country, set aggressive goals to become 25 percent renewable by 2025.

On the flipside, we saw environmental groups including the Sierra Club and National Resource Defense Council file a lawsuit to stall a renewable energy project, pitting allies against one another.

What about emissions and carbon reduction?

A report showed that the 10 Northeast states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) reduced carbon emissions in 2011 to their lowest level since 2009, and at a whopping 34 percent less than the RGGI cap.

What’s best is that, according to the report, this was achieved “without significant investment in new electric generation.” Encouraging news for our friends in the power industry.

Also, just last month the EPA proposed its first carbon emission standards for new power plants, which would replace a number of planned coal plants for cleaner-burning natural gas and renewables.

What will the rest of 2012 bring?

California, the eighth largest economy in the world, will hold its first carbon permit auction on November 14. It has the potential to generate more than $1 billion in 2012 alone and, if successful, could provide the template for national cap and trade legislation.

Speaking of national legislation, what will the impact of our next President be? President Obama has already made significant environmental progress, and if elected a second term, his motivation will shift from re-election to legacy, and environmental progress will increase even further.

That said, if Mitt Romney is elected, we would have a President who acknowledges the need to reduce carbon emissions, but is also extremely pro-business – would he be able to implement national cap and trade legislation?

What do you think the biggest environmental advances have been over the last year? Let us know in the comment section below!

Congratulations to Colby College—National Champion of the First-Ever March Madness Tournament for Environmental Studies!

Who? That may be the reaction of some people around the country when they hear that, in the first-ever independent, submission-based tournament to identify the top Environmental studies program, little Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, took home the top prize. But to those in the industry with any knowledge of top private academic institutions, Colby is a powerhouse, combining a top-flight academic reputation with an organically built environmental program.

Best of all? The college practices what it preaches, as is evident by the quality of its student survey, picture and video submissions, and the sustainability programs it has put in place.

We also have to recognize the excellence of the other Final Four members. Both Rochester Institute of Technology and Colorado State University finished within 13 points of the winner (out of a possible 500; less than three percentage points) and deserve recognition for the excellent programs they have built and the impeccable reputations of their schools. Purdue, the tournament’s last remaining “800-pound gorilla,” brought a lot of credibility and passion to its submission, and would join RIT and CSU as top contenders (or #1 seeds if you will) for the title in next year’s tournament. Unlike athletics where graduations and early departures may damage a team’s chances at repeating a deep run, these departments will likely return almost every year.

So hopefully our Sustainable 16 will be back next year to make their run, and will be joined by some of the other elite programs around the country, in the campaign to be the second annual champion.

So what did this year’s champion win?

The Colby College Environmental Studies Program will receive a $5,000 donation from Enviance. Also, an academic representative of the department is invited to attend the Enviance User Conference in April, where they will participate in a panel titled, “What Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders Need to Know.” While at the conference, the representative can also attend sessions from some of the top professionals in the areas of environmental compliance and greenhouse gas management. Furthermore, two students will be picked from the Final Four overall to receive free netbooks, and one student from each of the four schools will be profiled in Environmental Leader, as one of “Tomorrow’s Environmental Leaders.”

But the best prize of all may be the recognition these schools are receiving for building first-class programs. Hopefully, companies looking for their next hires in the fields of environmental science and business will use the tournament results as a “short list’ for recruiting. And we think high school seniors may take a harder look at our Final Four, as well as schools like Humboldt State, UT-Arlington, Ohio State and UC Davis, when building out their list of potential colleges.

Again, Enviance would like to congratulate all of the Sustainable 16 schools and invite them to participate in next year’s competition (information on submitting to be available in December 2012). We would also like to thank our panel of independent judges, including The Brattle Group, CH2M HILL, Trinity Consultants, Valero and our very own CEO, Larry Goldenhersh.

Congratulations to Colby College, National Champion of the first-ever March Madness Tournament for Environmental Studies!

 

Cinderella is Still Dancing: Small Colleges, RIT and Colby, Join Purdue and Colorado State University in First-Ever Environmental Final Four

One of the most compelling things about the NCAA Basketball Tournament is the periodic upsets that take place when a small, unknown school upsets a traditional powerhouse. Well, the first-ever March Madness Tournament for Environmental Studies has seen the same phenomenon take place, where Colby, an 1800-student college in small-town Maine, and Rochester Institute of Technology, located in upstate New York, have survived two rounds of the tournament to make the Final Four. Joining them, are Purdue University and Colorado State University, both of whom made the NCAA field of 64, along with our very own version March Madness.

