The latest products, services and cleantech applications and how they are tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental issues.
An overwhelming number of Hawaii residents (94 percent) support more rooftop solar, and 90 percent believe that Hawaiian Electric (HECO) — the state’s largest supplier of electricity — is slowing rooftop solar to protect its profits, according to a new opinion poll.The poll confirms that most residents are familiar with and supportive of rooftop solar; one-third have family members with solar, and more than half have neighbors with solar.Hawaii has the highest solar per capita in the country — residents are accustomed to seeing rooftop solar in their communities and they want to see even more of it in the future.
Apple’s Campus 2 in Cupertino is on its way to redefining sustainable office spaces. In a recently released video detailing the sustainability aspects of the building, the company says that the idea is to “bring California back to Cupertino,” and it believes it has a shot at building the “best office building in the world.”
On Monday, a Tesla Model S sedan completed a 24-day, 12,183-mile battery-powered journey across the United States as part of an effort to secure Guinness World Record verification for longest vehicle journey ever taken using 100 percent electric power.The Epic Electric American Road Trip, sponsored by information services company Recargo, was meant to emphasize the possibilities of the nation's current electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Norman Hajjar, Managing Director of Recargo's driver research division, PlugInsights, drove the vehicle.
Nissan has announced the expansion of its "No Charge to Charge" promotion — which provides two years of no-cost public charging with the purchase or lease of a new Nissan LEAF — to 25 US markets, which are currently responsible for more than 80 percent of Nissan LEAF sales.Nissan says the "No Charge to Charge" expansion will use the new EZ-ChargeSM card, a first-of-its-kind platform that will offer LEAF drivers access to the leading EV charging networks with a single, all-access card. New LEAFs will come with an EZ-Charge card that will provide access to chargers with ChargePoint, Blink Network from Car Charging Group, AeroVironment and NRG eVgo.
British Airways and Solena Fuels' GreenSky London project is set to build the world's first facility to convert landfill waste into jet fuel at the Thames Enterprise Park in Essex. The location is part of the site of a former oil refinery and has existing fuel storage facilities and transport links.
REI is on track to powering all of its stores and distribution centers by renewable energy, through a combination of renewable energy projects and certified renewable energy certificates (RECs).With 26 solar electric systems generating energy and a strong program to invest in energy efficiency, REI now buys RECs as part of its energy strategy that powers more than 130 stores, two distribution centers and its headquarters.While the company grew nearly six percent in 2013, REI says it increased its energy consumption by just 0.1 percent and reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 39.5 percent.
Tesla Motors sold 1,493 Model S sedans in Norway last month, breaking the Scandinavian country’s all-time vehicle sales record, The Wall Street Journal reports. This was more than double its typical monthly sales in Norway and well in excess of volumes typical for the top monthly seller in that market, according to registrations reported by Norwegian transportation officials.The electric vehicle (EV) company’s March performance topped Norway's previous single-market record, dating back to 1986 when Ford sold 1,454 Sierra sedans in one month. In 1992, Subaru's Forrester fell just short of that with 1,328.
Last week, Honda unveiled its net zero energy "Smart Home" on the University of California Davis campus. The company says the building, which includes a charging facility for a Honda Fit EV and is intended to demonstrate Honda's vision for zero-carbon living and personal mobility, will on average generate more electricity from on-site renewable energy than it receives from the local utility.
Private investments in sustainable technologies such as renewable energy, water, energy efficiency, and green construction hit $5.3 trillion in 2014 — more than halfway to the 2020 goal of $10 trillion — according to a recent announcement by Ethical Markets.To help track investments as they accrue, Ethical Markets in 2007 established the Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS). The GTS tracks Renewable Energy ($2.6 trillion), Water ($484 billion), Energy Efficiency ($1.1 trillion), Green Construction ($512 billion), Green R&D ($363 billion) and Cleantech ($258 billion).
With most of the focus regarding the carbon footprint of air travel on the planes themselves, little attention is generally paid to that of airports. a new project to convert the rest of the vehicles on the airfield at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport from fossil fuels to electric power is about to save the airport millions of dollars and tons of greenhouse gases (GHGs).
