HP Announces Environmental Milestones for Reduced Waste, Materials Reuse and Easier Recycling

November 18, 2010 by admin
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Town Talk: City takes junk action; ground broken on seven-story project; Kansas economy measured; water awards announced
News and notes from around Lawrence and Douglas County.

Environmental groups seek to block wood-burning by Duke Energy

November 16, 2010 by admin
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Casa Ceibo Boutique Hotel & Spa Makes Hospitality History
BAHIA DE CARAQUEZ, Ecuador, November 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ – With Photo – Ecuadorian luxury hotel wins first Green Star Diamond Award in South America When a hotel makes history, it´s a good reason to give multiple parties in honor of such …

Environmental Protection Through Small Changes

November 13, 2010 by admin
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Environmental Protection – Is green living possible with limited resources? What environmental issues can I tackle? What difference can I make about global warming? Find out how small sustainable changes can make a big difference for our environment. For more ideas, please visit www.FutureEnvironment.Org Environmental Protection, environment, global warming, environmental issues, green living, conservation, wind turbines, alternative energy, compact florescent lights, cfl

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Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

November 12, 2010 by admin
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Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

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Home Page > Technology > Communication > Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

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Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

By: Cees Links

About the Author

Cees Links is CEO and founder of GreenPeak Technologies, based in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Cees ["case"] Links is a pioneer of the wireless data industry, a visionary leader bringing the world of mobile computing and continuous networking together. Under his guidance, the first wireless LANs were developed which ultimately became house-hold technology integrated into the PCs and notebooks we are all familiar with. He also pioneered the development of access points, home networking routers and hotspot base stations, all widely used today.

He was involved in establishing the IEEE 802.11 standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance, and IEEE 802.15 standardization committee.

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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/ – Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System (ISO 14001 compliance)

Starting with Small steps to save the world

by Cees Links, CEO and Founder of Greenpeak

The implementation of a Quality Management System within the organization has been the next obvious step in GreenPeak’s maturity model.

Everybody in the organization has been well aware of the benefits and the introduction of a formal quality system, under the ISO 9001 denominator. It assisted us with improving our processes and supporting operations to make way for more efficiency, allowing for overall better products and services to be delivered to our customers. Our QMS has motivated our team to comply with our mission of providing a truly outstanding customer experience, in the broadest sense of the term.

Since GreenPeak carries its green vision as of day one of its foundation, the implementation of an EMS (Environmental Management System) seemed to be the logical next step. However, as a fabless semiconductor company, with no production facilities, the environmental impact of our activities is limited; a strict interpretation of the ISO 14001 standard could be limited to development and office activities only.

Also staying abreast of mandatory regulatory compliance requirements is very limited when it comes to environmental considerations of office activities. In short, the EMS introduction would result in counting sheets of paper and batteries used in the office.

This is indeed a noble cause, but one might wonder if it is worth the expenditure and staff time to implement the EMS to completion. Penny wise, pound foolish…

So where is tangible merit to such a time and money intensive EMS implementation for a fabless semiconductor company?

First is the obvious cost saving impact of reducing depletion of natural resources and energy for in-house activities: awareness creation and some simple guidelines in the office allow for measurable cost savings which reflect in lower bills for electricity, water, paper and office supplies. Small steps, big difference!

But there is more room for a fabless semiconductor company to improve its environmental impact in the management of materials and processes of its supplier’s operations. This system is called “upstream control” and has become more important over time as more and more semiconductor companies are outsourcing the production of their products and critical components. The production process of semiconductors is burdened with a heavy carbon footprint. Semiconductor manufacturing requires various resources (e.g. special gases and chemicals and large amounts of energy). As the micro fabrication technology progresses, there is a corresponding call for reduction of the environmental impact of the semiconductor industry. GreenPeak carefully selects its critical suppliers based on their green commitment.

And there is even more room for improvement. GreenPeak is not the average fabless semiconductor company, so we also manage to reduce the environmental impact of our activities on several levels of our product development. First is the design of smaller surface chips, which require fewer resources during the manufacturing process.

On a second level is the actual energy use of the devices in which GreenPeak chips are integrated in. Remote controls, which require no battery replacement throughout the expected product lifespan, can significantly slash battery consumption. This means over 90% reduction in total battery usage and results in a lot less heavy metals and toxic chemicals in our environment.

