Climate Technology

How a business can pick the best packaging

You’ve created the World’s Greenest Product, and you’re shipping it off to your first big customer. You’ve made it from the most environmentally sensitive materials, using only renewable energy. It’s the pinnacle of eco-friendly everything. Special delivery. Photo: iStockphoto. So what are you going to pack it in, cardboard or plastic? And how are you […]

Starbucks and milk

My wife, who is in the coffee business (and an unreconstructed coffee snob), is fond of saying that it’s misleading to call Starbucks a “coffee shop.” Starbucks’ primary beverage product is milk. Coffee is just one of the flavorings — along with chocolate, syrups, chai, and lord knows what else — they use in their […]

New green/labor alliance brings Sierra Club and Steelworkers together

Organized labor and environmentalists — engaged in an on-again-off-again flirtation for years — may finally be getting to third base. Greens and blues are shaking things up. Photo: iStockphoto. Last week, Carl Pope, head of the Sierra Club, and Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers (USW) union, announced the formation of the Blue/Green Alliance, […]

Jeffrey Hollender, Seventh Generation president, answers questions

Jeffrey Hollender. What work do you do? I’m president of Seventh Generation, though lately I’ve been referring to myself as the Inspired Protagonist, providing the vision and inspiration to carry the company forward. How does your work relate to the environment? Photos: Seventh Generation. Our company provides nontoxic cleaners, recycled paper towels and tissues, and […]

What Peter Rabbit can teach businesses about going global

What goes around, they say, comes around — or, in this case, hops about in a blue waistcoat, munching stolen radishes. Our subject today is no visionary CEO, but Peter Rabbit, probably the best-known creation of children’s author Beatrix Potter. Peter, ever the rebel. The World of Beatrix Potter™ © Frederick Warne & Co., 1902; […]

Covering Their Assets

Insurers must address climate change or face trouble, big U.K. firm warns Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market, yesterday warned U.K. insurers that they are in danger of being “swept away” by future global warming-related financial claims. In a report punchily titled “Climate Change, Adapt or Bust,” Lloyd’s encouraged insurers to adjust coverage-calculating […]

Electric cars a’comin’

I hear from my inside sources -- and by that I mean a press release I was sent -- that a company called Champion Motors of America is going to start manufacturing and selling a line of electric vehicles:

The company envisions its vehicles as workplace alternatives to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. The line, which ranges from a 2-person personal car to a 14-passenger shuttle, will be offered to the public as well as to anyone interested in becoming a distributor/dealer. The small vehicles can be used for a number of duties calling for a light vehicle such as quick trips to and around industrial parks, college campuses, private communities, hotels and resorts, malls, amusement parks and security operations. According to company literature, they are environmentally-friendly because they are emissions-free and run on rechargeable batteries, are basically maintenance-free and provide relief in cutting the cost of expensive repairs and maintenance. Their lightweight design and compact size allows them to easily go just about anywhere. The company plans on providing technical support and assistance to its customers.

These are mainly for businesses, not consumers, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Don Shaffer, local-biz promoter and green skateboard entrepreneur, answers questions

Don Shaffer. What work do you do? I’m executive director of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies and co-owner of Comet Skateboards. What does your organization do? BALLE is a growing alliance of more than 5,400 entrepreneurs and small-business owners from across the U.S. and Canada who are dedicated to building Local Living Economies, […]

Blend Game

Wal-Mart looks into selling ethanol As part of its newfound determination to jump on the eco-bandwagon, Wal-Mart is considering selling E85, an ethanol/gasoline blend, at the gas stations it owns and operates. The mega-chain held an alternative-fuels summit for auto-industry reps, oil companies, government officials, and biofuel producers in Washington, D.C., this week. Still, Wal-Mart […]

They Should Volunteer to Be Penalized for That

Bush’s voluntary emissions-reduction programs not amounting to much Are you sitting down? We’ve got some earth-shattering news: the Bush administration’s voluntary programs to reduce industrial greenhouse-gas emissions aren’t working. A report issued yesterday by the Government Accountability Office stated that many industry participants in the U.S. EPA’s voluntary “Climate Leaders” program and the Department of […]