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Showing posts with label Eco. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eco. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Four Sustainability Trends To Watch In 2012 by Jones Lang LaSalle
The road to sustainability has been plagued with roadblocks, including an unprecedented global financial crisis and attempts by entrenched business and political interests to deny climate science. Perhaps the greatest obstacle has been the lack of consistent and comparable standards for defining and measuring sustainability. Although these issues have yet to be fully resolved, many well-coordinated initiatives in recent years have pointed the way forward for companies and cities..
In 2012, major trends shaping the sustainable development movement include:
Transparency – Buildings, companies and cities are measuring and disclosing energy usage, carbon emissions and other information relating to sustainability. Commercial building owners don’t always have a choice: Five major U.S. cities and two states have enacted energy performance measurement and disclosure policies to date, and nine more cities and states have bills under considerations, to help tenants and investors make better informed decisions. Buildings in Europe are required to display energy performance certificates, and Australia is implementing similar requirements.
Corporations don’t require legal mandates to encourage disclosure. In 2011, more than 3,000 companies, including 404 Global 500 firms, voluntarily reported their carbon emissions, water management and climate change policies to Carbon Disclosure Project in 2011, perhaps swayed by CDP’s 551 investor members, who use the information in deciding where to place more than $71 trillion in investment capital.
Transparency is also on the rise at the city level. CDP invited 58 cities worldwide to report sustainability related data for the first time in 2011, and 42 responded, with 38 of them making their responses public. This year, CDP Cities is expanding its request to 150 cities and continues to see a high response rate, as well as extraordinary awareness and commitment on climate change issues by city leaders. These leaders recognize that managing energy, water and waste not only helps attract residents and business growth but also enhances quality of life in a variety of ways.
Global Consistency – Deeper sustainability reporting by cities and multi-national corporations has intensified the need for consistent ways to measure the effectiveness of energy, water and other sustainability strategies on a worldwide basis. Given the wide regional variation in environmental priorities around the world, the end goal may not be a single global standard, but a way to translate local government and business practices into a common global vocabulary for measuring effectiveness and recognizing achievement..
LEED, the building sustainability rating system originated in the U.S., is now frequently pursued in many countries with their own systems, as owners seek to attract international tenants. ENERGY STAR, the U.S. EPA energy benchmarking standard, will soon be able to provide accurate ratings across North America, thanks to a new cooperative agreement with Canada. And in 2011 the International Organization for Standardization released the ISO 50001 standard for energy management systems, which includes specifications for measurement, documentation and reporting on energy consumption.
Consistent measurement is important to corporations as they focus on sustainability not only in their own operations but, increasingly, throughout their supply chain as well. And while CDP Cities is not attempting to rank the sustainability of cities, it is developing a globally cohesive framework for understanding the effectiveness of sustainability strategies pursued by different cities.
Public/Private Collaboration – 2011 stood out as a year when government and business organizations explored their shared green goals and realized that public-private partnerships and collaborative initiatives are often the best way to overcome obstacles to sustainability. Some of these joint efforts will start to bear fruit in 2012.
A clear example is the December announcement of a $4 billion energy retrofit commitment by the U.S. federal government and 60 CEOs, mayors, university presidents, and labor leaders. Called the Better Buildings Challenge, the eight-year initiative includes $2 billion in energy upgrades of federal buildings and another $2 billion of private capital to improve energy by 20 percent in buildings totaling 1.5 billion square feet. (Jones Lang LaSalle joined the Challenge with a commitment to work with owners on improvements at buildings totaling 98 million square feet.)
The Better Buildings Challenge illustrates the alignment between business and government goals in seeking energy and carbon reduction. Achieving those goals also requires cooperation; for example, groups ranging from the World Economic Forum to Greenprint Foundation have called for changes to loan underwriting guidelines set by governmental bodies to facilitate financing of energy retrofits. More directly, U.S. states have found they can increase renewable energy installations at buildings by offering incentives that would make solar power cost-effective for owners within a relatively short period.
