Certification Archives - Green Businesses

Making Sense of Sustainability Certifications

With sustainability certifications abounding, learn what businesses should consider for their sustainability certification from Melissa Schweisguth in this post from Greenbusinesses.com 10 Tips for Savvy Shopping in the Certification Marketplace In the face of surging skepticism around social and environmental claims, sellers and buyers alike are demanding verification. Sustainability certification has become a booming industry with over 400 in use and new ones emerging almost weekly. This, in turn, has led to scrutiny and public criticism of apparent shortcomings. Understandably, the net result has been mounting confusion and uncertainty about what particular certifications deliver and their relative value. To help consumers and businesses navigate this landscape, the Consumers Union launched its Greener Choices database several years ago, providing basic information on over 300 labels. Realizing greater breadth and depth were needed, the World Resources Institute recen…

The Most High-Tech Green Buildings

Buildings that communicate and change shape to keep their occupants comfortable and safe. By Jonathan Fahey, Forbes In England there is a building made with insulation that can be inflated or deflated to adjust to outside temperatures. In Germany there is a house designed to be easily disassembled and recycled. The New York Times Co. building is draped in shades that automatically adjust to the movement of the sun. In Milwaukee a museum changes its very shape to shade itself. The point of a building is to keep its inhabitants comfortable: Humans want to be warm (but not too warm) and dry. The problem comes in providing heating or cooling, and replacing the light lost when the sun is shut out. The solutions are becoming ever more creative. "Heat and light are the things people are most concerned about, and they are the things that take energy," says Brendon Levitt, an architect with the San Francisco Bay Area firm Loisos + Ubbelohde, which specializes in so-called hi…

Public and Private Roles in Sustainability

By Eric McNulty I had the pleasure of introducing Rep. Edward Markey for his opening keynote at the recent Executive Council Sustainable Cities leadership forum. Markey has been at the forefront of the Congressional response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is the co-author of the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, and author of the bill that increased auto mileage standards for the first time in three decades. The League of Conservation Voters calls him the environment’s best advocate in Congress. Markey gave a fiery address about the need for the U.S. to become the leader in alternative energy. What I found interesting was his view that regulation can be a catalyst to those efforts. While many business leaders think that regulation in anathema to innovation, Markey disagrees. He pointed to his prior work on the Telecommunications Committee that shifted a segment of the broadcast spectrum into commercial use for cellular and other wireless com…

Green executives: golf sustainably at Marriott UK!

Marriott-branded hotels in the United Kingdom have successfully reduced carbon emissions and greenhouse gases collectively by 7.3 percent to earn Carbon Trust Standard certification, a government program launched in 2008 in response to the U.K.'s Climate Change Act to benchmark and assess company commitment and success in addressing climate change impact. In addition, 25 hotels will achieve Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) certification, a program validated by Visit Britain and the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT) which assesses energy and water efficiency, waste management and biodiversity, by year-end. One of the improvements involves the greening of all Marriott golf courses. Last year, the company announced a goal to have all of its golf courses certified by the Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary, a program that helps golf courses protect natural wildlife habitats, improve efficiency and minimize potentially harmful effec…