As companies emerge from recession-induced hibernation, shake off hiring freezes, and start to cautiously advertise job openings again, they're finding an entirely different landscape than when they did their last round of recruiting. With all the hope tacked on to green companies and jobs, the stakes are high for companies that blunder. Here are tips to avoid missteps.

Despite being a centerpiece of celebrations the world over, fireworks displays often release toxic chemicals into the environment; researchers are developing a new generation of fireworks that shine as bright but leave less of an impact.

Putting advanced computing together with highly advanced -- and more widespread -- traffic sensors, researchers at Leibniz University in Hanover, Germany, have proposed an "organic" method of traffic control that responds to actual conditions. But is there an easier way?

Coca Cola signed a 10-year contract with UTC Power that will bring two fuel cells to a southern New York bottling plant, where they will produce enough heat and energy to satisfy nearly a third of the facility's needs. The state of New York also provided $2 million for the project.

Efforts by the world's leading cement companies knocked down carbon dioxide emissions from the industry’s manufacturing process by 35 percent even while production climbed by 53 percent, according to a new report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Cement Sustainability Initiative.

The new initiative expands on the company's nine-month-old project to conduct energy efficiency audits to hospitals, municipal buildings, businesses and residential customers.

In the search for a clean, planet-friendly fuel, the startup Qteros has discovered and refined a microbe it calls the Q Microbe that turns biomass -- switchgrass, wood chips, grass, corn stover or even municipal liquid waste -- into ethanol.

Green building experts from the 7group consultancy and integrative design pioneer Bill G. Reed provide a clear, practical manual on the whole-building approach to sustainability.

This report from Greenpeace ranks and rates 20 supermarket chains, including 17 national chains, on their sustainability practices for purchasing seafood and communicating about sustainable seafood to shoppers.

The third update of Greenpeace's Sustainable Seafood scorecard finds Wegman's Ahold USA and Whole Foods leading the pack for supporting sustainable seafood; Trader Joe's remains the lowest-ranked national retailer on the list.

The EPA announced plans to create tougher rules to reduce air pollution from U.S.-flagged ships Wednesday, the same day new fuel regulations for ocean-going vessels went into effect in California. A day earlier, the state finally received a long sought-after waiver that allows it to regulate vehicle tailpipe emissions in its efforts to address climate change.

Retailers that put green practices to work at their facilities can save tens of millions of dollars a year by managing resources and waste more aggressively, according to SSA & Company.

Bioplastic maker NatureWorks has changed from being a joint venture between companies Cargill and Teijin to being an independent company fully owned by Cargill. Teijin dropped out of the joint venture as part of its company-wide restructuring.

The 12th edition of the quarterly scorecard focuses heavily on toxics-reduction goals and achievements, punishing three companies for failing to remove BFRs and PVC from their products.

The 12th edition of the quarterly scorecard finds Dell, HP and Lenovo taking a further hit in the ranking for failing to remove toxics from their products.