Making headlines with its plea to consumers to buy less, Patagonia has certainly emerged as a company to watch for its brand marketing savvy and sustainable business practices. By inviting consumers to play a vital role in the company’s environmental impact, Patagonia is proving that a brand’s value proposition must include a social benefit factor to win in today’s (more…)

In all the hubbub about Germany’s new feed-in tariff (FIT) law, you may have missed an unusual announcement coming out of Germany. One of the “big four” utilities here, RWE, has committed 170€ million over three years for distributed solar, small wind, and CHP. With a goal of 1 GW solar for this year, they already have 200 MW in signed contracts. And this just a few (more…)

Nike, Inc., known by many as just Nike, is a major sportswear and sports equipment supplier that is based in the United States. It is one of the leading global suppliers of athletic shoes and sports apparel and equipment. Nike is known all over the globe for its Swoosh logo and the trademark phrase, “Just do it.” Nike is also known for counteracting the effects of climate (more…)

In 1999, fewer than 500 companies issued sustainability reports. That number is now over 3,500. Once only a concern for a few niche companies with sustainability as a core value and brand differentiator, corporate sustainability has moved categorically into the mainstream. (more…)

European engineers have completed a 90-foot bridge over the River Tweed in Wales that is made completely from recycled plastic, the first thermoplastic bridge to be built outside the U.S.

The bridge, which consists of 50 tons of recycled high-density polyethylene materials that would have (more…)

E-waste is the largest growing waste stream in the country. Americans generate 2.5 million tons of e-waste a year— more than enough to fill a line of dump trucks from our Nation's capital to Disney World. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates 140 million cell phones – 65,000 tons – are (more…)

Why do so many energy insiders insist that home energy automation will fail? Many whom I respect say the typical householder will never take the time to fiddle with smart gadgets that reduce energy costs.

Their skepticism, however, just elicits a verbal shrug (more…)

In an important development on the intellectual property front, but with particular import for Israeli clean tech companies targeting the U.S. market for strategic partnerships and licensing, the Israel Patent Office (ILPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently announced a Patent (more…)

A study by Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang of the World Bank looked at the relative importance of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gasses from oil, natural gas, and coal compared to the life cycle and supply chain emissions of domesticated animals raised for food. They conclude that greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food account for 51% of annual emissions caused by humans and should be given higher priority in global efforts to fight climate change.

While livestock are already known to contribute to GHG emissions, their levels have been underestimated or simply overlooked, former and current World Bank environmental experts Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang.