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By: Marc Karell, Owner, Climate Change & Environmental Services

Monitoring and Evaluation

Some companies are hesitant about becoming “green,” concerned about the costs or considering it an exotic, non-business issue. They think of this as actions to “save the Earth,” which is not their responsibility. However, sustainability is now recognized as a valid business concern. Savvy companies which have comprehensively addressed the issue have gained core business benefits. This article presents 9 purely business reasons (with real life examples) to develop a robust “green” program.

1.  Making the Monetary Case

Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is most commonly achieved by reducing both fossil fuel combustion and electricity usage. Given their high costs (example, >$4/gallon gasoline), such reductions will result in significant cost savings.

But energy savings are especially significant. If an energy audit saves your company $100,000/yr (less than $10,000/month) in expenses, what is the sales equivalent? At 10% profit, sales would need to be increased by $1 million/year to earn your company the same $100,000. Which is easier? The answer differs for each company, but for most increasing sales is more difficult (i.e, ads, salespeople, etc.). Also, energy reductions save perpetually, while increased sales must be repeated every year.

Reducing GHG emissions can also result in sellable carbon credits. The U.S. voluntary market can provide extra revenue if reductions are properly certified.

Finally, there are financial incentives to pay some upfront costs of “greening” efforts and gain tax rebates later.

Example: DuPont has reported investing heavily in energy reduction projects since the 1990’s. DuPont estimates that absolute energy usage declined by 18% since 1990, even though production grew by over 47%. In total, DuPont claims to have avoided over $5 billion in energy costs.

2.  Create New Products and Sell More

Re-branded “green” products can give you a competitive sales edge.  Example: GE’s Ecomagination is an example of re-branding existing products as “green,” leading to doubling of sales in three years.

3.  Meet the Expectations of Customers and Suppliers

More customers care about product “carbon” data. Examples: Walmart requires many suppliers to submit GHG emissions data for eventual posting. According to Automation World, T-Tek Material Handling sells a beverage pelletizer using less energy than its competitors’ brands. Using “green” as its main selling point, sales of the T-Tek pelletizer soared.

4.  Raise Employee Morale:

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader:

Concrete is literally the backbone of our infrastructure, but it often takes a bad rap for the carbon intensity of its key ingredient: cement.

Research just out of MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub finds that concrete has some good properties that can be overlooked if assessments of the building material do not truly look at the entire lifecycle.

And beyond that, the studies say, taking a look at how we put concrete to use can make a big difference: For example, using concrete to pave roads and highways can yield greater fuel efficiency for cars than asphalt.

The approach MIT took on lifecycle assessment and benchmarking is as important as the findings that resulted from researchers’ extensive modeling projects on buildings and roads, reports on the research said. MIT released its studies, “Methods, Impacts, and Opportunities in the Concrete Building Life Cycle” and “Methods, Impacts, and Opportunities in the Concrete Pavement Life Cycle” last week.

Read the complete article at GreenBiz Greener Buildings:

Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

In companies, it is common that a major barrier to internal collaboration is that functional areas do not understand their impact on others. Companies bridging that gap – using an embedded sustainability strategy aligned to the core business strategy, and business processes – will have an edge in creating a competitive value chain capable of fulfilling business strategy requirements.

However, before rushing forward, it is vital to understand environmental foot-printing, and the importance of data capture is equal to how that data is used, measured and verified. For example: it needs to show the interdependence of areas within an organization, because what optimization may have taken place in one area could well have created a negative impact in another.

What you don’t measure – you can’t manage. Conversely, what you measure badly you will manage badly.

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is inviting small businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organizations to participate as small entity representatives (SERs) for a small business advocacy review (SBAR) Panel. This panel will focus on the agency’s development of a rule that proposes to regulate the amount of perchlorate, a potentially harmful chemical, in drinking water. Federal law requires agencies to establish an SBAR Panel for rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Perchlorate is both a naturally occurring and man-made chemical that is used to produce rocket fuel, fireworks, flares and explosives. Perchlorate can also be present in bleach and in some fertilizers.

EPA has determined that perchlorate meets the Safe Drinking Water Act’s three criteria for regulating a contaminant. First, perchlorate may have adverse health effects. Scientific research indicates that perchlorate can disrupt the thyroid’s ability to produce hormones needed for normal growth and development.Second,there is a substantial likelihood that perchlorate occurs frequently at levels of health concern in public water systems–monitoring data show more than four percent of public water systems have detected perchlorate. Finally, there is a meaningful opportunity for health risk reduction for the between 5.2 million and 16.6 million people who may be served drinking water containing perchlorate.

