- Home
- Articles posted by: Rona Fried (Page 2753)
It’s the old 80/20 rule businesspeople know well; 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your clients or products. This time the Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund have discovered its relationship to fossil fuel pollution. Their report “Kingpins of Carbon: How Fossil Fuel Producers Contribute to Global Warming” exposes how only 122 companies are responsible for nearly 80 percent of fossil-fuel carbon pollution. http://www.nrdc.org
Read More
A recent two-year study adds to the growing literature that shows a positive relationship between environmental performance and company shareholder value. Results indicate that going beyond compliance and developing environmental products enhance earnings per share and profitability. Deutsche Bank, Electrolux, Gerling, ICI, Monsanto, Unilever, and Volvo participated in the study as part of a consortium researching the topic. The authors of the resulting report note that, on the positive side, companies that emphasize environmental performance are more likely to win contracts and investor approval. On the other hand, institutional investors are increasingly wary of companies that ignore or downplay environmental concerns. Participants agree the importance of sustainability will only increase, and may be the “number one issue 15-20 years from now, if not sooner.” Respondents rated “transparency” as a crucial concept in sustainability efforts. For a copy of “Sustainable Strategies for Value Creation,” contact The Performance Group FROM The Green Business Letter
Read More
Put Environmental Defense Fund research to use; using the Freedom of Information Act, they obtained unpublicized government information about local levels of air pollution. This information is available to you by using their new calculator, the Pollution Locator. Also on the EDF website, you can determine how much your vehicle pollutes.
Read More
How do you “fill-up” your alternative fueled vehicle when you’re away from home? Now, if you’re driving cross-country or to a nearby region, you can use the online U.S. DOE Refueling Station Locator. It helps drivers find stations that offer ethanol and methanol blends, electricity, propane and natural gas. Drivers can search by a specific address, city, state or region. Users can “zoom in or out” to view surrounding areas and streets and print the maps as needed. The Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center has produced a handy report that answers the most common questions for fleet managers and others interested in alternative fuels. Using brief cases of Northwest companies and agencies that use such vehicles, it describes the performance, cost, and other factors associated with their use. The fuels covered are: compressed and liquefied natural gas, propane, methanol, ethanol, electricity, fuel cells, hydrogen, and biodiesel. DOE Refueling Station Locator Download the PPRC report, “Alternative Fuels for Fleet Vehicles”
Read More
Coca-Cola is on the short list of companies that formally endorse the CERES principles. Although the company uses recycled and refillable plastic bottles in other countries, it has failed to fulfill its 1990 promise to use recycled plastic in the U.S. Coke is producing more plastic bottles, and fewer made from glass and aluminum, which are made with recycled materials and widely recycled. Four years ago, Coke stopped using any recycled plastic in the U.S., citing higher costs as the reason. Yet, using the material would add a fraction of a cent per bottle. It would cost the company one-half of one percent of Coke’s profits, the equivalent of CEO M. Douglas Ivester’s 1998 stock options. Source: United Nations Association of the USA
Read More
EPA’s Small Business Gateway offers everything a small business needs to know environmentally speaking: laws, technical assistance resources, and sources for financing. Energy Tips is an informative website offered by the U.S. DOE. It walks small businesses through the energy efficient steps they can take to save money. There are quick tips as well as detailed information about how to implement a long-term energy conservation plan. Since January, federal procurement contracts between $2500-$50,000 are set aside for very small businesses in 10 pilot areas. To qualify for the “Very Small Business Set-Aside Program” a business must have 15 or fewer employees or less than $1 million in average annual revenue. Register your business profile on the Small Business Administration website. Small Business Gateway: [sorry this link is no longer available] Energy Tips: [sorry this link is no longer available] SBA: [sorry this link is no longer available]. Contact Kathy Hyatt for more information.
Read More
Another find! This important website contains extensive information on financial incentives available for renewable energy, (with an emphasis on biomass) offered by the European Commission, national governments and regional authorities. It details subsidies, low-interest credit possibilities, pay-back arrangements, fiscal incentives, feed-in regulations, set-aside regulations, and more. The site also lists more than 200 banks, venture capital funds and other organizations that provide funds for renewable energy projects in Europe. Online, information can be obtained on country-specific instruments, including eligibility criteria. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
Another find! This important website contains extensive information on financial incentives available for renewable energy, (with an emphasis on biomass) offered by the European Commission, national governments and regional authorities. It details subsidies, low-interest credit possibilities, pay-back arrangements, fiscal incentives, feed-in regulations, set-aside regulations, and more. The site also lists more than 200 banks, venture capital funds and other organizations that provide funds for renewable energy projects in Europe. Online, information can be obtained on country-specific instruments, including eligibility criteria. [sorry this link is no longer available]
Read More
The state of New York may be setting a precedent as it prepares to sue 17 midwest coal power plants to force them to upgrade their equipment. According to a New York Times article, this action would be the first taken by a state against individual power plants that send air pollution across state lines. Eliot L. Spitzer, New York Attorney General, gave notice in a letter to the defendants, that he intends to sue them on the grounds that although they have made large unrelated investments in the plants, they have not upgraded equipment to standards required under the Federal Clean Air Act.
Read More
Is it possible to have a healthy economy and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Presidential candidate George Bush told the “Houston Chronicle” (September 1) he is against ratifying the Kyoto Protocol because, “It’s going to cost the U.S. jobs. … I also don’t appreciate the fact the United States bears the brunt of the goal of Kyoto while developing nations are really excluded from cleaning up the environment … It’s a bad deal for America and Americans.” Data is accumulating which shows the opposite. A new study from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change shows that increasing the use of natural gas and renewable sources of energy, as well as energy efficiency in developing countries can significantly reduce emissions while spurring growth. And, as we reported in last month’s Briefs, the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that despite economic growth of almost four percent, U.S. CO2 emissions rose only .4 percent in 1998, the smallest increase since 1991. Since then, Worldwatch released a fairly dramatic finding: For the first time since 1993, global carbon emissions of carbon fell by 0.5 percent to 6.32 billion tons. At the same time, the world economy expanded by 2.5 percent. This, according to […]
Read More
Page 2,753 of 2,804« First«...102030...2,7512,7522,7532,7542,755...2,7602,7702,780...»Last »
Loading...