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In 1993, DuPont was the first company to sign on to the U.S. EPA/DOE Climate Wise program. Now, the company has reached its goal to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by the year 2000. Although production increased by over 35 percent during this period, total energy consumption remained flat. At a PEW Center for Global Climate Change conference this month, DuPont announced its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65 percent by 2010, while holding energy use at 1990 levels. Dennis Reilly, COO, also announced the company’s plans to supply 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2010. If DuPont were to meet 10 percent of its energy needs with renewable energy now, the company would consume 17 percent of total U.S. capacity and four percent of world capacity for wind energy. To increase renewable energy capacity significantly, Reilly emphasized the need for incentives. At current prices, using renewable energy carries a cost penalty. For DuPont, it would mean an increased cost of $60-90 million dollars a year. “Credit for early action” and other incentives offer the possibility of eliminating cost penalties and encouraging, and possibly accelerating, the growth of cost- effective sources […]
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This group, created to develop international greenhouse trading systems, launched this June in London. It is the brainchild of the UN Commission on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and a committee of the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Membership is open to all businesses and associations. The association hopes to attract a broad base of business and industry sectors and wants to ensure membership from both developed and emerging countries. The U.S.-based Emissions Marketing Association is supporting the effort. Frank Joshua at UNCTAD: frank.joshua@unctad.org Dave Moorcroft at WBCSD: moorcroft@wbcsd.ch
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The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has committed $6 million to construct a number of renewable energy plants for the eight million residents it serves in seven states. By next summer, it will generate 6MW of power from eight PV generating stations, two or more windfarms and an waste-to-energy plant – enough to supply energy for 15,000 residents. If customers sign on in sufficient numbers with the estimated $2-$10 premium, the program will be expanded from eight to 159 distributors by 2003. This pilot represents less than one percent of TVA’s capacity of 28,000MW. TVA operates 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal and three nuclear plants.
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In an innovative partnership, Westvaco Corporation is allowing the Nature Conservancy the right to “identify areas of unique biological or other significance” on their land. A five year agreement stipulates the company will restrict those areas from logging. A recent Wall Street Journal article (September 9) questioned the company’s motivation. Is it responsible forest management or “nervousness over possible government regulation of logging on private lands?”
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In a creative twist for marketing gas guzzling SUVs, a folding electric scooter from Zapworld.com is included with the purchase of new Lincoln Mercury Mountaineer SUVs. The premium was available in California and Hawaii in June, and in the Washington D.C. area in August/September. The battery-powered ZAPPY scooter folds into the size of a small suitcase and can be used as stand-alone personal transportation or in conjunction with a car, bus, boat, train, airplane or RV. The battery charge lasts for several miles at bicycle speeds and can be recharged at any household outlet or by a cigarette lighter with an optional mobile charger. It retails for $650. The Mountaineer comes with an auxiliary 12 volt power outlet, so owners can recharge their ZAPPY while driving. When parking or traffic is a problem, it can be used around town for short trips, for errands, or simply for fun. [sorry this link is no longer available]
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By combining small customers – business and residential – into a purchasing block, local governments can negotiate energy prices and other preferences such as green power. This policy statement by the American Solar Energy Society explains the concept and details how this strategy offers protection for small consumers in a deregulated market. It lays out steps to take at the state and local level, as well as ways for individuals and organizations to take action. For a copy, contact ASES
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Alternative fuels are making inroads to the 207,680 Postal Service vehicle fleet. It recently purchased 500 electric vehicles, and plans to buy 5500 more – the largest purchase of electric vehicles to date. 440 of the vehicles will be used in California and the rest in Washington DC. The Postal Service also acquired 11,275 FFV (flexible fuel) vehicles in addition to the 10,000 scheduled to begin delivery this fall. Flexible-fuel vehicles use ethanol, unleaded gasoline or a combination and are said to be 75 percent cleaner than the vehicles they are replacing. The post office currently uses 8,272 alternative fuel vehicles, either running on ethanol, natural gas, propane or electricity. They expect the AFV fleet to grow to more than 30,000 by 2001. The vehicles are being subsidized partially by the Department of Energy. “Being an environmental leader requires us to step forward in support of new technology,” explained Governor Robert Rider, who chairs the Boards Capital Projects Committee. “Our support, however, does not extend to subsidizing these investments. Additional funding from other organizations is expected.” The U.S. Postal Service stands out as a leader in environmental stewardship. In addition to its extensive recycling program (one million tons last year) […]
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Remember the infamous USDA organic industry draft standards that were resoundedly rejected last year? They promised a second draft by summer’s end; now it looks like it won’t appear before the new year. In the meantime, a small group of volunteers is feverishly preparing its final draft of North American organic standards, in time for ratification at the October Organic Trade Association meeting. “In my 25 years of working on organic issues I have never seen a project of this size go this smoothly,” says Lynn Coody, of Oregon Tilth, one of the drafters. The others are Jim Riddle, inspector and trainer, and Emily Brown Rosen, Northeast Organic Farming Association and Organic Certifiers Council. According to Coody, every one of the 1100 comments on the second draft, released in early August, indicated they were on the right track. The state of Iowa pledged to adopt the standard for state certification, as has a private certification agency. If others follow, the USDA’s rules may be a moot point. In any event, an industry-wide consensus document will be a useful tool to guide USDA’s efforts. In fact, a USDA representative was first in line to purchase a copy at a recent trade […]
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There are 17 eco-industrial projects underway in the U.S., Canada and Denmark, taking a variety of forms. For example: A Computer and Electronics Disposition Eco-Industrial Park in Austin, Texas is being positioned as a leader in the emerging field of electronics recovery and recycling. The businesses in the park will use the latest industrial ecology techniques for wide-scale energy, resource and waste efficiency. The plan calls for reuse, sale of parts and units, recycling, remanufacturing, and ultimate disposition of all computer and electronic equipment. Tenants will benefit from shared social services such as job-training, transportation, public space, child-care and technology research. The anchor business will be a computer and electronics disposition facility. There will be a Research & Development Center, a business incubator (Innovation Center), and the non-profit managing partner of the park. Future resident companies will feed off the product streams of the anchor facility. The Industrial Ecosystem Development Project, in Research Triangle, North Carolina, completed a two year, EPA-funded research project to match company wastestreams in a six-county region. The challenges of industrial waste matchmaking and the specific industry inputs and byproducts they found offer a useful guide for implementing such programs elsewhere. 182 facilities furnished information on […]
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The mission of Presidio World College in San Francisco is to equip entrepreneurs with practical skills to achieve sustainable development goals. Its first project, with Goddard College (VT.), is an upper division BA degree in Creating Sustainable Ventures, and begins this fall. Students can participate onsite or online. Others in the planning stage are a graduate program with The Fielding Institute in Transformative Leadership, and an independent program in sustainable Later-Life Design. 415-561-6590
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