As prospects for a U.S. national climate change bill looks less and less promising, five U.S. states and Canadian provinces are moving forward with plans to establish a regional cap-and-trade market in 2012 for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, reports Reuters. The market would be about a tenth of U.S. emissions. California, with the eighth-largest economy [...]

Trading of carbon permits under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative rose 42 percent in the most recent trading session. More than 40.612 million allowances were auctioned March 10, up from 28.591 million allowances sold Dec. 2. This, the seventh such auction, brought a price of $2.07 for permits and $1.86 for futures. That compares to $2.05 for [...]

New products aspiring to be labeled green should be preoccupied with passing muster with the arbiters of what's green, be they NGOs, consumers, or ratings agencies. The reality, though, is that many green brands wish they had the problem of being scrutinized, at least by consumers.

Big auto and EU face off over green van targets Reuters Executive Departures at Clean Energy Firms NY Times ClearLite to Launch Several New Efficient Lighting Products Business Wire Marks & Spencer Sells Chocolate With Wrapper that Grows into Flowers Marks & Spencer Japan faces rocky path to emissions trading system Reuters Forest Project First Hailed as REDD Model Now Considered ‘Carbon Scam’ Wild Singapore US carbon [...]

United Natural Foods will adopt hydrogen fuel cell technology to power the lift truck fleet at its Sarasota, Fla., distribution center. Once implemented, the project is expected to save about 640,000 kilowatt hours a year, said Tom Dziki, Senior Vice President of Sustainable Development. United Natural Foods is adding 29 new hydrogen fuel cell-powered lift trucks, while [...]

The medical device industry has been slow to incorporate biodegradable, bio-based or recycled plastics in their designs primarily due to cost, regulatory concerns, minimal selection and a lack of strong demand from end users, reports Medical Product Manufacturing News. But some suppliers like Cereplast, Brookdale Plastics and Placon are hoping to change the trend by [...]

Job postings related to corporate social responsibility tumbled 68 percent from the third quarter of 2008 to 2009, according to a recent report. But behind the numbers is a rising trend of executive-level job postings such as vice president and other senior positions such as director, according to Sustainability Recruiting’s CSR Jobs Report. The report drew [...]

Nearly 93 percent of design and construction professionals continue to endorse green building despite the recession, according to a new green building survey. The survey also finds that support for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification slipped again in 2009, widening the gap between support for green construction [...]

Carlson Hotels plans to put the majority of its Asia-Pacific hotels through the EarthCheck certification program, according to a press release. The EarthCheck program is run by EC3 Global, a certifier of sustainable travel and tourism operators. Carlson is not alone in its move to put an “environmental” stamp on its Asia-Pacific offerings. In late February, a [...]

Burt’s Bees shows how it taught employees about waste reduction by going digging through their own dumpsters.

As part of the company’s effort to reduce its carbon footprint through the use of renewable energy, Loblaw has launched a rooftop solar pilot project at four stores in Ontario –Ajax, Orleans, Toronto and Whitby. The Canadian food distributor has applied for more than 100 rooftop solar installations. These applications have been approved by the Ontario Power Authority [...]

Environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) among businesses are no longer “nice to have” ideologies. They are important parts of a company’s overall growth strategy. A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers study documented ways in which companies that report their sustainability efforts get better returns on their assets than companies that do not. Also according [...]

Why don't more of the economic benefits of the forestry industry reach poor people in forest rich countries? The WBCSD interviewed Gary Dunning of The Forests Dialogue and James Mayers of the International Institute for Environment and Development.

When Nike first began incorporating sustainability into its business practices, the risks and opportunities we grappled with seemed distant  indeed, even non-existent to most businesses. Fifteen years later, the risks and opportunities that businesses face from environmental and social challenges are more obvious than ever.

Solazyme, a renewable oil and bioproducts company, has inked a research and development deal with Unilever to develop an algae-based oil that can be used in its soaps and other personal care products. This follows a year-long collaboration between the two companies that yielded successful tests of renewable algal oils in Unilever product formulations. The two [...]

Aimed at reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, the Port Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have launched a financial incentive program to replace up to 636 of the oldest, most polluting trucks serving the marine terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey with newer, cleaner models. The Port of New [...]

By making, in some cases, small changes to add efficiency its offices including the installation of motion-activated lighting and more efficient plumbing fixtures, and encouraging its employees to be more sustainable, Kraft Foods says it has achieved some big results around the globe. As an example, Kraft Foods’ Curitiba, Brazil, headquarters reduced its energy consumption nearly [...]

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear SSM Exemption Case Environmental Protection Political ads: new weapon in U.S. climate change war? Reuters California Utility Regulators Not Quite Ready for Fuel Cells NY Times CAA 2010 Targets Mercury, SO2, and NOx Environmental Protection EPA Chief: Avatar’s Success Proves There’s Money in Going Green BNet U.S. Governors Urge Congress to Stop EPA Carbon Rules Business Week Valeo To Put 2/3 of [...]

Over the past year, Enova and Freightliner have been testing a 120 kilowatt all-electric drive system with several chassis platforms, but now they are ready to accelerate plans to serve corporate fleets. The Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) truck just made its official debut at the  2010 National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Work Truck Show. The vehicle, [...]

Lennar and KB Home, two prominent national home builders, have launched energy and water-efficient home lines that they are marketing as “green,” reports EcoHome Magazine. Lennar’s launch of its energy-efficient PowerSmart line is designed to save up to 40 percent on energy use. The homes are built to Energy Star for Homes standards and the Environments [...]