GE Opens New Plant, Says ‘Lean’ Helps Make U.S. Manufacturing Competitive February 27, 2012
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, manufacturing.Tags: green business, manufacturing
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General Electric, which once considered selling off its appliances division, has redoubled its efforts and has invested in its appliances division and in U.S. manufacturing. A new hybrid water heater plant has opened in Louisville, Kentucky –the first in more than fifty years. New wage structures, the implementation of lean, and the development of a one-team mentality culture are serving that new operation well.
For the IndustryWeek review of General Electric’s new operations, head here.
What 164,312 Solar Panels Look Like From the Air December 18, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: energy, green, green business
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SmartPlanet is hosting a photo essay about the Long Island Solar Farm, a 32-megawatt power project at Brookhaven Labs. The farm produces enough electricity to provide power for 4,500 homes for a year.
Check out the amazing photos here.
New Material Claimed to Store More Energy and Cost Less Money than Batteries November 17, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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The National University of Singapore has unveiled an interesting new creation: an energy storage membrane. Made from a polystyrene-based polymer, the membrane is placed between two metal plates and electrically-charged. It stores energy at a rate of 0.2 farads per square centimeter, making the cost per farad $0.72, compared to current batteries which cost roughly $7.00 per farad.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
Dell-Goodwill Partnership Makes Recycling Computers Easier June 2, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: green business
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SmartPlanet interviewed Elizabeth Johnson of Dell Reconnect about the partnership between Dell and Goodwill, which takes in computer equipment of all makes and models across the country. There they are properly disposed of, and as a result, landfills are without 170 million pounds of computer equipment. 62% of Goodwill stores are currently coordinating with Dell for the recycling program.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Building a 15-Story Hotel in Less Than Six Days April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, green business, lean.Tags: economy, green business, lean
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China continues to throw down the gauntlet with its architecture. Broad Group showcased its ability to build rapidly by constructing the 15-story Ark Hotel using 200 workers in less than six days. Within 46.5 hours, for example, the steel structure had been erected. Not only was the building so rapidly built, but the Ark Hotel is environmentally friendly. It used one-sixth the material of a normal, similarly-sized building –and can withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
Check out the GizMag article about the Ark Hotel here.
Corporate Sustainability: Why Settle for Compliance? Create Competitive Differentiation April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: green, green business
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According to Smart Planet, last year, the LEED program certified 1 billion square feet of commercial space as green. But just because LEED has certified so much commercial space as green, doesn’t mean evolution can stop. Its certification levels include Gold and Platinum, and it is those levels that companies are striving for. The article at Smart Planet highlights the efforts of Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Fed-Ex to achieve those ratings.
Check out the article here.
Mesa Man Makes Eco-Friendly Plastic Bottles April 20, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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Danny Clark, hoping to leave an eco-friendly footprint for his children, hoping to make a few dollars, and hoping to ride the wave of green enthusiasm, has developed a biodegradable plastic bottle. But opposition has manifested in the recycling industry, which uses plastic to make everything from clothing to new bottles. Clark’s startup, Enso, says that its bottles will begin degrading after 5 years in the elements. Despite objections from the recycling industry, Clark is determined to carry on.
Check out the Product Design and Development Article here.
Harnessing Viruses to Build a Better Battery February 21, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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The Tobacco Mosaic Virus, first discovered in 1898, is now being used in battery technology. The virus is programmed so that it adheres to metallic surfaces, and its ability to replicate and self-renew is utilized by covering it with a current collector. The result is a 10-fold increase in storage abilities over a regular lithium-ion battery.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
CO2 Could be Used in ‘Green’ Plastic Production February 4, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute is experimenting with a process that uses carbon dioxide to enhance plastic products – such as coloring them. This is a process that is dominated by using toxic solvents, and where CO2 has not been used before. Plastic has also been made more antibacterial using CO2 injection. The CO2 itself is nonflammable, nontoxic, and inexpensive.
