17May
Filed in Economy | Efficiency | Energy | Environment | GHG | GRI | Social | Sustainability
I just received my GRI G3 reporting certification from the course I took last week. The course was delivered in Colorado for the first time due to the efforts of CORE with support from Deloitte. Lead, out of Canada, provided the training based on materials from the Global Reporting Initiative.
The instructor was well informed, as were the 26 attendees. Lively discussion, along with some good and some not so good exercises provided us all with a great understanding of the G3 framework and the processes companies should put in place to engage stakeholders, prioritize initiatives, disclose results, share goals and increase sustainability through management processes and transparency.
Global Reporting Initiative
The Sustainability Reporting Framework – of which the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are the cornerstone – provides guidance for organizations to disclose their sustainability performance. It is applicable to organizations of any size or type, and from any sector or geographic region, and has been used by thousands of organizations worldwide as the basis for their sustainability reporting.
Efficiency, Energy, Environment, GHG, governance, GRI
05Mar
Filed in Education | Efficiency | Environment
The Daily Camera reports the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus has received another green designation. The Sustainable Endowments Institute, a special project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors gave CU the highest grade awarded on its 2010 report card. And for the second year in a row, CU was named an Overall College Sustainability Leader.
CU this fall was ranked by Sierra magazine as the No. 1 green university in the nation.
The rating was based on an independent review by the Sustainable Endowments Institute and responses by CU-Boulder officials to 120 questions assessing sustainability in the categories of administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, transportation, student involvement, endowment transparency and shareholder engagement and investment priorities.
Colorado, Efficiency, Environment
24Jan
Filed in Efficiency | Energy | Environment
It appears Starbucks customers in New York are able to make intelligent decisions when provided with the information about the calorie content of food on the menu.
A new study by Stanford released Jan. 6 examined consumer behavior before and after calorie counts were posted, and determined that when restaurants post calories on menu boards, there is a reduction in calories per transaction. Based on transaction data provided by Starbucks, researchers from the Stanford Graduate School of Business found that calorie-posting in New York City in 2008 led to a 6% reduction in calories per transaction.
I suspect this surprises few of us. Yet, opponents of posting this information claim it is available elsewhere and therefore not needed in the cafe.
Studies continue to reveal this is just not the case. Information available in real time makes a difference in our buying decisions. The same is true for energy conservation efforts. Just presenting people with details about the energy they are using while they are using it, changes behaviors that on average reduce energy consumption by 3-5%. Give folks simple ideas to reduce consumption further and the vast majority of us will do so. That’s why we are working with companies to make energy usage information (and comparisons across companies, departments and work areas) available to employees.
Efficiency, Energy, Environment, marketing
26Nov
Filed in Colorado | Economy | Energy | Environment
The DOE is investing up to $1.18 million for a project in Boulder, Colo. to upgrade the 100-year-old Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Project by replacing two older turbines with a single unit. The new turbine is expected to operate at a wider range of flows and higher efficiency ranges, resulting in an increase in annual generation of 11,000 MWh (30% increase).
Along with 6 other projects the DOE is investing $30.6 million to create an additional 187,000 MWh/year, while replacing turbines that are as much as 90 and 100 years old. Clean (cutting 110,00o tons of CO2 emissions/year), cheap (adding generation at less than 4 cents per kWh) and lowering operating and maintenance costs.
Colorado, Efficiency, electricity, Energy
04Oct
Filed in Efficiency | Energy
Head over to the EPA’s Fuel Economy website and learn ways to get the last few miles out of every drop. You’ll learn how to drive more efficiently, like taking the golf clubs out of the trunk when snow’s on the ground and slowing down just a bit. And ways to not only make the gallon go farther, but also your tires and car with a few regular maintenance actions.
Efficiency, Energy
04Apr
Filed in Efficiency | Energy
Claiming typical savings in the 20-40% range with aggressive strategies able to save over 50%, the DOE has put out a report on how data centers can use the tools from the Save Energy Now program.
Not surprisingly, the key to generating these savings is to reduce the amount of energy used to support and cool the servers. Typical practice shows the majority of energy is used for things other than the IT equipment. Best practices enable up to 85% of total energy used to be used directly by IT devices.
Efficiency, electricity, Energy
