Design and Development for Sustainability: April 2008 Archives
His company focuses on brand development for a wider range of issues than "green" or "environment."We’ve done the research (including a super recent 5,000 people study of what people think of this thing called ’sustainability’ - April, 2008), we know that people rate Global Warming and Pollution as important sustainability issues. But it didn’t top the list. Personal and social sustainability issues such as connecting with community and leading balanced life leapfrog environmental issues.
As one of the respondent from an early round of focus groups said’ How can i look after the environment, if i can’t look after myself??’.
What we’re seeing right now is a lot of what we call “knee-jerk green marketing” and it’s a big mistake. Companies are jumping on the green bandwagon because they think that’s the only way to get on the sustainability wave. What’s dangerous is that it’s leading to a lack of authenticity because it’s often done indiscriminately and without rigor. When brands make vague, philosophical claims about their pro-environment values, but don’t support them with specific, observable actions, it diminishes the eco story for everyone and begins to spark a backlash.He's right...what we're seeing is a lot of concerned parents who are also business people getting concerned and seeing both the opportunity for healthier community for themselves and their families...and the greening of their bottom line to keep up with the highly publicized shift toward greener products and processes.
Many people think "green" is simple. The consumer media makes it look that way. "Just change your lightbulbs and convert to biodiesel." And all will be better. "Don't get overwhelmed. Keep it simple. Think green." But business greening is more complicated and like Jason says, it must be a metamorphosis of core competency -- much like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly.
Greening a business involves training the employees; changing the products from gas-guzzlers and energy-hogs to ever greater efficiency in design and production; optimizing operations; optimizing the fleet of transportation used both by the company and the employees...and more. Saving water. Saving the air. Saving natural resources. We rely on nature's bounty for the source of everything that keeps us alive and busy at work -- and greening is that integrated into how we do business.
So if you want to do the green thing...think green, educate yourself, and take it a step at a time. But get started because the future will leave you in a dusty barren wasteland if you don't. That's the growing future for much of the earth. (That's not meant to be an exaggeration. Desertification of arable lands is a growing problem for many nations...)
Sustainable programs inside your company or organization can be the most powerful. Why? Because you can create the SYSTEM that supports planning, action, evaluation and results. By using your Website to gather information about each timely initiative, your community can support one another, coordinate efforts and share intelligence to make a system-wide change.
You might consider an "internal" and "supply chain" section on
your own website to cover topics such as this to focus attention on
your sustainable business initiatives. Spreading the word that you
have a policy about more sustainable practices can be a powerful
motivator and set the tone for purchasing, waste management and even
cost reductions.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is circulating environmental tips to all of its employees
including such common step things as turning off unnecessary lights,
using your own reusable containers for drinks, groceries and meals and
avoiding travel to meetings when other
forms of communication will do the job. Reduction. Recycling. Reuse, and even using less air conditioning are covered. See the list: (http://greening.usda.gov/simple_things.htm),
This message is part of a program, called Greening USDA. Its purpose is laudable but – in a department that funds clear-cuts of forests and industrial agricultural practices leading to growing desertification, not to mention promoting pesticide use, genetically-modified crops and mega-factory farms – the focus on the “small stuff” like re-using your lunch bag obscures employee involvement in the department’s big issues.
The USDA Green Team Updates by month are an interesting list of initiatives.
Their "Environmental Programs" section on their website include categories of articles for:
- Energy & Environment
- Hazardous Materials
- Radiation Safety
- Sustainable Operations
New York's Renewable Energy Task Force recently announced 16 recommendations as part of a roadmap to significantly increase renewable energy generation in New York. These recommendations include more solar energy production, funding the state's program to get 25 percent of New York's electricity from renewable energy by 2013, and new business incentives targeted to attract renewable energy producers and expand the state's "green collar" workforce.
The Renewable Energy Task Force was charged with identifying barriers to increased production of renewable energy, recommending policies and financial incentives to overcome those barriers, and identifying future market areas where additional research and development investment is necessary.
Recommendations Highlights
The task force recommends an eightfold increase in solar energy production by 2011Significant recommendations of the task force's first report include:
- Developing eight times more solar photovoltaic energy generation in New York--more than 100 megawatts by 2011;
- Increasing the renewable energy supply in New York State to meet 25 percent of electricity demand by 2013, and fully funding the Renewable Portfolio Standard to make it happen;
- Developing new business incentives to attract renewable energy technology companies to New York in order to build industry clusters in solar, wind, biomass and other technical areas;
- Changing the law to allow and encourage New York companies to produce their own renewable energy "on site" and deliver excess power back to the energy grid known as "net metering;"
- Developing and supporting a "green collar" workforce of skilled labor to support renewable energy technology companies by coordinating training programs, expanding and enhancing those programs as necessary, and making training opportunities available to residents of disadvantaged communities, minority- and women-owned companies, and other small businesses.
Renewables Create Jobs
The task force set forth key data throughout the report demonstrating that investment in renewable energy creates jobs and increases tax revenues. Some examples include:
- Up to 43,000 new jobs in New York could be created by the renewable energy production needed to meet the requirement that 25 percent of New York's electricity come from renewable sources.
- Renewable energy and energy efficiency industries could create up to 40 million jobs and generate up to $4.5 trillion in revenue in the United States by 2030-a four-fold increase over current revenues.
- Over the next 20 years, $1 billion in economic benefits are expected to result from the roughly $500 million that New York has so far committed in renewable energy funding through the Renewable Portfolio Standard-a 100 percent return on investment, not counting economic spillover, multiplier effects, and environmental quality-of-life gains from renewable energy production.
Businesses are encouraged to produce energy
on site from renewable sources
Taking immediate action on the task force's recommendations, Paul Tonko, President and CEO of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), indicated that NYSERDA would immediately invest $4 million in green collar workforce initiatives, on top of the $2 million in this year's Executive Budget and would also establish a Wind Energy Research and Testing Center to develop new technologies and provide workforce training.
DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said: "Clean energy is crucial on so many fronts: energy conservation, pollution reduction, combating climate change, and developing green businesses and jobs, just for starters. The task force's recommendations will continue our leadership on those issues. And, importantly, they will establish a roadmap to stimulate renewable energy development in a way that is real and tangible."
About the Renewable Energy Task Force
Composed of 20 members, the Renewable Energy Task Force represents a diverse array of stakeholders in the renewable energy field, including the renewable energy and alternative fuel industries, environmental and agricultural communities, academia, public utilities, local and state government entities, and experts in energy policy, green building construction and economic development.
In September 2007, the task force held a public meeting in New York City to release its preliminary findings. The findings were based on recommendations developed by numerous task force subcommittees and vetted using the following criteria: what would generate the most renewable energy; what would have the most environmental benefit; and what would least impact ratepayers, taxpayers and consumers financially.
The details of the task force's first report were reached by a consensus of all of its members. Its final report is due in December 2008.