As a firm that serves government and business entities, Jones Lang LaSalle sees tremendous untapped synergy between the two groups in achieving energy and sustainability goals, particularly in the area of public-private partnerships. As just one of many examples, airports and other government entities often have surplus land that’s unsuitable for commercial property development but could be leased to private companies for development as large solar energy installations;
Focus on Solar Energy – Speakingof solar power, 2011 was a breakthrough year for new installations in the U.S., and continued growth is seen for 2012, albeit at a slower pace. More than 1 gigawatt of photovoltaic solar energy capacity was installed across the U.S. in the first three quarters of 2011, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). By comparison, 887 megawatts came online in all of 2010, which represented a doubling of the total installed base at the time.
Solar energy installations at commercial properties drove much of the market growth in 2011, but the pace of new installations dropped significantly in the third quarter, SEIA reported. The big story going into 2012 is the unprecedented rise in utility-based installations, which jumped by 325 percent from the second to the third quarter.
The strength of the solar market in 2012 and beyond will be affected by several variables, including basic supply and demand economics, technological improvements, and the amount and type of available incentives. It is clear, however, that interest in solar energy continues to grow as payback periods grow shorter and fossil fuel costs continue to rise.
2012: Taking Sustainability to the Next Level
The common theme to all these trends is of an industry poised to break through to the next level. The industry has moved swiftly through initial phases of understanding the basic costs and benefits, implementing low-cost initiatives, exploring more sophisticated strategies, and navigating around roadblocks. Today, it is easier to see the opportunity for dynamic progress by cities, property owners and corporate tenants that have laid the groundwork for growth and success
In 2012, major trends shaping the sustainable development movement include:
Transparency – Buildings, companies and cities are measuring and disclosing energy usage, carbon emissions and other information relating to sustainability. Commercial building owners don’t always have a choice: Five major U.S. cities and two states have enacted energy performance measurement and disclosure policies to date, and nine more cities and states have bills under considerations, to help tenants and investors make better informed decisions. Buildings in Europe are required to display energy performance certificates, and Australia is implementing similar requirements.
Corporations don’t require legal mandates to encourage disclosure. In 2011, more than 3,000 companies, including 404 Global 500 firms, voluntarily reported their carbon emissions, water management and climate change policies to Carbon Disclosure Project in 2011, perhaps swayed by CDP’s 551 investor members, who use the information in deciding where to place more than $71 trillion in investment capital.
Transparency is also on the rise at the city level. CDP invited 58 cities worldwide to report sustainability related data for the first time in 2011, and 42 responded, with 38 of them making their responses public. This year, CDP Cities is expanding its request to 150 cities and continues to see a high response rate, as well as extraordinary awareness and commitment on climate change issues by city leaders. These leaders recognize that managing energy, water and waste not only helps attract residents and business growth but also enhances quality of life in a variety of ways.
Global Consistency – Deeper sustainability reporting by cities and multi-national corporations has intensified the need for consistent ways to measure the effectiveness of energy, water and other sustainability strategies on a worldwide basis. Given the wide regional variation in environmental priorities around the world, the end goal may not be a single global standard, but a way to translate local government and business practices into a common global vocabulary for measuring effectiveness and recognizing achievement..
LEED, the building sustainability rating system originated in the U.S., is now frequently pursued in many countries with their own systems, as owners seek to attract international tenants. ENERGY STAR, the U.S. EPA energy benchmarking standard, will soon be able to provide accurate ratings across North America, thanks to a new cooperative agreement with Canada. And in 2011 the International Organization for Standardization released the ISO 50001 standard for energy management systems, which includes specifications for measurement, documentation and reporting on energy consumption.
Consistent measurement is important to corporations as they focus on sustainability not only in their own operations but, increasingly, throughout their supply chain as well. And while CDP Cities is not attempting to rank the sustainability of cities, it is developing a globally cohesive framework for understanding the effectiveness of sustainability strategies pursued by different cities.
Public/Private Collaboration – 2011 stood out as a year when government and business organizations explored their shared green goals and realized that public-private partnerships and collaborative initiatives are often the best way to overcome obstacles to sustainability. Some of these joint efforts will start to bear fruit in 2012.
A clear example is the December announcement of a $4 billion energy retrofit commitment by the U.S. federal government and 60 CEOs, mayors, university presidents, and labor leaders. Called the Better Buildings Challenge, the eight-year initiative includes $2 billion in energy upgrades of federal buildings and another $2 billion of private capital to improve energy by 20 percent in buildings totaling 1.5 billion square feet. (Jones Lang LaSalle joined the Challenge with a commitment to work with owners on improvements at buildings totaling 98 million square feet.)
