Category: News

Hawai’i Pacific Health (HPH), comprised of four nonprofit hospitals and 44 outpatient clinics and service sites, expects to save more than $1.2 million thanks to a LED lighting retrofit across its facilities.

The switch to LED lighting at its four hospital facilities also will help reduce HPH’s carbon emissions by 465,324.65 pounds per year from just the parking garages alone, according to Pacific Eco-Lights, which is supplying the LED lighting.

HPH expects to recover the cost of the conversion through energy bill savings in 15 months due to Eco-Light’s Seesmart LED technology, which is said to use 50 percent to 90 percent less electricity than a standard light bulb or compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL). Other benefits include longer life and no hazardous wastes such as mercury and lead, which are found in CFLs.

By retrofitting existing fixtures with LEDs, HPH is projected to save up to $10,000 to $12,000 per month from the conversion of just one of its parking garage facilities, which will translate into $1.2 million in combined annual savings by retrofitting hallways, waiting areas, cafeterias and offices throughout its four hospitals.

Pacific Eco-Lights says it offers city municipalities and companies financing, such as leasing with maintenance, installation and extended warranty agreements to make switching to LED lighting easier.

Read the complete article at Environmental Leader

While a majority of facility and sustainability professionals are tracking electricity use, many still don’t track for waste, water, green purchasing, carbon footprint and other sustainability metrics, according to a survey from iReuse.  They also lag behind in using data tracking tools.

The “Facility and Sustainability Data Management Survey“ (PDF) indicates that while most ‘green’ professionals track their operational and environmental performance, it’s primarily for electricity data using an Excel spreadsheet.  Survey respondents say that using the spreadsheet is “cumbersome” and leads to data entry errors and the need for custom formulas.  Eighty-six percent of respondents currently use Excel to track their utility data, but only 33 percent are satisfied or very satisfied with this tool.

Many survey respondents are tracking electricity — 74 percent track some utility data and 72 percent track electricity — and about half track water, waste, or natural gas, says iReuse.  The survey also finds that 46 percent don’t track any other data such as green purchasing metrics, business travel, or carbon footprint.

In addition, 44 percent of respondents indicate that utility data is tracked by facilities, 24 percent by the sustainability department, and 16 percent by the accounting department.

Read more at Environmental Leader:

Another form of institutionalization of the environment is the ongoing development and diffusion of green standards — in buildings, LEED and Energy Star are the most obvious in the U.S. Moving from green things to green organizations and processes is a logical next step.  It is a next step that has been jointly undertaken by UL Environment in partnership with GreenerBuildings.com’s parent company, Greener World Media.
A new standard for green business practices unveiled today by UL Environment and Greener World Media, publishers of GreenBiz.com, has as its aim the ambitious goal of measuring and certifying the sustainability of manufacturing companies. The two organizations released the draft standard for a 45-day public comment period.

“ULE 880 – Sustainability for Manufacturing Organizations” is a points-based standard that will feature three levels of certification. The 102 indicators aim to measure and rate the sustainability of an entire business, focusing on the full spectrum of social and environmental sustainability rather than the environment.

Read more at Green Biz:

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced it is seeking project proposals from companies to invest up to $11 million in solar energy technology development and commercialization. The Photovoltaic (PV) Technology Incubator program aims to shorten the timeline for companies to transition prototype and pre-commercial PV technologies into pilot and full-scale manufacture.

This will be the fourth installment of the successful PV Incubator program, which represents a significant partnering with U.S. industry to meet aggressive cost and installation goals and accelerate the commercialization of these technologies. DOE funds the program through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which provides program management and technical expertise.

The program is unique from previous versions in that it offers two tiers. Tier 1 projects will receive up to $1 million each through 12-month phased subcontracts, and focus on accelerating the development of innovative PV module-related technologies to the prototype stage. DOE anticipates selecting 4 – 6 Tier 1 projects for awards. Tier 2 projects will receive up to $4 million each through 18-month phased subcontracts, and focus on shortening the timeline for companies to transition innovative lab-scale and pre-commercial prototypes into pilot and eventually full-scale manufacture. DOE anticipates selecting 2 – 3 Tier 2 projects for awards.

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EPA Energy Star has been working hard to support hospitals for many years Now it’s your opportunity to return the favor.

• Learn the importance of EPA’s energy performance rating system to hospitals
• Help EPA improve and expand the rating system to new healthcare spaces

More than 3,000 hospitals have used EPA’s Portfolio Manager to rate energy performance, manage energy and water consumption, and track carbon emissions, making it the most widely used performance tool of its kind in the industry. The algorithm used to create the acute care hospital ratings is based on hospital energy data that was collected in 1997.

