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Siemens to Purchase Bonus: Gains Big Share in World Wind Market

Global power generation company Siemens shook up the wind world on October 20 when it announced it would purchase wind turbine manufacturer Bonus Energy A/S. Siemens spokesman Dr. Stephan Feldhaus, speaking to the Wind Energy Weekly, said that it is still too soon to make any strategic announcements about the future direction of the company, but he did want to stress that as a global manufacturing company with offices, sales, and communications channels around the world one could expect Siemens to increase Bonus's international presence. The company will be particularly focusing on Europe, the U.S., and Asia. He expects the purchase to be finalized by the end of November. Feldhaus said that Siemens felt that Bonus is a good acquisition at this time because its technology is well accepted in the market, it enjoys an excellent reputation from its customers, it had "absolutely solid financials and a financial viewpoint similar to Siemens," and a highly motivated workforce. He said that Siemens' experience with large-scale utility projects will be an asset to Bonus as the wind power industry moves more toward bigger projects. In 2003, Bonus captured almost 7% of the world wind turbine market share. With the merger of NEG […]

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USGBC Announces New Green Building Rating System: LEED for Existing Buildings

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announces the release of the much anticipated LEED for Existing Building (LEED-EB) Green Building Rating System. Previously in pilot, the rating system has been fully balloted by the USGBC membership and is ready to launch. LEED-EB was designed to meet market demand for an existing building rating system following the success of LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC), the USGBC's current rating system for new construction. LEED-EB makes LEED certification available to existing buildings and provides an opportunity for ongoing recertification for previously certified LEED buildings. LEED-EB helps building owners and managers bring the performance of their buildings up to a high level and maintain high performance over the long term. Benefits of LEED-EB include energy savings, water savings, and healthier indoor environments. Said Rick Fedrizzi, USGBC President, CEO & Founding Chair, "LEED-NC is rapidly transforming the design and construction of new buildings to sustainable practices. Now with LEED-EB approved, the USGBC has the tools in place to start transforming the existing buildings market to sustainable practices as well. With both LEED-EB and LEED-NC in place, the USGBC is positioned to help building owners and mangers make both new and existing buildings improve their performance […]

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HP, Dell, IBM and Leading Suppliers Release Electronics Industry Code of Conduct

Global supply chain standards promote socially responsible business practices Hewlett Packard (HP), Dell and IBM yesterday released an Electronics Industry Code of Conduct to promote industry standards for socially responsible business practices across their global supply chains. The code, which was developed in collaboration with electronics manufacturing companies Celestica, Flextronics, Jabil, Sanmina SCI, and Solectron, paves the way for a standards-based approach for monitoring suppliers' performance across several areas of social responsibility, including labor and employment practices, health and safety, ethics, and protection of the environment. Until now, each companies used their own codes of conduct, and suppliers were subject to multiple, independent vendor audits based on different criteria. HP facilitated this collaboration for the adoption of a single, global Electronics Industry Code of Conduct. The code reflects the participating companies' commitment to leadership in the area of corporate social responsibility and will potentially reduce inefficiency and duplication, and make performance easier to audit and verify. "This is an important precedent for the electronics industry and for other industries that rely on global supply chains," said Conrad MacKerron, director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program at As You Sow Foundation, a nonprofit organization that represents the interests of socially concerned […]

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