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In this issue: August 2011
Issue 6 • September 6, 2011
Latest sustainability & environmental
management developments
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EL Trends: August 2011
Contents: TOP NEWS 3 ENERGY MANAGEMENT 4 COMPLIANCE & STANDARDS 7 ENVIRONMENTAL & ENERGY SOFTWARE 17 CORPORATE REPORTS 19 POLICY & REGULATORY 20 FLEETS & TRANSPORTATION 35 REPORTING 40 GREEN BUILDING 41 SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING 41 EXECUTIVE MOVES 42 RENEWABLE ENERGY 46 CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY 49
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Top News
Hurricane Irene forced the closure of several power plants after sweeping along the East Coast, with the
percentage of people without power varying from six percent in Vermont to 36 percent in Maryland, 41
percent in Connecticut and 46 percent in Rhode Island. The hurricane shut down at least one oil refinery, the
ConocoPhilips plant in Linden, N.J. Before the storm hit, two nuclear power plants either stopped working or
were intentionally shut down.
A law firm is inviting consumers to submit claims against companies using the term “natural” on their foods,
as the attorneys pursue a class-action lawsuit against ConAgra. Milberg LLP filed suit against the food giant
in June, saying the company’s Wesson oil contains genetically modified ingredients and therefore doesn’t
qualify as “natural,” Grist reports.
The troubled Coca-Cola joint-venture recycling plant in Spartanburg, S.C., reopened after being shuttered by
the company in March. Coke is considering selling its 49 percent stake in the plant, according to the Wall
Street Journal.
A “radical overhaul” in agriculture could double production while protecting ecosystems, according to a report
by the United Nations Environment Program and the International Water Management Institute. The authors
warn that the world must act quickly to save the Earth’s breadbasket areas, where resource depletion is so
severe that it threatens to decimate global supplies of fresh water and cripple agricultural systems worldwide.
Green campaigners ForestEthics recently confronted Dole and Chiquita with full-page ads in USA Today,
criticizing the banana distributors for their use of Canadian fossil fuels.
Ray Anderson, founder of Interface, Inc. and a widely recognized leader in sustainable business, died on
August 8 after a long battle with cancer. He was 77.
Intercontinental Exchange Inc. is to shut its emissions derivatives trading platform, Chicago Climate Futures
Exchange, by the end of the first quarter. ICE is closing the exchange as it loses money and there is little
chance of the government putting a federal carbon reduction plan in place.
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Intercontinental Exchange has announced plans to launch 21 over-the-counter North American emissions
contracts. The announcement follows on the heels of news that ICE will shut its emissions derivatives trading
platform, Chicago Climate Futures Exchange, by the end of Q1 2012.
Exchange firms GreenX and IntercontinentalExchanges have launched futures contracts tied to the California
carbon market. The first transaction was for 100 contracts between NRG Power Marketing LLC and Shell
Energy North America (US) L.P. at a price of $17.00 per allowance.
The price of oil fell to its lowest point in over eight months on Aug. 8 after Standard & Poor’s downgraded of
the U.S. credit rating. Oil dropped to $82.52, the lowest intraday price since November 24.
“Super green” consumers – those engaged in the highest amount of environmentally-friendly activities – are
top earners with a penchant for luxury items, according to a report from Scarborough Research.
Energy Management
The total capacity of industrial distributed generation is set to grow by at least 46 percent between 2011 and
2016, according to a report by Pike Research. The report, Industrial Distributed Generation, says total IDG
capacity will rise from 91 to 133 GW under a “slow growth” forecast scenario.
The Obama administration’s Campaign to Cut Waste announced a plan to shut down an additional 178 data
centers, bringing the total of 373 data centers that will be eliminated by the end of 2012, and 800 by 2015.
Overall, the plan is expected to save more than more than $3 billion by 2015.
Total installed generation capacity for campus microgrids will increase by 164 percent between 2011 and
2017, rising from 620 megawatts to 1.6 gigawatts, according to a new report from Pike Research. According
to Microgrids for Campus Environments, by the end of the forecast period in 2017, the campus microgrid
market will reach $777 million in annual revenue.
Siemens Energy is installing meter data management system eMeter EnergyIP for Midwest-based WPPI
Energy and its member utilities. The eMeter management system will allow WPPI members to perform load
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forecasting and analysis, provide peak load management, develop new pricing programs and enable new
demand response programs, Siemens says.
Lighting Science Group and Dixon Technologies have revealed a 60-watt equivalent LED bulb that they say
will be the first to sell for under $15. The omnidirectional, A19 bulb will be available in India by the end of the
year and will be sold worldwide early next year. The first in a series of products, it is being jointly
manufactured and distributed by the two companies; the full line will include street lights, outdoor and
industrial light fixtures and replacement bulbs.
Noresco, a unit of Carrier Corp., has increased its energy savings performance contract with the Alabama
Department of Corrections (ADOC) to include two new phases of work totaling an additional $22.4 million
investment. Improvements will include heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) upgrades, upgraded
lighting, new domestic hot water systems and new roofs at selected locations.
Idaho Falls Power will deploy the Elster EnergyAxis Smart Grid solution as a key component of its Advance
Metering Infrastructure project. EnergyAxis will automate smart meter data collection for Idaho Falls Power’s
electric customers, which the company says will enable faster demand response, improve load control, and
improve voltage conservation.
Siemens will implement Spectrum Power advanced control systems for six companies of Endesa, a private
electricity company in Latin America. The Endesa Group will install the system in Chile, Brazil and Colombia.
Endesa aims to obtain safer and more efficient operation for the electric power grid, lower operational costs,
and improve operative decision making.
The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) has replaced its Sun and Dell servers with HP’s
Converged Infrastructure, cutting energy use and costs, enabling the DWR to move to a 95 percent
virtualized environment, reducing its physical servers from 600 to 160. Additionally, HP Thermal Logic
technology enhanced DWR’s cooling efficiency by 50 percent and power distribution and efficiency by 40
percent, HP said.
GE launched its 1-megawatt Waukesha APG1000 gas engine, which can utilize a broader variety of
biogases, including those from landfills, wastewater treatment plants and agricultural waste. The engine’s
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greater fuel tolerances allow it to handle fluctuations in the thermal quality of the biogas with little or no
manual intervention, says GE.
AmeriPride Services, one of the five largest uniform rental and linen supply companies in North America, is
implementing a JouleX platform to improve IT energy efficiency and reduce power consumption, starting with
solutions for the distributed office and the data center, and then expanding to include other facilities.
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rebounded in 2010 but still remained six percent below 2005 levels,
according to an analysis by the Energy Information Administration.
A DuPont plant in Orange, Texas, was given an award by the American Chemistry Council for energy-
efficiency improvements that saved about 540 billion btu. The DuPont packaging and industrial polymers
operations site cut consumption by enough to power 3,800 households, while reducing greenhouse gas
emissions by 30,000.
NYSE Euronext has become the first carbon-neutral global exchange operator, the company announced.
The parent company of markets including the New York Stock Exchange said it reached carbon neutral
status for 2010 through energy efficiency and conservation efforts, plus purchase of Green-e certified
renewable energy certificates and carbon offsets.
This year $700 million will be spent on energy harvesting, the process by which ambient energy is captured
and converted into electricity for small autonomous devices, such as satellites, laptops and nodes in sensor
networks, according to research by IDTechEx. By 2021, IDTechEx expects a $4.4 billion market for energy
harvesting components.
Efficient Energy America (E2America) has announced that its retrofit HVAC control system aimed at reducing
energy costs and consumption is now available to the convenience store market.
FZLED unveiled a range of 22-watt spotlights featuring Cree LEDs. The PAR38-03 series is a simple money-
saving plug-and-play replacement for inefficient traditional lights in E27/E26 sockets, FZLED says.
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Cree announced commercial availability of its XLamp XT-E Royal Blue LED, optimized for use in remote
phosphor lighting and similar applications. The company says the XLamp XT-E LED delivers the industry’s
tightest wavelength bins combined with category-leading brightness to simplify remote phosphor designs and
lower system costs. Cree announced a remote phosphor component patent licensing program to enabling
lighting fixture companies to develop and introduce products using LEDs such as the XLamp XT-E Royal
Blue.
Philips Lighting won the 60-watt replacement bulb category of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bright
Tomorrow Lighting Prize (L Prize) competition, which challenged the lighting industry to develop high
performance, energy-saving replacements for conventional light bulbs.
Consulting firm Environ will conduct an energy efficiency audit for 14 Hyatt Hotel & Resorts, the second
phase of the of the organization’s European hotel portfolio, including properties in London and Istanbul.
Japanese telecommunications company NTT America has deployed five Bloom Energy Servers running on
directed biogas, at its Lundy Data Center in San Jose, Calif.
Panasonic Corporation launched a two-year pilot energy project with the government of the Republic of
Singapore to collaborate on the development and testing of a comprehensive household energy solution at
Punggol Eco-Town.
Canadian agribusiness, Cargill, will invest approximately $37.8 million ($36 million Canadian dollars) in a
waste-to-energy project at its High River, Alberta, beef processing facility. The system is expected to
increase to 80 percent the plant’s ability to generate the energy needed for production.
Compliance & Standards
New research from California, Oregon and Washington shows that homes with LEED or other third-party
energy efficiency certifications sell faster and net higher prices than other homes. One study, by the Earth
Advantage Institute, found that new homes with certifications sold for 8 percent more on average than
noncertified homes and existing houses with certifications sold for 30 percent more in the Portland, Ore.,
area.
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The California State Assembly passed a bill on Monday that would allow companies to register as benefit
corporations, and the bill will now be considered by Gov. Jerry Brown. A benefit corporation is a new legal
class of corporation that is required to meet higher social and environmental performance standards.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has become the first state in the U.S. to accept
European Union standards for emissions from pellet boilers. Maine’s rules on outdoor pellet wood boilers
allows the department to accept boiler certification programs other than the one used by the EPA, if deemed
scientifically valid.
The University of Southern California announced that it will receive the first-ever LEED platinum accreditation
for student housing this week. The university’s new building is on public transportation routes, offers
preferred parking for fuel efficient cars, and contains recycled flooring.
Vedanta Aluminium’s Lanjigarh Unit plant in Orissa became the first mining company in India to receive
accreditation for its energy management system for ISO 50001:2011 from the British Standards Institution.
MDM Development’s Wells Fargo Center, the office component of the large-scale Metropolitan Miami project,
has received LEED gold certification.
CardsMadeEasy, a London-based printer of business cards, leaflets and labels, announced that it
has become an ISO 14001 certified printer.
