The Value of Workplace Recycling is About More than just Money

In addition to monetary considerations associated with recycling the business community has a critical role to play helping disseminating the practice with other businesses and consumers. Recycling not only reduces environmental footprints, experienced organizations can also share their expertise and encourage others to follow their lead.

Companies are coming to terms with growing resource scarcity and recycling is an essential part of sustainability strategies. A growing number of environmentally conscious consumers are demanding that companies not only engage in more ecologically responsible practices but they want them to share their values with consumers. Recycling in the workplace can save energy, reduce emissions and minimize contributions to landfills, as well as conserve natural resources and generate jobs.

RecycleMania Tournament 2014: Student Recycling and Waste Reduction Competition

The RecycleMania Tournament is a competition designed to help schools to recycle and minimize waste. The 2014 RecycleMania competition enables participants to track their trash and recycling collections over an 8 week period in the spring of 2014. The accomplishments of schools and colleges will be compared as they compete in various categories. These competition includes awards in a number of categories including waste per capita, the best recycling rates and least amount of waste and recycling produced overall.

Webinar - There is Money in the Trash: Savings Through an Integrated Approach to Waste Management

This webinar was recorded on Tuesday, November 12, 2013, (click the link below to view the recording of the event). Waste management has long been viewed as a necessary expense that has commanded little attention next to larger operational expenses. The waste and recycling industry is at a crossroads of change, and this change has opened up a significant opportunity for multi-site businesses to drive financial and environmental savings.

With this opportunity comes some significant challenges, as consolidation of haulers continues across the country and recycling and composting options grow, so is the complexity waste generators must manage through. Businesses are under greater presser for transparency and sustainability, creating new pressures and the need for increased collaboration with haulers.

Jobs Through Electronic Recycling Report

DSM Environmental Services, Inc. (DSM) was contracted by the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling (CAER) to estimate the number of jobs associated with electronic waste recycling in the United States (US), and to project how many jobs might be created with increased electronic waste recycling activity carried out in the US.

Click here to access the report (pdf).

Businesses Take the Recycling at Work Pledge!

A growing number of businesses are already recycling. Not only does this have a tangible environmental benefit, it also helps to promote your brand. America Recycles Day makes it easy to recycle. Simply follow the Recycling at Work 10-Step Action Plan to building a successful employee-driven recycling program (see list of complimentary tools and resources at the bottom of the page).

When your business or organization takes the Recycling at Work pledge, you earn immediate recognition as a Pledge Partner and can begin accessing a range of benefits to help you increase recycling in the workplace. Take the pledge today and join the other businesses, government agencies, hospitals, schools and institutions in the national effort to increase Recycling at Work.

America Recycles Day

Friday November 15 is America Recycles Day (ARD), an annual event created by Keep America Beautiful (KAB). Recycling is one of the easiest things we can do to reduce our environmental impacts. Through ARD, KAB increases awareness and encourages people to pledge to recycle. This is more than a consciousness raising exercise through consorted national action this event makes a meaningful difference. In addition to pledges, more than 2 million people participated in events across the country in 2012. Through these activities a total of 3.7 million pounds of recyclables were collected which is equivalent to eliminating the emissions of 280 cars. The day of action is meant as a springboard that incorporates recycling into out daily lives.

Cause Marketing Complimentary Webinars

Here are two complimentary cause marketing webinars, one for business and the other for non-profits. These two webinars will take place on on November 21, 2013, they will be conduced by For Momentum's Mollye Rhea. They're full of great material including lots of real-life examples and relevant, useful tips. Participants will learn about which programs are generating major business and cause benefits -- and why. They will also discover what kind of civic engagement today's consumers expect from companies and how to leverage cause marketing to move a company or cause forward.

White Paper - Evaluating the Sustainability of Existing Building Portfolios

This white paper helps organizations make investments that provide the greatest impact. From seasoned sustainability veterans to new green venture investors, this paper can help you to evaluate and prioritize while remaining within the parameters of your business mission. Find out how to evaluate sustainability investment options and focus green dollars where they will have the greatest impact. Whether your organization has a sophisticated sustainability program or is newly engaged in this effort, this paper can ensure that you are getting the most out of your investments.

