PRESS RELEASE -
Atlanta, May 05, 2015New Agreement with Clean Energy Will Help Grow Market for Use of Methane Gas from Landfills as Fuel UPS® (NYSE:UPS) today announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase renewable natural gas (RNG) for its delivery vehicle fleet from Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE). The deal signifies UPS's plan to significantly expand its use of renewable natural gas for its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet. The company has a goal of driving one billion miles using its alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet by the end of 2017.Clean Energy Fuels, co-founded by T. Boone Pickens, is the exclusive producer of Redeem, the first RNG made available in commercial quantities.
COLLABORATION -
Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) is the foremost coalition of companies advancing energy and climate legislation in the US. A project of Ceres, BICEP convenes 34 member companies that advocate a low-carbon economy as a path to create jobs and stimulate growth.
CLEANTECH -
Tesla Energy, the latest from Tesla Motors visionary Elon Musk, was introduced last night onstage at the company's design studio in Hawthorne, California, just south of LA. A statement from the company describes the new development as "a suite of batteries for homes, businesses, and utilities fostering a clean energy ecosystem and helping wean the world off fossil fuels."
CLEANTECH -
If only 30 percent of hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) refrigerants are reclaimed for reuse by 2040, approximately 18 billion metric tons carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent would be prevented from reaching the atmosphere over the next 25 years, according to a white paper released today by EOS Climate, a company that incentivizes the complete life cycle management of harmful refrigerants — using the power of capital markets to address climate change.
PRESS RELEASE -
Richmond, VA, April 30, 2015Purchase supports enterprise's sustainability goals UPS Freight® (NYSE: UPS), one of the nation's largest heavy freight carriers, announced today the addition of 64 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tractors to its fleet. The tractors, which are based in Harrisburg, Pa., join UPS's worldwide fleet of more than 2,500 natural gas vehicles."Even though UPS has used LNG tractors in package operations for more than a decade, it's still a relatively new fuel for trucking," said Willie Rivero, UPS Freight vice president-fleet. "By adding these tractors to the UPS Freight fleet, we are aligning ourselves with the enterprise's commitment to use natural gas as a reliable alternative to traditional fuel."
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Method Products, maker of eco-friendly household, fabric and personal care products, has opened the doors of its 'South Side Soapbox' factory in the Pullman Park district of Chicago. Designed by architects and sustainable designers, William McDonough + Partners, the Soapbox is the industry’s first LEED-platinum certified factory.The 150,000 square foot facility includes product manufacturing, bottle production, warehousing and distribution.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It is often presumed in the modern world that drawing people out of poverty results in higher carbon emissions and environmental impact; the biggest driver of greenhouse gas emissions has been economic growth. However, Tilonia®, an ethical accessories brand based in Rajasthan, India, has shown that the conventional growth model can be broken.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Having racked up over 10,000 deliveries and 30,000 members in its Scandinavian motherland since its 2013 launch, Norwegian social delivery service Nimber is set to plug a sustainability gap in the UK delivery sector, making use of unused capacity by using real people who are going somewhere anyway to make deliveries.The company estimates that to date its service has helped cut carbon emissions by 198.24 tonnes through the use of existing capacity to bring and send items to individuals and businesses.
CLEANTECH -
Rapidly falling costs and clear benefits have led to a sharp increase in the number and scale of light-emitting diode (LED) and smart streetlight projects in the past year, according to a new study published today by Northeast Group.There currently are more than 2,000 LED and smart streetlight projects globally. By 2025, cities around the world will invest $64 billion in LED and “smart” streetlights.
PRESS RELEASE -
The company's efforts to ensure long-term sustainability have helped set a new standard for corporate environmental responsibility
PRESS RELEASE -
KINGSPORT — Eastman Chemical Co. celebrated its fourth consecutive Environmental Protection Agency Energy Star Award and hailed the Sullivan County and Kingsport school systems for signing up to be Energy Star partners on Wednesday.In front of about 100 employees and community partners, Eastman marked its 2015 Energy Star Partner of the Year — Sustained Excellence Award during its celebration and Earth Day Expo held at the Toy F. Reid Employee Center.
LEADERSHIP -
Sixty-two institutional investors representing nearly $2 trillion in assets have called for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to push for better disclosure by oil and gas companies of critical climate change-related business risks that will “profoundly affect the economics of the industry.”
CLEANTECH -
Aquion Energy, Inc., developer and manufacturer of Aqueous Hybrid Ion (AHI™) batteries and energy-storage systems, has announced that its AHI S20 and S20-P Product Lines are the first batteries in the world to be Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified™ Bronze. The product lines were evaluated by MBDC, creators of the Cradle to Cradle Certified Products Program, across five quality categories.
WASTE NOT -
Nestlé USA has had a busy year so far: The company has publicly committed to removing all artificial flavors and colors from its chocolate candy by the end of 2015 and purchased enough certified cocoa to produce its entire Easter chocolate collection, a first for a major U.S. candy manufacturer.
CLEANTECH -
With Earth Day this week, it’s a great time to reflect on the challenges we face and the advancements we’ve made. Last week, Microsoft released a whitepaper describing the progress made with our carbon fee since its inception in the hope to inspire other organizations to take similar action.
LEADERSHIP -
On Friday, 43 CEOs from some of the world’s largest corporations signed an open letter urging attendants of the upcoming Paris Climate Summit (November 30th-December 11th) to deliver an ambitious climate change agreement, while pledging to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. Released almost simultaneously, a report commissioned by the G7 Foreign Ministers also recommended concrete actions that foreign ministers can take to increase the climate-resilience of weak states.
NEW METRICS -
Total greenhouse gas emissions generated in the United States increased by 2 percent from 2012 to 2013, but emission levels in 2013 were 9 percent below 2005 levels, according to a new annual report by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The EPA’s 20th Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks tracks total annual US emissions and removals by source, economic sector and greenhouse gas going back to 1990. The agency uses national energy data, information on national agricultural activities and other national statistics to provide a comprehensive accounting of total greenhouse gas emissions for all man-made sources in the United States.
STAKEHOLDER TRENDS AND INSIGHTS -
This series has been taking a dive into the five phases of sustainable business described in the Hagen-Wilhelm change matrix published in Making Sustainability Stick. We want to offer a roadmap for those working to change business from inside large organizations. By capturing and sharing over a decade of experience implementing these ideas, hopefully we can help accelerate success.
CLEANTECH -
Apple has announced plans to invest in a new Chinese solar power project and help preserve some 36,000 acres of forests in the eastern United States.The tech giant is partnering with solar company SunPower to build two solar power projects totaling 40 megawatts (MW) in China — more than the amount of energy consumed by Apple’s 19 corporate offices and 21 retail stores in China and Hong Kong.The projects are expected to provide up to 80 million kilowatt-hours per year while also protecting the ecosystem. They will feature SunPower's "light-on-land" approach to solar photovoltaic power plant design and construction, which allows pasture farming to continue while power is generated.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) this week announced the stunning latest results of its Clean by Design program, a global model for sustainable manufacturing that is working with multinational apparel brand partners Target, Gap, Levi Strauss and H&M