These schools have survived two elimination rounds, including the “Sustainable 16” two weeks ago, and the “Environmental Eight,” in order to compete for the title of “National Champion.” The schools that advanced to the “Final Four,” were selected by the tournament’s expert judges based on photo, video and essay submissions sent by students and faculty, in addition to a survey detailing key aspects of each school’s program.

Congratulations to the other members of the Environmental Eight, who fell just short: Ohio State University, University of Texas-Arlington, Humboldt State and University of California-Davis. Each of these schools boast very strong environmental academic programs and came very close to making the Final Four. In fact, the difference between making the Final Four and missing it was one percentage point, giving you an indication of just how hard it was for our judges to separate the competition.

So congratulations to our Final Four, who can celebrate by cutting down the virtual nets made of 100 percent compostable fibers. We’re sure they are all excited and will spend Earth Hour (8:30-9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday) sitting in the dark and think about how their department can best utilize the grand prize of $5,000. 

Who will be named National Champion on Monday? Will it be a favorite or an underdog? Tweet your prediction to @Enviance with #mmenviance in the Tweet, and follow us to find out who wins!

Who Will Cut Down the Nets? Environmental Eight Battle for Final Four Spot

While the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is now down to four of the traditional powerhouses in College Basketball, the March Madness Tournament for Environmental Studies has now been reduced to our “Environmental Eight.” And with all due respect to sports fans, we think ours is infinitely more interesting.

Where else can you see a small liberal arts school in Maine, like Colby College, go head-to-head against an athletic powerhouse like Ohio State? Show us a tournament where a little state school tucked up in the redwood forests of Northern California (Humboldt State University), competes with a Big Ten powerhouse like Purdue?

We were overwhelmed by the supporting content that our Environmental Eight schools provide to help support their entries, thereby outlasting some very distinguished universities that were included in our “Sustainable 16,” like Duke, Baylor and University of Florida. The content was in the form of close to 200 surveys, videos and photos, along with scores of Tweets from the schools involved.

So who will cut down the nets on Friday and join the first-ever Final Four in Environmental Studies? Who will be named National Champion on Monday, April 2? Stay tuned because in our version of March Madness, a college of 7,000 students can take down a university with 50,000 students.

Two Different Types of March Madness, but Familiar Faces in Both

Enviance’s Environmental March Madness Contest is off and running! We recently announced our Sustainable 16, which identifies the top 16 universities from our pool of entries with the strongest environmental and sustainability programs in the United States.

Our Sustainable 16, in alphabetical order:

Baylor, Colby, Colorado State University, Cornell, Duke, Humboldt State University, Montana State University, Ohio State University, Purdue, Rochester Institute of Technology, Temple, UC Davis, University of Florida, University of Michigan—Dearborn, University of North Carolina—Asheville and University of Texas—Arlington.

Faculty and students from our Sustainable 16 colleges have been submitting 300-word essays and two-minute video clips supporting their school’s case to advance in the tournament, and the outpour of support has been terrific! Our tournament judges are now using that material to help determine which of the Sustainable 16 will move on to the Environmental 8.

Meanwhile, in the NCAA March Madness tournament, the Sweet 16 field has been set. In alphabetical order, the field is:

Baylor, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Marquette, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Ohio, Ohio State University, Syracuse, University of Florida, University of North Carolina, Wisconsin and Xavier.

While the University of North Carolina is favored by many to take home college basketball’s greatest prize, it’s the University of North Carolina’s Asheville campus that is in the hunt for academic glory!

Baylor, Ohio State University and University of Florida are flexing their muscle in both athletics and academics, having advanced to the field of 16 in both the NCAA and Environmental March Madness tournaments.

Purdue just narrowly missed advancing to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA March Madness Tournament when they were edged in the closing minutes by Kansas. While Duke and Temple both fell in opening round upsets to Lehigh and South Florida, respectively. Thankfully for them, they are still alive and well in our field of 16, and have a chance to achieve academic greatness!

We’re excited to track the progress of our Sustainable 16 schools in the NCAA March Madness tournament, and to also see who ends up progressing all the way to Enviance’s Environmental National Championship game.

Will it be a two-way university, competing in both tournaments, like Baylor, Ohio State University or University of Florida?

Be sure to follow both tournaments’ progress to find out!