You will learn how to:

Establish a sustainability framework
Define and track key performance metrics
Identify green opportunities
Prioritize sustainability options and rank projects
Integrate sustainability into the capital planning process.

Global Extreme Weather 2013 Timeline (Tiki-Toki)

In this post Tiki-Toki reviews some of the extreme weather events that have occurred around the globe in 2013. The pattern for extreme events that we saw in 2012 continued into 2013. In early 2013, parts of the Southern Hemisphere witnessed record-high temperatures, with Australia experiencing its hottest month in January 2013 since record-keeping began more than a century ago. Meanwhile, the central and northeastern United States saw record snowfall and blizzard conditions. Precipitation continued to be extreme throughout the spring, with Spain seeing its wettest March on record and China experiencing its wettest May since 1973. At the same time, New Zealand saw its worst drought in three decades, and California experienced its driest year-to-date. To illustrate this pattern, the World Resources Institute put together a timeline of extreme climate and weather events in 2013, which builds on the previous 2012 timeline.

Two Extreme Weather Reports Presented at COP 19/CMP 9 Support Climate Finance

Two extreme weather reports released at COP 19/CMP 9 lend support to the need for climate finance. The UN has indicates that this year was one of the warmest years on record and a Global Climate Risk Index shows that the countries most vulnerable to extreme weather are also some of the poorest. The top ten warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998. On Wednesday November 10 the UN declared that the first nine months of 2013 were the seventh warmest on record since records began in 1850. 2013 is tied with 2003 with an average global land and ocean surface temperatures 0.48C above the 1961-1990 average. WMO secretary general Michel Jarraud indicated that growing levels of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs) mean that warming is inevitable.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) further announced that there is a trend of extreme weather and they stated that the impact of storms like Typhoon Haiyan are being exacerbated by rising sea levels. While it is impossible to attribute an individual weather event to climate change, that should not be taken to mean that there is no relationship. They clearly stated that rising seas make coastal populations more vulnerable to storm surges. Seas have risen by about 20 cms (8 inches) in the past century.

Send a Message to Climate Negotators at COP 19/CMP 9: Typhoon Haiyan is a Wake-Up Call

Bill McKibben and the 350.org team have put together a petition urging climate negotiators to act at this year's Conference of the Parties (COP 19). They are asking that negotiators secure a deal to reduce emissions and increase climate finance for the developing world.


A succession of less than stellar outcomes at the annual UN sponsored climate negotiations have fostered understandable pessimism. However we need to understand that this process offers the best chance we have of securing a globally binding climate treaty.

The Horrors of Typhoon Haiyan Offers a Painful Glimpse into our Future

While it is reasonable to come to the conclusion that Typhoon Haiyan was exacerbated by climate change, it is indisputable that this record breaking storm, likely the most powerful to ever make landfall, is a foretaste of our future if we continue on our current trajectory.

As we watch the painful reports of people burying their dead, searching for loved ones or desperate for food and water we would do well to remember, this is not the isolated fate of an isolated people. This is what lies in store for all of us if we fail to make the transition to a low carbon economy.

Typhoon Haiyan: Why We Must Help the People of the Philippines

We all have responsibilities to assist those who are suffering from extreme weather particularly those of us who live in wealthy nations. Climate scientists have linked Typhoon Haiyam to climate change. We already know that climate change causes extreme weather and we also know that we are all guilty of contributing to global warming. Wealthier nations have additional responsibilities as we know that our wealth was achieved through industrialization. Global warming is caused by greenhouse gases (GHGs) which are a byproduct of industrialization. Therefore, wealthier countries have an obligation to help, both because we are the biggest contributors of global warming causing GHGs and because we have the means.

Typhoon Haiyan and Climate Change

Last week, Typhoon Haiyan slammed into the Philippines leaving a path of death and destruction in its wake. Wind speeds of more than 190 miles an hour (almost 315 km/h) make Haiyan the most powerful typhoon ever to make landfall. According to data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the area East of the Philippines where Haiyan formed, sea temperatures were about 0.5 to 1 degree above normal.

Excerpts from Opening Speeches at COP 19/CMP 9

The UN Climate Change Conference known as COP 19/CMP 9, started in Warsaw with calls to "harness the strong groundswell of action on climate change across all levels of government, business and society and make real progress here towards a successful, global climate change agreement in 2015." The conference began on November 11 and runs until November 20.

