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.
Drew Tulchin talks about how to finance green businesses in the U.S. in terms of capital options and sources. He gives step by step practical advice for green entrepreneurs and suggests various things that can be done to help obtain financing. Drew Tulchin talks about how to finance green businesses in the U.S. in terms of capital options and sources. He gives step by step practical advice for green entrepreneurs and suggests various things that can be done to help obtain financing.
The Cancun conference is being credited with keeping international climate talks alive. But the real potential for bringing emissions under control may lie in a Plan B, with nations acting on their own in moving toward a low-carbon economy.
The federal government is making sustainability a priority. Under the Energy Independence and Security Act, all federal managers are required to cut their fossil fuel use and are directed to acquire recycled content, energy efficient, renewable, bio-based and environmentally preferable products and services towards achieving certain goals. The are a number of “Buy Bio”, “Buy Green First,” programs, as well as Go Green Initiatives giving preference to products and services that meet green purchasing criteria.
President Barack Obama proposed a new rebate program on Tuesday to reward homeowners for making their homes more energy efficient, while also proposing additional federal investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy. As part of a speech about jobs and the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., the president noted that home energy retrofits create jobs, save money for families, and reduce the pollution that threatens our environment.
Workers in “green” buildings more productive than those in traditional structures. They take less sick leave and prodiuctivity increases. The study looks at whether the upfront costs outweigh those benefits?
I see three green job conversations going on right now in the country, which causes confusion for most job seekers. I first must caution to watch out for all of the hype.
This country’s 130 million homes together generate more than 20% of the nation’s carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. This is one of the most significant contributing sources in the country to global warming. Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home on average which would also lower our national greenhouse gas emissions by 160 million metric tons annually by the year 2020. In addition doing so would reduce home energy bills by $21 billion a year and over time these savings would more than pay for the high up-front costs for energy efficiency retrofitting.
