Carbon Trust Sustainability Certification

Carbon Trust offers certification for organizations in sustainability. This includes energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and waste management. Carbon Trust independently validates and certifies organizational achievements in adopting more sustainable business models.

The certification process acts to identify inefficiencies in resource use and provides a framework for improving management processes. The Carbon Trust Standard helps organizations to measure, manage and reduce their environmental impact, whilst improving their resource management and operational sustainability.

Event - Ecochem: Global Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

The Ecochem Global Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Event will take place at the Congress Center Basel, Switzerland, 11-13 November 2014 Apply here if you are interested in becoming a speaker. A vision for the future of the chemical industry. The world's most influential industry and government leaders, scientists and innovators from across the chemical industry and value chains, sharing new visions for the sustainable design, production and use of chemicals.

2013 Brower Youth Awards

In October, Brower Youth Awards acknowledged six winners for 2013. These six winners distinguished themselves with their creative and effective work tackling problems ranging from community organization, renewable energy and climate education.

Alex Freid, 22, of New Hampshire, for reinventing waste diversion on college campuses through his non-profit organization The Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN).

2013 SEAD Global Efficiency Medal for Computer Monitors

The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) Initiative, an international collaboration of 16 member economies and an initiative under the Clean Energy Ministerial. As reported in Energy Manager Today, the winners of its 2013 Global Efficiency Medal competition for the world’s most energy-efficient computer monitors are:

The LG 16EN33SA received the SEAD Global Efficiency Medal in the small-size category with 53 percent greater efficiency than conventional models (15 inches to less than 20 inches). This monitor can be purchased in India.

Companies Calling for Chemical Regulation

While some companies actively resist government regulation, others are welcoming it. A group of responsible consumer product companies is pushing for chemical safety reform legislation to better protect the public from toxins that are commonly found in consumer products.

This coalition was started by Seventh Generation along with the American Sustainable Business Council. Other members of the group include Annie's, and Stonyfield Farm. These companies are behind safer products and chemicals for decades. they are also leaders in transparency and accountability. A reform bill for the anemic 37 year old Toxic Chemical Safety Act, has been languishing in the Senate for months.

Course - Introduction to Environmental Chemistry

Two Day Workshop or 16 Hours Online. To protect human health and the environment, understanding the occurrence of different chemicals and their potential transformations, transport, and fate based on various physical and chemical processes in the environment is paramount. This course is designed as a general introduction to environmental chemistry. This two-day course provides participants with an introduction to chemistry principles and the release, transport, and fate, as well as sampling, analysis, and cleanup of contaminants of concern in soil and groundwater. This course is designed for environmental professionals who require a basic knowledge of environmental chemistry in their work.

Video - Green Chemistry and the Business of Providing Consumers with Safer Sustainable Materials

Green chemistry is growing in prominence in response to environmental concerns associated with traditional chemistry. Nowhere is this impact being felt more than in the area of finding replacements for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). This video offers the latest science on the way forward using green chemistry's ability to create innovative, healthy and sustainable products. It specifically shows how companies can grab market share by responding to growing consumer interest in safer, sustainable materials.

Event - Sustainability Chemistry Summit

The Sustainability Chemistry Summit - Europe 2013 (SI Europe) will take place September, 18-20, 2013 in Brussels, Belgium. This event will bring together the various members of the sustainability research and analytics community and the corporate practitioners responsible for measuring, evaluating and reporting sustainability information and those leading successful strategies that have helped companies head towards more sustainable processes.

Greener Solvents on the Increase in Developed Countries

In developed countries solvent use is declining while demand for greener solvents in increasing. This trend is attributable to environmental and regulatory pressures, along with concerns about toxicity to humans.

Solvents are found in paints and coatings which together account for 40 percent of solvent use. Other places where solvents can be found include adhesives, inks, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing, metal and dry cleaning solutions and agriculture.

Solvents are one of the most comprehensively regulated classes of chemicals, and tend to be regulated collectively as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOC’s are air pollutants that contribute to low-level photochemical smog. VOCs also react with nitrogen oxides to produce ground level ozone that can damage lungs crops and natural vegetation. Solvents are also implicated in high-level ozone depletion and global warming. They are often highly flammable and can have direct health impacts by absorption through the skin.

Top Companies in the 2012 Climate Leadership Awards

A total of twenty companies were named the winners of the inaugural Climate Leadership Awards by the EPA, the Association of Climate Change Officers (ACCO), the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) (formerly the Pew Center on Global Climate Change), and The Climate Registry (TCR). The awards were presented at the Climate Leadership Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. These awards recognize corporate, organizational, and individual leaders for their efforts to address climate change and reduce carbon pollution.

The Most Sustainable Companies in the World

We are seeing an ever growing number of companies address the issue of sustainability with sincerity and depth that go far beyond the public relations ploys of yesteryear. This preoccupation with efficiency is an important bottom line issue. As water, land, minerals, and fossil fuels get more scarce and costly, sustainability is an unavoidable imperitive. Here are some examples of companies that are leading the way towards this resource constrained future.

Winners of the EPA's 2012 Energy Star Awards

Energy Star is a United States government program created in 1992 by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Originally it was conceived as an attempt to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission by power plants. What began as a voluntary labelling program has grown in to one of the largest efforts worldwide to promote energy efficient consumer products.

Energy Star labels are found on over 40 product categories and in the year 2005 alone is responsible for saving consumers over 12 billion dollars. On March 26th 2012, the EPA and DOE honored businesses and organizations for their outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency at the 2012 ENERGY STAR Awards ceremony.

An Environmentalist and a Buddhist Monk Discuss Human Behavior (Video)

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Green Consumer Trends Drive Profits (Video)

Green Consumers Can Save the World (Video)

The sound quality in this video is very poor, however, it nonetheless makes the point that going all the way back to the late 80s, pundits saw green consumerism as part of the picture to reduce our impacts on the Earth.

Green Consumers Really Can Save the World (Video)

In this video Annie Leonard is trying to help change the world by encouraging people to take action as citizens, not just as consumers. She posits that green consuming is necessary, but must be a starting, not an ending, point. Shopping can help to protect the planet but part of that effort involves putting down their credit cards and exercising their citizen muscles to build a more sustainable, just and fulfilling world.

Investors and Global Sustainability

Carlota Garcia-Manas, Head of Research at EIRIS which recently published its annual report ranking global leaders in sustainability. While Garcia-Manas noted that progress is being made on sustainability she indicated that much more needs to be done. Mark Robertson, report author and Head of Communications at EIRIS pointed to legislation in Europe and increased public awareness. Both Garcia-Manas and Robertson said that investors have a prominent role to play driving sustainability.

Energy & Environmental Report From Environmental Leader

This complementary download is provided courtesy of Environmental Leader. It contains 78 Data Charts and Accompanying Analysis. This free opportunity-focused environmental, sustainability and energy-related data report also emphasizes competitive advantages and ROI.

Sustainable Investing with Green Alpha® Advisors

You won't hear traditional investment managers say this: The Earth is warming, some formerly abundant resources are becoming scarce, populations are increasing, and the global economy is beginning to change to reflect these realities.

New Tool Helps Companies with Water Risks

A global online tool launched by WWF and German development finance institution DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH) enables companies and investors to address their water-related risks. WWF and DEG have created a practical online questionnaire that not only identifies water risk in supply chains and investment portfolios, but also provides practical steps to mitigate risk.