Changing one’s ways or implementing new initiatives is difficult. It’s inconvenient. This seems especially true in the U.S. in recent years. Thus, the reluctance to implement smarter, cleaner strategies. Businesses in other nations have demonstrated that clean approaches – in operations and also in business strategies – have been successful in meeting the challenges of [...]

On Dec. 2, 2011, the USEPA released for public comment draft changes of final rules for reconsideration for industrial, commercial and institutional boilers under the MACT Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) program. These will be 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart DDDDD (“5 D’s”) for boilers at major sources for HAPs and Subpart JJJJJJ (“6 J’s”) for [...]

November 22, 2011 Thanksgiving and the year-end holidays are a time for big meals, family, etc. But we should always keep the thanks in Thanksgiving. Here are some statistics to drive home the importance of sustainability and for Thanksgiving. You probably heard the news story about a month ago that the Earth’s population has just [...]

November 2011 According to the USEPA, energy use in commercial and industrial buildings costs U.S. companies about $200 billion per year. And for many businesses, energy costs (with unit prices rising every year) are among their largest expenses. Therefore, the direct financial benefits of reducing energy use should drive all companies – even non-“smoke stack” [...]

Sept. 6, 2011 The roles of the renewable energy and green manufacturing sectors, the so-called “Clean Economy”, are set to be major issues in next year’s national elections and perhaps even sooner. While some, such as the Tea Party and other conservatives attack anything to do with climate change and environment (funny, those two concepts [...]

July 5, 2011 I hate to bring up this issue on Independence Weekend when we should celebrate the many great things about America. But we are falling behind the rest of the world in one area of great importance to us, and that is, clean energy and energy efficiency. The U.S. has an estimated 120 [...]

May 2011 OK. You’ve heard the business arguments for going green (see our website!). You know you can save your company real money, savings that can last many years. You also know that a green program can attract new revenue and satisfy stakeholders, like customers and employees. But there’s still some hesitancy. You want to [...]

As I write this newsletter, the price of crude oil has exceeded $110/barrel level, affecting costs ranging from gasoline to electricity. This is now a barrier for business and will affect our recovery from our recent rough economic times. Energy now is a prime factor in business growth. In many cases, energy now consumes 20% [...]

January 25, 2011 Last week in my blog, I discussed the growing issue of energy risk. It is almost a certainty that we will have future energy price volatility and overall cost increases, as we see this winter with gasoline prices and news reports of more accidents (i.e., Deepwater Horizon) and potential impacts on the [...]

January 18, 2011 Some companies are unwilling to devote the time and effort to reduce their energy usage because of the initial cost (which is coming down as technologies improve) or the thought of investing in something “green” during an economic recession. Well, investing in energy savings is a core business issue with many benefits. [...]