Fireman's Fund Insurance Company is offering a 5 percent discount to policyholders with Energy Star buildings in the latest expansion of the firm's green insurance coverage.

We've seen a flurry of CSR reports released over the last week from high-profile companies touting their social and environmental achievements, including AT&T, Ball, Baxter, EMC and SABMiller. Though they hail from a wide variety of sectors, the metrics used to report environmental performance fall along familiar lines, includes carbon footprint, energy use, water, waste and packaging.

In spring, about the time the press coverage of the Gulf oil spill cranked into high gear, Shelton Group conducted a poll to see whether the event was affecting mindset of Americans on energy. The result may be one of the rare bits of "good news" to surface since the disaster.

The Tasty Baking Company has moved its operations into what it is calling the world's largest green bakery.

"Tilted" index ratings aim to help investors identify those firms and sectors facing the lowest and highest climate risks.

The U.S. faces three systemic, growing, 21st century challenges: a huge deficit, high unemployment and climate change. But there is a way out of this. Why not tax consumption, instead of production?
 

An Energy Star program aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of manufacturing plants has helped the auto industry cut the amount of electricity and fuel needed to make vehicles, slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 750,000 tons.

General Electric is committing $10 billion to ecomagination research and development in the next five years after reaching a $5 billion investment milestone for its portfolio of environmentally sensitive products, services and technology.

IT and a new wave of startups hold the promise for the next big thing in energy and environmental management systems, a Climate Corps fellow learns.

Like major league sports teams, college athletic departments are putting more muscle into energy efficiency, recycling and other environmental programs at their facilities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is offering comprehensive technical assistance to state capitals for the design and development of more sustainable neighborhoods -- ones that incorporate green building and infrastructure to foster social, economic and environmental benefits.

Starwood Hotels and Resorts plans to slash energy use in each of its 1,000 hotels by 30 percent by 2020, in addition to a 20 percenty drop in water consumption.

At Verizon Communications, the challenge for the EDF Climate Corps fellow is to reach the next level of energy savings. Last year, efficiency efforts by Verizon saved almost 91 million kWh of electricity and avoided more than 65,300 metric tons of CO2 avoidance emissions.

This new report from BSR provides a clear outline for how leading companies can launch supply chain energy-efficiency programs in China, building upon its experience helping Walmart launch its initiative to improve the energy efficiency of its top 200 China-based suppliers by 20 percent by 2012.

If you like the BP oil spill, you're going to love carbon capture and storage...

This guide from The Carbon Trust clearly explains how to manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by understanding what emissions are caused by a business’s activities or products.

A variety of cost- and energy-saving measures in its fleets, equipment, and buildings are paying off for Coca-Cola Enterprises, helping the company reduce its carbon footprint by 10 percent between 2008 and 2009. It has also reduced packaging and water use, while boosting the amount of waste it recycles, according to its 2009 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report.

Businesses can invest in local social and environmental projects to halt or reserve desertification, engage with suppliers to reduce degradation, and create products that improve agricultural sustainability and enable restoration of damaged land.

Here are 10 ways to make your buildings operate more efficiently and more cost effectively.

What will it take to make solar power a major player in the energy game? The Rocky Mountain Institute and others striving to break down the barriers to PV market growth will convene this month to rethink the installation processes for large-scale rooftop and ground-mounted PV systems for commercial buildings and utilities.