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8 More Companies Sign on with the EPA Climate Leaders Program

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:17:31 -0400

Establishing New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals

One bright spot on the EPA is the Climate Leaders Program. Although some may think it’s a PR inspired activity, it really is a worthwhile program. Recently, EPA welcomes 51 new partners as Climate Leaders, breaking the 200 mark. In addition, eight companies took the next step in the partnership by announcing new greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions goals. Together, EPA's Climate Leaders represent more than ten percent of the U.S. GDP and have pledged to prevent estimated GHG emissions equivalent to nine million cars annually. That’s huge.

"EPA's Climate Leader partners are proving that businesses don't need to break the bank to do what's good for the environment," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "These leading companies are reducing their climate footprints in cost-effective ways."

The eight companies that are announcing aggressive new greenhouse gas emissions reductions goals are: Baxter International Inc., Burt's Bees Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Cherokee Investment Partners, Cisco Systems Inc., Deere & Co., Millipore Corp., and Petaluma Poultry, Petaluma, Calif.

Climate Leaders is an EPA industry-government partnership that works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Committing to reducing their impact on the global environment, member companies complete a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions. They base this on a quality management system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA.

For the complete list of Climate Leaders partners and GHG goals, see below:

Small Companies are Embracing the Green Movement

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:10:52 -0400

New Survey Results Point to Interesting Trend

Are you part of a small company? God news…A recent survey by IDC found that many small businesses are starting to embrace green initiatives. What’s number one? Adopting IT applications that will make it easier to reduce the environmental impact of their supply chains.

The survey asked 250 decision-makers at small- to medium-sized businesses what software applications their companies are using to gauge, analyze and improve their operations. They found that U.S. manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of all sizes are taking the most innovative technologies on board to achieve results.

"While the social responsibility for establishing green initiatives is now generally regarded as the norm for European companies, U.S. firms have been slow to embrace the technologies that would support this effort,"said Judy Hodges, the manager of IDC's Small and Medium Business Markets.

The applications that business managers are using to improve the efficiency of their operations include manufacturing, warehouse and distribution, apps to enhance mobile working, and HR programs for hiring and training experience green employees.

It seems that some of the best ideas of the past 30 years have come from the smaller, more nimble and proactive companies out there. Hopefully these newer, smaller companies can be the example for all the others, including some of the large, multi-national corporations who still haven’t gotten on board.

Go to http://idc.com for more information about the report.

“Green Leader” California Strikes Again

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:11:10 -0400

New Green Building Codes Coming

39. Why is this number important? Because buildings consume 39% of the energy and are responsible for 39% of greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. How many people knew that? Probably 0%.

Recently, California passed a compromise version of its new “green building” code. The plan is to make new construction in California more energy-efficient and easier on the environment by providing new rules for water usage and building materials. The standards will be voluntary until 2010, when they become mandatory.

The new building code expands on a previous state effort to clean up public buildings and is a big part of California’s push to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020. Where is this reduction going to come from? In large part, energy efficiency.

Building codes are now at the forefront in the battle over climate change and energy. In addition to the numbers above, buildings also use 12% of potable water, and 40% of raw materials, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Those are big numbers.

The energy revolution has started – and it’s moving east from the Golden state.

Environmental Compliance | Enviance Blogsite

8 More Companies Sign on with the EPA Climate Leaders Program

See Also

Small Companies are Embracing the Green Movement

“Green Leader” California Strikes Again