Check out the GizMag write-up here.
Unilever Tries to Double Its Sales While Halving Its Environmental Footprint January 10, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, strategy.Tags: green business, strategy
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Unilever – the multinational corporation whose brands include Lipton and Dove Soap – has vowed it is on track to make consumption sustainable. To do this, for example, Unilever says it wants to sustainably source 100% of its agricultural raw materials. The multinational corporation held a show in New York, which concluded with a discussion panel on the economy and sustainability. While some applauded Unilever’s independent actions, others took a more pessimistic view, saying that Unilever must use its weight and power to influence governments and nongovernmental organizations to achieve sustainable ends.
Check out the FastCompany analysis here.
Carbon Sciences Moves Closer to Turning CO2 Into Gasoline January 10, 2011
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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The Santa Clara, California-based startup company Carbon Sciences has developed a system for transforming CO2 emissions and methane into a gasoline-like substance that is free of heavy metals, carcinogens, and hazardous oxides. But the major problem is that Carbon Sciences’s formula doesn’t stop CO2 from ultimately entering the atmosphere, and the gasoline-like product hasn’t been tested outside the lab yet.
Read the FastCompany article here.
The Urbee Hybrid: The First 3-D Printed Car December 13, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in Creativity & Innovation, green business, new products and technologies.Tags: Creativity & Innovation, green business, new products and technologies
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3D printing has reached a new height and level of sophistication with the completion of the Urbee Hybrid car. Using 3-D printers, which create layers upon layers of material, the Urbee Hybrid averages 200 miles-per-gallon on highways and 100 miles-per-gallon in the city. Beyond those obvious environmental positives is the ability to precisely coordinate design changes to the car.
Check out the FastCompany write up here.
Kimberly-Clark Rolls Out Tube-Free Toilet Paper December 13, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies, product development.Tags: green business, new products and technologies, product development
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Kimberly-Clark’s Scott Toilet Paper line has unveiled toilet paper without the cardboard tubes inside. Estimating that 17-billion toilet paper tubes account for 160 million pounds of trash, and hoping to court their detractors, the Scott Naturals line of tubeless toilet tissue also uses 100% of wood fiber from sustainable resources.
Check out the Fast Company review here.
Steelcase Goes DIY With Ecovative Home-Grown Packaging (It’s Edible, Too) September 24, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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Michigan-based office furniture company Steelcase is not only using environmental packaging, but it is growing it as well. The material, produced in a partnership with startup Ecovative, is made up of agricultural byproducts like corn husks and cotton burrs. It is even edible, taste aside. It requires zero energy to grow until the drying process, and the company hopes to regionalize the packaging materials soon.
Check out the FastCompany analysis of the packaging product here.
Air-Cleaning Paving Slabs Assessed in Germany September 24, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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GizMag has posted an analysis of the Air Clean air purifying stone slab tests in Norway. The Air Clean slab converts automobile-produced nitrogen oxides into nitrates with the aid of sunlight, using a photocatalytic material in the stone called titanium dioxide. The result? Nitrogen oxide levels were found to be 25 to 45% lower above the slabs than above regular concrete on the same road.
Check out the article here.
Dell Puts Less Crap in a Box September 14, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: green business
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Dell has managed to eliminate 18.2 million pounds of packaging since 2008 using their 3-C method: cube (packaging volume), content, and curbside recyclability of the materials. Packaging engineers, for example, figured out a way to stack 63 Inspiron 15 laptops on a pallet, versus the old method of 54.
Check out the FastCompany article here.
Mainstreaming Green: Motel 6 Gets LEED Certification September 14, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: green business
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Motel 6’s newest building in Northlake, Texas, has become the first economy hotel to become LEED certified (Leadership in Environment and Energy Design certification). Among the building’s green aspects are a reflective roof, solar heated water, and low-flow pressurized toilets.
Check out the FastCompany article here.
