SB Brand-Led Culture Change 2024 - Last chance to save, final discount ends April 29th!

Cleantech

The latest products, services and cleantech applications and how they are tackling some of our most pressing social and environmental issues.

Advertisement
eBay Opens LEED Gold-Certified Facility in Utah

eBay last week announced the opening of a new 241,095 square foot facility in Draper, Utah, that has achieved LEED Gold standards.

Honda Smart Home To Showcase Zero-Carbon Living and Mobility At UC Davis

Honda this week announced plans to create the Honda Smart Home US, a showcase for environmental innovation and renewable energy-enabling technologies that demonstrates the potential for zero-carbon living and personal mobility.

UPS Adding 700 Natural Gas-Powered Vehicles to Global Fleet By 2014

UPS on Tuesday announced an expansion to its alternative vehicle fleet with plans to purchase some 700 liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicles and to build four refueling stations by the end of 2014.The company says an initial investment of more than $18 million to construct fueling stations will be supported by the purchase of the 700 LNG tractors and continued expansion of the natural gas fleet in the U.S.UPS already operates 112 LNG tractor trailers from fueling stations in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Beaver and Salt Lake City and has its own LNG fueling station on its property in Ontario, California. Once completed, the company’s LNG private fleet will be one of the most extensive in the U.S.

Boeing, USDA, FAA Renew Aviation Industry Biofuel Initiative

The USDA last week announced it is extending for five years its agreement to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing and other partners to help develop a viable biofuel for the aviation industry.

Delta Reduces Aircraft GHG Emissions By Nearly 20 Percent

Delta Airlines this week released its Corporate Responsibility Report, which details the airline's environmental, employee, community, safety and financial performance throughout last year.

Advertisement
Walmart Announces New Commitments To Increase Energy Efficiency and Renewables

Walmart has released a new set of commitments aimed at increasing energy efficiency and achieving its goal of being supplied 100 percent by renewable energy by 2020.

United Airlines Announces Fuel-Savings Goal for 2013

United Airlines is commemorating Earth Month by announcing its commitment to save 85 million gallons of fuel this year under the umbrella of its Eco-Skies program. This would lead to a reduction of 828,750 metric tons of CO2 and a savings of $275 million at current fuel prices.

Samsung, LG Among First To Make EPEAT Green TV Registry

Samsung and LG now have dozens of television models rated on the Electronic Product Environmental Tool (EPEAT) global registry for greener electronics, which recently expanded to include televisions.EPEAT claims this is the first time a comprehensive standard has been available for consumers, companies and governments to identify eco-friendly televisions, including HDTVs and Smart TVs.

Facebook Gets Green Light To Build Eco-Friendly Campus Extension

Facebook last week received permission from the Menlo Park City Council to break ground on its second campus, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry and featuring a tree-covered rooftop garden.

Bombay Sapphire Turns Derelict Mill into Sustainable Distillery

The Bombay Sapphire gin distillery in Hampshire, England has become the first to achieve an “Outstanding” design-stage Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) accreditation, according to a recent announcement.

Advertisement
Apple Says Worldwide Facilities Now 75% Powered by Renewables

Apple now uses 100% renewable energy sources to power its data centers, taking it to 75% renewables across its worldwide corporate facilities, according to its latest Environmental Progress report. The company says its data centers are powered by a combination of solar, wind, hydro and geothermal.

Mosaic: Making Solar Power Accessible for and by the People

To prepare for this year's Sustainable Brands Innovation Open (SBIO) competition, we're catching up with some of our favorite entrepreneurial ventures from competitions past ...

Boston Businesses Reduce Electricity Use by 7%

Boston firms participating in the Challenge for Sustainability have lowered their collective electricity consumption by seven percent in three years, the program says.

Automakers Developing CO2-Based Refrigerant for More Climate-Friendly Air-Conditioning

As part of its goal of becoming the world’s most environmentally sustainable carmaker by 2018, Volkswagen announced Friday that it will join Daimler and BMW in developing CO2 technology as a more climate-friendly refrigerant for its automotive air-conditioning systems.CO2 as a refrigerant — also known as R744 — is a naturally occurring gas with lower greenhouse gas effects than conventional refrigerants, and is ideal for use in specially designed automotive air-conditioning systems. The German automaker says the technology will be rolled out progressively over its entire vehicle fleet.

Walgreens To Build First Net-Zero Energy Retail Store

Walgreens says it will build the country’s first net-zero energy retail store, producing energy equal to or greater than it consumes.The project is the latest of several sustainability initiatives for the company, including two stores that have achieved LEED gold certification, 150 stores utilizing solar power and 400 locations with electric vehicle charging stations.

Advertisement
FedEx Delivers on Fleet Fuel Efficiency Goal Years Ahead of Schedule

FedEx has trimmed its fleet’s cumulative fuel economy by more than 22 percent, exceeding its goal of a 20 percent reduction by 2020 seven years early.

LEDs Help Rooms To Go Reduce Store Energy Use Up to 45%

Rooms To Go has converted 115 of its retail stores to LED lighting, reducing average energy use by 35 to 45 percent in each store, the furniture company recently announced.

AT&T, Carbon War Room Say ‘Internet of Things' Can Cut Emissions by 19%

Global greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 9.1 billion metric tons by 2020, or 18.6 percent of all emissions in 2011, through the widespread adoption of machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies, according to a recent report by AT&T and the Carbon War Room.

M&S To Initiate First Wide-Scale Green Lease Policy in the UK

Marks & Spencer will soon require all of its new retail stores to have green clauses in new leases to facilitate the sharing of waste information and utilities data in a collaborative effort to reduce carbon emissions.

SolarCity To Help Honda Customers Adopt Solar

SolarCity has partnered with Honda to establish a $65 million investment fund to make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers in the U.S.

Advertisement