Energy-efficiency programs are helping industry achieve higher energy savings, cost savings and productivity improvements, according to a new report by the SEE Action Network and the Institute for Industrial Productivity (IIP).The report, Industrial Energy Efficiency: Designing Effective State Programs for the Industrial Sector, investigates successful and well-designed industrial energy efficiency (IEE) programs in the United States. The results provide a strong case for industry participation in statewide programs.IIP says it is clear from the research that state energy-efficiency programs are helping both industry and ratepayers save money and cut energy use.
Water is the word of the month — as California suffers through one of the worst droughts in its history, Silicon Valley-based tech companies are innovating to reduce their water consumption and brands from Coke to Levi’s raising consumer awareness of water usage and conservation leading up to
Hydrogen fuel cell cars have more than three times the standard range of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs), can be refueled in minutes rather than hours and look and handle more like traditional cars — so why are there still only a few hundred hydrogen-powered vehicles on the road? The answer is a lack of hydrogen refueling stations, according to a new segment released today by QUEST, an Emmy Award-winning multimedia series with a new focus on exploring the science of sustainability. See the segment below:
Boeing has launched an initiative with South African Airways (SAA) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) to expand opportunities for “smallhold” farmers in Southern Africa to grow crops that produce sustainable fuels.Boeing says the program builds on a global effort alongside RSB and other partners to help farmers with small plots of land gain access to markets for sustainable biofuels and biomaterials. In the coming months, Boeing and RSB will work with Southern African stakeholders to create pilot programs to build knowledge and skills among groups of farmers who want to certify their crops as sustainable.
Businesses and governments must tackle energy and water use in tandem or risk major disruption, according to research released this week by sustainability specialists Anthesis in association with the Water Footprint Network. And 15 leading businesses from 11 different sectors, including Sainsbury’s, Boots UK, GlaxoSmithKline, Nestlé and Nokia have committed to looking at their carbon-water management holistically.
GE has announced the renewal of its ecomagination commitment, the company’s sustainability initiative that seeks to find technology solutions that save money and reduce environmental impact for its customers and operations.Since its 2005 launch, GE says ecomagination has generated more than $160 billion in revenue. The company’s own operations have seen a 34 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions since 2004 and a 47 percent reduction in freshwater use since 2006, realizing $300 million in savings.
Amid one of the worst droughts in California history, Google, Adobe, eBay and several other technology companies are embracing innovation to reduce water consumption, the Guardian reports.Google is considering installing new technology such as urinal cakes containing enzymes that calcify urine so that toilets only have to be flushed a few times each day. This could save around 500,000 gallons of water a year.
Chevrolet has helped develop a formula where US colleges and universities can earn money for certain upgrades that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as part of a new voluntary carbon-reduction initiative.Through this initiative, Chevy will buy and retire carbon credits resulting from some campuses’ GHG reductions from either their LEED-certified buildings or other campus-wide energy-saving initiatives. The program is part of the company’s voluntary goal set in 2010 to prevent up to 8 million metric tons of carbon emissions from entering the earth’s atmosphere.
Interface announced this week it has reached a series of major sustainability milestones at its European manufacturing facility in Scherpenzeel, The Netherlands. As of January 2014 the plant has been operating with 100 percent renewable energy, using virtually zero water in its manufacturing processes and has attained zero waste to landfill. This is a key achievement for the facility and a significant step forward for the company as it strives towards Mission Zero — Interface’s pledge to eliminate any negative impact it has on the environment by 2020 and by doing so, become a restorative enterprise.
Volvo Construction Equipment’s Braås site in southern Sweden has become its first carbon-neutral facility and is claimed to be the first construction equipment production plant in the world run entirely on renewables.The 45,000 m2 site, which specializes in the design and manufacture of articulated haulers, is now powered entirely by renewable energy sources — including wind, biomass and hydropower.The move follows in the footsteps of sister company Volvo Trucks, whose Ghent facility set the standard for emissions-free industrial manufacturing in 2007.