From Businesswire.com: “RockBlocks Group, Inc., a leader in global sourcing and supply chain solutions for consumer packaged goods, grocery, electronics, department & specialty stores, branded apparel and footwear retailers, today announced a list of Six Steps for Greening Your Global Supply Chain to help retailers achieve a competitive advantage while adopting environmentally responsible manufacturing practices. Green supply chains not only reduce overall environmental impact, but improve the strength, efficiency and productivity of supply chain operations.” Six Steps for Greening Your Retail Supply Chain
Boeing Teams With Canadian Firm to Build Heavy-Lift Rotorcraft
ST. LOUIS, July 8, 2008 – The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] and SkyHook International Inc. today announced a teaming agreement to develop the JHL-40 (Jess Heavy Lifter), a new commercial heavy-lift rotorcraft designed to address the limitations and expense of transporting equipment and materials in remote regions. Boeing has received the first increment of a multiyear contract from SkyHook to develop the new aircraft. “SkyHook secured the patent for this neutrally buoyant aircraft and approached Boeing with the opportunity to develop and build the system,” said Pat Donnelly, director of Advanced Rotorcraft Systems for Boeing. “We conducted a feasibility study and decided this opportunity is a perfect fit for Advanced Systems’ technical capabilities.”
Kraft Goes Green with Underground Facility
“Kraft Foods today marked the opening of a 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Springfield Underground that will serve as a central distribution hub for the food manufacturer.
The facility, 3610 E. Kearney St., was built-to-suit by owner Springfield Underground, according to a news release. Westerville, Ohio-based Exel staffs the center with 91 employees who provide inbound and outbound services including storage of finished goods, order picking and fulfillment.
The Dirt on Greenwashing from Wikipedia
From wikipedia.com: “Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. The term Green sheen has similarly been used to describe organisations which attempt to appear that they are adopting practices benefical to the environment.” The Dirt on Greenwashing from Wikipedia
Ontario and Quebec to Introduce Cap and Trade Protocol
From cbc.ca: “The governments of Quebec and Ontario have formally agreed to work together to cut greenhouse gas emissions, set up a high-speed train service and further integrate their economies.
In the first significant move in the new initiative, Premier Jean Charest and his Ontario counterpart, Dalton McGuinty, on Monday unveiled a cap-and-trade protocol for atmospheric carbon in Quebec City after holding their first joint provincial cabinet meeting.
McGuinty said he would like to see a carbon trading program in place by 2010.Jean Charest and Dalton McGuinty said their provinces should be working together more to harmonize rules on energy and transportation. (CBC) Charest called tackling the issue of climate change a “tremendous challenge for humanity.”
He said whoever becomes the next U.S. president will be doing a “180-degree turn” on climate change policy, and the two provinces shouldn’t wait for that to happen before making changes of their own.
“Why wait for the Americans? We want to subscribe to everything that is being done on the European level and the North American level,” Charest told reporters.” Ontario and Quebec to Introduce Cap and Trade Protocol
Making Green the New Business as Usual: EDF Report 2008
Environmental sustainability is no longer the purview of boutique eco-brands. And it is no longer just about compliance with regulations or securing positive press coverage. It’s about driving cost savings through efficiencies, creating new markets and securing competitive advantage. Smart companies realize that what is good for the environment is also good for business. But after taking care of the basics—like switching to energy-saving lighting, buying recycled office supplies and printing double-sided—what is the next step?
With this new annual review, Environmental Defense Fund aims to showcase some of the most promising new trends and best practices. Our goal is to provide a variety of actionable ideas and some inspiration for more dramatic change. The new processes, products and technologies highlighted in this report were selected based on four key criteria: good for business, good for the environment, ready to be implemented and innovative. We did not include ideas that are still in the R&D stage or those that have already been widely implemented or documented. In some cases, we selected innovations that have already been fully tested and put into commercial use; in other cases, we chose to highlight promising early-stage ideas.
IBM Introduces Carbon Analysis Tool
ARMONK, NY – 22 May 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the Carbon Tradeoff Modeler, a first-of-a-kind tool that enables organizations to analyze and manage the climate impact of their supply chains. The tool allows organizations to understand the outcome of critical tradeoffs to make smarter energy choices and better economic decisions by optimizing on service levels, quality, cost, and carbon dioxide emissions.
Developed by IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services, the Carbon Tradeoff Modeler models the complex interaction of factors driving supply chain carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from both a manufacturing and distribution perspective. It can also quantify the tradeoffs between CO2 emissions reductions and other supply chain metrics such as inventory levels, and on-time delivery. IBM’s Carbon Management Analysis Tool also identifies areas where carbon dioxide emissions and costs can be reduced simultaneously.
Tesco Adds Carbon Footprint to Product Labels
From Greenbiz.com: “Supermarket chain Tesco has labeled 20 products with information related to each product’s greenhouse gas emissions in a trial of carbon labeling. Each item is labeled with a number showing the greenhouse gas emissions per serving, Reuters reported.
The test items include orange juice, potatoes, laundry detergent and light bulbs. The company has chosen to label only a few of the tens of thousands of items it carries because of the complexity of measuring a product’s entire carbon footprint, Reuters reported. Tesco also hopes to receive consumer feedback while measuring the emissions of other products.
The labels show orange juice from concentrate has a lower carbon footprint than non-concentrate, and liquid detergent has less of an impact than powder detergent, the Daily Mail reported.” Tesco Adds Carbon Footprint to Product Labels
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy
From nashow.com: ” Rising energy costs, global concern about greenhouse gases and climate change are driving the world’s biggest companies to pressure suppliers to go green and ask very tough questions about how companies handle environmental and social issues. The NA 2008 Keynote will provide a compelling blueprint for how forward thinking companies can address critical environmental issues, from climate change to energy to water, and improve their manufacturing and supply chain performance, gain competitive advantage, and increase profits.”
Supply chain reporting: Pandora’s box of emissions?
From ClimatChangeCorp.com: “Reporting leaders, including Tesco, Dell and Nestle, are being urged to find out what their suppliers’ carbon footprints are. The move is getting a mixed response. It is five years since the global climate change initiative, the Carbon Disclosure Project, first received backing from investors to ask the world’s largest companies to report annually on their direct emissions. Now a new and much more complex side to carbon emissions reporting is beginning to be addressed. Company supply chains. Supply chain reporting: Pandora’s box of emissions?