And last but not least, the LCA (life cycle assessment) – the environmental impact evaluation in product life cycle – of the green applications we promote, have a serious impact on energy management and consumption in the home. GreenPeak enabled remote controls become a home control dashboard, measuring, controlling heating, cooling, lighting and hence reducing overall electricity consumption.

In short, GreenPeak’s development focuses on the core of what it takes to make our activities so-called “carbon neutral”. The implementation of an environmental management system is therefore a valuable lesson of environmental modesty for a fabless, and green, semiconductor company.

===================

Cees Links is a pioneer of the wireless LAN industry, a visionary leader bringing the world of mobile computing and continuous networking together. With his leadership, the first wireless LANs were developed which ultimately became house-hold technology integrated into the PC’s and notebooks we all use today. His group also pioneered the development of access points, home networking routers and hotspot base stations, all widely used today.

GreenPeak (http://www.greenpeak.com) is a fabless semiconductor company and is a leader in ultra low power wireless and battery-free communication technology for consumer electronics and wireless sense and control applications. This revolutionary technology, based on the IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee wireless networking standard, utilizes energy harvesting to facilitate battery-free operation in a totally wireless environment, without the need for either communications or power connectivity.

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Cees Links -
About the Author:

He was involved in establishing the IEEE 802.11 standard, the Wi-Fi Alliance, and IEEE 802.15 standardization committee.

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Article Tags:
iso 9001, iso 14001, greenpeak, cees links, green fabless chip company, greenpeak qms, environmental management system, ultra low power, zigbee rf4ce, 802 15 4, smart green home networking, remote controls, green tv, smart green house, upstream control

Environmental Concerns Grow Hybrid Car Sector

November 9, 2010 by admin
Filed under Hybrid Cars

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As concerns over the environment continue to grow, so does the hybrid vehicle sector – as seen at this year’s Hybridfest in Madison, WI. The hybrid, electric car show showcases solutions for sustainable transportation and highlights relevant issues.

Tags: Concerns, Environmental, Grow, Hybrid, sector

Kick The Cap Out of Plastic Environmental Project – Aveda

November 7, 2010 by admin
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Two Miramar high school students reach their goal of collecting 1 ton of plastic bottle caps to help protect the environment, keep the caps out of landfills and protect wildlife. Learn how keeping caps on plastic bottles prevents recycling. The City of Miramar, Everglades High School and Dolphin Bay Elementary all support the project from Aveda. www.ci.miramar.fl.us – www.aveda.com – chrisjordan.com – http

Tags: Aveda, Environmental, Kick, plastic, project

Green Business: For Sale Restoration Environmental, Is One Of Canada’s Leading Specialists In Environmental Remediation And Emergency Response

November 1, 2010 by admin
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TORONTO – Established in 1989, the company has completed over 10,000 environmental restoration and demolition projects throughout Canada specializing in demolition, asbestos removal, lead abatement and industrial plant cleaning, plant decommissioning & closures, site remediation, disaster recovery and emergency response in the industrial, commercial, governmental and institutional sectors.

Good Will 21 Years of Quality Environmental Remediation
Buy Assetts Share Purchase
Price: $3 Million US Dollars or Cdn
Brokers Protected. Investors,Venture Capital Partners.
Sales average $ 6-10 Million Cdn over last 4 years.
Profitable, Needs Ivestors, or Partner,
Over $2 Million in existing Contracts
Joint Venture, Venture Capital Partners

Restoration Environmental REC Demolition has safely completed the asbestos removal, remediation and demolition of the seven storey Historic Guild Inn project in Toronto, Restoration Environmental prides themselves on their outstanding safety record, their commitment to environmental stewardship, the high level of productivity of their skilled unionized workforce and by enforcing the Three R’s – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle, the company’s “Green Philosophy” and market strategy.

Restoration Environmental’s senior project management and site supervisory team has accumulated more than one million hours of on-site contracting experience, whether they are small or large projects, from emergency service response calls, or maintenance calls, or multi-million dollar demolition, disaster recovery, and environmental remediation projects.

REC believes the process should be simple, while at the same time creating options for their clients that offer sound environmental solutions in plant decommissioning, site decontamination, soil remediation and demolition.

