The Yudelson Associates Blog: What's New
Corporate Sustainability / Green Business Practices
Friday, July 11, 2008
Will green building and green products be retailers’ salvation?
The Journal article points out that Home Depot, Wal-Mart Stores, Best Buy, CVS Caremark and Walgreen are taking various steps to appeal to cash strapped consumers, such as remodeling their stores, spending more on store maintenance and investing more in customer service (what a concept!). Overlooked in the article is that each of these outfits is also taking a long look at using LEED certification and/or green product selections to stand out also. For example, Home Depot has LEED-certified a store in Calgary, Alberta, and also green-certified more than 1,500 items for their “Eco Options” program. Best Buy is promising to LEED certify all new stores. CVS is looking at LEED certifying one of their prototype stores in California, according to industry rumors. Wal-Mart just introduced a nearly 50% less-energy-using store prototype for the western U.S. Who will be next? Stay tuned!
Posted by Jerry on 07/11/2008 at 01:50 PM
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Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Strategic Implications of Sustainable Development
In the McKinsey Quarterly for June/July 2008, Lovins says: “Environmental strategy is not about manipulating regulatory systems to put your competitor at a disadvantage. It’s about redesigning your company’s processes and products so that regulation is relevant only to your competitor, not to yourself. The real leaders are going to be smart companies that see the competitive advantage in leading energy transformation in their sectors.” In my work with the development industry, I find the most difficult part is to get people to look outside of the industry’s mindset of lowest first cost, to get people to realize that it’s the appropriate level of investment that should be looked at. In that context, sustainable design and green buildings should be seen as value adders and risk reducers, with clear economic values ascribable to these functions. For most corporations, sustainability is not about the things that they do today, but it’s about getting and keeping the people who will accomplish major changes over the next three to five years inside the organization. Technology per se is not a competitive advantage; what really counts for a company is a crafting and maintaining a mindset of continuous improvement in sustainable operations; energy savings are a result of this mindset, not the end goal in themselves.
Posted by Jerry on 07/01/2008 at 05:52 PM
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Environmental Defense Fund’s new guide to green innovations
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) recently released their 2008 Innovations Review, which catalogs some of the most promising new green business trends in our country and abroad. Profoundly inspiring, many of the ideas are immediately applicable while others require longer term commitment and financing. The most innovative ideas are labeled as “game-changers”, for example:
• Net Zero Energy / Net Zero Carbon Emissions - Integrated Design Associates, a Silicon-Valley based electrical engineering and lighting design firm performed an energy-efficient / green remodel of its 1960s-era offices. The 7,200-square-foot project cost about $1.8 million, and the company expects a five-year payback just from energy savings, with a 60% reduction in energy use compared with a similar office.
- Integrated PV panels that serve as the roof membrane.
- A geothermal heat pump - water flows through pipes laid in the ground and passes into the building, where a heat pump extracts energy from the water (heating or cooling effect, depending on the season), then sends it through a radiant floor distribution system.
- Windows shaded with roof overhangs or electro-chromic glazing.
- Key office equipment is linked to the security system and gets powered down when the last person leaves and arms the building.
There’s lots more. Take a look at the report by clicking here.
Posted by Jerry on 06/25/2008 at 10:41 AM
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