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

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

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.

Green Project Management and the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill

Green Project Management and the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill

This is an explanation of how Green Project Management could assist in incorporating environmental thinking in any project, factoring the environment into project management processes. The authors believe that a more structured approach to including the environment in all project management processes would have uncovered some of the issues faced at the BP Deep Water Horizon Spill, and led to some very different decisions during the project, prior to deciding to drill more than five thousand feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico.

Buy it Ethically: Embedding CSR in The Procurement Function

Buy it Ethically: Embedding CSR in The Procurement Function

Elaine reviews the procurement section of the Ethical Corporation’s latest research publication on How to embed Corporate Responsibility across different parts of your Company and how issues of sustainability and ethics are embedded in the supply chain.

Can Finance Managers Count CSR?

The standand approach to finance is often the sad antithesis of corporate social responsibility. Most Finance managers have a perception of CSR as simply a cost center and not a revenue generator.Cohen provides an explanation of how there is a basis for the financial function to be a contributor to, and not just a calculator of a company’s CSR program.

A Day in The Life of a Chief Sustainability Officer

The following is an account of one day on the job with Kathrin Winkler. She is Sr. Director and Chief Sustainability Officer at EMC Corporation, where she has a history of taking on entirely new roles in which she has to fill in the interstices between more traditional functions. She took on the full-time sustainability position in July of 2008.

Internship Spotlight: Department of Energy Corporate-Federal Career Intern Program

US Department of Energy Career Intern Program is a 2-year career-entry and development program aimed at hiring entry-level employees into scientific, technical and business occupations in GS 5-9 grade levels within the Department of Energy. Participants receive: a comprehensive individual development plan with features acquiring job-related certifications, formal classroom and online training, and mentorship by renowned government leaders; rotational job assignments with opportunities to travel across the United States and possibly internationally; possible $5,000 to $7,000 Recruitment Signing Bonuses and up to $10,000 per year for student loan repayment; accelerated promotions and the opportunity to advance quickly within the organization and a comprehensive federal benefits package.

Who are The Top 50 U.S. Green Power Purchasers?

EPA today released a list of the nation’s top green power purchasers. These organizations are all participants in the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has hundreds of Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500 companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. The list this year’s top green power purchasers is led by Intel Corporation, PepsiCo, Kohl’s Department Stores, Dell Inc., Whole Foods Market, The Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Air Force, Cisco Systems, Inc. and the City of Houston.