The Better Buildings Challenge illustrates the alignment between business and government goals in seeking energy and carbon reduction. Achieving those goals also requires cooperation; for example, groups ranging from the World Economic Forum to Greenprint Foundation have called for changes to loan underwriting guidelines set by governmental bodies to facilitate financing of energy retrofits. More directly, U.S. states have found they can increase renewable energy installations at buildings by offering incentives that would make solar power cost-effective for owners within a relatively short period.
As a firm that serves government and business entities, Jones Lang LaSalle sees tremendous untapped synergy between the two groups in achieving energy and sustainability goals, particularly in the area of public-private partnerships. As just one of many examples, airports and other government entities often have surplus land that’s unsuitable for commercial property development but could be leased to private companies for development as large solar energy installations;
Focus on Solar Energy – Speakingof solar power, 2011 was a breakthrough year for new installations in the U.S., and continued growth is seen for 2012, albeit at a slower pace. More than 1 gigawatt of photovoltaic solar energy capacity was installed across the U.S. in the first three quarters of 2011, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). By comparison, 887 megawatts came online in all of 2010, which represented a doubling of the total installed base at the time.
Solar energy installations at commercial properties drove much of the market growth in 2011, but the pace of new installations dropped significantly in the third quarter, SEIA reported. The big story going into 2012 is the unprecedented rise in utility-based installations, which jumped by 325 percent from the second to the third quarter.
The strength of the solar market in 2012 and beyond will be affected by several variables, including basic supply and demand economics, technological improvements, and the amount and type of available incentives. It is clear, however, that interest in solar energy continues to grow as payback periods grow shorter and fossil fuel costs continue to rise.
2012: Taking Sustainability to the Next Level
The common theme to all these trends is of an industry poised to break through to the next level. The industry has moved swiftly through initial phases of understanding the basic costs and benefits, implementing low-cost initiatives, exploring more sophisticated strategies, and navigating around roadblocks. Today, it is easier to see the opportunity for dynamic progress by cities, property owners and corporate tenants that have laid the groundwork for growth and success
Source:
Csrfootprint
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
A Different Kind of Container Store By LESLIE KAUFMAN
Source: StarbucksStarbucks is about to unveil a new store in suburban Seattle built primarily of four used shipping containers — the large steel boxes used to store goods as they are transported long distances on boats and trucks.
Containers have become a hot commodity in the green building movement because so many of them are piling up at American ports and are in need of recycling, says Peter DeMaria, the principal in a design firm that does a lot of work with them. “Due to the trade imbalance with China, millions of containers are left in our ports every year,” he said.
And it just so happens the containers are perfect modular building blocks for construction.
“We like the idea of up-cycling, that is, using a material and deploying it in nearly its original state,” Mr. DeMaria said. Adapting a container takes 5 percent of the energy needed to take steel, melt it down and create a new beam, he added.
Mr. DeMaria was an early adopter of container construction in the United States, first building a container-based house in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 2005. Since then he has built a gallery and condo building in the Venice area of Los Angeles, among other projects. He has worked with Target on a sample home for a design show.
The Starbucks container story is a prototype, according to a company spokesman, Alan Hilowitz, which means it may lead to more container stores.
He said this store would be rare among the 17,000 Starbucks stores globally in that it will be drive-up and walk-up only with no space to lounge inside.
And it will be portable, he said, easy to break it down and transport somewhere else. “We see a lot of opportunities here,” he said. “We can put a store like this on a lot that will be developed someday but is free for two or three years, and then we can move it.”
The company, he said, was also motivated by the idea of not letting the containers it uses for importing tea and coffee just sit and go to waste.
Source:
The New York Times
Containers have become a hot commodity in the green building movement because so many of them are piling up at American ports and are in need of recycling, says Peter DeMaria, the principal in a design firm that does a lot of work with them. “Due to the trade imbalance with China, millions of containers are left in our ports every year,” he said.
And it just so happens the containers are perfect modular building blocks for construction.
