Green Business, Carbon Offsets, Green Economy

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Cap and Trade 101

Cap and Trade goal: To steadily reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions economy-wide in a cost-effective manner.

The cap: Each large-scale emitter, or company, will have a limit on the amount of greenhouse gas that it can emit. The firm must have an “emissions permit” for every ton of carbon dioxide it releases into the atmosphere. These permits set an enforceable limit, or cap, on the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that the company is allowed to emit. Over time, the limits become stricter, allowing less and less pollution, until the ultimate reduction goal is met. This is similar to the cap and trade program enacted by the Clean Air Act of 1990, which reduced the sulfur emissions that cause acid rain, and it met the goals at a much lower cost than industry or government predicted.

The Green Economy Gains Currency

It was the best of times and -- well, you know the rest. The greening of mainstream companies during 2008 continued more or less unabated on its multi-year trajectory, with a growing number of global companies joining in with increasingly more substantive commitments and achievements. But economic woes rocked corporate strategy much as it did everything else, leading to cutbacks, layoffs…

Green Shopping Decisions

Green product attributes are evolving into an important brand differentiator for consumers and can serve as a tiebreaker for shoppers evaluating similar products, according to results of a new study just released from the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Deloitte.

Global Green 100 Announced

The Uptime Institute has announced its Global Green 100 list. The list highlights the significant energy efficiency achievements of global corporations operating major data centers. The list FORTUNE 500 and InformationWeek 500 organizations that have demonstrated board-level policy and governance commitment to increasing energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of their enterprise IT and data center operations.

Potato Chips Get Eco-Friendly

Frito-Lay, after realizing how much energy it takes for its factories to make (not to mention eat) potato chips, has announced that it will take an Arizona factory off the grid.

The design is capable of reducing electricity and water consumption 90%. And the company was only aiming for a 50% reduction. In total, greenhouse gas reduction could be at up to 75%. The factory has a totally revolutionary design.

Coalition Petitions SEC for Corporate Climate Disclosure

Environmental groups, including Environmental Defense, CERES and Friends of the Earth, joined with foundations, concerned investors and state officials from across the country in filing a landmark petition last week asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require publicly traded companies to assess and fully disclose their financial risks related to climate change. The 22 petitioners cite unequivocal scientific evidence along with widespread business recognition that the risks and opportunities corporations face as a result of climate change are material to shareholder investment decisions and should be disclosed under existing law.

MBA Programs Turn Out Green Grads

OAKLAND — Business professor John Stayton remembers when eyes would start rolling at the idea of a "green MBA." These days, business schools across the country are incorporating the environmental and social costs of doing business into their curricula. A few, like the program Stayton directs at Dominican University of California, aim for an all-green program.

New Corporate Push on Global Warming

NEW YORK (AP) -- The world's biggest companies are making climate change a bigger priority, in part through more widespread disclosure of carbon emissions, an annual report to be released Monday shows. Former President Clinton was scheduled to join the nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project on Monday to announce the results of its latest checkup on the world's biggest companies and how they plan to deal with the risks and opportunities associated with greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.

What Are Carbon Offsets?

What are carbon offsets? Well, suppose that your activities contributed to the release of too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, perhaps by excessive reliance on personal travel by air or automobile. However, you aren't able to reduce this travel, but you still want to plant trees to compensate for your emissions. This would create a carbon offset. Similarly, if you had a company and wanted to compensate for your emissions, you might create an offset by…

At The Office

Tips From The EPA

Business and home offices use a significant amount of electricity for heating and cooling, lighting and operating equipment. Here are four easy ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help make the air cleaner: Office equipment and electronics use energy even when idle or on stand-by.

Coral reefs suffer from the loss of algae that color and nourish them. The process, called bleaching, is caused by warmer oceans.

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