Biodegradable | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

The U.S. Government’s Green Purchasing Programs Have Some Serious Problems That Need to be Addressed

By Dave Meyer on July 6, 2011 Comments Off on The U.S. Government’s Green Purchasing Programs Have Some Serious Problems That Need to be Addressed acquisition, bio-based, biodegradable, business, clean energy, Clean tech, Clean Technology Trade Alliance, collaboration, compostable, CTTA, economy, environment, environmentally preferable, EO 13514, EPA, FAR Council, Federal Acquisition Regulations Council, federal contractors, general services administration, government, green economy, green supply chain, green supply chain management, greengov, GSCM), innovation, interim rule on green procurement, management, manufacturing, Policy, procurement, supply chain, Supply Chain Management, sustainable sourcing, transparency

The Federal government recently issues a new rule that requires that 95 percent of new contract actions be green.This sounds great. But there are some underlying systemic issues related to the timing of the FARC interim ruling. Industry groups and procurement agencies are scratching their heads. Several industry associations requested that the government stop issuing rules that change federal procurement policy without first considering public comment.

Government Agencies Required to Go 95% Green on All Purchases

By Tracey de Morsella on June 3, 2011 Comments Off on Government Agencies Required to Go 95% Green on All Purchases Agriculture Department, Air Force, Army Reserve training post, bio-based, biodegradable, CA, clean energy, compostable, cool roofs, Defense Department, Depar, Department of Transportation, DoD, electronics stewardship, energy-efficient, Environmental Protection Agency, environmentally preferable, executive order on green management, Federal Acquisition Regulations Council, federal contractors, Federal Trade Commission, Fort Hunter Liggett, FTC, general services administration, green aviation, Green Guides, green management, green NASA Ames, Green Purchasing Plan, green supply chain, Greenspace Initiative, GSA, Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims, interim rule on green procurement, NASA, net-zero-energy building requirement, non-ozone depleting, nontoxic, Obama administration, Pilot Army Net Zero Installation initiative, recycled content, recycling, section 438; Livability Principles, solar array, stormwater provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, sustainability base, sustainable purchasing, sustainable systems, tment of Housing and Urban Development, vegetative roofs, waste diversion, waste streams, Water Efficiency, water efficient

Two days ago, the Federal Acquisition Regulations Council released an interim rule on green procurement, requiring that the head of each agency ensure that 95 percent of new contract actions are for products and services that are energy efficient, water efficient, bio-based, environmentally preferable or non-ozone depleting, adhering to criteria set out by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agriculture Department. The agencies also must aim to procure items that contain recycled content and are nontoxic.

Green Marketing: Motivating Mainstream Consumers to Make Sustainable Choices

By Sofia_Ribeiro on June 14, 2010 3 Comments additives, biodegradable, brand, chemical waste, chemicals, Clorox, efficacy, green communications, green consumer, Green Marketing, green products, Green Works, Kiwano Marketing.Eco Pulse 2010, natural, natural ingredients, organic, packaging, pesticides, preservatives, recycling, renewable energy, Shelton Group, sofia ribeiro, Sun Chips, Sustainable '10 Conference, Sustainable Brands, sustainable packaging, sustainable product life cycle, Suzanne Shelton, transparency, transparent

Today I attended a great session at Sustainable Brands conference by Suzanne Shelton, President and CEO of theShelton Group. Mainstream consumers are complicated. They know just enough buzz words to make you think they know more than they do, and most don’t actually go green to save the planet. How do mainstream consumers ACTUALLY make decisions about which green products to buy?

The Greenest Cities in America

By Tracey de Morsella on July 31, 2009 4 Comments 000 clean energy sector jobs by 2015. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, air quality, AL, AR, Arlington Heights, Austin, Austin Energy, AZ, battery-swapping, Bellingham, bike lanes, biodegradable, Boston, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Burnsville, CA, CA. Sacramento plans to add 20, California, canopy cover, carbon offset, Chicago, cities Madison, clean air, Clean Energy Incubator, CO, compostable disposable food service ware, conservation, CT, Denver, edible urban gardens, electric-car charging stations, energy audits, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy production, environmental standards, EPA, EPA Smart Growth Program, Eugene OR, Fayetteville, FL, for the Environment, Fort Collins, Gavin Newsom, generate jobs, Geothermal Energy, GHG, global warming, green building; recycling, Green cities, green concrete, green jobs, Green Medium Cities, Green Small Cities, Green Town Challenge, greenest cities, greenhouse gas emissions, greenness, Greg Nickels, How Green is My Town, Huntsville, hydroelectric, hydrogen-powered, hydropower, ICLEI, IL, incentives, kyoto protocol, landfill, Laredo, large cities, LEED, light rail, Living Cities, Local Governments for Sustainability, MA, Madison, Mission Viejo, MN, Mountain View, Nanosolar, Nashua, Natural Resources Defense Council, NH, Norwalk, NRDC, Oakland, passive cooling, plug-in charging stations, polystyrene foam, protect the environment, Redmond, renewable energy, reuse, rooftop gardens, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Scottsdale, Seattle, Smarter Cities, SMUD, solar manufacturers, solar panels, solid waste, Solopower, Spokane, Springfield, SunPower, sustainability, Sustainable Business, Tallahassee, The Denver, transportation, trees, TX, U.S. Green Building Council, Underwriters Laboratory, urban rehabilitation, urban sprawl, US Conference of Mayors Climate Agreement, WA, Washington, wastewater, water quality, WI, wildlife refuge, wind turbines, Wisconsin, Yale, zero-waste

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently announced their list of the greenest cities in the United States and have released their findings on a new web site, called Smarter Cities. The survey includes all cities in the United States with populations larger than 50,000. Smarter Cities is considered to be one of the nation’s most comprehensive and robust database of U.S. urban progress toward sustainability. Seattle ranked number one and San Francisco ranked number 2 among the 67 large cities that were evaluated. Madison, Wisconsin placed firstand Santa Rosa, California came in second among the 176 medium cities that were surveyed. Among the 402 cities that were evaluated, Bellingham, Washington came in first place and Mountain View, California came in second.