“We like the idea of up-cycling, that is, using a material and deploying it in nearly its original state,” Mr. DeMaria said. Adapting a container takes 5 percent of the energy needed to take steel, melt it down and create a new beam, he added.
Mr. DeMaria was an early adopter of container construction in the United States, first building a container-based house in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 2005. Since then he has built a gallery and condo building in the Venice area of Los Angeles, among other projects. He has worked with Target on a sample home for a design show.
The Starbucks container story is a prototype, according to a company spokesman, Alan Hilowitz, which means it may lead to more container stores.
He said this store would be rare among the 17,000 Starbucks stores globally in that it will be drive-up and walk-up only with no space to lounge inside.
And it will be portable, he said, easy to break it down and transport somewhere else. “We see a lot of opportunities here,” he said. “We can put a store like this on a lot that will be developed someday but is free for two or three years, and then we can move it.”
The company, he said, was also motivated by the idea of not letting the containers it uses for importing tea and coffee just sit and go to waste.
Source:
The New York Times
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
First Bird Nest Processor To Achieve ISO 22000: 2005 Certification in Malaysia: Kuan Wellness Sdn Bhd
Kuan Wellness Eco Park is the first bird’s nest ecology park established with ecotourism as its primary theme, and the first bird’s nest processing centre in Malaysia to be certified by the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System. It is located at Tanjung Sepat, between Sepang Goldcoast and Morib Gold Coast, Kuan Wellness Eco Park is set to become one of the most sought after eco-tourism destination in Malaysia. With a total land area of 5 acres, the ecology park consists of a 3½ storey swiftlet house and a visitor centre, surrounded by palm oil plantations and tropical fruit farms which provide plenty of insects, the swiftlet's favourite food source.
More info:
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
GreenBuild Asia 2012 Exhibition & Conference in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia (14-16 feb 2012)
The world of sustainable building, design and construction will converge in Kuala Lumpur for GREENBUILD ASIA 2012 Exhibition & Conference. Held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) from 14-16 February 2012 the event is expected to be attended by over 10,000 delegates and trade buyers from across the region to get updated on the latest in property, building design, materials, construction equipment and interiors. Hosted by the Construction Industry Development Board, Malaysia, the event is Asia's No.1 Business-to-Business Event devoted to Green Building.For more info:
Saturday, December 10, 2011
How To Go Green @ Work? Part II
5. Ramp up your recycling
· Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.
· Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.
· Make it a policy to place recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas and
provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled.
provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled.
6. Close the loop
· Make it a policy to purchase office supplies and furniture made from recycled materials.
7. Watch what (and how) you eat
· Make it a habit to bring your own mug and dishware for those meals you eat at the office.
· Make it a policy to provide reusable dishes, silverware, and glasses. Switch to Fair Trade and organic coffee and tea, and buy as much organic and local food as possible for parties and other events. Provide filtered drinking water to reduce bottled-water waste.
8.Rethink your travel
· Make it a habit to take the train, bus, or LRT when feasible instead of a rental car when travelling on business. If you have to rent a car, some rental agencies now offer hybrids and other high-mileage vehicles.
· Make it a policy to invest in videoconferencing and other technological solutions
that can reduce the amount of employee travel.
9.Reconsider your commute
· Make it a habit to carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible. If you need to drive occasionally, consider joining a car-sharing service like bus and train instead of owning your own wheels.
· Make it a habit to carpool, bike, or take transit to work, and/or telecommute when possible. If you need to drive occasionally, consider joining a car-sharing service like bus and train instead of owning your own wheels.
· Make it a policy to encourage telecommuting and make it easy for employees to take alternative modes of transportation by subsidizing commuter checks, offering bike parking, or organizing a carpool board.
10. Create a healthy office environment
· Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution.
10. Create a healthy office environment
· Make it a habit to use nontoxic cleaning products. Brighten up your cubicle with plants, which absorb indoor pollution.
· Make it a policy to buy furniture, carpeting, and paint that are free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and won't off-gas toxic chemicals
How To Go Green @ Work ? Part I
1. Be bright about light
· Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.
· Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.
· Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings.
· Make it a habit to turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more and utilize natural light when you can.
· Make it a policy to buy Energy Star-rated light bulbs and fixtures, which use at least two-thirds less energy than regular lighting, and install timers or motion sensors that automatically shut off lights when they're not needed.
