Green Trends and Prospects

State of Green Business 2008

We commend readers to State of Green Business 2008 a highly informative synopsis of trends in green enterprise by the editors of GreenBiz. This report is available free for download. It concludes that while green approaches have made major inroads in business, the overall verdict is still mixed. Here are a few interesting findings:

• Wal-Mart has committed to doubling its truck fleet's fuel efficiency by 2015. It will replace 386 of its big rigs with hybrid versions of the same truck by 2009.
• On the other hand, nearly a third of companies queried in one report have no way to monitor their own carbon emissions, let alone the indirect emission of their supply chains, and have no plan to begin doing so.
• More than 28 major corporations joined major environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and others, in signing on to the US Climate Action Partnership, which advocates, among other things a cap and trade system for carbon emissions.
• However, one survey found that consumers are reluctant to pay a premium for green products. And perhaps justifiably so, in reviewing more than a thousand consuming products bearing environmental claims, another study found all but one product included false or misleading information about its environmental benefits.

The overarching issue is that while corporate and government commitments to clean energy and green practices are on the upswing, meaning fewer energy inputs and less pollution for every dollar of GDP, they must be measured against a growing, energy consuming, global economy that will overwhelm conservation measures without dramatic, wide ranging action.

Solar Sails: PV Goes Kinetic

We now have a working, proof - of - concept, prototype of the Solar Sails kinetic sculpture. When the sun shines the sails move in changing patterns, based on sun position and weather. We are seeking partners for full size installations in corporate and public venues. You might ask how the Solar Sails piece advances a greener future. We believe it showcases solar photovoltaic (PV) energy by transforming a static technology into something dramatic and entertaining; and placing it in high visibility environments.

Bottled Water - Taking Out the Carbon, But Not the Fizz

Did you know bottled water is a thousand times more carbon intensive than filtered, carbonated tap water? And, we're not talking about the carbonation bubbles. Transporting filtered and/or natural mineral water from bottling plants is an energy intensive business that results in large carbon emissions. Green Lodging News reports that The Scandic Hotels chain has stopped selling bottled water in its 160 hotel Nordic business as one, among many measures, to further its goal of carbon neutrality by year 2025.

We all want to drink clean water, but using filtered tap water is a much better approach than shipping it dozens, not to mention sometimes thousands, of miles from its source. Scandic will offer guests filtered and carbonated tap water on premises and even provide bottles for guests when they venture out.

Is the (Green) Future Local and What Will It Look Like?

Speaking of local production, many green scenarios emphasize locally produced goods. For example, LEED green building standards promote local sourcing. We wonder if the present cosmopolitan, global economy, where large percentages of consumer goods are produced and delivered halfway around the world to consumers will be viewed retrospectively as an aberration. Will future economies necessarily be more local?

We now take for granted consumer items made far away and shipped long distances because energy is cheap and labor is drastically less in the developing countries where they are manufactured. But, what will happen as global energy costs rise and wages in China and other Asian countries begin to approach parity with the West? Will we see a resurgence of local manufacturing in lieu of foreign goods, or perhaps just higher prices and less stuff?  Will there be fewer, incredibly cheap plastic party favors from China, shipped around the world to be used once and thrown out? And doesn't less stuff moving around the world mean less economic activity, resulting in lower standards of living? In the past almost everything was produced and consumed locally.

Salt was one of the first global commodities subject to long distance trade. Everyone needed it. As with salt three millennia ago, there are certain goods and commodities that economies cannot do without today, such as energy supplies and feed stocks that will always be worth trading over long distances. But what happens to the all other, more marginal stuff? Is it possible to maintain an affordable and high standard of living without relying on cheap energy and foreign labor? Or will we in the West have to redefine our standard of living, not only from the standpoint of geographic equity, but also out of economic necessity?

More Diesel Choices - Hybrids Face Competition

Some readers may be considering vehicle purchases in the coming year. While hybrids generally come to mind among environmentally conscious consumers, there is a new generation of diesels presently - or - soon to be available that offer many, if not more advantages than, hybrids. Diesels generally offer about 30 percent greater efficiency, meaning better mileage than gasoline engines and don't require the large battery packs of hybrids, which, at some point need to be replaced.

Most of the diesels now offered in the US by Mercedes, Jeep and other manufacturers aim to make larger, fuel thirsty models more fuel efficient, rather than delivering high, absolute mileage. For example, the Mercedes E Class diesel sedan gets 32 highway mpg as opposed to the gasoline version which gets 24 mpg. This is good, but not great mileage.

However, 2009 should see the introduction of some high mileage diesel models from manufacturers like Volkswagen, BMW and Honda, offering consumers both real efficiency and performance. In Europe, almost half of new car sales are diesel. As of 2009 all states will offer low sulfur diesel fuel. Volkswagen even rolled out a diesel hybrid Golf Prototype at the Geneva Auto Show with a claimed 70 mpg.

Green Building Prospects

We still notice occasional reluctance from prospective clients about the cost and complexity of green building; particularly in implementing the LEED Certification system. Our response is that like it or not, LEED has become the de facto standard for green building. USGBC, the promulgator of the LEED system, expects more than 100,000 building projects to be LEED Certified and more than 200 public agencies and organizations have adopted it as their standard.

Moreover, our suggestion to building professionals is that rather than feeling burdened about some of LEED's more detailed analysis and reporting aspects they should embrace it as a means to improve the environment and their own bottom lines. As well as providing healthier and more energy efficient buildings, LEED services represent value - added for the design professions and increased revenues. Furthermore, in a growing number of cases, the additional costs of LEED are more than offset by energy savings, so everybody wins, with the possible exception of the power companies.

E2C2 Client Shorepower Electrifies Trucking in Pacific Northwest

E2C2 has been working with a Portland, Oregon based client, Shorepower, to bring electrified parking spaces for trucks, Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Plug In Hybrids (PHEVs) to the nation's truck stops, rest areas, and parking facilities. With support from a Climate Trust grant Shorepower has now equipped six travel plazas on Interstate corridors in Oregon and Washington with electrified parking spaces. Every electrified Shorepower space used 8 hours per day, instead of idling a big diesel rig during rest stops, saves 30 tons of carbon emitted to the atmosphere during a year.

We look forward to your comments as always.