The Sustainability Journal - Vikram R Chari - Volume 2012 Issue 90

The Economic Benefits of Good Urbanism ow.ly/aRkay

New Cement-Making Method Could Slash Carbon Emissions - bit.ly/KW9tgG

Plastic Seas Altering Marine Ecology - so much plastic pollution in oceans it's messing with the food chain - http://bit.ly/KWcrBX

Unabomber billboard continues to hurt Heartland Institute j.mp/JfPQlV

Carbon capture leak simulated in sea off Scotland ow.ly/aThR4

Mexico embarks on ambitious clean energy roll-out - 12GW by 2020 rtcc.org/energy/mexico-…

A plug and play solar appliance - a way to dip your toe into solar, but still some worries over safety. cnet.co/JddSLV

Climate Change and Emissions Management (CCEMC) Corporation commits $8.4 million to manage greenhouse... ow.ly/1jKdC0

Mid-Atlantic wind transmission line clears hurdle - msnbc.com ow.ly/1jKdCo

Science And The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers j.mp/IRgWid

Gas Pumps Go Naked As Vapor-Recovery Requirement Ends - hgm.me/L1rFWf

Electricity from Viruses (Cool) dlvr.it/1Z0c8J

Pharma Giant Eli Lilly Dumps Climate Deniers At Heartland Institute bit.ly/JYrIDN

Fish Guts Could Say Which Species Survive Climate Change bit.ly/Jc8GOF

I just signed! Support the EPA proposal to limit industrial carbon pollution from power plants j.mp/L3KzSR

Smart Grid - Drumbeat Grows for Smart Meter Opt-Outs ow.ly/aUgsh

Google-backed offshore wind power line gets Interior Department OK - The Business Journal ow.ly/1jKoze

The Emphasis of Green Telecom Programs has Moved towards Energy Efficiency - ow.ly/aTpuk

Time to recycle electronic waste - Cookeville Herald Citizen bit.ly/ISo4uX

More cities are making way for cyclists: bit.ly/L3GJc9 Is your city bike-friendly?

VIDEO: Gold tarnished by illegal trade bbc.in/Knykhd

Sustainable Work: Stay Sane, Increase Productivity and Live Longer ⁰in the Communication Age [PRESENTATION] ow.ly/aUjaK

Green Tips - Choose an EnergyStar rated dishwasher ow.ly/8Kksk

Hawaii’s Beaches Are in Retreat, and Its Way of Life May Follow - New York Times ow.ly/1jKtCB

U.N. meets to discuss global climate treaty - USA Today ow.ly/1jKtC1

Shut down ready for power plant - qt.com.au ow.ly/1jKtBW

Building Your Own Solar Heater Apparatus OffTheGridHomeEnergy.com/productsreview

Gas-Rich States Lose Fracking Lottery - j.mp/KaRmD4

The Sustainability Journal Vikram R Chari Volume 2011 Issue 15

Thinking about university? Check out our Top 10 degree courses for the low-carbon economy: http://tinyurl.com/3vjzkk7

News, Review and analysis on green business http://dld.bz/YPCC

Nissan Leaf sets safety standards for EVs http://bit.ly/jygf1I

How Defining Planetary Boundaries Can Transform Our Approach to Growth  http://bit.ly/m1oV6S

Top 10 degree courses for the low-carbon economyhttp://bit.ly/lkxTni

California moves on bisphenol ban http://bit.ly/lR4twf

SC Johnson pledges to use 100 per cent sustainable palm oilhttp://bit.ly/ljIYPh

Total extends $1.4bn SunPower offer http://bit.ly/kl6m3H

Liberia protects its rainforest by barcoding trees http://bit.ly/mJPjAh

Google buys £34m stake in giant 1.5GW California wind farm http://bit.ly/mncUuy

The Dangers of Energy Generation: It was a bit astounding. Somehow, despite the massive tsunami that hit Japan'... http://bit.ly/mG3I9a

SEIA: “Solar is the Fastest Growing Industry in the U.S.”: The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) host... http://bit.ly/ktmZpn

The Forgotten Cost in Residential Solar: Customer Acquisition: With most of our attention fixed on the falling silicon panel prices... http://bit.ly/llQQyV

Swiss to phase out nuclear power http://bbc.in/iKK5yU

SolarWorld Begins Shipping Modules For 33 MW PV Installation: SolarWorld says it has begun shipping solar panels...http://bit.ly/k3cQAM

Apricus Introduces New AP-30C Evacuated-Tube Solar Thermal Collector: Apricus, a designer and manufacturer of solar thermal collectors...http://bit.ly/iZvcI8

Why Green Retrofits Should Become a Big Business: SAN FRANCISCO --- It’s green. It’s groovy. It’s customizable...http://bit.ly/lLIFpr

TNG 2011: ABB and What’s Next For the Grid: Voltage regulation is one of the big concerns for ABB... http://bit.ly/iYiOmB

Telegraph Hill Neighborhood Center the Beneficiary of Major New SunPower Solar Rooftop: http://bit.ly/lOd6p7 

3 New Reports Signal We’re Making Progress With Sustainability

From our friend Bob Willard comes very timely and interesting news on sustainability an issue close to my heart.

Three recent reports provide positive reinforcement that traction on sustainability is building in the private and public sector. This news reenergizes our efforts. We live on hope that our combined efforts as sustainability champions will accelerate the take-up of environmentally, socially, and economically responsible strategies. Usually, during economic recessions, we lose ground. Strangely, in the current recession, the opposite has happened: sustainability-related strategies have been embraced more strongly.

I attended the GreenBiz State of Green Business Forum 2011 in San Francisco, February 2-3. GreenBiz Group’s Chairman and Executive Director, Joel Makower, reviewed the highlights of GreenBiz’s fourth annual State of Green Business 2011 report, released that same week. Its findings reveal a “sea change in corporate sustainability efforts:” 89% of companies expect their investments in environmental affairs to be the same or larger in 2011 than in 2010; 56% of companies expect their investments in green product development will be greater in 2011, compared to 28% who expected it to be the same as in 2010. That’s encouraging news.

Then on February 10, the MIT Sloan Management Review and the Boston Consulting Group (BSG) released their winter 2011 research report: “Sustainability: The ‘Embracers’ Seize Advantage.” Based on a survey of 3,000 corporate leaders, the report describes two kinds of companies: “embracers”— those who place sustainability high on their agenda — and “cautious adopters,” who have yet to focus on  more than energy cost savings, material efficiency, and risk mitigation. Many of us wondered whether the economic downturn and lack of progress toward international agreement on how to combat climate change would push sustainability off the corporate agenda.

The MIT-BSG survey results indicate that the opposite is true: 59% of companies in all industry sectors increased their investments in sustainability in 2010, versus 25% in 2009. Even more striking, almost 70% expect their organization to step up its investment in and management of sustainability in 2011. Impressive.

Similar momentum is happening in municipalities in Canada. On February 16, Joanne DeVries released her Fresh Outlook Foundation’s “Community Sustainability Snapshot: 2010 Survey Results from Local Governments.” It found that: 44% of respondents have  sustainability plans, compared with 23% in 2007 59% have sustainability programs and projects, compared with 42% in 2007 52% have sustainability policies and/or regulations, compared with 34% in 2007 51% have staff devoted to sustainability, compared with 37% in 2007

If Canadian municipalities are upping their focus on environmental, social, and economic issues, it’s very likely that a similar dynamic is happening in other countries. Nice.

We are going in the right direction. Let’s take a minute to bask in the glow of these positive reports about how momentum is building around sustainability strategies in the private and public sectors. Then let’s redouble our efforts to contribute to it.