Event - Green Port South Asia

The 2nd GreenPort South Asia Conference will take place on February 26 and 27, 2014 at the The President Hotel in Mumbai, India. The conference will again focus on the sustainable development of ports and terminals but will also look at the need for the infrastructure to keep pace with the development of ports together with investment and finance options and initiatives. This conference will include environmental policy framework and legislation; infrastructure: green initiatives for development and construction; investment for port development: financing green projects as well as the practical issues of pollution control; improving efficiency and increasing profitability in ports and terminal.

Sustainable Development Goals to Follow Millennium Development Goals

Under the auspices of the UN, a new global sustainability initiative is taking shape. With the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) having wrapped up its work on September 20th and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set to expire in 2015, political leaders and policy makers are crafting a new development framework based on sustainability.

Studying Sustainable Development Best Practices

Soon to be released research is working on identifying the best practices in sustainable development. The Asia-Europe Environment Forum (ENVforum) is about to release a research study conducted by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (Switzerland), Earth Council Asia-Pacific (Philippines) and Public Strategy for Sustainable Development (Belgium). This research was conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES – Japan). The research team also worked closely with ASEF, through the ENVforum.

Early History of Sustainability at Queens College

Queens College began many of their sustainability initiatives during the three years between 2004 through 2007. They began participation in the peak load management program with Con Ed. They decreased their power use on certain summer days of peak demand of electricity and reduced energy load on our buildings. They have purchased only Energy Star rated air conditioners. They began replacing inefficient window units with split air conditioning systems. In the 1990s, they had installed light sensors in all of our offices and classrooms. We continued to maintain those sensors and they are operational. Beginning in 2005, we purchased electric utility vehicles for use on campus. By 2007, they had purchased 10 electric vehicles.

Queens College Sustainability Plan

Queens College Sustainability Plan sets goals in each of the seven pillars of sustainability and the steps to be taken to achieve those goals. These seven pillars are comprised of Energy, Water, Transportation, Recycling/Source Reduction, Procurement, Sustainable Nutrition, Education and Outreach.

1. Energy: A sustainable student residence and an addition to Remsen that incorporated energy efficiency measures. They are currently engaged in several studies of their buildings that will provide recommendations for energy efficient retrofits for building upgrades. They are working towards to have a solar project and a green roof. They are also working on a menu of energy savings projects in their energy audit of their facilities and they plan to implement any that are financially feasible. New equipment is evaluated in terms of its energy-efficiency. With adequate funding, their goal is to replace all of their outdoor lighting with either LED or induction lighting.

Queens College Sustainability Mission

As reviewed in Queens College Mission statement, the school is serious about being green. Their campus is steeped in the culture of sustainability making them a model for the community. The school follows the well accepted approach outlined in the 1987 Brundtland Report (“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.) They have a Sustainability Council that oversees the execution their Strategic Plan to be carbon neutral.

Queens College is committed to energy reduction through efficiency. Their construction and renovation projects are environmentally sound and they make extensive use of recycled materials. They are reducing the overall waste and they have a robust recycling program. Further, they are becoming a “paperless” campus which uses only “green” products.

Best Practices for Sustainable Businesses

A sustainable best practices program involves a comprehensive and holistic approach that encompasses everything a business does that impacts the environment. A best practices program assists companies in making systematic changes in areas like emissions, energy, transportation, water and waste.

A sustainability initiative involves the development and implementation of green ideas and goals. Crucial to this process is the development of metrics that track and monitor performance. Also important is the identification and response to challenges, opportunities and threats.

Some well known evironmental guides and certification systems include the GRI G3 Guidelines , ISO 14001:2004 and ISO 14004:2004 . Most sustainable best practices programs address at least six key areas. Here is an alphebtical summary of the basic areas that are central to environmental sustainability.

Green Team

Assemble a company green team that will serve as the sustainability steering committee. This dedicated team is important to making and maintaining sustainable changes. The green team should have representatives from different departments. Policies should be written for the employee manual on energy, water, waste, transportation and pollution prevention. The green team is in charge of the development and implementation of these policies.

Emissions and Indoor Air Quality

Record and manage emissions, set targets for emissions reductions. Review physical infrasructure, building materials and furnishings. Source materials that have less impact on indoor air quality (Use carpets, furniture, paints, adhesives and cleaning products that are associated with less noxious outgassing).

Energy Efficiency

Monitor and manage energy consumption. Implement energy efficiency program including energy reduction targets for IT, manufacturing, lighting, heating and cooling.

Transportation Efficiency

Track the mileage of all company vehicles and work on finding more expedient travel routes. Employ more fuel efficient modes of transport including hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

Water Reduction Strategies

Monitor water consumption and develop strategies for water reduction. Effective strategies can begin with something as simple as retrofitted faucets with low-flow aerators.

Waste Reduction and Recycling

Log waste and develop a strategy for waste reduction and recycling. Summarize the waste stream and identify targets for waste reduction. Develop a recycling program with a good plan including logistics that detail how recycled materials will be collected and stored.
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Best Practices for Sustainable Businesses

Sustainable Business Methods, Strategy, Management and Reporting

There are at least four critical areas for businesses seeking to enhance their sustainability, including, methods, strategy, management, and reporting.

To address the specialized requirements of sustainability, companies are employing new business methods. Specifically, companies are using habitual practices and systematic processes to achieve accuracy and efficiency, often in an ordered sequence of fixed steps. Sustainable methods include business-case analysis, trend spotting, scenario planning and risk modeling.

Sustainable strategy involves planning to reduce a company's footprint. This implies using resources efficiently and effectively. By using analytical data, businesses can position themselves to develop distinctive sustainability strategies. Many aspects of strategy development will remain internal, but companies are increasingly adopting open-source approaches that rely on outside assistance.

Some sustainable companies are instructing their managers to incorporate sustainability objectives into compensation models, reviews, and other management processes.

Some firms have invested in technology to record and report environmental events such as spills and waste disposal. An environmental management system can be the foundation for policy deployment, practice management, goal setting, decision making, and data capture.

Sustainability concerns involve obvious issues like efficiency, carbon intensity and transparency, green IT, green power use, GHG reductions, toxic emissions, packaging, water intensity, paper use and recycling. Other less obvious issues include cleantech investments and patents, employee commuting, telecommuting, environmental financial impacts and toxics in manufacturing.

There are many things that businesses can do to be more sustainable, and many good reasons to do so.
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Next: Sustainable Successes and Failures

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