The panel will include federal representatives from the Small Business Administration, the Office of Management and Budget, and EPA. The panel members ask a selected group of SERs to provide advice and recommendations on behalf of their company, community, or organization to inform the panel members about the potential impacts of the proposed rule on small entities.

EPA seeks self-nominations directly from the small organizations that may be subject to the rule requirements. Other representatives, such as trade associations that exclusively or at least primarily represent potentially regulated small entities, may also serve as SERs.

Self-nominations may be submitted through the link below and must be received by August, 26 2011.

Nominate yourself as a SER: http://www.epa.gov/sbrefa/perchlorate.html

More information about perchlorate: http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/unregulated/perchlorate.cfm

WASHINGTON – On June 13, 2011, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a direct final rule to revise the Land Disposal Restriction (LDR) treatment standard for carbamate wastes to ensure that the wastes are adequately treated before land disposal to minimize risks to people’s health and the environment.

Carbamate wastes are wastes generated from the production of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides.  Due to their toxicity, carbamate wastes are regulated as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Today’s action will extend Best Demonstrated Available Technology (BDAT) as an alternative treatment standard for all carbamate wastes.  This alternative treatment standard will help industries comply with stringent hazardous waste disposal regulations and allow EPA to enforce these regulations to their fullest extent.

The public comment period on the rule closed on July 13, 2011.  The rule will be effective on August 12, 2011.

More information on the rule:  http://www.epa.gov/wastes/hazard/tsd/ldr/rules11.htm

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued an order to E.I. DuPont de Nemours (DuPont) directing the company to immediately halt the sale, use or distribution of Imprelis, an herbicide marketed to control weeds that has been reported to be harming a large number of trees, including Norway spruce and white pine. The order, issued under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), requires DuPont to stop the sale and distribution of Imprelis in the U.S. and outlines specific conditions to ensure that  the removal of Imprelis from the market meets legal requirements.

This action follows EPA’s investigation into why a large number of evergreens and other trees have been harmed following the use of the herbicide. In its evaluation, EPA is investigating whether these incidents are the result of product misuse, inadequate warnings and use directions on the product’s label, persistence in soil and plant material, uptake of the product through the root systems and absorbed into the plant tissue, environmental factors, potential runoff issues or other possible causes.

On June 17, 2011, DuPont issued a letter to professional applicators cautioning against the use of Imprelis where Norway spruce or white pine trees are present on, or in close proximity to, the property being treated. On July 27, 2011, DuPont acknowledged to the EPA that there has been damage to trees associated with Imprelis use and the company had developed an internet web page to provide information and updates concerning Imprelis use.

On August 4, 2011, DuPont voluntarily suspended sales of Imprelis and announced that it will soon conduct a product return and refund program.

FIFRA is a federal law that requires the registration of pesticide products and pesticide-production facilities, and the proper labeling of pesticides. This requirement protects public health and the environment by ensuring safe production, handling, and application of pesticides and by preventing false or misleading product claims.

Information about today’s order: www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/fifra/dupontimprelis.html

Information about EPA’s investigation into Imprelis and damage to trees: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/regulating/imprelis.html

USEPA recently amended the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Plating and Polishing 40 CFR 63 Subpart WWWWWW (6W) on June 14, 2011.  The new amendment excludes bench-scale plating or polishing, as well as, a few other definitions and refinements to the rule. For more information please click here

The Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC) will host its first event of the 2011-12 World Affairs Council Speaker Series on the topic of the US-Latin American Relations: Opportunities in Trade, Migration, and Investment. Latin America is a rising economic hub considered important by the United States, the European Union, and China. Despite problems with violence and drug trafficking, Latin America exhibits growth rates in various sectors and the talk will provide invaluable insights about the significance of the region’s economic surge.

Luis Navarro is the past president of the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Pacific NW Chapter and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Reno Nevada, and past VP of Blacks in Government (Port of Seattle Chapter). Luis regularly speaks on topics such as economic contribution by minorities, in particular Latinos in the United States and the benefits of global trade. Our speaker will explore some of the opportunities presented by Latin America’s emergence as an economic powerhouse and discuss strategies for American business owners who wish to take advantage of these opportunities.

The presentation will be on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at the Ramada Reno Hotel Casino on 1000 E. 6^th Street between Wells and Sutro. Parking will be available and free. The presentation starts at 9:00 AM which will include breakfast. The general audience pays $15.00 per person (includes full breakfast) and NNIC members are free of charge.

Must RSVP to: CLICK ME or (775) 784.7515, extension 221.