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute announced a new “formaldehyde free” verification service for
manufacturers. The institute said consumers’ growing concern about the health effects of the carcinogen has
created the need for “fool-proof identification of products that neither contain it nor emit it.”
A new standardized method developed by the North American Association of Food Equipment
Manufacturers and ASTM International will measure the environmental impact of food service equipment and
provide data for use in LEED submissions, Food Service Equipment & Supplies Magazine reported
on Wednesday.
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The United Kingdom will use a carbon dating technique to award certificates to renewable energy providers
that produce power from municipal waste, Biomass Magazine recently reported. The certificates will be
issued for every megawatt hour of renewable electricity generated, and can then be sold to electricity
suppliers.
Although a federal judge in New York dismissed a lawsuit against the U.S. Green Buildings Council that
claimed the organization made false statements about “the energy- and money-saving aspects of LEED
certification,” legal experts said that more litigation can be expected. The judge’s ruling said the plaintiffs
could still sue in state court.
Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Italian navigation systems subsidiary has received ISO 14001:2004
accreditation for its environmental management. The certification was issued by Lloyd’s Register Quality
Assurance, an accredited third-party auditor, after inspections of the company’s Rome facilities in June.
WarmlyYours, a maker of energy-efficient radiant electric heating supplies for household and bathroom
floors, announced it has received certification of full RoHS compliance for its TempZone mats, Slab Heating
cables and mats, and Snow Melting cable and mats systems.
Entech Solar, Inc. announced its concentrating photovoltaic module, SolarVolt, has met the CPV module
testing and construction evaluation requirements of IEC 62108 and the safety requirements as outlined in
draft standard IEC 62688. The certification will help pave the way for SolarVolt’s introduction to the
commercial market for large-scale commercial, industrial, and government utility applications.
Ecotech Institute, a college whose curriculum focuses on preparing America’s workforce for careers in
renewable energy and sustainable design, recently received LEED gold certification for its main campus
building, which features twelve rooftop solar panels, eight wind turbines, and low flow fixtures.
The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance and member companies in three states announced that the for the first
time retail locations will post sustainability grades for biodiesel, according to a report. The SBA’s
Sustainability Report Card ranks biodiesel on several criteria, including feedstock type, feedstock origin, how
the fuel was produced and how far it travelled to point of sale.
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The European Commission has rejected proposals from many member states to revise the planned changes
to the 2003 waste electronic and electrical equipment (WEEE) directive, according to news reports.
Trade bodies the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute released details of a
three-year initiative aimed at helping their industry reduce food waste. The Food Waste Opportunities and
Challenges initiative will rely on participation from food retailers, manufacturers and the food service industry.
A proposed new standard for determining the total amount of fluorine and chlorine in coal and coke is being
developed, ASTM International announced. The Subcommittee D05.29 on Major Elements in Ash and Trace
Elements of Coal invites participation from government and industry.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) will
partner to oversee an independent, joint accreditation program for credit and non-credit energy efficiency and
renewable energy certificate programs in educational and other institutions. ANSI and IREC signed a
memorandum of understanding, and will receive advisory support from the U.S. Department of Energy’s
National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
A Georgia company has developed a new X-ray capability to detect poor quality electronic parts that it said
will assist companies in complying with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) standards enforced
by the European Union, according to UPI.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) has opened a new LEED-certified ship
operation facility called Marine Operations Center-Pacific, in Newport, Ore. The center, which moved from
Seattle, will serve as homeport for up to four research and survey ships.
NSF International certified several polypropylene color concentrates manufactured by the Plastics Color
Corporation, of Calumet City, Ill., for use in kitchen appliances, according to a report.
Third-party testing by UL Environment supports BASF’s environmental and sustainability claims for its Spray
Polyurethane Foam (SPF) insulation products used in the building and construction industry, the company
announced.
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Earth Science Information Systems’ ESdat database now includes a library of regulatory environmental
standards. The company said the new software enables users to quickly perform environmental regulatory
compliance checks against local, national, or international environmental standards.
GE’s appliances and lighting division opened its new LEED platinum certified data center at its Louisville,
Ky., appliance park headquarters. GE says the data center is 34 percent better in terms of energy savings
than a typical code-compliant building, and that 35 percent of its energy use is offset through the purchase of
renewable energy.
LEED gold certification was awarded to Yahoo’s Sunnyvale, Calif., headquarters. Jones Lang LaSalle
managed the LEED certification process for the 1 million-square-foot collection of seven office buildings.
Testa Produce Inc.’s new distribution center won a LEED platinum rating. The 91,300-square-foot facility has
a 180-panel photovoltaic solar array and a solar water heating system that supplies all the hot water used in
the building.
The American National Standards Institute submitted to the Department of Energy a report (pdf) outlining
priority areas where standards and conformance activities are needed to facilitate the safe, effective, and
large-scale deployment of electric drive vehicles in the United States.
The Smart Energy Profile version 2.0 draft 0.7 was unanimously approved in a Smart Energy Working Group
letter ballot, according to the Zigbee Alliance, a global group of organizations creating wireless solutions for
energy management. The working group will resolve comments from the ballot and product developers will
begin testing products designed to conform to the standard.
Phil Ting, San Francisco’s assessor-recorder, is working with the city’s Department of Environment to
develop a green-grade program for energy efficient homes. Homes that meet certain standards will be given
a green grade designation on their property records, which could help homeowners ask for a higher selling
price.
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The government in Ghana plans to develop a labeling system for energy demand in buildings, according to
the Ghana News Agency. Buildings will be required to earn labels before they are built for sale, the agency
said.
The European Commission has said that a plan by member states to delay a 65 percent collection target for
electronic waste under the WEEE standard goes against established EU goals. These goals include
increasing resource efficiency and access to secondary materials, the EC said.
Hazardous chemical manufacturers, importers and distributors should begin material safety data sheet
authoring activities now to comply with the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of
Chemicals, according to MSDSonline.
The EPA declined to change the national air quality standards for carbon monoxide, but will require more
focused monitoring in densely populated areas, the agency said.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative held its fourth of seven meetings in Auckland
recently in an effort to develop sustainability principles for the insurance industry. The final principles, which
are scheduled for launch in June 2012, will serve as the global framework for insurance companies to better
manage environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities.
Titan America says three of its Virginia plants were among the first to be certified by the National Ready-
Mixed Concrete Association’s new Sustainable Concrete Plant Certification Program. The plants include
Clear Brook Ready-Mix, in Clear Brook, Suffolk Ready-Mix Concrete in Suffolk, and Bryan Park Ready-Mix in
Richmond.
CSA Standards has announced that it is selling the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard in
Canada. The new standard outlines best practices for streamlining energy consumption.
The UK’s Environment Agency proposed strict guidelines for electrical waste collection plans and obligations,
seeking to streamline the more than 40 WEEE programs across the country.
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Florida, North Carolina, Oregon and Scottsdale, Ariz., are the most recent jurisdictions to adopt the
International Green Construction Code as a regulatory tool to increase energy efficiency and complement
voluntary green building rating systems, according to the International Code Council.
Tesco has become the first U.K. retailer to receive a Renewable Obligation Certificate for biofuel from
OFGEM, the government’s energy ombudsman. Tesco spent two years developing the ethanol bio fuel,
created from organic waste products, and the certification confirms that the fuel contains absolutely no traces
of traditional fossil fuels and is 100 percent renewable.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to shale gas operators, asking them
to certify that they will not use grandfathered facilities for salty wastewater disposal. A DEP spokeswoman
said the certification letter is legally enforceable.
The Ontario Automotive Recyclers Association is calling for an industry-led environmental management
system for recycling and disposing of old vehicles. According to the group, more than half a million vehicles
in the province are decommissioned but most are not managed to any environmental standard.
Springfield, Mo., has hired an engineering firm to determine how EPA pollution rules will affect City Utilities.
The utilities’ general manager Scott Miller said the company needed to get ahead of the “construction rush”
for environmental equipment.
Aquatherm Industries has earned ISO 9001:2008 certification, making it the first and only U.S. solar collector
manufacturer to have done so. The company said its compliance with such quality standards as IAPMO,
NSF and CSA helped speed the auditing process.
E-Waste Systems founder Martin Nielson said the Obama administration’s national strategy for electronics
stewardship is too limiting, adding that U.S. standards should be on par with those of the EU WEEE Directive
and that the EPA should have enforcement power over that standard.
Western Environmental Inc. and Waste Reduction Technologies agreed to eliminate potential noxious odors
from their waste handling, recycling, and composting facilities on the Cabazon Reservation near Mecca,
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Calif., the EPA said. The companies must install an odor control misting systems and monitor odor-causing
substances.
The EPA took legal action against the Battery Recycling Company, Inc., which operates a secondary lead
smelter in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, saying the company must reduce its air and water pollution through
improved monitoring and reporting, preventive actions, and operational improvements.
Electric and gas provider Ameren Missouri said it will comply with the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule by
entering into a long-term contract with Peabody Energy for the purchase of 91 million tons of ultra-low sulfur
coal through 2017.
The European Photovoltaic Industry Association opposes regulation of the disposal of PV panels under the
waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive. Instead, EPIA wants the European Union to
recognize a voluntary take-back initiative run by the PV industry.
The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems and
treatment plants, at a cost of about $4.7 billion over 23 years, to eliminate illegal overflows of untreated raw
sewage, including basement backups, and to reduce pollution levels in urban rivers and streams.
American Water Works Company is part of a team that received a $124,834 grant from the WateReuse
Research Foundation to develop guidance on water reuse’s role in achieving LEED status.
The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at the California Environmental Protection Agency
says its carcinogen identification committee will discuss whether to prioritize 39 chemicals when drawing up
hazard identification materials.
A fishermen’s alliance urged the Philippines’ Department of Environment and Natural Resources to recall an
environmental compliance certificate that was given to Taiwan Cogeneration International Corporation, which
is expected to build two 150-megawatt, coal-fired thermal plants inside the former U.S. Naval Base in Central
Luzon in the Philippines.
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Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant lowered its power generation to 50 percent in all three reactors to comply with
regulations covering the temperature of the Tennessee River.
NSF International verified a BASF Corporation report detailing the methods and findings of its “Micro
Surfacing Eco-Efficiency Analysis.” The report found that, when compared to the environmental impacts and
costs of a two-inch mill and fill asphalt overlay, a cold mix, polymer-modified asphalt emulsion-based micro
surfacing has the lowest overall material and labor costs.
The ISO is considering a tool developed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to gauge
energy consumption and CO2 emissions in homes and offices across the world. The tool could form the
basis for a new international standard for measuring the environmental performance of existing buildings.
The first release of the Climate Bond Standard will now cover not only corporate bonds, but also project
development bonds and bonds issued by securitization vehicles, according to organizing body the Climate
Bonds Initiative.
The EcoLogo certification program has released its newly revised environmental standard for hard surface
cleaners. The new standard limits products containing chemicals known to trigger or aggravate asthma, and
excludes substances that are harmful to humans or the environment.
Luxury hotel The New York Palace recently achieved a 4 Green Key rating, according to Healthy Buildings, a
company that facilitated sustainability practices for the hotel. The Palace uses 100 percent renewable
energy, recycles materials, and donates food.
Taipei 101, once the world’s tallest building, last month earned LEED platinum status, making it the world’s
tallest green building, CrazyEngineers.com said. The 101-story structure located in Taipei, Taiwan, has
undergone energy efficiency upgrades to its heating, cooling and ventilation systems and other renovations.
A three-judge appeals court panel ruled that the Florida Water Environment Association Utility Council and
the South Florida Water Management District did not demonstrate that they would be injured by the EPA
consent decree requiring Florida to adopt federal agency-developed numeric nutrient criteria for its
waterways, The Associated Press said.
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Four environmental groups have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit brought by businessman Rod Lueck,
the American Tradition Institute and the American Tradition Partnership over Colorado’s renewable energy
standard. The law requires larger utilities to tap more renewable sources of energy by 2020. The groups say
the plaintiffs don’t have standing to sue.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and 25 partners launched Standards Boost Business, an
awareness campaign that calls on corporate America to invest in the standardization system and gain its
rewards.
The Oregon Building Codes Division has developed an optional, higher level energy efficiency code based
on the November 2010 International Green Construction Code (IGCC) public version 2.0, the 2012
International Energy Conservation Code, and ASHRAE 90.1.
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and Austin, Texas, will expedite the installation of a pair of
emissions scrubbers on two of the coal-fired Fayette Power Project’s smokestacks in La Grange, Texas, to
comply with current regulations and try to better compete in the electric utility market, The American-
Statesman reported.
A new international standard, ASTM F2683, will help on-scene response coordinators, planners, and oil spill
management and removal teams determine which boom is best for the job at hand, ASTM said.
AIN Online reports that ASTM International’s revised specification on biofuel blends (ASTM D7566-11) will
enable fuel suppliers to add up to 50 percent bio-derived synthetic blending components to jet fuel.
A Miami, Fla., man was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for importing 20,460 cylinders of
hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22, an illegal refrigerator gas that depletes the ozone layer from China, according to
The Associated Press. Brendan Clery, who formed Lateral Investments LLC in 2005 and smuggled the gas
in the summer of 2007, must pay $40,000 and turn over more than $900,000 from the company’s sales.
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Environmental & Energy Software
Xiolink, a provider of private cloud computing and managed infrastructure, has selected Modius’s OpenData
Enterprise Edition to monitor, maintain, and provide analytics about its power usage effectiveness (PUE).
Xiolink has a PUE target of 1.25, and has deployed the platform in its newest data center to provide the
operational intelligence required for more accurate capacity planning.
Viridity Software announced it will incorporate Intel Data Center Manager SDK into its EnergyCenter
software. The integration is expected to help IT and facilities managers monitor and manage data center
assets at a more granular level, obtaining detailed information such as temperature directly from specific
server assets. The Intel-enhanced EnergyCenter software will also enable users to add and monitor new
servers immediately as they come online, even before the baseline server profile is completed, the company
said.
Cisco and 1E signed a partnership agreement to integrate their energy consumption software. 1E is
producing a version of its NightWatchman application that integrates with Cisco’s EnergyWise platform,
allowing users to track the energy use of their IT infrastructure as well as of buildings.
Trucost and FactSet have created an integrated platform for analyzing environmental and financial risk, with
pension fund CalSTRS their first high-profile customer. The two organizations say their partnership will allow
investors to embed environmental risk management into their everyday decision-making, alongside
traditional financial metrics.
Telkonet Inc. announced it will install its EcoSmart Suite energy management platform at Cornerstone Real
Estate Advisers’ Westin Alexandria Hotel. The EcoSmart platform will control existing water source heat
pumps in each of the 341 rooms and 7 suites of the Alexandria, Va., hotel. Telkonet’s products will be
networked using a wireless communications infrastructure consisting of EcoWave wireless thermostats and
EcoView wireless occupancy sensors that detect occupancy with high sensitivity motion and heat sensors.
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Silver Spring Networks and Freestyle Technology have agreed to integrate the Freestyle Zigbee-based smart
water meter module with the Silver Spring Smart Energy Platform. This will let the units remotely
communicate, managing and supporting water meters without duplication of infrastructure, according to the
companies.
Energy management software company BuildingIQ has relocated its global headquarters from Australia to
the U.S. The company opened new offices in the Bay Area in California and in the northeastern U.S.
Sentilla, which makes efficiency software for data centers, has raised $15 million in its third round of funding.
C3, a fledgling vendor of energy management software, says its customers and partners now include Adobe,
Constellation Energy, Dow Chemical, GE, HP and Siemens. Paul Baier, vice president of sustainability
consulting at software vendor Groom Energy, says the unveiling of a customer list is a sign of C3′s move
from “stealth mode” to full-on operations.
Major smart meter manufacturers EDMI, EM-Lite, Itron, OnStream and Secure Meters agreed to integrate
long-range radio communications platform Sensus FlexNet into their product portfolios, Sensus announced.
1E released version 4.0 of efficient IT platform Nomad Enterprise, which the company says further minimizes
the amount of data sent across the WAN, therefore reducing the network bandwidth required.
Colorado-based Green Energy Corp has been awarded a $2 million loan from American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act funding for continued development and marketing of the GreenBus Smart Grid software
platform.
Climate Earth has unveiled Scope 3 Answer Packs, the first in a line of environmental business intelligence
products designed to help sustainability professionals report their organization’s top supply chain impacts.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is transitioning to a cloud-based regulatory compliance
management system from environmental software provider Enviance.
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IBM announced the creation of a global laboratory dedicated to technology services, that the company hopes
will, among other things, improve data center efficiency. The Services Innovation Lab will use data mining
and real-time analytics software that IBM says will dramatically improve the operation of a data centers by
enabling IT management to become “predictive and proactive.”
Enviance announced that Continental Resources Inc. has selected Enviance’s cloud-based Environmental,
Health and Safety software to manage its regulatory compliance processes.
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, a member-owned utility, selected Oracle Utilities Meter Data
Management and plans to upgrade its Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing application to support its
smart grid and green initiatives. REC will work with Red Clay and Lockheed Martin on the implementation
and upgrade.
Corporate Reports
Dunkin’ Donuts has eliminated 4.6 million pounds of waste a year by reducing the weight of two disposable
cups, according to the firm’s first corporate responsibility report. The company reduced the weight of both its
foam hot and its plastic cold cup in 2009, but says it has struggled to find a more sustainable replacement for
the foam cup, which the company says is its most prominent sustainability issue.
Gap pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2015, from a 2008 baseline, in the
company’s fifth Social and Environmental Responsibility report. The greenhouse gas goal follows an earlier
20 percent decrease in GHG emissions from 2003 to 2008, exceeding a goal of 11 percent set as part of
Gap’s participation in the now-defunct Climate Leaders program.
The Global Reporting Initiative’s electricity and heating consumption both fell in 2009/10 while conference-
related emissions rose, the organization reported in its latest sustainability report. The GRI, which sets a
widely followed protocol for corporate sustainability reporting, followed the same guidelines for its own report,
Paper Planes and People (pdf). The report is self-declared at application level A.
American Water raised its wastewater compliance rate in 2010 and held its drinking water compliance rate
steady at 99.9 percent, according to the company’s first full corporate responsibility report. The largest
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publicly traded water and wastewater utility in the U.S. said it raised its compliance rate for wastewater from
99.5 to 99.6 percent last year.
CB Richard Ellis led the property services industry by benchmarking and registering 242 million square feet
of Energy Star buildings and engaging 146 million square feet in LEED services last year, according to the
company’s fourth corporate responsibility report.
International Paper reduced its global energy use from 2007 to 2010, but increased its landfilled solid waste
from 2006 to 2010, according to the company’s 2010 Sustainability Report.
Best Buy increased its U.S. recycling of electronics, appliances, cardboard and paper, plastic and metals in
fiscal year 2011, according to the company’s Fiscal 2011 Sustainability Report.
Molson Coors cut its water use, energy use, waste and scope 2 carbon emissions in 2010, though its scope
1 emissions rose, according to the company’s 2011 corporate responsibility report.
Footwear and outdoor apparel maker Timberland has updated its corporate sustainability reporting goals,
publishing these targets in a newly launched online CSR portal.
Policy & Regulatory
The leadership of the GOP majority in the U.S. House of Representatives told its membership that it will seek
to repeal or delay many of the EPA’s “job-killing” regulations and proposed rules, The Hill reported. Majority
Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is targeting national smog standards, the EPA’s proposals to strengthen
standards for air toxics from industrial boilers, and power-plant rules on mercury and sulfur dioxide.
Exxon entered a landmark agreement with Russia to explore for oil in the country’s Arctic Ocean territory,
even as U.S. waters off nearby Alaska remain mostly closed to drilling, The New York Times reported. As
part of the pact, Russia’s state-owned Rosneft oil company could become a part owner of Exxon’s U.S.
operations.
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A bipartisan group of 24 governors is urging President Obama to take several administrative steps to support
wind energy projects. The Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition wrote in a letter that the president should create
a federal-state task force to expedite deployment, and refocus the Energy Department on aiding states rather
than developing programs for “next-generation wind technologies.”
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it is likely that the earthquake that prompted the shutdown
of the North Anna Power Station in Virginia produced more force than the plant’s reactors were designed to
withstand, according to a report in The Hill.
The American Lung Association wrote a letter to the members of the debt “supercommittee” in Congress
tasked with drastically trimming the nation’s deficit, urging the panel to spare the EPA’s budget from
draconian cuts and resist policy riders that prevent the agency from implementing new pollution rules, The
Hill reported.
China increased its targets for the amount of energy it aims to receive from renewable sources. The country
plans to produce 100 gigawatts (GW) of on-grid wind power generating capacity by the end of 2015, up from
its previous goal of 90 GW.
The EPA has approved a new use for a DuPont insecticide genetic trait for corn seeds that will fight above-
ground pests only. The Optimum AcreMax Xtra insect protection will allow farmers to kill above-ground
pests, while most other products on the market fight both above- and below-ground pests.
Landowners in Pennsylvania paid more than $100 million in state income tax in 2010 on money earned from
royalties and leases from Marcellus shale natural gas drilling as the drilling boom continues. The tax
revenue totaled just $17 million in 2007.
The Canadian province of Alberta has released an updated land-use plan for its oil sands region. The
proposal adjusts some of the boundaries of proposed conservation land and delays policies to halt the
spread of toxic tailings ponds.
22
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The EPA announced that it plans to complete the non-cancer portion of its new risk assessment of dioxin by
the end of January 2012. After completing that phase, EPA will finalize the cancer portion of the dioxin
reanalysis as quickly as possible, the agency said.
A federal judge overseeing hundreds of lawsuits against BP alleging financial losses after last year’s oil spill
in the Gulf allowed most of the plaintiffs’ claims to go forward. In a major victory for the more than 100,000
plaintiffs, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans ruled that punitive damages would be available if
BP were found liable.
Several Democrats in the House of Representatives attacked the State Department on Friday over the
agency’s decision to greenlight the 1,700 mile Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian tar sands to Texas.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) said the department’s finding that the pipeline would cause minimal damage
ignored the threat to aquifers; Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) said the finding did not address climate change.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it would inspect two nuclear plants knocked offline by Hurricane
Irene. The commission said it would take “a few days” before reactors were running again at Exelon Corp.’s
Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey and Constellation Energy’s Calvert Cliffs plant in Maryland.
The Department of Energy (DOE) published new rules that will require refrigerators to be 25 percent more
energy efficient starting in 2014. DOE estimates the rules will save consumers an average of $200 on utility
bills.
A coalition of utilities is urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its Order 1000,
which allocates regional spending for new transmission lines. CMS Energy Corporation, Consolidated
Edison, Inc., DTE Energy Company, Progress Energy Inc., Public Service Enterprise Group, SCANA
Corporation, and Southern Company say the order will result in increased consumer prices.
Wyoming regulators confirmed they have refused to identify 146 chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing since
public disclosure rules went into effect nearly a year ago. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission granted the trade secret exemptions to 11 companies.
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The state of Alaska filed papers to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that upholds the listing of polar bears as
threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Department of Interior’s decision to list the polar bear
was based on the destruction of its habitat caused by rapidly melting sea ice.
The DOE granted a partial guarantee for an $852 million loan to the Genesis Solar Project in Riverside,
Calif. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, is sponsoring the proposed 250 MW plant.
The New Mexico environment department said the state’s largest electric utility will pay a $125,000 civil
penalty for emissions violations at a coal-fired power plant. The state agency said it detected violations of its
emissions limits for particulate matter and carbon monoxide at Public Service Company of New Mexico’s San
Juan Generating Station.
Japan’s parliament passed a law requiring utilities to buy electricity generated from solar, wind, biomass,
geothermal and small-sized hydro power plants at annually preset rates for up to 20 years. The law follows
the country’s abandonment of a plan to invest in nuclear plants after the radiation crisis that followed the
tsunami and earthquake in March.
The EPA said it would delay reporting rules that will require manufacturers and power plants to submit
information on the raw materials they use that lead to greenhouse-gas emissions, Bloomberg reported. The
rule was to take effect this year, but has been pushed back to March 31, 2013.
The Government Accountability Office released a report that assails the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) for failing to implement 20-year-old recommendations to improve management at the agency’s
laboratories. The report calls EPA scientific research “”fragmented and largely uncoordinated.”
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey imposed a one-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing on Thursday,
saying that the oil and gas production technology needs more study, Reuters reported. The governor vetoed
a bill that would ban the practice.
The EPA entered into two settlements, totaling more than $4 million, to improve drinking water at the San
Gabriel Valley Superfund Site in Los Angeles, Calif., the agency announced. The first pact settles claims
24
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against Aerojet-General Corporation; the second reaches accord with Mammoet Western, Inc., Time Realty
Investments and Tonks Properties.
Four Republican senators wrote to the inspector general of the NRC on Thursday, demanding an
investigation of the agency’s chairman for allegedly withholding information from other members of the five-
member commission and improperly exercising “emergency authority” in the wake of the radiation crisis at
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan.
The EPA said it has reached a $1 million settlement with Chemical Waste Management for improper disposal
of hazardous waste leachate at a landfill near Kettleman City, Calif. The settlement includes a $400,000 fine
and $600,000 to be spent on compliance measures.
Entergy Corp, the nation’s second-largest nuclear operator, agreed to improve safety and employee training
programs at 11 nuclear power plants, the NRC said (via Reuters). The NRC ordered a review after an
employee at the company’s River Bend plant in Louisiana complained of retaliation for questioning part of the
company’s quality control program.
The Texas Railroad Commission asked the state’s Attorney General to “bring a prompt legal action” to delay
the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, slated to take effect Jan 1. Dallas energy company Luminant said
the rule will force it to mothball some lignite coal operations, and lose revenue.
China will sue ConocoPhillips, seeking compensation for the costs of two spills in June that dumped 3,200
barrels of oil into north China’s Bohai Bay (where the company operates several rigs), according to The New
York Times.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed a final version of its regulatory review plan to comply
with President Barack Obama’s order that agency rules not overly burden business. The EPA will review 35
regulations under the final plan with an eye toward “modifying, streamlining, expanding or repealing a
regulation or related program during the 2011 calendar year.”
The eastern seaboard’s largest earthquake in a century has prompted a renewal of the debate surrounding
the safety of the country’s nuclear power plants. Critics say that the 5.8 magnitude quake that shut down two
25
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nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Virgina shows the vulnerability of the power source to
natural disasters.
BP has paid out more than $5 billion in claims to 204,434 victims of last year’s offshore oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico, Kenneth Feinberg, the administrator of the compensation fund, said. To date, 947,892 claims have
been filed from all 50 U.S. states and from 36 countries, seeking compensation from the $20 billion fund.
The EPA has reached a settlement with the Department of Interior (DOI) to remedy numerous violations of
environmental laws at 72 schools and 27 public water systems on American Indian reservations. An EPA
compliance inspection administered by DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs uncovered violations of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the
Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act, and the Toxic Substances Control Act’s PCB
provisions.
The United States Geological Survey greatly increased its estimate of recoverable natural gas in the
Marcellus Shale formation underlying Pennsylvania, New York and nearby states, The Hill reported. The new
USGS estimate updates a 2002 report, boosting the estimate from 2 trillion to 84 trillion cubic feet of natural
gas, and from 10 million to 3.4 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.
The EPA has issued administrative compliance orders to six concentrated animal feeding operations in Iowa,
Kansas and Nebraska for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act. Most of the operations were illegally
discharging wastewater into local tributaries, the EPA said.
Cleanup of an oil spill from an ExxonMobil pipeline into the Yellowstone River in Montana will cost the
company an estimated $42.6 million. About 42,000 gallons, or 1,000 barrels, of crude leaked into the scenic
river in July.
A plan to encourage investment in solar and other renewable energy sources in Japan passed the country’s
lower house of parliament. The proposal, which comes in the wake of the catastrophic radiation leak at the
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and puts the brakes on the country’s expansion of atomic power, awaits
consideration by the upper house.
26
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U.S. Sen. James Infofe (R-OK), ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, wrote
a letter to the EPA urging the agency to reconsider a proposed rule to regulate cooling intake reservoirs
under Section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. The senator said the rule will cause consumer electricity prices
to rise.
As Congress gears up to dramatically pare domestic spending, a new report from an alliance of conservative,
taxpayer, consumer and environmental groups highlights what it calls billions of dollars in unnecessary
subsidies to polluting industries. The alliance comprises the Friends of the Earth, deficit hawk Taxpayers for
Common Sense, consumer watchdog Public Citizen and free-market think tank The Heartland Institute.
The California Public Utilities Commission gave unanimous approval to the Renewable Auction Mechanism
(RAM), a program under which developers will bid on the lowest levelized cost of energy (LCOE) that they
can afford. The program will support small- to mid-sized renewable energy development and require big
California utilities to buy electricity from projects of 1.5 to 20 MW.
More than 100 tar sands protesters were arrested for gathering on the White House sidewalk. A series of
acts of civil disobedience were designed to pressure President Obama into rejecting a permit allowing
TransCanada Pipelines Ltd. to construct the Keystone XL pipeline.
A change in regulations and some data entry mistakes are being blamed for a greater amount of fluid and
solid wastes being reported from Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania, the Times-Tribune
said. State rules now require operators to report the wastewater they reuse or recycle, not just the waste that
is disposed of, during the six-month reporting period.
Canada’s Environment Minister Peter Kent proposed regulations that would require coal-fired power
generation to reduce emissions to levels comparable to those of high efficiency gas-fired plants, Reuters
said.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense is blocking plans for hundreds of wind turbines across a large area of northwest
England and southwest Scotland, the Guardian reports. The turbines’ “seismic noise” will prevent the MoD’s
seismological recording station at Eskdalemuir, Scotland, from detecting nuclear explosions around the
world, the ministry says.
27
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The technical staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have 45 days to review safety reforms suggested
by a federal task force, the Hill said. Their recommendations on safety issues are due by Oct. 3, but the staff
will have 18 months to consider changes to the commission’s regulatory framework.
A Congressional Research Service report acknowledges that EPA regulations will force many coal plants to
close through 2017, but also says the benefits are greater than the cost, including those related to health
care and saving lives. The report suggests that the replacement of inefficient plants with efficient natural gas
plants would occur anyway if fuel prices continue to be low.
Klaus Genssler, COO of U.S. Oil Recovery L.P., agreed to pay $3 million to settle a Harris County, Texas,
lawsuit. The county claimed the company spilled hazardous materials into the area’s bayou system, an
Associated Press article says.
Five companies, including Carrier, Trane and Johnson Controls, wrote a letter (pdf) to EPA administrator
Lisa Jackson saying a loophole in a 2009 rule could be hindering the agency’s attempts to phase out ozone-
depleting refrigerants in air conditioners.
The Interior Department invited developers to identify locations for which they are seeking commercial leases
for wind projects offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The agency is also seeking public comment on
environmental issues and reasonable alternatives to proposed leasing, site characterization and assessment
activities in the area.
The EPA added Peter Martin Kuhn, former president and CEO of French Gulch Nevada Mining Corporation
and Bullion River Gold Corporation, to its fugitive list after he failed to surrender to authorities. A grand jury
indicted Kuhn in July for his alleged role in improperly disposing of mining wastes.
Nine states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are gathering information and comments
for a 2012 review of the cap-and-trade reduction program.
Numerous fish and shellfish were killed after a mixture of pulp and chemicals from the Temple-Inland plant’s
paper manufacturing process in Bogalusa, La., discharged into the Pearl River. The company took
responsibility and hired a private company to coordinate cleanup.