2. Maximize computer efficiency
· Computers contribute major unnecessarily electricity waste in the business sector.
· Make it a habit to turn off your computer—and the power strip it's plugged into—when you leave for the day. Otherwise, you're still burning energy even if you're not burning the midnight oil. (Check with your IT department to make sure the computer doesn't need to be on to run backups or other maintenance.) During the day, setting your computer to go to sleep automatically during short breaks can cut energy use by 70 percent. Remember, screen savers don't save energy.
· Make it a policy to invest in energy-saving computers, monitors, and printers and make sure that old equipment is properly recycled. Look for a recycler that has pledged not to export hazardous e-waste and to follow other safety guidelines. Old computers that still work, and are less than five years old, can be donated to organizations that will refurbish them and find them new homes. (You may even get a tax deduction.)
3. Print smarter
· According to market research firm Info Trends, businesses use more than a trillion pages of office paper each year.
· Make it a habit to print on both sides or use the back side of old documents for faxes, scrap paper, or drafts. Avoid color printing and print in draft mode whenever feasible.
· Make it a policy to buy chlorine-free paper with a higher percentage of post-consumer recycled content. Also consider switching to a lighter stock of paper or alternatives made from bamboo, hemp, organic cotton, or kenaf. Recycle toner and ink cartridges and buy remanufactured ones. Each remanufactured toner cartridge "keeps approximately 2.5 pounds of metal and plastic out of landfills...and conserves about a half gallon of oil."
4. Go paperless when possible
· Make it a habit to think before you print: could this be read or stored online instead? When you receive unwanted catalogs, newsletters, magazines, or junk mail, request to be removed from the mailing list before you recycle the item.
· Make it a policy to post employee manuals and similar materials online, rather than distribute print copies. They're easier to update that way too.
5.Ramp up your recycling
· Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.
· Make it a habit to recycle everything your company collects. Just about any kind of paper you would encounter in an office, including fax paper, envelopes, and junk mail, can be recycled. So can your old cell phone, PDA, or pager.
· Make it a policy to place recycling bins in accessible, high-traffic areas and provide clear information about what can and can not be recycled.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Green Office ????
Employee involvement and training in Green Office program can lead to improved employee morale. The benefits of Green Office Management include cutting waste and energy consumption in office procedures, reduce your environmental impact at work and the difference you can make in your business and finally inspire and promote a positive staff culture in your organization.The aim of the programme is to offer offices a simplified environmental management and certification system, with a special focus on CO2 emissions. The ultimate goal of Green Office is to combat climate change through increased energy efficiency, the use of renewable, reduced natural resource use, and the promotion of sustainable lifestyles through enhanced employee awareness.
Green Office is a voluntary certification programme operated by WWF Finland. It is a practical environmental programme that is easy to implement. Its aim is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and offices' ecological footprint. Green Office is suited to offices – both large and small – in private companies, the public sector and other organisations. The scheme benefits both the organisation and the environment and provides its participants with advice and information on how to achieve energy and resource savings. Furthermore it provides stakeholders with information about offices, which are considered ‘green’, i.e., whether they are good potential business partners or attractive employers to work for.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Green Technology-What is it?
The term "technology" refers to the application of knowledge for practical purposes.
The field of "green technology" encompasses a continuously evolving group of methods and materials, from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products.
The present expectation is that this field will bring innovation and changes in daily life of similar magnitude to the "information technology" explosion over the last two decades. In these early stages, it is impossible to predict what "green technology" may eventually encompass.
The goals that inform developments in this rapidly growing field include:
Sustainability - meeting the needs of society in ways that can continue indefinitely into the future without damaging or depleting natural resources. In short, meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
"Cradle to cradle" design - ending the "cradle to grave" cycle of manufactured products, by creating products that can be fully reclaimed or re-used.
Source reduction - reducing waste and pollution by changing patterns of production and consumption.
Innovation - developing alternatives to technologies - whether fossil fuel or chemical intensive agriculture - that have been demonstrated to damage health and the environment.
Viability - creating a center of economic activity around technologies and products that benefit the environment, speeding their implementation and creating new careers that truly protect the planet.
Source:
http://www.green-technology.org/
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