Archive for 'Green Business'
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
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Nike Debuts Considered Design Products
Posted on 09. Nov, 2009 by admin.
BEAVERTON, OR — Nike will launch on Saturday a new shoe collection sporting green features such as environmentally preferred rubber, recycled content and less materials.
The Nike H7 Collection was created with an eye toward a smaller environmental impact based on Considered Design, a set of internal principles devised to help Nike make wiser design choices with fewer toxics and less waste.
The shoes also feature a social component: They include graphics and color schemes inspired by the Native American community, which will benefit from a portion of the shoes’ sale proceeds via the N7 Fund aimed at supporting Native American youth sports.
The collection includes an update of an old favorite, the 26-year-old Air Pegasus running shoe. The N7 Air Pegasus + 26 ($85, shown above) includes a waffle outsole made with recycled athletic shoe and manufacturing scrap called Nike Grind. The materials are environmentally preferred whenever possible, while the Nike Air bags have 83 percent recycled content. Water-based adhesives were used to attach the air bag with the midsole components.
The N7 Huarache ($110), an existing basketball shoe created using Considered Design, has also been given the N7 treatment. The model uses Nike Grind and is made with a carefully designed pattern and stitching that reduces the amount of material used. The cutting efficiency of the upper, for instance, is improved by 70 percent, while the embroidery design boosts the structural support, reducing overlays, embellishments and backing materials.
A children’s shoe, the N7 SMS RT ($21-$47), also uses environmentally preferred materials with high-recycled content.
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12 Steps to Sustainability
Posted on 19. Oct, 2009 by admin.
This report from Kanal Consulting focuses on practical ways that organizations can implement sustainability to improve the bottom line and the environment. To read the full paper, visit KanalConsulting.com.
According to the firm’s Managing Principal Vijay Kanal, “Successful companies have realized that sustainability is a key element of strategy, and are profiting from it. Our focus is on identifying opportunities and helping clients execute on them, and we have seen that when sustainability is tightly integrated with the business it is possible to achieve financial success while helping the environment. This report is a blueprint to help organizations succeed in both dimensions.”
The 12 key points in the report are:
1. Integrate sustainability into the company’s vision, values, or core mission statement.
2. Set goals that are specific, credible, measurable, and normalized for business changes.
3. Treat sustainability projects with the same business case requirements as other projects.
4. Let the CEO and senior executives be the key spokespeople, and demonstrate internal commitment.
5. Establish a strong governance model.
6. Ensure employee engagement.
7. Drive operational efficiencies.
8. Implement technologies and policies to reduce business travel and commuting.
9. Employ product life-cycle analysis to inform new designs.
10. Communicate internally and externally.
11. Partner with the Supply Chain.
12. Engage various stakeholders.
Download the full report, “12 Steps to Sustainability: How Every Company Can Implement Sustainability to Improve the Bottom Line and the Environment,” from KanalConsulting.com.