28
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The EPA proposes to approve Louisiana’s request to redesignate the Baton Rouge area to attainment of the
1997 8-hour ozone standard. Preliminary 2011 air quality data show that the area meets both the 8-hour
standard and the 1-hour standard for ozone.
The Department of Energy launched a partnership with Brazil aimed at developing the country’s energy
resources and improving cooperation of offshore drilling, renewables and nuclear power.
On December 14, the Interior Department will hold the first sale of Gulf of Mexico oil and natural leases since
the BP spill last year. “This sale is an important step toward a secure energy future that includes safe,
environmentally sound development of our domestic energy resources,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said
in a statement.
The Japanese government unveiled proposals to require automakers to raise average fleet efficiency to
20.3km/litre (48 mpg) in 2020, a 24 percent improvement compared to the 16.3km/litre achieved in 2009.
The U.S. District Court in New York City dismissed a lawsuit charging the U.S. Green Building Council with
false advertising over its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Energy
efficiency professional Henry Gifford filed the class action suit in October.
California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris settled with seven companies operating terminals at the ports
of Los Angeles and Long Beach over alleged diesel emission standards violations. The operators will pay
for projects related to testing solar electric panels in saltwater and capturing exhaust from idling vessels.
Earthjustice, representing the Kansas Sierra Club, filed a legal brief to stop the construction of a coal-burning
power plant near Holcomb. The permit approved by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for
Sunflower Electric Power Corp. violates the Clean Air Act, according to the group.
New York state lawmakers Sen. Mark Grisanti (R-Buffalo) and Assemblyman Robert Sweeney (D-Suffolk)
are asking the Department of Environmental Protection to extend the length of the comment period for
hydraulic fracturing. The agency recommends the standard 60-day review period; the lawmakers wanted a
180-day window to comment.
29
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California governor Jerry Brown, Nevada governor Brian Sandoval and U.S. EPA regional administrator
Jared Blumenfeld signed an agreement to return Lake Tahoe to almost 100 feet of clarity within 65 years by
removing fine particulate matter, the EPA said.
The former UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive secretary Yvo de Boer called for
businesses to get involved in international climate change negotiations. Boer, who is now KPMG’s global
climate change and sustainability adviser, suggested a recently established CEO forum in South Africa with
40 private sector members may be a good start.
Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett is defending his environmental policies after a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
story said the administration has been cutting staff from renewable energy and conservation programs.
Waste & Recycling News reports that Illinois lawmakers have passed a law to allow the state’s Department
of Transportation to use asphalt made from recycled roofing shingles.
A rule revising the Land Disposal Restriction treatment standard for carbamate wastes went into effect on
Aug. 12, 2011. Industries should use Best Demonstrated Available Technology as an alternative treatment
standard for the carbamate wastes.
Federal judge Nancy Freudenthal said Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service policies scaling back
“categorical exclusions” or exemptions for certain drilling activities did not follow procedure for proper public
notice and comment, the Hill said.
In response to an Earthjustice motion asking the court to require EPA to issue ozone standards immediately,
the agency filed its own motion, saying that the standards would be issued soon but that the regulations are
under review at the Office of Management and Budget, the Hill reported.
The EPA small businesses, governments and not-for-profit organizations to participate on an advocacy
review panel focusing on the regulation of perchlorate in drinking water.
30
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Clean Harbors will pay the federal government a $650,000 fine, and spend up to $1 million to plant trees
throughout Boston, to settle allegations that the company violated environmental regulations at a Braintree,
Mass., hazardous waste-management facility.
The city of Newport, R.I. has agreed to a settlement to eliminate illegal discharges of sewage from its
wastewater treatment plant and wastewater collection system, at an estimated cost of $25 million, plus a
$170,000 penalty to be split between the federal and state governments.
Chevron Corp. has spent $75 million in cleanup costs for a pair of pipeline leaks in June which sent
thousands of gallons of oil into a creek and lake in Salt Lake City.
Shell U.K. Limited reported it had reduced the oil that had been leaking from a platform flow line in the North
Sea, The New York Times said. The spill occurred in the Gannet field, about 112 miles east of Aberdeen,
Scotland, and has been estimated at about 750 barrels.
As the EU shifts its attention to helping developing countries lower their carbon dioxide emissions, China
recently announced a plan to set absolute caps on iron, steel and cement production.
Netherlands’ top court suspended the Bergermeer gas storage project, described as the largest such project
in Europe, ending a final ruling on its potential to cause earth tremors, Reuters said.
Utility Pacific Gas & Electric faces serious allegations in California. State regulators say they are investigating
claims that PG&E ignored warnings over serious gas leaks and bilked its customers out of nearly $2 million
in unwarranted costs.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it has completed another step in the permitting process for
Southern Company’s proposed Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors near Augusta, Ga. Staff finished a safety evaluation
and completed work on the company’s application for a license to build and run the nuclear plants.
Commissioners must still hold a hearing and vote to confirm the approvals.
Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Rush Holt (D-N.J.)
asked EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to develop a broad definition of diesel fuel to ensure that permitted
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fracking operations don’t inadvertently contaminate groundwater sources with benzene, toluene,
ethylbenzene and xylenes.
To protect private citizens whose property has been impacted by hydrofracking, New York State comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli proposed the state require drilling operators to post surety bonds for drilling, The New
York Times said. Money from those bonds would be used for any subsequent contamination on private or
public property.
Sioux Falls-based Candle Development, LLC, has agreed to pay $100,000 and perform restoration and
mitigation projects to address unauthorized filling of wetlands during development near Nine Mile Creek in
Sioux Falls, the EPA said.
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection seeks comment on whether it should lower the noise limit for
wind turbines at night from 45 to 42 decibels, the Maine Public Broadcasting Network reported.
Illinois governor Pat Quinn announced on Sunday that he signed bills creating a council to study the potential
for wind energy projects on Lake Michigan, and allowing counties to establish wind farm districts. Both laws
take effect immediately.
PNM, the New Mexico electric utility owned by PNM Resources, will appeal the EPA’s decision to require
expensive environmental controls on the San Juan Generating Station. The company said the federal rules
can be met with a state-approved technology that is one-tenth the cost of the selective catalytic reduction
units the agency is requiring.
Edison Electric Institute will ask President Obama to extend the compliance deadline for the EPA’s rule
limiting mercury and air toxics emissions by six years. The agency predicted most facilities will be able to
meet the original maximum achievable control technology deadlines but allows one-year extensions.
Construction began on an oil refinery on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota after the EPA
approved a permit for discharging treated wastewater from the process, FuelFix.com said. Sen. John
Hoeven (R-N.D.) said the tribe may still need to get other permits but the wastewater one was important.
32
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Citing improper hazardous waste disposal and poor technical standards, China shut down 583 lead acid
battery manufacturing plants. The Chinese government said the Ministry of Environmental Protection
inspected more than 1,900 plants through the cooperation of nine government departments.
The EPA proposed a rule that would exclude carbon dioxide streams that are injected for geologic
sequestration, in wells designated for this purpose, from hazardous waste regulations under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, the agency said. The exclusion is part of an effort to lower barriers to the
use of carbon capture and sequestration technologies.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) expressed concern that an estimated 40 gigawatts of coal-fired generating
capacity are “likely” to be retired and 41 gigawatts are “very likely” to be retired, partly because of EPA
regulations.
The EPA announced that Vala Sciences, Cee Tox, Life Technologies and BioReliance won contracts to test
up to 10,000 chemicals for potential toxicity to people and the environment through the ToxCast chemical
screening program. The companies will use innovative technologies such as stem cell toxicity tests.
Earthjustice petitioned the EPA to develop new rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to
require manufacturers and processors of oil and gas exploration and production chemicals to
conduct toxicity testing and identify all chemical substances and mixtures tested, the Hill reported.
Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Thursday removed Nobuaki Terasaka, the leader of the Nuclear and
Industrial Safety Agency, the nation’s main nuclear regulatory body; Kazuo Matsunaga, the top bureaucrat at
the Ministry of Trade and Industry; and Tetsuhiro Hosono, the leader of the ministry’s energy resources
bureau. The agency is a part of the ministry and has been criticized for inadequate safety measures and
accused of sending people to meetings to publicly support nuclear power.
U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) said he would block approval of the Obama administration’s nominee of
Rebecca Wodder as assistant secretary for fish and wildlife and parks. The senator plans to hold this position
until the Interior Department extends “hundreds of Gulf of Mexico drilling leases” that will expire in 2011, the
article said.
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According to a recent analysis by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Canada
will not be able to reach is 2020 emissions target. The Conservative government reportedly only provided
reliable estimates on the effectiveness of three of its eight policies to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Shell said it will accept responsibility for the double rupture of a trans-Niger pipeline in 2008, the Guardian
reports. The oil company faces paying hundreds of millions of dollars because of the spills in Bodo and
Ogoniland in Nigeria.
The Interior Department gave conditional approval to Royal Dutch Shell’s plan to drill in Arctic waters off
Alaska’s coast, the Hill reports. The plan is for the drilling of four oil-and-gas wells over two years, in the
Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s northern coast.
Some Congressmen may oppose renewing the federal tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, CNN reports.
Utilities in New Mexico could lose out on $10 million in fees over two years after the state’s highest court
struck down a decision by the Public Regulation Commission, which required an energy efficiency surcharge.
The surcharge was designed to compensate the utilities when customers use less electricity because of
conservation measures.
British Columbia’s Environment Department has launched an online database that will enable people to track
those who have violated environmental regulations. The searchable database includes orders, administrative
sanctions, tickets and court convictions and is expected to serve as a deterrent for future violations.
Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) introduced the Smart Electronics Act (HR 2748) to direct the Department of
Energy and the EPA to determine if cell phones, gaming consoles, and MP3 players could be added to the
Energy Star program, the Hill said.
The EPA’s new Chemical Data Reporting rule will require chemical manufacturers to report critical
information more often and submit new and updated information related to potential exposures, current
production volume, manufacturing site data, and processing and use data for more chemicals, the agency
said.
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An International Energy Agency report says carbon pricing does not address all barriers, including imperfect
information, principal-agent problems, and behavioral failures, to implementing energy efficiency policies.
Energy performance standards and labeling, consumer feedback tools, awareness-raising efforts, and
contractual support for the construction of low energy buildings do address these barriers and should be
used in conjunction with carbon pricing, the report says.
Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the agency will invest $50 million over two years to assist
the domestic photovoltaic manufacturing industry with SUNPATH (Scaling Up Nascent PV At Home).
A presidential Blue Ribbon Panel recommended the U.S. take care of its nuclear waste by using a network of
interim storage sites and one or more permanent geologic dumps, Reuters said. Volunteer host towns are
needed along with the $25 billion in Nuclear Waste Fund money to address the 65,000 tonnes of waste piling
up near reactors.
