A bit of an older story, but good to share nonetheless. From the Environmental Defense Fund’s yearly review of business innovation, here are the quick highlights on each (titles link to detailed info page).
- Networking for Farmers - Groups of farmers, typically neighbors, farming similar soils in similar weather conditions, sharing information from their own on-farm studies and from that, developing strategies for how and when to apply the least amount of nitrogen for the best economic and environmental results.
- Smarter Irrigation for Crops and Landscaping - Precision systems that combine weather information, soil conditions and wireless communication is helping companies use less water– and save money – by precisely scheduling irrigation for crops and commercial landscaping.
- Supply Chain Transparency & Retail - A handful of companies, such as Patagonia, are working to make their supply chains more transparent—boldly letting their customers, activists and competitors see their strengths and their weaknesses. In doing so, people can decide to support companies that act more responsibly.
- Low-Energy Computing through Thin Clients - They are stripped-down devices that run programs and store data on central servers, provide a higher level of security, can reduce maintenance costs, and consume less electricity compared to other desk-based computing products.
- Low-Carbon Food Service - Bon Appetit (big onsite food service for companies & educational institutions) adopted a Low-Carbon food procurement policy, in addition to teaching its staff and its customers how food contributes to climate change. See the video.
- A New Business Model for Energy Efficiency - Midwest Energy’s How$martSM program helps its customers make their homes and small businesses more efficient and lower their electricity bills—often without having to spend their own money to do so.
- Rewarding Efficiency in the Data Center - Google put all data center operations (IT and facilities) under the control of one executive, and encouraged employees to consider the total lifecycle cost of purchases. Today Google powers its data centers using less than half the energy as the industry average.
- Linking Compensation to Environmental Metrics - Last year, Intel included environmental metrics in the calculations that determine all employees’ year-end bonuses. As part of their total compensation package, the employee bonus is based on Intel’s net income, each employee’s bonus target, and company-wide performance on operational goals, which in 2008 included three environmental goals: Energy efficiency of products, Reputation for environmental leadership, and Completion of renewable energy projects and purchases of green power.
- Retail Green Building & Retrofits - Many retailers are building new “green prototype” stores as they work with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Retail pilot program. Farther ahead of the curve are companies that are trying to retrofit their existing stores—a much more complicated job but ultimately a more rewarding one, simply because there are so many more old stores than new ones.
- Greener Drivers Through Training Programs - Small, easy changes in driving behavior—such as slowing down, avoiding idling and “jack rabbit starts” and planning routes in advance—can reduce fuel consumption. Specialty firms offering training programs and proactive companies are leading the way.
- Solar Mortgages Drive Sales - RiverClay, a Denver condominium complex with 60 residential and two commercial units, is Colorado’s first LEED-certified condo development with a wide variety of features, including an impressive array of solar photovoltaic panels—and an innovative way of helping condo buyers afford the units connected to those panels.
- Green Commercial Building Leasing - Last year, Cisco introduced a unique green leasing program for its operations in the U.S. and Canada. It developed a new standard lease and related forms, and is training its real estate staff to use them.
- Closing the Loop on Plastic Bottles - Coca-Cola wants to recover 100% of the plastic bottles that it puts into the U.S. marketplace, by building the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
- Hotel Room Energy Management - Key-card energy management is a simple and effective way to conserve energy. These systems, widely deployed in Europe and Asia, link the heating, cooling and lighting in a room to an illuminated key-card slot near the entrance.
- PC Power Management Software - Gives IT departments centralized control over all networked computers so that they can routinely power them down when they are not being used, but “awaken” them as needed.