Lean Leads to Green at Hospital, Which Supports Lean August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, lean.Tags: green business, lean
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Mark Graban over at Lean Blog highlights the lean and green efforts of Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, whose employees took it upon themselves to reduce waste and take the lead on environmental and green initiatives. The lean process –challenging employees to continually improve, as well as utilize their creativity and talents –leads to a much more effective work culture, as demonstrated by the green efforts of the CMC staff.
Check out Mr. Graban’s post here.
UPS Releases Sustainability Report, Plans to Increase Auto Fuel Efficiency by 20% August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business.Tags: green business
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The problem currently facing UPS are increasing gas prices. So UPS has committed to improving the miles-per-gallon abilities of its U.S. fleet by 2020. The sustainability report that UPS released also hosts a number of other environmental initiatives include the 2009 deployment of natural gas powered vehicles and a year-long study of diesel electric hybrid vans.
Check out the Fast Company analysis of the report here.
State Solar Subsidies Fall Victim to Economic Downturn August 12, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in economy, government, green business.Tags: economy, government, green business
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State and local subsidies for the upfront costs of families seeking to make their homes go green are being scaled back or eliminated. In some cases, taxes are being raised on those who have gone green. But, as the Smart Planet article points out, the cost of solar arrays are becoming more affordable as time goes by.
Check out the Smart Planet article here.
Greening the Supply Chain July 16, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, supply chain.Tags: green business, supply chain
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An Industry Week interview with Ravu Anupindi, head of the Master of Supply Chain Management Program at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, reveals some interesting pieces of information. For example, when one thinks of a green supply chain, one wouldn’t ordinarily have in mind the product’s consumption or recycling. Delivery and packaging are also discussed, with emphasis on how interconnectedness effects entire systems. For example, do products always have to be shipped by truck? Or can a train cut down on time and fuel?
Check out the Industry Week interview here.
China Is Overtaking U.S in the Clean Energy Race July 16, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, green business.Tags: energy, government, green business
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A report from the Pew Charitable Trusts finds that China has overtaken the United States in clean energy and technology investments. In 2009, Chinese government-funded initiatives meant China invested $34.6 billion in clean technology. The United States came in second with $18.6 billion; and the United Kingdom in third with $11.2 billion. However, since 2005, investment in clean energy has increased by 230%.
Check out the FastCompany analysis here.
SolarMagic Raises Solar Panel Efficiency by 20% July 16, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green business, new products and technologies
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Solar panels are dependent upon the cells inside: a photovoltaic solar cell can alter the efficiency of the entire system. National Semiconductor, however, has a solution: smart solar optimizer “SolarMagic” chips. The board fits into a typical solar cell junction box and essentially regulates electric current being generated from the solar panel. Such regulation boosts performance efficiency by as much as 20%.
Check out the FastCompany write-up here.
Companies See Mixed Results Implementing Energy Efficiency Measures June 18, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in government, green business.Tags: energy, government, green business
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Companies worried about pending carbon emissions legislation are looking to preempt new laws by looking for energy efficient production alternatives. Either production costs or increased energy tax rates –or both –will strain companies. While some companies may find it easy to reduce energy consumption, other companies will find it difficult to make energy changes, with costs ranging in the range of hundreds-of-millions of dollars. The steel industry, for example, has cut emissions by a third over the past two decades –but the technology they need to continue cutting emissions hasn’t progressed enough yet –and the pending carbon emissions legislation doesn’t allow enough time.
Check out the New York Times article here.
Biodegradable Packaging Now in the Frozen Food Aisle June 18, 2010
Posted by Jeff Fuchs in green business, new products and technologies.Tags: green, green business, new products and technologies
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Stahlbush Island Farms has upped the ante in the environmentally-friendly packaging arena by producing a biodegradable bag. The bag –composed of brown kraft paper and water-based ink –dissolves in months. Stahlbush is looking to develop compostable packaging, and is even willing to share what it knows with other companies to do so.
Check out the FastCompany article here.