South Carolina, Washington, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners filed a lawsuit
against the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to require
the agency to rule on the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump in Nevada and to review the
Department of Energy’s license application for the site.
Dow Chemical agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water
Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act at its manufacturing and research facilities in
Midland, Mich.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced the Partnership to Fuel America, a business and industry group
interested in supporting the Keystone XL pipeline to bring Canadian oil to Gulf Coast refineries, the Hill said.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is investigating the Obama administration’s negotiations with automakers for new,
the Hill reported. The President announced an agreement for a corporate average fuel economy standard of
54.5 mpg by 2025.
Environmental group New Energy Economy won the right to participate in New Mexico Environmental Impact
Board (EIB) meetings about greenhouse gas regulations for public utilities.
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The Department of Energy will analyze the cumulative environmental impacts of increased uranium mining
and milling in southwestern Colorado. DOE approves uranium leases on public lands. Conservation groups
have sued the agency, saying that the leasing program does not comply with the National Policy Act and the
Endangered Species Act.
President Obama signed an agreement with thirteen major automakers to pursue the next phase in the
Administration’s national vehicle program, increasing fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-
duty trucks by Model Year 2025.
Fleets & Transportation
Magna International and the Canadian province of Ontario have announced an investment of C$432 million
($441 million) in electric vehicles. The investment will help fund research into electric car concept
development, parts for hybrid electric/battery electric vehicles, lightweight metallic components, an alternate
energy project, and bio-based composite materials aimed at reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel
efficiency.
UPS is purchasing 100 fully electric commercial delivery vehicles from Electric Vehicles International in a
move that will save an estimated 126,000 gallons of fuel a year. The class 6 walk-in delivery trucks with a 90-
mile range will be placed in service early next year in California’s South Coast Air Basin, San Joaquin Valley
and Sacramento Valley. The purchase marks the largest deployment of zero emission delivery vehicles in
California, and one of the largest single deployments of commercial all-electric vehicles in the world, EVI
says.
AT&T has announced the deployment of the 4,000th alternative-fuel vehicle in its corporate vehicle fleet. The
AFV, a Ford E250 van running on compressed natural gas, was deployed in Chicago. Currently, 3,000 of the
company’s AFVs use compressed natural gas. Half of all of AT&T’s AFVs are deployed in California, the
company says.
GM and electronics manufacturer LG are to design and engineer electric vehicles together. The automaker
say the agreement will help it expand the variety of EVs it makes, by using LG’s expertise in batteries and
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other systems. For LG, the arrangement represents a widening of its portfolio as an automotive solution
provider, the electronics manufacturer says.
Hertz and GE Industrial Solutions China announced a partnership aimed at renting electric vehicles to
multinational companies and government agencies in China. The companies agreed to co-locate the Hertz
electric vehicles and GE charging infrastructure across China. The two companies will bundle EV leasing and
charging facilities together.
GM is introducing a flame treatment technology that lets paint stick to plastic vehicle parts, such as
instrument and door panels, without using primers that contain solvents and foul the air. The flame treatment
technology, designed by FTS Technologies, uses a robotic system to create a molecular change to the
surface of the plastic, making it bond with the paint.
Car rental firm Hertz launched an electric vehicle car-sharing program at the San Francisco Marriot
Waterfront. The Hertz On Demand venture is open to the hotel guests and the wider public and is the first
electric vehicle car sharing program in downtown San Francisco.
The Linc Group installed electric vehicle charging stations in Southern California. The stations were
commissioned by regional air pollution control agency the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
They are free to use and can be located using an iPhone app.
The automotive industry is gearing up for a major shift to lighter materials as governments in Europe, the
U.S. and Japan introduce tighter restrictions on carbon emissions, according to a report by consultants Frost
& Sullivan. Prevalent Substitution Trends within Materials and Chemicals in Automotive Lightweighting finds
that the market for such products was $38 billion in 2010, and predicts this will reach $95.34 billion in 2017.
Lighter materials, improved aerodynamics and a new hybrid powertrain mean that the new 2012 Camry
Hybrid LE, launched this week by Toyota, yields a more than 30 percent boost in fuel economy compared to
the previous model. The 2012 model has an EPA-estimated fuel economy of 43 mpg city, 39 mpg highway
and 41 mpg combined, Toyota says.
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Ford and Toyota will collaborate to develop advanced hybrid systems for light trucks and SUVs. The two
auto-makers have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), with a formal agreement expected by
next year, and say they will have a co-developed hybrid system ready for use in rear-wheel-drive light trucks
arriving later this decade.
The Oregon Department of Transportation selected AeroVironment to supply, install, operate and maintain
22 electric vehicle charging stations along major transportation corridors in the northwest part of the state.
Construction will be complete by December 2012. Funding for the project came from a $2 million U.S.
Department of Transportation TIGER II grant.
Leviton unveiled Holiday Inn’s first publicly-available electric vehicle charging station, in Albany, New York.
The Leviton Evr-Green Level 1 and Level 2 Dual Output Public Charging Station will be available for use by
hotel guests and the public.
Electric transportation firm Ecotality Inc. opened the first Blink commercial electric vehicle charging point in
the Dallas metro area. Ecotality plans to install over 200 charging stations in the area over the coming
months.
Kemet Corporation installed an electric and hybrid plug-in vehicle charging station at its Simpsonville, S.C.,
headquarters. The General Electric DuraStation EVSRN3 single pedestal charger is free to the public, and
offers Level II charging service for vehicles requiring 208-240VAC at 40A.
BASF is supplying Ford with a PA6 resin, which includes post-consumer recycled resin, for select air intake
manifold systems. The product is exclusive to North America and will be adopted on three of Ford’s current
production engines.
Enterprise Rent-A-Car is adding a Toyota Prius Plug-In hybrid demonstration vehicle to the WeCar auto
sharing program at Yahoo’s Sunnyvale, Calif., campus.
Toyota is delivering more than 160 Prius PHVs across the U.S. as part of a demonstration program aimed at
gathering real-world driving data and informing the public about plug-in hybrid technology.
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The University of Southern California has placed an order for nine additional T3 Motion electric standup
vehicles (ESVs). In 2007, USC entered a trial period with T3 ESVs to assess the vehicle benefits and
capabilities for security initiatives. Since then, the school has purchased a total of 28 ESVs.
In 2010, investors gave $930 million to alternative fuels start-ups, a four-year low, according to a report by
Lux Research. However, according to Hedging Bets with Flexibility in Alternative Fuels, investment has
climbed dramatically to an all-time high of $698 million for companies with flexible technologies that can use
a variety of feedstocks or generate diverse end products.
Utility Trailer Manufacturing Company has launched the USS-120A, an aerodynamic side skirt for haulage
trucks. The USS-120A is U.S. EPA SmartWay verified as an “advanced side skirt.”
Specialty gas company Air Products opened a hydrogen fueling station that draws feedstock from municipal
wastewater. In addition to providing hydrogen, the process also provides electricity and heat.
Chrysler and ZeaChem Inc. entered into a memorandum of understanding aimed at accelerating the
development and market adoption of advanced cellulosic ethanol. The companies say they hope to establish
cellulosic ethanol as a cost-effective green transportation alternative and move away from what they term the
“food for fuel debate.”
Eleven U.S. Northeast and mid-Atlantic states are considering an agreement that could cut the carbon
intensity of fuels used in transportation by up to 15 percent over the next 10 to 15 years, the New York Times
reports. The group calls itself Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management.
Electric vehicle infrastructure and charging stations are vulnerable to being hacked, according to a report by
Pike Research. A cyber attack could result in brownouts, stranded vehicles, and strike a huge blow to
consumer confidence in the reliability and viability of electric vehicles as a preferred mode of transportation,
according to Electric Vehicle Cyber Security.
Ohio’s Stark Area Regional Transit Authority signed an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to develop
and operate a new compressed natural gas fuel station to support the transition of half of SARTA’s bus fleet
to natural gas power. The Canton, Ohio, station will open in Q4 2011.
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The Sheraton Atlanta has become the first hotel in the city to install charging stations for electric vehicles.
The four stations occupy standard parking spaces.
Electric utility Detroit Edison has introduced four Ford Transit Connect Electric vehicles into its fleet. The
vehicles will be used by Detroit Edison field crews performing repair and maintenance and operations to
electrical lines and other equipment on the distribution system.
Electrics manufacturer Leviton installed an electric vehicle charging station at the IEEE operations center in
Piscataway, N.J. The station is one of the first commercial electric vehicle charging stations in central New
Jersey, according to Leviton.
There were almost 29 percent fewer alternative fuel vehicles made available for use in 2009 than in 2008,
according to U.S. Energy Information Administration figures.
The Department of Energy awarded more than $175 million to accelerate the development and deployment
of advanced vehicle technologies. The funding, to be spread over three to five years, will support 40 projects
across 15 states.
Ford and SunPower Corp. created a rooftop solar system which will provide Focus Electric owners with
enough renewable energy to offset the electricity used to charge the vehicle. The program should
significantly lower the cost of running an electric vehicle, the companies said.
Trucking industry leaders greeted new fuel efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles with reactions from
cautious optimism to enthusiasm. Navistar, Cummins and the American Trucking Associations strongly
support the regulations. The Engine Manufacturers Association and the Truck Manufacturers Association
described the program timeline as “challenging,” but remained optimistic the standards would be met.
Big-rig trucks will be required to reduce fuel consumption by about 20 percent by model year 2018, under
heavy-duty vehicle efficiency rules unveiled by President Obama in August. The new rules also include
standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, with separate regulations for gasoline-powered and diesel-
powered models.
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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market announced the addition of 25 compressed natural gas vehicles to its
distribution fleet as part of a partnership with Ryder System Inc. The grocery chain’s new natural gas
vehicles produce 20 to 30 percent less emissions than comparable diesel vehicles, Fresh & Easy says.
The U.S. Army is introducing the Tactical Fuel Manager program which will track where its fuel goes in the
field. The department spent $15 billion on fuel last year; the Army hopes the new software will help it figure
out how to cut energy use on the battlefield.
Supermarket chain H-E-B and restaurant Denny’s are among the companies that will host over 100 electric
vehicle charging stations in Austin, Texas. Utility Austin Energy yesterday announced the locations of the
103 plug-in charging stations (pdf) in its Plug-In Everywhere network.
Nissan’s Leaf electric car will soon help to power owners’ homes, the car maker says. Nissan has unveiled a
system which enables the Leaf’s lithium-ion batteries to supply electricity to households, using a connector
linked to the car’s quick charging port.
