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Sustainability Pays: IBM Saves Money by Conserving Energy

From Environmental Leader IBM CR Report: Energy Conservation Cuts Energy Costs by $26.8M IBM’s energy conservation program saved the company $26.8 million and prevented more than 142,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions in 2009, according to the company’s 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report. IBM’s report provides an overview of four key areas: energy conservation and climate protection, process stewardship, product stewardship and supply chain management. Here are the highlights. In 2009, IBM’s energy conservation initiatives delivered savings equal to 5.4 percent of its total energy use, which exceeded the corporate goal of 3.5 percent. These projects saved more than 246,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity and more than 410,000 million BTUs of fuel oil, cutting nearly $27 million in energy costs. IBM has saved 5.1 billion kWh of electricity, which also prevented 3.4 million metric tons of CO2 emissions between 1990 and 2009. As part of its effort, IBM is le…

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…

Nissan Sets Price for the LEAF

Written by Megan Treacy on 30/03/10 We've all been waiting to hear what exactly Nissan has meant by "competitively priced" when describing the LEAF. Well, now we know. The all-electric sedan will have a sticker price of $32,780, slightly more than expected, but still pretty cheap for an EV. At that price, the LEAF is a good $10,000 more expensive than gas-fueled sedan models like the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Nissan Altima, but cheaper than announced prices for EV models like the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Coda Automotive's sedan and far below the nearly $60,000 Tesla Model S. Plug In America calls the price a "game changer" and I'd have to agree. Not convinced? Here's more to consider. The price includes the installation of a home charging station, it will be available for lease for $349 a month (not too shabby when you compare it to the mortgage-sized lease payment for the Tesla Roadster) and once you apply federal tax credits, you're actua…

Green Branding: Saving the Planet One Cliché at a Time

Sustainability Must Go Mainstream Punk rock wouldn't be very punk if everyone listened to it. This isn't the case with the sustainability movement — which, as we argued in our first guest post on why green branding and marketing is important, isn't going to "sustain" anything unless everyone gets on board. Good-for-the-world businesses need to express sustainability as the vibrant, exciting, game-changing proposition it is if we are going to engage a critical mass of people and take sustainability firmly into the mainstream. We should put our heart and souls into what we do. And that means we need to differentiate ourselves. And you can't do that by using the same typeface as everyone else. You can't do it by basing your logo on a leaf or by putting a hand cupping a seedling on the cover of your annual report. You can't do it by being yet another green business to use a tag line that says "Saving the planet one [your product here] at a time." But there are plent…

Carbon Offsetting

What is Carbon Offsetting? "Carbon offsets allow purchasers to neutralize the carbon dioxide produced from their businesses and everyday activities - their 'carbon footprint' - by supporting a variety of emissions reduction initiatives." The Environmental Defense Fund How does Carbon Offsetting Work? Carbon offsetting is the act of mitigating (canceling out) greenhouse gas emissions. Individuals and businesses can purchase offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions from personal travel or production processes. Carbon offsets can be more efficient and immediate than other measures an individual can take to fight global warming, while reducing the same or more carbon dioxide emissions. How can I start reducing my carbon emissions? The first step towards carbon neutrality is reducing the carbon emissions produced, by using alternative energy, alternative transportation, reusing, recycling, and supporting local farms and businesses. Aft…