Sustainability in the News
February 23, 2009 (Wall Street Journal)
EPA Set to Move Toward Carbon-Dioxide Regulation
President Obama's climate czar, Carol Browner, will lead the administration's efforts in crafting a cap-and-trade system to control rising CO2 levels. Numerous major corporations are supporting a national climate policy to avoid varying regional regulatory efforts on the part of many states. While regulation is intented to address facilities over a certain size, all CO2 emitters could face legal challenges. More...
October 6, 2008 (Wall Street Journal)
Six Products, Six Carbon Footprints
Makers of everything from milk to jackets to cars are starting to tally up the carbon footprints of their products. That's the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that get coughed into the air when the goods are made, shipped and stored, and then used by consumers. More...
September 29, 2008 (Associated Press)
First U.S. CO2 auction brings in $38.5 million
The owners of Northeastern fossil fuel-burning power plants, which are now required to buy credits to cover the carbon they emit, spent $38.5 million ($3.07 per allotted ton of emissions) in the first cap-and-trade greenhouse gas auction in the United States. The auction money will be spent by the 10 Northeast states on renewable and energy-efficient technologies. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is viewed as a possible model for a national program to reduce U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide. "The first RGGI auction has successfully used market forces to set a price on carbon, and this will send a clear market signal to support the investment in clean energy technologies," said Pete Grannis, commissioner of the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation and RGGI chairman.
August 28 , 2008 (Wall Street Journal, B4)
Companies Required to Provide More Rigorous Climate Change Disclosures. The New York Attorney General's office seeks to "create a new model" for disclosure of corporate climate change impacts to investors. The AG issued subpoenas to five energy companies with plans to build additional coal-fired plants to expand their disclosures about the possible impact of climate change and greenhouse gas legislation on their businesses. According to the WSJ, "the settlement comes amid growing pressure from environmental organizations , state officials and investors to increase disclosures, partly to inform and partly to discourage business activites that worsen the carbon situation."
July 15, 2008 U.S. EPA Recognizes BL3 Strategies Among Nation's Leading Green Power Purchasers. BL3 Strategies announced its participation in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership. BL3 Strategies is purchasing enough green power from We Energies to meet 100 percent of the organization’s electricity use. Purchasing green power helps our organization become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the U.S. that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice in reducing climate risk. More …
June 25 , 2008
Climate Change a Threat to US National Security
Global warming is likely to increase illegal immigration, create humanitarian disasters and destabilize precarious governments and could add to terrorism, all of which could threaten U.S. national security, according to an assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies. More ...
May 12, 2008
McCain Woos Democrats on Environment (Wall Street Journal)
Greenhouse gas regulation appears imminent with the next administration. Senator McCain’s stance on climate change includes a “cap and trade” system for greenhouse gases. Obama and Clinton also back CO2 curbs but promote auctioning credits. More ...
April 30, 2008
BL3 Strategies Leads Seminar for Small Business at BizTech Expo.
BL3 Strategies' President, Bob Karnauskas, gave a presentation on "Sustainable Strategies for Business Owners" at the BizTech Expo sponsored by the Milwaukee Small Business Times. The session moderated by Bob also included presentations by Home Savings Bank President Jim Bradley and Engberg Anderson Architects LEED AP Shaun Kelly who shared their experiences on how sustainability benefited their organizations.
April 23, 2008
Scientists Say Accumulation of Greenhouse Gases Accelerating
Carbon dioxide concentration in the air increased by 2.4 parts per million last year. More …
April 16, 2008
Bush floats goal for curbing warming gases
Pushes for halting growth by 2025; activists want actual cuts (from MSNBC.com)
President Bush proposed a new target for stopping the growth of U.S. emissions tied to global warming by 2025. Environmental groups were quick to criticize the stand as merely undercutting stronger proposals in Congress and by several states. More …
April 9, 2008
BL3 Strategies in the News: Why Should Companies Be Socially Responsible? (from Shepard Express)
Corporate social responsibility has come a long way since 1970, when economist Milton Friedman called its advocates “unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society for three decades.” More …
April 3, 2008
First 'eco-friendly' convenience store to open in Wisconsin (from Biztimes Daily and the Small Business Times)
Good to Go, which bills itself as the nation's "first ecologically friendly convenience store, car wash and alternate fuel station," will open its first location in Grand Chute on May 1. The store will be built to specifications of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. The car wash will use a water cleaning and reclamation system, bio-friendly detergents, efficient LED lighting and a green roof with plants and sod. More …
April 2, 2008
Training pays, Miller exec says. Added skills can encourage even veteran workers
Companies that invest in extensive employee training benefit from having more competent and satisfied workers, according to David Blanchard, editor-in-chief of Industry Week magazine. They also benefit from lower employee turnover and less absenteeism. More …
April 2, 2008
Dell Global Headquarters Campus Going 100 Percent Green
Dell is now powering 100 percent of its 2.1 million square-foot global headquarters campus, home to more than 10,000 employees, with 100 percent green power, the latest step in meeting the company’s 2008 carbon neutral commitment. “It’s time for our industry to take a lead role in creating a clean energy future,” said Paul Bell, president, Dell Americas. “Today, we are challenging every technology company to work with their suppliers and partners in integrating green power and energy-efficient strategies into their operations.”
More …
March 24, 2008
New Limits to Growth Revive Malthusian Fears
Spread of Prosperity Brings Supply Woes; Slaking China's Thirst
This Wall Street Journal article examines our reliance on future technology developments to solve global competition for strategic resources as population and standards of living rise. Is there a limit? More …
March 13, 2008
New wind-power agreement helps SC Johnson reduce its global environmental footprint by 29,500 tons of carbon dioxide annually
The slow and steady churn of giant windmills at the Harvest Wind Farm in Michigan will help SC Johnson power 46 percent of its second largest North American manufacturing plant in Bay City, Mich. More …
March 8, 2008
ASQ Poll Shows U.S. Companies Lag in Social Responsibility
A Harris Poll indicates 70% of Americans don’t trust big companies. An American Society for Quality (ASQ) poll of Fortune 500 companies reveals that while 96 percent of U.S. business leaders think their company’s corporate social responsibility behavior will greatly impact the nation’s economic future, more than 40 percent still don’t have any policy in place to guide their company’s actions. Interestingly, 70% of the companies with social responsibility policies in place did so after the collapse of Enron. More …
February 28, 2008
Buenos Aires, Argentina mandates sustainability reporting
Companies with more than 300 employees will now have to produce sustainability reports, the city of Buenos Aires has just announced. From this month onwards companies affected will have to make annual sustainability reports based on their social, economic, and financial sustainability. This development follows in the footsteps of the recent announcements by both the Swedish and Chinese governments, who have both mandated sustainability reporting for state owned companies. More …