Trucking firm Total Transportation Services Inc. looks set to buy 100 zero emission trucks for heavy-duty
hauling purposes from Vision Motor Corp. The haulage company signed a letter of intent to purchase the 100
Tyrano hydrogen fuel cell-electric class 8 heavy-duty trucks on July 18.
Reporting
Environmental groups in the UK are making their case for the value of mandatory carbon reporting after a
government study put a price tag of about $9.8 billion (£6 billion) for the cost of such a reporting policy to
British businesses over ten years.
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Green Building
Construction activities began at an Archer Daniels Midland Company ethanol plant that will capture and store
1 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. The project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of
Fossil Energy, is the first large-scale integrated carbon-capture and storage demonstration project funded by
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to move into the construction phase. The Decatur, Ill., plant is
designed to deposit about 2,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide per day in the saline Mount Simon Sandstone
formation at depths of about 7,000 feet.
Toys R Us announced that 21 new stores and 23 remodeled locations will boast a range of environmental
features including an energy management system that monitors environmental conditions and adjusts
temperature, lighting and CO2 levels throughout the store, and a custom daylight harvesting system, which
includes design components such as skylights, dimmable fixtures and lighting sensors that reduce up to 50
percent of electric lighting energy used during the day.
Vantage Data Centers’ 60,000 square foot V3 facility in Santa Clara, Calif., has been awarded a LEED
platinum rating by the U.S. Green Building Council. V3′s lighting design is a 41 percent improvement over the
minimum standard of the Title 24 Energy Code, Vantage said.
The world’s first cap and trade system just for buildings could prove a model for other municipalities seeking
to cut emissions. Tokyo’s emissions trading program, launched in April 2010, demonstrates that effective
regulation of building emissions is possible.
Sustainable Packaging
By 2015 paper use in North American magazines, newspapers and books is expected to fall between 12 and
20 percent from 2010 levels, as the use of tablet devices and e-readers rises, according to a report by paper
industry information source RISI. Meanwhile, global demand for green packaging is projected to rise 5.7
percent per year to $212 billion in 2015, according to research by Freedonia.
Tesco has eliminated a controversial type of additive which helped it to create biodegradable bags. The
company says it no longer uses oxo-biodegradable additives (OBD) in its bags.
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Bicycle lock brand Kryptonite has introduced new packaging that replaces commonly used hard plastic shells
with a more environmentally friendly alternative.
Paper manufacturer Domtar Corporation announced a broad expansion of its product line and now expects
to sell more than 150,000 additional tons of Forestry Stewardship Council-certified paper per year.
Executive Moves
Nissan Americas named Vicki Smith as senior manager for corporate social responsibility and executive
director of the Nissan Foundation. Smith joined Nissan is 1986 and most recently served as speechwriter for
the global senior leadership team.
Poseidon Resources named Carlos A. Riva as its new CEO. Riva has been president or CEO of a number
of major infrastructure companies, including J. Makowski Co., Intergen, Amec Group Ltd., and most recently
Verenium Corp.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Carter H. Strickland Jr. as commissioner of the city’s
Department of Environmental Protection. Strickland was most recently the department’s deputy
commissioner for sustainability and replaces Caswell F. Holloway, who was appointed deputy mayor for
operations.
The Sustainability Consortium opened its European office and expanded its board of directors to include
Helen van Hoeven, director of the Market Transformation Initiative at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Marcela
Hahn, executive director of strategic partnerships and alliances at the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief
Everywhere (CARE), and Aalt Dijkhuizen, president and CEO at Wageningen UR (University and Research
Center) in the Netherlands.
EcoDomus hired Scott Boutwell as vice president of sustainability solutions. Boutwell has held positions at
URS Corp, CH2M HILL, Oracle and FirstCarbon Solutions.
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BrightSource Energy appointed Joe Desmond as senior vice president of government affairs and
communications, Stephen Wiley as senior vice president of U.S. development and Yasser Dib as regional
vice president of international business development.
Jim Fitterling, president of Corporate Development & Hydrocarbons and executive vice president of Dow, will
assume executive oversight of the Chemicals and Energy Division in addition to his current role. He replaces
Carol Williams, who has been named to lead Manufacturing & Engineering and appointed as an executive
vice president of Dow.
Waste Management announced that Bradbury H. Anderson, formerly vice chairman and chief executive
officer of Best Buy Co. Inc., has been elected to the WM board of directors.
Green IT Council named Rajesh Nair to its board of advisors. Nair is founder and CTO of Degree Controls,
Inc., a Milford, N.H., manufacturer of thermal and sensing products for the electronics industry.
Envision Solar International announced that founder Bob Noble will assume the role of executive
chairman, while current president and COO Desmond Wheatley will succeed him as chief executive officer.
Chris Caulson has been appointed chief financial officer.
First Solar announced that Jens Meyerhoff, president of the utility systems business group and former CFO,
will leave the company. James Brown, currently senior vice president of utility systems business sales, will
succeed Meyerhoff. Frank DeRosa will assume an expanded role as senior vice president of business
development for the Americas. Todd Spangler has also been named as site director and general manager of
the company’s new Mesa, Ariz., factory. Mike Koralewski will succeed Spangler as manager of the
Perrysburg, Ohio, factory, and was also appointed vice president of site operations.
Relume Technologies hired Ron Hall as regional sales director – southeast. Hall joins from Cree.
Meanwhile, William W. (Wink) Nelson will serve as director of renovation sales – east. He was energy
services manager at Acuity Brands, Inc.
Ceres Power named David Pummell as chief executive after previous CEO Peter Bance resigned abruptly in
June. Pummell was CEO of testing equipment company MAPS Technology.
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SRI World Group appointed Mark Thomsen as director of business development for OneReport, an
information management, reporting and web publishing platform.
Hanwha SolarOne appointed Tai Seng Png as chief operating officer. Most recently Png was vice president
of operations at Talesun Solar.
DEGERenergie recruited Adam Jan Glapiak as account manager for the North American market. Glapiak
was formerly with AS Solar.
OZZ Clean Energy named Stephen J.J. Letwin to its board of directors. Letwin is president and chief
executive officer of IAMGOLD Corporation.
ReVolt Technology appointed Helmut Waltersdorfer and Tibor Kalnoki-Kis as members of its advisory
board.
Pace Global Energy Services named Pravas Sud as director, LNG Services. Sud previously worked at
Energy Finance and LNG Commercial Development, Repsol YPF, Enron, UPS, and the Hyundai Group of
South Korea.
United Water named Lisette Provencher senior vice president, operations support for the company and its
parent, Suez Environment North America. She joined Suez in 1986.
TD Bank Group named Brad Peirce vice president at TD Environment. He had been vice president for TD
Wealth.
Scientific Certification Systems appointed Shayna Prunier and Nick Kordesch as marketing and
communications specialists. Prunier was most recently a partner with the environmental/LEED consulting
firm EcoConsultingUS. Kordesch is co-author of The Truth About Green Business, with Gil Friend and
Benjamin Privitt.
DuPont appointed Douglas Pereira marketing manager for photovoltaic solutions. Pereira recently
completed an MBA at the Yale School of Management.
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Siemens appointed Felix Ferlemann CEO for the wind division. Ferlemann is head of the chassis systems
division at Benteler Automotive.
Cisco’s Ed Richards, former director of worldwide business development, left the company. Richards was
also a founder of Richards-Zeta Building Intelligence, which Cisco bought in 2009, and on which Cisco based
its Mediator building management software.
At eIQ Energy, Jerry Cutini will take over as CEO, replacing Oliver Janssen, who stays on the board as chief
business development officer. Cutini was formerly chairman, CEO and president of Aviza Tehcnology.
FIRA named Asli Tamer Vestlund deputy technical manager, with responsibilities including project
management of an industry carbon footprint benchmarking project. Vestlund finished a PhD at Cranfield
University in 2010.
Rentech appointed Jeffrey R. Spain senior vice president, finance and accounting. His past employers
include Credit Suisse First Boston and Kimberly-Clark. Rentech also named Eric Darmstaedter vice
president of business development. He continues to serve as President of ClearFuels Technology Inc.
following Rentech’s majority acquisition of the company in May 2011.
Clean Urban Energy appointed Phil Bomrad president and COO. Prior to joining CUE, Bomrad led Siemens
Industry’s Energy Services group.
Appliance Recycling Centers of America appointed Stanley Goldberg and Steven Lowenthal to newly
created positions on ARCA’s board of directors. Goldberg currently serves as CEO of Vanguard Graphics
International; Lowenthal is Co-CEO and shareholder of SPECTRUM Commercial Services Company.
AECOM appointed Marshall Davert EVP responsible for the water business line in the Americas. Davert was
most recently at water consulting and construction services firm MWH.
WateReuse Research Foundation promoted Julie Minton from project manager to director of research
programs. She replaces Joshua Dickinson, who was promoted to deputy executive director.
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EOS Climate named Matt Jones CEO. He most recently served as president and CEO of CloudShield
Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of SAIC.
Energy Recovery Inc. appointed Baji Gobburi as director of water product development. Gobburi held a
variety of water management positions at GE.
Canadian Solar appointed one of its independent directors, Michael G. Potter, senior vice president and
chief financial officer. Potter will continue as a director of the company. Current CFO Andrew Chen is leaving
the company.
IHS announced that executive vice president and chief financial officer Michael Sullivan is leaving in
November for personal reasons. He will be replaced by senior vice president and chief strategy officer
Richard Walker.
Pall Corporation elected Larry Kingsley as president and chief executive officer. He is currently chairman of
the board, president and chief executive officer of IDEX Corporation.
Viridian Energy has appointed Jan L. Fox as general counsel. Most recently she was president of JLF
Energy Consulting.
Renewable Energy
China and the United States have maintained the top two places in Ernst & Young’s Renewable Energy
Country Attractiveness Index. The Chinese government announced in the last quarter that it will hold tenders
for 2GW of projects to reach its target of 5GW of offshore power by 2015. Ernst & Young says the country
needs to invest in its grid reliability and transmission access for onshore wind projects in remote locations.
Automaker Volkswagen is planning on investing almost 1 billion Euros ($1.45 billion) in renewable energy.
The automaker is looking into buying shares in at least two offshore wind farms and may announce a
partnership with windfarm developer WindReich by the end of 2011.
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Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and REC Solar, a provider of home and commercial solar electric
systems, have unveiled 11 rooftop solar installations in Phoenix and Los Angeles. The systems will produce
746,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity a year to meet about 20 percent of the stores’ energy production
needs.
Boston-based Cathartes Private Investments is to build Massachusetts’ largest privately-owned solar power
plant on 22 acres of industrial land in Westford, Mass. Cathartes will partner with solar developer Nexamp for
the 4.5 MW solar panel field, which Nexamp says will produce enough electricity to power more than 600
homes.