The company’s commitment to meet the needs of their clients with experienced, highly skilled unionized workers, well-planned project planning and an assurance to quality means that Restoration Environmental can help with a disaster recovery emergency response readiness plan, plant decommissioning or closure, an asbestos removal, an environmental remediation, demolition or historic restoration project.

Restoration Environmental Contractors – REC Demolition – REC Disaster

Recovery services include:
- Consulting- Environmental Abatement and Soil Remediation Contractors
- Demolition; Deconstruction, Asset Recovery, Equipment Dismantling
- Hazardous Materials Removal; asbestos removal, Mold, PCBs, Lead.
- Plant Closures: Industrial Plant Decommissioning, Soil & Site Remediation
- Removal and Interior Plant Cleaning of Heavy Metals
- Disaster Recovery; Planning Cost saving Service Contracts
- Fire, Sewage Backup, Flood, Water, Wind Damage Restoration
- Emergency Response: bonded secure, CPIC Police Cleared Staff.

Restoration Environmental REC Demolition REC Disaster Recovery is a turnkey, full-service, emergency response contractor and specialty contractor, a recognized leader in the environmental, demolition, restoration and construction industry. Their exceptional reputation, aggressive health & safety program and quality client services make them one of Canada’s leading specialty contractors.

For more information on all REC’s services, please visit our Websites: http://www.recdemolition.com, www.environmentalhazards.com, www.recdisaster.com or www.soilremediation.com.

Corporate Profile Background:

Restoration Environmental REC Demolition REC Disaster Recovery is a turnkey, full-service, emergency response contractor and environmental contractor, a recognized leader in the environmental, demolition, restoration and construction industry. Their exceptional reputation, aggressive health & safety program and quality client services make them one of Canada’s leading environmental and government emergency response contractors.

The Passion Campaign.ca; Don Bremner and David Bremner are the founders of The Passion Campaign.ca an awareness campaign bringing together local food banks and thirteen charities that help the poor, homeless and less fortunate every day in Brantford, Hamilton, Markham and Toronto-GTA www.thepassioncampaign.ca;

Markham Waxers Junior “A” Hockey Club; Don Bremner and Restoration Environmental Contractors – REC Demolition – REC Disaster Recovery were the Proud Owners of The Markham Waxers Junior “A” Hockey Club for 11 years, from 1994-2005 Web: markhamwaxersarchives.ca; Over 100 Waxers made to NHL/WHA

Press Contact:
Don Bremner
10 Stalwart Industrial Drive Unit 5,
Gormley (Markham Stoufville) Canada,
L0H 1G0
tel:1-905-888-0066
fax: 905-888-0071
donbremner ( @ ) restorationenvironmental dot com
http://www.environmentalhazards.com
Call 1-800-894-4924

For further information:
Don Bremner at 416-717-0541

Source:
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/business-for-sale/green-business-for-sale/green-business-for-sale-restoration-environmental-is-one-o-pr-243863.html

http://www.recdemolition.com/

Tags: Business, Canada's, Emergency, Environmental, Green, Leading, Remediation, Response, Restoration, sale, Specialists

10 Reasons Why You Must Improve the Environmental Performance of Your Business

October 31, 2010 by admin
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1. You are wasting money

Between 2006 and 2008 I carried out simple half-day environmental health checks in 26 businesses ranging from catering through printing, engineering and construction to major pharmaceutical companies. I identified an average saving in waste, raw material, energy and water costs of £175,000 per annum, per company. And those health checks barely scratched the surface.

One of my favourite definitions of waste is ‘anything you buy that you cannot sell’ . Savings from cutting waste (whether that is wasted materials, energy or water) comes straight off your bottom line. If your profit margin is 25%, every £1 saved in this way is equivalent to £4 worth of new sales. And unlike cutting staff, cutting waste costs improves rather than detracts from your ability to deliver value to your customers.

2. The true cost of your waste can be immense

I despair at the number of businesses who go to great lengths to manufacture a high value product and then reverse a forklift truck into it or spill it on the floor during packaging. Most businesses know how much waste costs to dispose of, but the true cost of this type of waste is much higher as it includes:

• Disposal costs;
• Raw material costs;
• Energy and other utility costs for manufacturing;
• Labour costs both from the original manufacturing and the clean up;
• The cost of the disruption required to fulfil orders including knock-on effects on other orders;
• Opportunity costs of not being able to sell that product;
• Opportunity costs from poor customer satisfaction (eg lost future orders).

