November 8, 2011 This seems a bit of an oxymoron. After all, how much can banks contribute to environmental sustainability? Banks do not require a lot of water to operate or release toxic pollutants into the air. To my knowledge the printing of money does not have a large carbon footprint. While banks and all [...]

October 25, 2011 The International Code Council (ICC) is in the process of rolling out final standards for Green Construction, called International Green Construction Codes (IgCC), in March 2012 (www.iccsafe.org/cs/IGCC). The IgCC is intended to be an enforceable code for municipalities to seamlessly adopt and enforce for future building construction. It is intended to reduce [...]

People say we should ignore polls; the country should make decisions based on pure science or pure economics. But the reality is that governments and companies take their cues from public opinion, want to be seen on the “right” side and certainly not in the forefront of something divisive, even if is beneficial. Several studies [...]

July 26, 2011 Despite the rancor in Congress about federal government spending, a new low-cost, money-saving initiative began this year to incentivize energy conservation. President Obama and the Dept of Energy (DOE) launched the “Better Buildings Initiative”, which hopes to channel private sector investment through incentives to upgrade offices, stores, schools and other municipal buildings, [...]

July 12, 2011 Sustainability, the concept of using fewer resources and polluting less to be productive while saving our natural resources, is thought to apply only to “those big polluting manufacturers.” Well, that’s not really true. While we poke fun at offices thanks to the brilliant TV comedy of the same name, any office or [...]

June 21, 2011 I recently came across something that made me really worry – about my profession, my country, and my planet. I was driving through rural Pennsylvania, when I came across a segment on a radio show that was a review of a video game of race cars. The reviewer was very excited and [...]

June 2011 Some companies are hesitant about becoming “green” as they consider it exotic and a non-business issue. Yes, actions to “save the Earth” are not a business responsibility. However, sustainability is now recognized as a valid business concern and that savvy companies who have comprehensively addressed the issue have gained core business benefits. This [...]

April 19, 2011 This blog has provided many reasons to go “green”, both for companies, as well as the nation and the world. Here is another that has not been mentioned yet: a serious attempt to go green will spur technical innovation, new inventions, and cut costs on others. We have seen this already with [...]

March 22, 2011 There is a growing trend for companies to seek out certification for being “green” and/or that its carbon reductions are genuine. As firms in an unregulated industry, some have chosen to provide an easy route to certification by selling a “certification” without actually checking the data or accomplishments. Companies have to beware [...]

March 1, 2011 The business landscape is changing these days for suppliers. Gone are the days when retail stores or customers bought your product just because of your reputation. Now, the rules are set by the customers, mainly due to the IT revolution. At retail stores it used to be common for the supplier to [...]