The newly elected President of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19/CMP 9), Mr. Marcin Korolec, Poland’s Environment Minister, said in his opening address that climate change is a global problem that must be turned further into a global opportunity.

Role of Business in Managing Climate Change by UNFCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres

On Thursday, November 7, there was a live Q&A with Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC, in which she addressed the urgent need for business action at COP19/CMP 9 and in the wider challenge of combating climate change. Here are ten comments she made through Twitter:

1. COP19 is a pivotal moment to both step up and showcase climate action

The Philippine's Climate Negotiator Delivers Typhoon Haiyan Inspired Message at COP 19

Typhoon Haiyan left a path of widespread devastation and according to the most recent reports it may have killed as many as 10,000 people in the Philippines. As climate delegates gather for COP 19 in Warsaw, Poland, vast numbers of people in the Philippines are mourning their dead and struggling to find food and water. Between 70 and 80 percent of all the structures in the storms path have been decimated. Entire towns have been leveled and at least 600,000 people are known to have been displaced by the storm.

Free Lecture - Plastic Bag Pollution and Legislation

This free Lecture on Plastic Bag Pollution and Legislation will take place on November 10, 2013 (3 pm) at the River Vale Community Center, 628 River Vale Road, River Vale, NJ The non-profit Pascack Sustainability Group invites members of the community to join a free talk and discussion about single use disposable bags and a proposed bill in the New Jersey legislature to curb plastic bag pollution.

Guest speaker Noemi de La Puente, leader of the NJ Bag Coalition will present, “What’s the Bag Deal? A Discussion about Plastic Bag Pollution and Solutions.” Offering perspectives from the "trenches" of a coalition building grass roots support, Noemi will explain: What is going on in NJ with a possible five cent fee on all plastic and paper shopping bags in the state? What are the bills before the Senate and Assembly, and how far have they gotten? What can you do personally to help spread the word and "be the change"?

Free Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding in New Jersey

Electronics Recycling & Shredding Day will take place on Sunday, November 17, 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM @ Katz JCCKatz JCC 1301 Springdale Road Cherry Hill NJ. This is a great opportunity for local residents to responsibly recycle obsolete electronics and shred old documents and papers. They will accept all electronic devices with a plug.

Please Note: NO SMOKE DETECTORS, LARGE APPLIANCES, CRTS OR TV'S will be accepted

This service is free to all Cherry Hill residents and small businesses with less than 50 employees.

For more information click here.

Course - NJ Builders Association Legislative & Regulatory Update

NJ Builders Association Legislative & Regulatory Update will take place on November 15, 2013 from 9 am to Noon at Woodard & Curran Auditorium, Building 100,East Windsor, NJ. This event will be moderated by Robert M. Washburn, Esq., Professor of Law at Rutgers-Camden School of Law, Of Counsel with Flaster/Greenberg PC and General Counsel to the NJBA.

Course - Geothermal Energy: The 3-Day MBA

Geothermal Energy: The 3-Day MBA will take place on November 19 - 21, 2013. This course is presented by Green Power Academy. New York, USA. It offers a comprehensive introduction to the technology, markets, economics, financial risks and returns of geothermal energy.

MIT recently suggested that geothermal capacity in the US alone could potentially be 100,000 MW within the next 50 years; and this is an energy source that provides a reliable, highly productive source of electricity. Yet the industry has been adding capacity at only 1-2% per year, while other, more unpredictable renewable sources such as wind and solar have boomed.

Discussion - The Other Debt Ceiling: Using Finance to Balance Our Environmental Budget

This discussion will take place on November 20, 2013, and is presented by Solar One and NYC ACRE 7 p.m. -9 p.m. (Doors at 6:30), The WNYC Jerome L. Greene Performance Space 44 Charlton Street, New York City.

As weather events become more extreme, water shortages threaten, and human sprawl leads to biodiversity loss, there is a new focus on the global economic impact of environmental degradation. Studies from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Harvard School of Public Health, and others assert that our active growth and inactive conservation efforts have left us with a trillion-dollar bill.

Event - Reducing the Cost of Capital for Renewables

This free event will take place on November 20, 2013 from 8 am - 9 am at the New York University School of Law Faculty Club, D'Agostino Hall 108 W 3rd St., New York, NY. CLE available and breakfast Provided. Among other renewable issues it will deal with tax credits, MLPs and REITs.

Event - Sustainability Leaders Forum

The annual Sustainability Leaders Forum will take place on November 21, 2013 at Faversham House in London UK. This event brings together over 580 inspiring thought leaders who want to challenge and exceed existing sustainable business objectives and positively influence their stakeholders.

Event - Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference 2013

This conference will take place on November 18-20, 2013 in Sacramento, CA. The Behavior, Energy and Climate Change (BECC) Conference 2013 is the premier event focused on understanding behavior and decision-making with respect to energy usage, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and sustainability.

Annually, 700 participants come together to share new research, discuss innovative policy and program strategies, build networks, and find potential partners for collaboration.

Event - Improving NJ Air Quality: Focus on Transportation

Are Greener Cars in NJ's Future? An NJ Spotlight Roundtable will take place on Friday, Nov 15 11:45 am to to 1:30 pm at Rider University, the Mercer Room (Daly Dining Hall) 2083 Lawrenceville Road in Trenton, NJ. Launched in 2010, NJ Spotlight publishes daily, original stories, centered on news and policy issues, with a focus on energy, education, state finance and healthcare. Learn more at www.njspotlight.com.

Cleaning the air in the Garden State means using cleaner fuels for transportation. While motor vehicle manufacturers are developing more low-emission vehicles, the real question is, how will these be powered? Will they be plug-in electric vehicles, compressed natural gas vehicles, or something else all together? Should private entities be building these non-gasoline fueling stations of the future? Should ratepayers be shouldering the cost?… Show more What role should the government play?

Event - Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Celebration

This event will take place on Friday, November 15, 2013 at
IAC HQ, 555 West 18th Street, NYC. Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Celebration in New York City will honor C2C leaders and present the winners of the Cradle to Cradle Product Innovation Challenge, sponsored by the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Dutch Postcode Lottery, with a shared cash prize of $250,000.
Aveda, Method, PUMA, Shaw, Steelcase among Innovators to be Honored.

Across the globe more than 200 companies are transforming product design and leading a new, green industrial revolution. Come see their product innovations first hand.

Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute (C2C) is celebrating manufacturers of everything from clothing and furniture to carpets and cleaning products who have committed to “remake the way they make things” - transforming product design and leading a new industrial revolution. Following the lead of the green building industry, manufacturers from fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle brands are striving to make every product that touches our lives adhere to the highest standards of environmental and human safety.

Event - Greenbuild 2013

Greenbuild 2013 is the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building from November 20-22, 2013 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, is brought to you by the U.S. Green Building Council. At Greenbuild 2013 you can learn about new technological innovations and new products. The event features three days of inspiring speakers, industry showcases, LEED workshops and tours of the host city's green buildings.

Video - Indigenous Vs. Western: Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability

Indigenous societies and the western economic model offer two diverging world views. Western thought sees us at war with each other over resources. Indigenous philosophy espouses collaboration, sharing and the recognition that we are all related as individuals in balance with nature.

Video - Superstorm Sandy Costs Tens of Billions More than Original Estimates

Less than one month before the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy many New Jersey residents, businesses and communities have learned that the costs of Sandy are much higher than the tens of billions originally estimated. Monday, US Strong will release a new report, Extreme Weather, Extreme Costs: The True Financial Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Homeowners, Businesses and Municipalities, that helps clarify just how high that cost is. The report details the true financial costs of Sandy to homeowners, businesses and communities—and includes stories and interviews with impacted individuals.

Video - Cost of Extreme Weather in September 2013 in the US and Around the World

Almost two months before Super-typhoon Haiyan struck the Philipines, WeatherNationTV Chief Meteorologist Paul Douglas goes over the cost of severe weather. As reviewed in the video, billion of dollars of damage was caused by flooding in China, Russia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Extreme winter conditions were reported in South America as well as drought and hail which damaged crops in the US.