3. Your energy, water and waste costs are rising

Energy costs doubled between June 2007 and 2008. Waste costs continue to rise as landfill tax escalates and the type of materials that can be landfilled are restricted. Indications from the government are that it will continue increasing the Landfill Tax by £8 per tonne each year up to a level of at least £48 per tonne (from £32 per tonne today). In areas such as the South East of England, water resources are becoming ever more scarce so costs are rising. Doing nothing on environment performance means going backwards rather than standing still.

4. Your customers or clients demand it

If you sell to the public, certain markets are going solidly green. The proportion of white goods rated A for energy efficiency sold has risen from 0 to 76% in the ten years to 2006. 70% of baby food sold in the UK is now organic.

If you sell to other businesses, then your environmental performance becomes their environmental performance. Increasingly larger organisations are demanding information on suppliers’ performance and Local Authorities and other public sector bodies are turning to ‘green procurement’ to meet Government targets.

5. Your compliance costs are rising

There are literally hundreds of pieces of environmental legislation being drafted in the EU and the UK Government. Continually shifting incrementally to keep ahead of the law is an expensive hobby whereas eradicating problems completely is cheaper in the long run and keeps you miles ahead of the lawmakers.

Regulators such as the Environment Agency are increasingly taking a risk based approach to enforcement. If you routinely store hazardous materials, or they regard your practices as poor, they’ll be knocking on your door much more often than if you have eradicated the hazards and have tip top housekeeping.

6. You may be risking prosecution

Every three years the Environment Agency surveys small business’ attitudes to the environment. In 2005 only 18% could name one piece of environmental legislation that affects them, even though every company must comply with several pieces of legislation, for example, waste management regulations .

And it is not just small business who are at risk. In the last year, I have had several arguments with major household names who have misunderstood the scope of the Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE). I really had to browbeat them into accepting that they were breaking the law, faced prosecution and the resulting PR fall out.

7. You are missing out on a great PR opportunity

With all the media attention on environmental issues, good environmental performance gives you a great opportunity to get good news stories into the media and advertising. Good solid green PR will impress the public, the pressure groups, your clients and customers and the regulators.

8. Pressure groups may give you a nasty surprise

In 2007, Apple Computers had it all. From their stylish iMac and MacBook computers to the revolutionary and must-have iPod and rumours of a phone abounding, their fashionable, cutting edge image appeared unassailable. That was until Greenpeace put them bottom of an environmental league table of electronics companies and set up a parody of Apple’s website to detail their environmental infractions . Apple’s legendary CEO Steve Jobs at first dismissed the campaign, but only instigated a stronger backlash . Jobs then realised the precarious position he was in, with Apple’s hip image at serious risk. He did a swift u-turn, launching a radical programme to improve environmental performance and publicised it on the company’s home page for a month.

If you are a high profile business (eg a high street retailer, an energy company, a major construction company, a motor manufacturer, a producer of household goods or in the primary sector – mining, oil, gas, forestry etc), then you are at direct risk from environmental and human rights pressure groups. These groups need high profile campaigns like the Apple example to make the mainstream media take notice and are always looking for a ‘tall poppy’ to target. If you are a smaller business, but you do business with a high profile client, then pressure groups will hold them responsible for your environmental sins. This is a very easy way to lose a major customer.

9. Your staff want you to do it

Environmental and CSR initiatives are a determining factor in employee retention and engagement rates according to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (CIPD). In the US, a survey of over 4,000 people carried out by recruitment job site MonsterTRAK found that 80 per cent of young professionals are interested in securing a job that has a positive impact on the environment. Meanwhile, over 90 per cent claimed they would prefer to work for an environmentally friendly employer. In the UK, a survey of 5,000 job hunters showed that 43% would not work for a firm which had no ethical or environmental policies, even if they were offered £10,000 a year more than to work for a business with a sense of corporate social responsibility.

10. Your competitors are doing it

The 2005 NetRegs survey found that 71% of businesses had made at least one practical step to improve their environmental performance . Some sectors have seen green issues come right to the fore eg the current great green supermarket wars where Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury’s are fighting it out to get the best green image. Sir Timothy Leahy went on the record this year to say that Tesco’s plans would not be affected by the ‘credit crunch’ as he believed consumers’ values would not change . He sees this as a serious part of maintaining Tesco’s competitive advantage over its rivals.

