CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The environmental impact of laboratories is enormous. But with the launch of ACT, the first-ever environmental impact factor label for laboratory products, nonprofit My Green Lab is working to change that.
“The ACT label makes it possible for scientists and procurement specialists to choose safe, sustainable products by focusing on the impact of making, using and disposing of a product and its packaging,” said Allison Paradise, Executive Director of My Green Lab.
PRESS RELEASE -
Ahead of World Tourism Day, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, along with other leading global hotel groups in the International Tourism Partnership (ITP), reached a consensus on the goals for a sustainable hotel industry.
The ITP today announced these four goals, which are in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and focused on carbon, water, youth employment, and human rights.
CLEANTECH -
William McDonough + Partners are bringing the Cradle to Cradle revolution to Latin America with the launch of ‘Project Legacy’ at Colombia’s Universidad EAN in the El Nogal district of Bogotá. The project will see the construction of a 20,000 square meter building that will illustrate the possibilities of design for the circular economy and the integration of a Cradle to Cradle-focused curriculum into the university’s business and engineering programs.
CLEANTECH -
U.S. commercial buildings could cut energy use by 29 percent on average by taking full advantage of controls technology and implementing a few other base energy-efficiency measures, according to a new study from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Commercial buildings account for 20 percent of U.S. energy use and produce 50 percent or more of a city’s greenhouse gas emissions (75 percent in New York). If we want “smart cities” to be more than just an catchy phrase, this is an opportunity we must seize.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Multinational engineering and infrastructure firm AECOM is set to build the tallest residential development in Western Europe. Reaching 67 stories, the Spire London tower will be built in West India Quay near Canary Wharf. When completed, it will rise to 771 feet and house 861 apartments and penthouses.
AECOM’s work also includes projects in New York City such as the 2.8 million-square-foot 3 World Trade Center and the 1.6 million-square-foot One Vanderbilt, and Citi Field in Flushing, Queens; as well as the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Michigan Urban Farming Initiative is working to debut America’s first sustainable urban agrihood – a neighborhood growth model with agriculture at the center of a mixed-use development.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Carpet manufacturer Interface has uncovered a new way to mitigate the negative impact of carpet production — a process that traditionally relies on petroleum-based fibers and adhesives and chemical dyes. Putting its Climate Take Back mission into action, the company has developed Proof Positive, a first-of-its-kind carbon negative carpet tile.
PRESS RELEASE -
Merit Partners Inc. and Sunbelt Holdings have been named recipients of the Industrial Project of the Year award by NAIOP for REI Goodyear DC, a distribution center for Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI), located at PV|303, a master planned business park in Goodyear, Arizona.
The facility is the only net zero energy, U.S. Green Building LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified distribution center in the world. Its roof features a 2.2 megawatt solar system that produces enough energy to power the entire facility, or the equivalent of 390 homes for one year.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Kohler Signature Store by First Supply has become the first retail space in the U.S. to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification under the new LEED v4 guidelines. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) awarded the 5,800 square-foot showroom located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, LEED Gold v4 for Interior Design & Construction Retail.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
When Etsy began the process of creating a new global headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, it saw an opportunity to drive change, to set a new standard for sustainable construction and design and to create a space that reflected its values, especially those related to community, craft, and sustainability.
PRESS RELEASE -
The Dow Chemical Company, now in its 35th year of supporting Atlanta-based nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, recently announced that Colombia will be the site of one of the builds that the two organizations collaborate on this year.
The project in Tenjo, just outside of the capital of Bogotá, is unique in that it will be a pilot project for 2017 that uses the company’s polyurethane materials in PVC panels that will form the structure’s walls.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Discussion surrounding circular business models (CBMs) is often focused on manufacturing, packaging and consumer goods, where significant change is already underway, yet closed-loop systems have the potential revolutionize the built environment.
CLEANTECH -
AT&T has expanded its Smart Cities program by partnering up with the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA) — a public-private partnership dedicated to the design and execution of a smart cities plan for the City of Dallas — to launch the DIA Smart Cities Living Lab. Dallas is one of eight cities participating in the AT&T Smart Cities spotlight cities initiative and seeks to implement the company’s smart cities framework to develop and apply a holistic strategy to address some of its most significant challenges.
COLLABORATION -
Sustainable flooring and sports surface solutions leader Tarkett is the latest brand to embrace transparency with the launch of a new product catalog that could help drive the use of sustainable building materials towards the mainstream for the construction industry.
PRESS RELEASE -
Mayor Kasim Reed announced recently that the city of Atlanta continues to lead the country with 111 million square feet of building space committed to reducing energy and water usage through the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge. UPS is the latest partner to join the challenge and has committed to reducing energy and water usage in more than one million square feet of commercial building space.
The Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge has a goal to reduce energy and water consumption by at least 20 percent in participating buildings across Atlanta by the year 2020. To date, the City of Atlanta has already achieved its 20 percent water reduction goal, and has reduced its energy consumption portfolio by 17 percent.
PRESS RELEASE -
Ten companies and organizations, two partnerships, and three individuals today will receive 2017 Climate Leadership Awards for their accomplishments in reducing greenhouses gas emissions and addressing climate change.
The awards, now in their sixth year, are a partnership program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, and The Climate Registry. The awards are being presented this evening at the 2017 Climate Leadership Conference in Chicago.
This year’s awardees represent a wide array of industries including finance, consumer products, retail, aviation, and technology, plus federal and local government.
NEW METRICS -
Can better thinking and better health be found in green-certified buildings? New research says yes. Both indoors and out, the built environment plays a critical role in our overall health and well-being. This is especially true as about 90 percent of our time is spent indoors, and buildings have the ability to positively and negatively influence human health.
Now, a new study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Health and the Global Environment and SUNY Upstate Medical University has found a link between green buildings and improved cognitive function.
PRESS RELEASE -
3M Canada has become the first organization in Canada to receive ISO 50001 Enterprise Level Certification as part of its ongoing commitment to sustainability, including energy management initiatives to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse emissions. This milestone achievement comes after two more 3M Canada facilities received their ISO 50001 certifications earlier this year – a manufacturing plant in Morden, Manitoba (the first ISO 50001 certification in the province) and a commercial building in Montreal, Quebec – joining four other 3M Canada facilities already certified.