Every now and then, an exciting opportunity to experience the world comes by and you just have to say what the heck and toss your hat in the ring. If you are interested in sustainability and in particular the so-called water energy nexus, the opportunity of a lifetime is here.

The Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, taking place (more…)

This article has been written to help time-poor but environmentally conscious homeowners and small business bosses make an informed choice about flat roofing materials.

Divided into sections, it looks at five common flat roofing products and examines their energy efficiency in terms of three things: insulation, projected life-cycle and manufacturing process. (more…)

Following the exploration of business sustainability monitoring and reporting, the debate continues on whether a company should focus on transparency and continuous individual improvement or corporate performance measures relative to a broader all-encompassing target. Rather than separating traditional performance from sustainability, would the (more…)

There is more urgency to combat climate change than before, but how are the big economies – China, the US, India – getting on together? Each country has its own agenda and is experiencing its own growing pains of one kind or another.

How does a country emit such massive quantities of carbon in the first place? (more…)

In October 2011, the Japanese Cabinet—still reeling from the Fukushima reactor meltdown earlier that year—approved an energy white paper calling for reduced reliance on nuclear power and increased emphasis on renewables.

A little over a year after the approval of that policy, I wondered to myself if Japan was sticking to its goals, or if—with the immediate shock of the Fukushima (more…)

We are all familiar with habits – they are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously, without one directly thinking consciously about them. In the world of sustainability plans, this unconscious display of habits is a fertile ground of opportunity offering low hanging fruit for eco action.

The question is, How do you get leaders, (more…)

The hydrogen-fueled Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell was one of the stars at the EcoIslands Global Summit on the Isle of Wight, UK. It was used to transport the Minister of State for Energy, John Hayes, from the ferry to the Summit by TV presenter and motoring expert, Quentin Willson (see video at the bottom). (more…)

There’s a compelling and thought-provoking book making the rounds called Clean Tech Nation that should make its way to your must-read list this Fall.

Authored by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder, the thrust of the book is that the U.S.—long a leader in various technological revolutions—is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to clean technology (more…)

Recently, I spoke on an online dialogue about corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Canada and had an audience member asked me about how business’ CSR investments will be affected by the economic downturn. This great question is one that numerous professionals are concerned with as they move into budget season… (more…)

Energy is both the engine of the modern global economy and one of the biggest drivers of our sustainability challenges, including climate change. Providing access to affordable sources of energy will be critical to alleviating poverty and ensuring peace and prosperity for the 9 billion people expected to inhabit Earth in 2050. However, if we don’t find ways to (more…)