Video - Typhoon Haiyan One of the Biggest Superstorms Ever on the Planet

As reported on CNN, Chief Meteorologist Chad Myers says Typhoon Haiyan could be one of the biggest storms ever to make landfall. This is certainly the case in terms of wind speed, although we have yet to acquire data related to barometric pressure.

Video - Extreme Weather May not be More Frequent now but it Will Be

We're living in a warmer world, we're living in a melting world, and sea levels are rising. Bill Patzert, a scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says while we may not be seeing evidence of more frequent weather events in the US at present but we are seeing clear evidence of global warming and this is known to increase extreme weather events.

GRI Launches G4 Online Sustainability Reporting Tool

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched G4 Online. This web-based tool helps organizations that are preparing sustainability reports using G4 the latest generation of GRI’s sustainability reporting guidelines.

The free G4 Online tool gives users access to definitions of key terms and concepts as they prepare their report. The tool provides access to G4 information and reports and it is linked third party websites blogs, forums or social network platforms.

Participants also have access GRI’s G4 experts, as well as peers. Users can share their own experiences which will also provide feedback on the Guidelines, that will assist the GRI in assessing and analyzing the G4.

Super Typhoon Haiyan May be the Strongest Storm in History

With sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph), Haiyan may be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit land anywhere in recorded history. Haiyan's strength is right around the theoretical upper limit that cyclones can reach. The storm ravaged the Philippines with deadly winds, storm surges, torrential rainfalls, and widespread flooding as high as 10 feet in some areas.

Haiyan is known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Yolanda, slammed into the country's eastern island of Samar at 4:30 a.m., before moving on to five other Philippine islands then, heading toward Vietnam. In addition to massive property damage the death toll now stands at 100 and is expected to rise

Anti-Science Journalism Helped to End Progressive Climate Governance in Australia

The popular media's campaign of climate change subterfuge helped to bring down Julia Gillard's government in Australia. Anti-science propaganda has been rampant in the Australian press. A number of extreme weather events (droughts and floods) succeeded in drowning out the voices of those that oppose action on climate change and helped Gillard to get elected in 2010.  Subsequently a determined anti-science media campaign eroded Gillard's popularity and ultimately led to her downfall.

Popular media has flouted their journalistic responsibilities on climate change. A widespread campaign against Australia's carbon policy was adopted by the company that controls most Australian metropolitan newspapers. According to a 2013 study of climate science in newspapers,  the coverage of the Gillard government’s carbon policy was mostly negative (73 per cent to 27 per cent). Negative coverage (82 per cent) across News Ltd newspapers far outweighed positive (18 per cent) articles. The Daily Telegraph was the most negative (89 per cent). The Daily Telegraph has since continued its campaign against Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and bike riders.

Popular Media is to Blame for Inaction on Climate Change

The popular media needs to adopt a science based approach to presenting the news about climate issues. The role media plays is critical as most people do not read scientific papers.

Sadly the popular press has not lived up to their journalistic responsibilities. At best media coverage of climate change reflects their readers biases without regard for accuracy, at worse they promote anti-environment agendas.

The profoundly destructive tendency to present the facts alongside climate denying misrepresentations is an egregious lapse of journalistic integrity and responsibility. Although this is ostensibly done in the name of balanced coverage, the truth is that mainstream media panders to popular confusion by presenting subterfuge alongside peer reviewed science.

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.

Program - Environmental Stewardship with a Focus on Sustainabilty

The Environmental Stewardship Program with focus on Sustainability was launched in 2009 and during this time it has served many individuals and organizations. Participants come from a variety of professional backgrounds and represent a broad range of industries including government agencies, private businesses, and other sectors.

Since the early 1990's, hundreds of private, public, and community-based sustainable development initiatives have blossomed across the globe. Executive Orders by the Governors of Oregon and Washington, and actions by local governments and an increasing number of private companies, have made sustainable development a common element of today’s regional public dialogue.

Global Levels of Greenhouse Gases Reach Record Levels

According to the United Nations weather agency, global levels of carbon, methane and nitrous oxide are higher than they have ever been and they continue to accelerate. Atmospheric carbon (CO2) is the leading heat trapping greenhouse gas (GHG) and the primary cause of climate change. There is more atmospheric carbon on earth today than there has been for almost a million years. The last time the planet experienced carbon levels of this magnitude sea levels were much higher than they are today.