If your competitors have a better environmental performance than you, then compared to you they will:

• Have lower operating costs and either a higher profit margin or a more competitive pricing structure;
• Be more robust to future change: new legislation, green taxation, and customer demand;
• Have better PR and marketing opportunities;
• Have better motivated employees and will be attracting the best new recruits;
• Have less risk of prosecution, NGO campaigns and a lighter touch from the regulators.

Well, they’d be mad not to, wouldn’t they?

Gareth Kane is Director of Environmental and Sustainability Consultancy Terra Infirma. In his 11 years experience in the field, he has helped 100s of companies cut 100 000s tonnes of waste and save millions.

Tags: Business, Environmental, Improve, Must, performance, Reasons

Environmental hotel: A fight against Global warming

October 23, 2010 by admin
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We all are well aware about the adverse effect of global warming on the mother Earth and also know that it will continue for centuries if something really appreciable is not applied against it. Not only that global warming and other issues like imbalanced ecology, disturbed food chain and so on are more or less co-related with each other. One’s consequence is the cause of another problem which gradually ends up making a chain reaction of troubles.

Moreover, we all know that one of the biggest step to all such problems is to promote as much as greenery possible on Earth and conserve as much as energy we can. And to uproot this problem simple plantation campaign is not going to help. We actually need to start thinking green. All the sectors like hospitality, government sectors should adopt a meaningful and positive step to turn into green.

And one of the most appreciable and advantageous step towards conserving the environment is the “Environmental hotels” or the Green Hotels”. These hotels are meant for recreating and refreshing the visitors and also maintaining the ecological balance and saving the greenery. Infact the features of the environmental hotels are the solution for global warming, imbalanced ecology and so on.

Sustainable solutions and environmental tips for green Hotels:

There are immense ways and tips for hotels to conserve energy and become environmentally responsible such as energy conservation system application, recycling waste products etc. Some of these Sustainable solutions and environmental tips are mentioned below:-

Start planting an organic garden to supply fresh produce to their guest. Planting those plants which consume less water. Start installing sink aerators and low-flow showerheads. Start using towels and sheets made from linen instead of thousands of napkins. Start using compact fluorescent lights and timers or sensors in them for less frequently used areas. Start using a compost bin for leftover food or simply give it to a local nonprofit organization. Start buying guest amenities and food in bulk.

Participation in Green Programs:

Participating in a green program and executing the sufficient green actions is more important rather than just becoming a member of green association. Just by getting involved in a certification program does not guarantee as much green action as performed by the program. And the environment would become territory for tranquility and peace which would be free from pollution and global warming.

Eventually we can say that becoming green actually means acting green as in to make greenery a part of daily life common activities. The positive revolution of these environmental hotels in the field hospitality sector is for sure going to change our environmental condition a far more better than what it is today.

For more information visit: <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/outgoing/article_exit_link']);” href=http://www.ecogreenhotel.com target=_blank>www.EcoGreenHotel.com</a>

Parisi is a veteran hospitality professional with over fifteen years experience with major hotel chains, such as Intercontinental, Starwood, Hilton and Choice Hotels. Most recently, Parisi served as Vice President of Operations at New Generation Hospitality, helping to not only grow the company, but was part of the original formation in 2006.

Tags: against, Environmental, Fight, Global, Hotel, Warming

Georgia-Pacific Professional Revamps Website to Reflect Environmental Practices

October 21, 2010 by admin
Filed under Going Green

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Leicester soars in sustainable city rankings
Leicester has been ranked second in the league table for the most sustainable of the UK’s large cities, it has been announced.

Search http://www.autompg.org

HP Announces Environmental Milestones for Reduced Waste, Materials Reuse and Easier Recycling

Environmental groups seek to block wood-burning by Duke Energy

Environmental Protection Through Small Changes

Why Should a Fabless Chip Company Roll out an Environmental Management System for ISO 14001 compliance

Environmental Concerns Grow Hybrid Car Sector

Kick The Cap Out of Plastic Environmental Project – Aveda

Green Business: For Sale Restoration Environmental, Is One Of Canada’s Leading Specialists In Environmental Remediation And Emergency Response

10 Reasons Why You Must Improve the Environmental Performance of Your Business

Environmental hotel: A fight against Global warming

Georgia-Pacific Professional Revamps Website to Reflect Environmental Practices

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