Archive for 'Green Business'
U.S. Colleges Set a Green Course
Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by admin.
It’s the time of year when college students return to campuses across the United States. As the 2009-2010 year dawns upon them, many students will find their schools taking action to reduce their environmental impact. In fact, the trend of colleges and universities going green is growing at an incredible pace. In the second annual Princeton Review’s Green College ratings, there was a 30 percent increase in participating schools.
Last week, President Bill Clinton was in Chicago speaking to the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a group of 250 university presidents and senior leadership looking to reduce the environmental impacts on their campuses and prepare students for green jobs. Clinton urged the group to speed up their efforts. “All this work is out there laying on the ground, begging to be done with absolutely certain rate of return,” Clinton told the university executives.
Many schools are pushing forward at a fast pace. Students returning to Arizona State University will find a major project under way to retrofit interior and exterior lighting. The six-month project will improve the lighting quality across the campus to reduce energy demand. This is not a small project either: The school is retrofitting 10,214 lighting fixtures on the 300-acre campus. The effort is expected to save more than 1 GigaWatt-hour (1 million kilowatt-hours), resulting in savings of over $100,000 annually.
Read entire article at GreenBiz.com
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Ford Spreads Its Green Painting Process
Posted on 10. Aug, 2009 by admin.
DEARBORN, Mich. — Factories on almost every continent will soon begin using a painting process technology from Ford Motor Co. that can paint more cars in less time, saving money and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Ford’s 3-Wet paint process, which was first put to use at its Ohio assembly plant, is in the midst of being installed at factories in Wayne, Mich., Romania, Mexico, India and China.
The technology allows Ford factories to apply three coats of paint — primer, base and enamel — one immediately after the other, without waiting for the coats to dry. The result is a painting process that takes 20 to 25 percent less time to complete than standard techniques.
On top of faster painting time, the 3-Wet technology cuts down energy use by consolidating painting machinery into a single integrated booth. The technology itself will also cut down CO2 emissions from painting by between 6,000 and 8,000 metric tons per factory per year, and reduce the emissions of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by 5 percent.
This is not the first paint-related innovation for Ford, or the auto industry as a whole. Two years ago, Ford installed a fumes-to-fuel system at a factory in Ontario, Canada, that turned the fumes from its painting process into 300 kilowatts of green energy for the facility itself.
And earlier this year, Mazda implemented a new addition to its own three-layer wet paint system that focuses on VOC reductions, cutting harmful emissions by 57 percent.
Read an entire article at GreenBiz.com
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Green Wineries Embrace Innovation
Posted on 27. Jul, 2009 by admin.
Consumers are discovering that going green doesn’t mean the end of the good life. On the contrary, when it comes to wines, sustainability makes them even better. Word is getting out, spurring a plethora of wines labeled “sustainable” to appear on the shelves of retailers like Whole Foods. No surprises there, since every industry these days recognizes the potential of reaching the LOHAS market.
But in terms of wine, does “sustainable” connote a commitment to greener growing practices or is it a marketing gimmick? After a cursory perusal of winegrowers’ websites, I reminded myself that a slick marketing strategy does not always equal sustainability.
What I really wanted to know was, “Are sustainable wines better than their conventional counterparts?” What better way to get to the bottom of this quandary than by approaching it as a consumer?
My husband and I love wine, but we are by no means connoisseurs. Even after buying Wine for Dummies, I still ask questions like “How do you recognize a good wine?” and “Which matters more — varietal or region?” Compounding my confusion, I now have green questions, too: “How do organic grapes improve a wine?” and “What makes a vineyard sustainable?” I was due for trip to California’s wine country for a little re-education from the experts.
Read entire article at GreenBiz.com