While this was the largest publicly available dataset on hospital energy use at the time, EPA is becoming concerned that it may be out of date.

In order to protect the credibility of the ENERGY STAR brand, EPA may consider discontinuing the hospital rating if new data cannot be collected.

EPA began collaborating with ASHE on a new expanded energy survey to avoid this outcome. Hear from EPA how you can participate in the ASHE energy survey and help maintain and improve the only publicly available, free-of-charge, national energy performance rating system for hospitals.

Users of Portfolio Manager need to fill out the survey — even if they are already tracking their energy use — because the survey helps assess possible new energy drivers like the presence of diagnostic medical equipment, patient census, and medical service compositions.

New ENERGY STAR scores will be more accurate, provide greater value for economic decision-making, and better reflect the latest trends in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. But before that can happen, ASHE needs your data! All surveys shared by ASHE to the EPA will be anonymous.

REGISTER ONLINE

Session 3: Everyone on Board! Effective Communications to Promote Your Hotel’s Green Practices  Designing a green program for your hotel is just the first step in developing an environmentally-friendly property. After that, you must bring your owners, senior management and staff on board; and communicate your achievements to your guests and potential customers.

Join us as we discuss new ideas to engage staff and guests in your green efforts. Learn how to develop a communications plan that demonstrates your hotel’s environmental commitment – helping to heighten public awareness and gain market share. Hear from your peers who are communicating their successful green efforts to internal and external audiences, and learn about helpful resources, including ENERGY STAR.

For more information and to register: Energy Star

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold two public listening sessions on potential changes to the water quality standards regulation before proposing a national rule. The current regulation, which has been in place since 1983, governs how states and authorized tribes adopt standards needed under the Clean Water Act to protect the quality of their rivers, streams, lakes, and estuaries. Potential revisions include strengthening protection for water bodies with water quality that already exceeds or meet the interim goals of the Clean Water Act; ensuring that standards reflect a continued commitment to these goals wherever attainable; improving transparency of regulatory decisions; and strengthening federal oversight.

Water quality standards are the foundation of the water quality-based approach to pollution control, including Total Maximum Daily Loads and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits. Standards are also a fundamental component of watershed management.

The public listening sessions will be held via audio teleconferences on August 24, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. PDT.  Call-in number: (888)-689-4723;  Conference ID: 90713366

At the sessions, EPA will provide a review of the current regulation and a summary of the revisions the agency is considering. Clarifying questions and brief oral comments (three minutes or less) from the public will be accepted at the sessions, as time permits. EPA will consider the comments received as it develops the proposed rulemaking.

EPA will also hold separate listening sessions for state, tribal and local governments.

EPA expects to publish the proposed revisions to the water quality standards regulation in summer 2011.

More information at EPA Water Quality Standards:

Labels Will Emphasize Lumens, Not Watts, as a Measure of Bulb Brightness

Starting in mid-2011, the Federal Trade Commission announced today, consumers shopping for light bulbs will notice new labeling on packaging designed to help them choose among the different types of bulbs on the market – traditional incandescent bulbs, and newer high-efficiency compact fluorescent (CFL) and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. The new labels will enable consumers to save money by selecting the most efficient bulbs that best fit their lighting needs.

Under direction from Congress to re-examine the current labels, the FTC is announcing a final rule that will require the new labels on light bulb packages. For the first time, the label on the front of the package will emphasize the bulbs’ brightness as measured in lumens, rather than a measurement of watts. The new front-of-package labels also will include the estimated yearly energy cost for the particular type of bulb.

While watt measurements are familiar to consumers and have been featured on the front of light bulb packages for decades, watts are a measurement of energy use, not brightness. As a result, reliance on watt measurements alone make it difficult for consumers to compare traditional incandescent bulbs to more efficient bulbs, such as compact fluorescents. A compact fluorescent bulb may be able to produce the same amount of brightness as a traditional incandescent bulb, while using significantly less energy, or watts. New energy standards mandated by Congress will effectively phase out traditional low-efficiency incandescent bulbs from the U.S. market over the next few years. The new labels that focus on brightness in lumens will help consumers make purchasing decisions as they transition to more energy-efficient types of bulbs.

Under the new rule, the back of each package of light bulbs will have a “Lighting Facts” label modeled after the “Nutrition Facts” label that is currently on food packages. The Lighting Facts label will provide information about:

• brightness;
• energy cost;
• the bulb’s life expectancy;
• light appearance (for example, if the bulb provides “warm” or “cool” light);
• wattage (the amount of energy the bulb uses); and
• whether the bulb contains mercury.

The bulb’s brightness, measured in lumens, and a disclosure for bulbs containing mercury, also will be printed on each bulb.

Read the complete article at Federal Trade Commission