Green News

With green considered the new gold, many corporations are looking to jump on the sustainability bandwagon. The issue is finding a way to make the programs effective and impactful. Employees, customers, vendors and corporate watchdogs are looking to determine whether the programs are meaningful or just lip service. The question becomes, “How do you create [...]

Two more hotels — the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe and Bardessono — can add their brands to the roster of environmentally-friendly lodging as more consumers and companies consider the environmental impact of their travel. IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) says its newly opened Holiday Inn Express and Suites Saint-Hyacinthe is the company’s first sustainable hotel [...]

Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick has awarded a $20-million joint contract to Nexamp and Florence Electric to install solar systems at 12 public wastewater treatment plants, which are expected to generate 4.5 million kilowatt hours of energy, reports the Boston Herald. Touted as the state’s largest contract for solar power installations, the projects, which could create 100 [...]

Novo Nordisk exceeded long-term targets for reducing CO2 emissions, water consumption and total energy consumption, while increasing its workforce by 8 percent and sales by 12 percent in 2009, according to the company’s integrated annual report. The pharmaceutical company reduced CO2 emissions by 32 percent and water consumption by 20 percent in 2009. Novo Nordisk surpassed [...]

Dr. Seuss Enterprises Sends Cease-And-Desist To Dirty Coal Company LoraxAg The Wonk Room Riding green wave, Philips says “let there be LED” Reuters Director: EPA has eyes on drilling Deonton Record-Chronicle Heinz Redesigns Ketchup Package. Landfills Groan. Triple Pundit UK should press EU for tighter carbon caps Reuters When considering an LED retrofit or incentive policy, do your research LEDs Magazine “Melting” Drywall Keeps Rooms Cool Technology [...]

Canadian environment minister Jim Prentice said that Quebec’s new light vehicle emissions regulation are “counter-productive,” a statement that has Quebec countering that the federal government is siding with the automotive industry. Quebec’s new vehicle emissions regulations, which are modeled after California’s, were put in place Jan. 14, but the full ramifications won’t be felt until 2016. The [...]

Canadian Tire, a retailer of tire and automotive parts, gas stations and general merchandise and apparel, says it will be among the first Canadian companies to include their sustainability metrics in its quarterly and year-end financial reporting, according to its first Community and Business Sustainability Report. Starting in 2010, the company will report some sustainability metrics [...]

Pixar’s data center uses a cold aisle containment strategy to save energy. The system has two cold aisles covering 1,600 square feet and drawing an IT load of 335 kilowatts, according to this cold aisle containment case study presented at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Data Center Energy Efficiency Summit.

Using HVAC optimization software, the University of Texas at Austin should see $500,000 a year in energy savings. The university, which should save 6 million kilowatt hours in electricity a year, is using OptimumHVAC software from Optimum Energy, according to a press release. The university expects to recoup its investment on the software in a little over [...]

The EPA hopes to launch its Energy Star program for data centers in June, reports PCWorld. Earlier, the program had been tentatively scheduled to launch in early 2010. Last May, EPA launched Energy Star for servers. EPA said it is working on Energy Star for uninterruptable power supplies, or UPS systems, according to PC World. With the forthcoming [...]