Archive for December, 2009
Boost for Green Products
Posted on 21. Dec, 2009 by admin.
Oakland, CA — A monthly index measuring consumer attitudes found that interest in green products improved modestly last month, although the uptick could be due more to purchases in the last six months, rather than those that are planned.
The Green Confidence Index (GCI) from GreenBiz.com, Earthsense and Survey Sampling International
The GCI is a monthly snapshot of American attitudes in three areas: purchasing, awareness and information, and how leaders and institutions are addressing green issues. In November it stood at 103.2, a 3.2 percent improvement since GCI’s launch in July. The Purchasing Index spanning past and planned green purchases grew 5 percent in November, compared to the month before.
The latest figures are a “tiptoe” in the right direction, according to Earthsense chief research officer Amy Hebrand.
“Pent-up demand remains stable, with more consumers intending to buy green products in the future than do so now across consumable products,” Hebard said in a statement today. “That pent-up demand is especially evident among ‘big ticket’ items, where green purchasing is more dependent on price parity with conventional products — a situation likely to change as credit markets loosen and consumers can take a longer view of expenditures.”
The release of the latest CGI figures comes at a time when world leaders are gathered in Copenhagen in an effort to draft a post 2012 climate change treaty. The results suggest Americans believe, by a 2-1 margin, that businesses should support regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions even if prices increased as a result. Just 23 percent feel businesses should resist climate change regulations.
Read entire article at GreenBiz.com
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10 Best Practices for Building Green Teams
Posted on 16. Dec, 2009 by admin.
GreenBiz.com and Green Impact have partnered to release a new report, “Green Teams: Engaging Employees in Sustainability.” Based on interviews with green team leaders from Intel, Yahoo!, eBay and Genentech, as well as a review of the latest literature on employee engagement and green teams, the report provides an overview of the best practices companies are using to support and guide green teams.
It is divided into four key sections: making the business case for green teams; getting started; four emerging trends; and green team best practices.
It is a great resource for companies and organizations just beginning to think about creating a green team and for those ready to take their existing program to the next level.
What is a Green Team?
Green teams are self-organized, grassroots and cross-functional groups of employees who voluntarily come together to educate, inspire and empower employees around sustainability. They identify and implement specific solutions to help their organization operate in a more environmentally sustainable fashion. Most green teams initially focus on greening operations at the office, addressing such issues as recycling in the office, composting food waste, reducing the use of disposable takeout containers and eliminating plastic water bottles.
This focus on operations is evolving and some green teams are beginning to focus their efforts on integrating sustainability into employees’ personal lives, while others are bringing consumers into the equation and aligning their efforts to support broader corporate sustainability objectives.
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Dell Protects Laptops With Bamboo Packaging
Posted on 08. Dec, 2009 by admin.
Round Rock, TX — Dell will start shipping two of its products padded with bamboo cushioning, a part of the company’s broad plan to reduce its packaging while using more recyclable material.
The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 and Mini 10v netbooks will be cradled in cushioning made from bamboo instead of the typical paper pulp, foam or corrugate that is used to protect electronics. The outer cardboard box for the netbooks will contain 25 percent post-consumer recycled material.
Dell is sourcing its bamboo from a forest in China’s Jiangxi Province that is not near known panda habitats and follows Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) principles and criteria. Dell is working with bamboo packaging supplier Unisource Global Solutions to receive FSC certification for the full chain of custody, from forest to manufacturing plant, for the bamboo.
Dell is also in the process of certifying the packaging for recycling so that recyclers will clearly known that the material can be recycled instead of tossed in the trash.
The bamboo cushioning is another step in Dell’s larger plan, announced in December 2008, to shrink its packaging volume by 10 percent (which equates to 20 million pounds), increase the amount of recycled content in packaging by 40 percent and increase the amount of recyclable material in packaging by 75 percent, all by 2012.
While its starting off using bamboo with just the two netbook items, Dell says it plans to expand the bamboo cushioning to more products starting in early 2010.
Source: GreenerDesign.com
