Archive for March, 2011

Recognizing their focus on efficiency, renewables, and the smart grid, ABB, a leading power and automation technology group, was awarded the title of “Cleantech Corporation of the Year” at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco, which was held March 14-16. The award is presented annually to a global corporation that has made significant progress in accelerating its presence in the cleantech sector through acquisitions, venture investments, product development, and new customer announcements. Enrique Santacana, region manager for ABB’s operations in North America, delivered a keynote address that summarized ABB’s vision of the smart grid and how its various technologies contribute to energy efficiency. Read the rest of this entry »

If you do, the Energy Efficiency Forum is looking for them.  Nominations for the 2011 Energy Leadership Awards are being accepted until May 12.  The award ceremony will be held during the 22^nd Annual Energy Efficiency Forum taking place on June 15-16 at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Read the rest of this entry »

Why hasn’t the massive amount of death and destruction caused by Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and now Japan’s earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility blown the nuclear power industry into obsolescence? Are the green benefits of nuclear power really worth it when tens of thousands – and in some cases millions – of lives are in a perpetual state of risk? It’s a simple question that has been debated for decades and one that probably won’t have a definitive answer for many more decades. Read the rest of this entry »

CertainTeed’s new AirRenew™ wallboard employs two technologies to actively improve indoor air quality. First, it cleans the air by permanently removing certain VOCs – mainly formaldehyde as well as other aldehydes – that are circulating indoors. AirRenew™ also incorporates M2Tech® technology, which provides enhanced moisture and mold resistance. It can be used with most water based paints and breathable wallpaper, can be recycled the same as regular gypsum board, and can also be sent to landfills without polluting ground water. Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe you’ve already noticed, but with the “restructuring” of bookseller giant Borders, the brick-and-mortar retail business is pretty brutal right now. At the beginning of this year, Borders had 511 physical stores across the U.S. and its territories (it had already shut down 182 of its subsidiary bookstores, Waldenbooks, in late 2009). The company, which hadn’t made a profit since 2006, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February of this year, is in the process of shutting down about 225 stores and cutting thousands of jobs (the actual number remains fuzzy and varies wildly according to reports). Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the U.S. DOE’s SunShot Initiative, 3M™ has been awarded $4.4 million over three years for the development of solar films. The money will go towards the ongoing development and commercialization of 3M’s Ultra Barrier Solar Film, including a reliability test program to validate the film’s lifetime performance, in collaboration with the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Read the rest of this entry »

By law, an emerging technology is defined as an emissions control technology that has not been certified or verified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or California Air Resources Board (CARB), but for which an approvable application and test plan for verification have been submitted. The technology should also be commercially available or close to it. The EPA list of emerging technologies provides guidance in selecting a technology for the Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies Program’s Request for Proposals. To be considered, a manufacturer should be in the initial stages of the verification process with the EPA or CARB. Read the rest of this entry »

According to two surveys conducted for the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), it is predicted that food, beverage and consumer product manufacturers will have eliminated four billion pounds of packaging waste nationwide between 2005 and 2020, which represents a 19 percent reduction in the reporting companies’ average U.S. packaging weight. Read the rest of this entry »

Launched in September 2010, the U.S. EPA’s first Green Power Community Challenge is underway in 36 communities across the country. Each community has been tracking and reporting their collective green power use and the green power percentage of total electricity use. The mid-year tabulations are in, and the two category leaders are Washington, D.C. for its total kWh green power usage and Brookeville, Md. for the greatest percentage of total electricity used that was generated by green power technologies. Read the rest of this entry »

As reported in an earlier post about a hybrid milk container, the paper bottle is being utilized by another company for a completely different product. Seventh Generation’s 4X Laundry Detergent is now packaged in a recyclable or compostable paper bottle. Although a bottle is typically made from glass or plastic, the paperboard system is an ingenious way to achieve packaging sustainability while still providing the consumer with a familiar packaging appearance. Read the rest of this entry »