Envision Solar International Inc. has started work on 15 vehicle charging-enabled Solar Tree structures for a
major U.S. government entity in San Diego. The project, which uses the EnvisionTrak tracking system, will
generate over $800,000 of revenue for the company and should be completed in Q4 of 2011.
Massachusetts-based Purpose Energy has developed a way for breweries to turn their waste into energy.
The company, with the slogan “Saving the Earth. One beer at a time,” is working with the Magic Hat Brewing
Company in Burlington, Vt., to convert spent yeast, grains and wastewater into a biogas that goes back into
the brewery as energy.
Fuel cell manufacturer ClearEdge Power has raised $73.5 million in Series E financing through the sale of
new shares and the conversion of previously issued promissory notes. New investors include Artis Capital
Management, Austria-based Güssing Renewable Energy, Southern California Gas Company – a regulated
subsidiary of Sempra Energy – as well as existing investor Kohlberg Ventures. The federal portion came
from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy – Fuel Cell
Technologies Program.
Automaker BMW is to power its Leipzig, Germany, factory using wind power alone. The company plans to
build four turbines at the Leipzig facility that should provide the necessary energy by 2013. In 2011 the
Leipzig plant is forecast to build 200,000 cars.
The Dallas Cowboys will buy enough renewable energy from Reliant Energy to power the stadium on game
days, the team announced.
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The Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy will invest up to $510 million over the next three years to
produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation,
President Obama announced.
Evergreen Solar Inc., a manufacturer of silicon wafer solar power products, announced that it had filed for
bankruptcy and will be reorganizing its structure. The company will reduce its U.S. and European workforce
by about 65 people, and suspend operations at its Midland, Mich., filament facility.
Solar Roadways, a company that specializes in solar panels that can be driven on, received federal money to
finance a solar parking lot. The lot, funded by a $750,000 research contract from the Federal Highway
Administration, will be installed outside the company’s Sandpoint, Idaho, laboratory.
Photovoltaic array developer SPI Solar will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction
contractor for a 9.7 MW fixed-ground-mount solar facility that will provide electricity for an unnamed,
international pharmaceutical company. KDC Solar LLC awarded the contract for the facility.
Industrial solutions company Harsco Corporation and clean energy technology company LanzaTech signed a
strategic alliance to promote the capture and reuse of steel mill flue gases as an environmentally friendly
source of energy.
The U.S. Army announced the creation of the Energy Initiatives Office Task Force, a body that will serve as
the central managing office for the development of large-scale Army renewable energy projects.
Food and agriculture business Perdue announced the first phase of a 1.6 MW solar installation is now online.
The Bridgeville, Del., facility consists of 6,720 solar panels, which will supply electricity to a nearby Perdue
feed mill and Perdue AgriBusiness grain facility.
Recycled Energy Development and National Gypsum Company announced the development of a natural
gas-fueled, combined heat and power project at NGC’s Burlington, N.J. facility. The project, supported by a
$1.36 million grant from the state of New Jersey, will produce approximately 3.4 megawatts of electricity and
deliver more than 210,000 MMBtu of thermal energy to NGC’s wallboard production facility.
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L’Oréal USA announced that its Franklin, N.J., manufacturing facility is partnering with GeoPeak Energy in a
power purchase agreement to install a 1 MW photovoltaic solar system at the plant.
A record number of first quarter clean energy patents were granted in 2011 in the U.S. according to Heslin
Rothenberg Farley & Mesiti’s Clean Energy Patent Growth Index; there were 540 granted U.S. patents in the
first quarter 2011, up 161 from the same quarter in 2010.
The Consortium for Solar Lighting, a group founded by Carmanah Technologies, Inovus Solar, Sharp
Electronics, SolarOne Solutions, released its introductory document, “Solar Lighting Recommended
Practices: Introduction,” an industry standards resource to contribute to the knowledge base of the solar
lighting industry.
IKEA UK has purchased a wind farm in Scotland and is planning to install 39,000 solar panels on the roofs of
its stores, as it strives to get all of its power from renewable sources.
Corporate Sustainability
Gourmet jelly bean manufacturer Jelly Belly Candy Company expects to reduce outdoor water use at its
headquarters by 29 percent with the installation of the WeatherTRAK Smart Water Management Solution
from HydroPoint. Company executives partnered with ValleyCrest Landscape Maintenance to replace
outdated irrigation clocks with WeatherTRAK irrigation controllers at the 35-acre Fairfield, Calif., campus.
Twelve international hotel companies including Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott are trying to create a single
methodology for calculating carbon footprints and emissions. The Carbon Measurement Working Group,
formed by trade bodies International Tourism Partnership and the World Travel & Tourism Council, was
formed to address these inconsistencies and inefficiencies.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is using recycled water from one of its plants to support local public housing, in an
initiative that the company is considering for a wider roll-out. AB InBev’s Chinese flagship factory in Hanyang,
a district of Wuhan, has been treating 4,000 tons of production water a day and supplying 1,000 to the
community. The initiative will save the community and industrial park 1.5 million tons of fresh water a year,
the company says.
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Researchers in Catalonia, Spain, have invented a process that turns cheese waste into recyclable plastic
food packaging. Made using whey protein – a by-product formed in the production of cheese – it is
biodegradable. The European Union-funded project was aiming to find new uses for the 50 million tons of
whey produced by European cheese factories each year.
The health industry is launching a common set of tools – part of the Greening the Supply Chain initiative -- to
ensure that environmentally preferred products are available and cost-competitive. The tools for purchasers,
suppliers and manufacturers should provoke a sector-wide market shift towards environmentally sound
procurement, says the industry sustainability association Practice Greenhealth, which launched the initiative.
Recent trends in corporate sustainability are changing the CFO’s role in the areas of investor relations,
external reporting and financial risk management, according to an Ernst & Young report. The report says that
while sustainability issues have traditionally fallen outside the jurisdiction of the chief financial officer, job
silos are crumbling as investors, customers and other stakeholders increasingly evaluate companies on their
“triple bottom line.”
Adidas is in talks with competitors to develop a response to Greenpeace’s intensifying campaign on
chemicals in the supply chain. The company has also had talks with H&M and Pentland, which makes
Lacoste shoes, about creating an industry-wide collaboration to develop chemical management programs.
The owner of Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse is installing a 1.1 MW roof-mounted
solar array at its LEED-gold restaurant support center in Orlando. Darden Restaurants, which also operates
the Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52, says the project will be the largest private solar array in
Florida, and will generate enough power to subsidize 15 to 20 percent of the center’s annual usage. Darden’s
solar installation is expected to produce up to 1.9 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, while reducing
carbon emissions by more than 1,300 metric tons annually.
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Sportswear giant Nike has bowed to pressure from Greenpeace and promised to eliminate all hazardous
chemicals across its entire supply chain and the entire life-cycle of its products by 2020.
Traditional surveys of recycling methods and rates around the U.S. tend to give a distorted picture to
manufacturers looking to promote the recyclability of their products, according to a report by Earth911. The
recycling information company said one of the most common methods of collecting recycling availability
information is to conduct surveys with municipal solid waste offices, but this method poses three significant
problems, Earth 911 said.
Dow Chemical, Talisman Energy, GE and United Technologies are among the members of a group,
Aqueduct Alliance, which aims to assess and respond to increasing water risks around the world.
CVS announced that all 7,200 of its locations now offer the Sharps Compliance Corp.’s Environmental
Return System, which provides customers with the ability to safely dispose of unused medication.
Makers of alcoholic beverages have fewer public sustainability goals than firms in many other industries,
according to a study by Green Research.
Hundreds of companies should expect a questionnaire in October about their use of plastic, with the launch
of the Plastic Disclosure Project, the brainchild of Hong Kong environmental entrepreneur Doug Woodring.
PureSafe Water Systems, Inc. completed the first two in a series of extended field trials on its mobile, on-site
purification system.
Nestlé Waters North America, PepsiCo and the Coca-Cola Company all received a “B-” for their recycling
efforts in the new report, “Waste & Opportunity: U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and Report”
by As You Sow.
Boston Properties, Cirque du Soleil, Ford Dealers of Northern California, Solar City and Winthrop Hospital
are among almost 20 new advertisers signed to CBS’s EcoAd advertising program. With EcoAd, CBS
subsidiary EcoMedia sells advertising and redirects a portion of the profits to environmentally friendly
projects.
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Apple expanded its recycling program with an option that will pay owners of iPhones, iPads, Macs and even
PCs a fair market value for their old electronics.
An environmental initiative by distribution company Xpedx is aiming to recycle 2,400 tons of material in 2011
and reduce the firm’s waste by 10 percent annually over the next three years. Xpedx, a subsidiary of
International Paper, is targeting facilities that are larger than 50,000 sq. feet.
Wal-Mart is considering using sustainability measurement devices developed by the Stewardship Index for
Specialty Crops. Company officials said the retailer is looking into what types of data to collect within an
expanded pilot program for measuring the sustainability of its produce.
General Nutrition Centers has installed energy efficient Lighting Science Group LED bulbs at corporate-
owned locations across the U.S. The Energy Star-qualified LED bulbs now lighting GNC retail display
shelves are about 80 percent more efficient than the halogen bulbs they replace.
Dialysis service provider DaVita Inc. and a subsidiary of recycling and refuse collection firm Waste
Management are hoping to recycle 350,000 pounds of waste from kidney dialysis in a new recycling pilot.
U.K. home improvement chain B&Q plans to lease some of its construction tools to customers rather than
sell them. The chain is in the early stages of developing a drill with recyclable parts. Tentative plans will have
customers returning the used drill to B&Q; it would then be recycled by the company, rather than being sent
to a landfill.
Pharmaceutical companies are “all over the map” in terms of their environmental goals and transparency,
and largely don’t set targets for their supply chains, according to a new report from Green Research. Major
pharmaceutical companies have between five and six public environmental sustainability goals, on average,
per the report.
An energy-saving initiative driven by SC Johnson employees resulted in a 35 percent energy savings per
fixture in more than 700 light fixtures at the company’s largest manufacturing plant in Sturtevant, Wis. As part
of the “Flip the Switch” campaign, new energy-efficient light fixtures were installed at its 2.2 million-square-
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foot plant, contributing to an elimination of 776 tons of greenhouse gas emissions at the plant since mid-
2010.
Office Depot will offer delivery service customers the option to receive supplies in paper bags rather than
cardboard boxes; the company hopes the effort will reduce waste by 3.5 million pounds. The GreenerOffice
Delivery Service is being rolled out nationwide.
