Month: January 2012

Randall Munroe, the brains behind XKCD* (the very-funny, very-on-the-pulse cartoon site), pops the Sustainable meme-bubble  with his characteristic sarcastic wit. Click above to view larger.

I really appreciate his point, as I see it, to skewer corporate efforts to be All Things Green in thoughts, words and…..what was that again? Oh right. Actions. Embracing a set of strategic goals that honestly and truly incorporates People and the Planet is all talk until it’s expressed in positive, measurable, truthful actions.

Until then, it’s Greenwashing. A simple example of Greenwashing are repackaging campaigns that use nebulous, unregulated language like “natural” and “green” to appeal to consumers. That’s simple and obvious semi-truthful advertising.

Once you get past the easy low-hanging Greenwashing fruit, it gets murkier. For instance, how about a recycling campaign that diverts waste instead of decreasing it? Has anything really gotten better, or has the problem just moved downstream a few steps? Is that still a good thing, or good enough?

At worst, Greenwashing is fraudulent and deceitful. My newest example is the stack of  green-labeled “recyclable” batteries I spied in the supermarket last week. The packaging gimmick is that the  manufacturer will supply a postage-paid envelope to the consumer to mail the spent batteries back for earth-friendly recycling.

What are the chances that the average consumer, after popping the batteries into whatever device required them, is going to keep the packaging and take-the-steps required to secure this envelope? Nil.

The packaging is meant to make people feel better about buying these particular batteries, to get a tiny little green boost for doing the right thing, even if they don’t follow through. Even though there is nothing special about these one-use-only batteries.

(By the way, check with your municipality how to to recycle standard household-use batteries. In Essex County, New Jersey, batteries are accepted as part of regular household waste.)

(While I’m parentheticalizing, go buy some recyclable batteries, a charger, and put them in a drawer near wherever you charge all your other devices. Do yourself a favor and get enough rechargeable batteries to always have fresh ones ready to go. Think of your rechargeable batteries like socks. It’s always a good idea to have an extra clean pair. )

The important thing, in my mind, is to get under the easy surface issues and dig into the complicated, messy operational chains where real money gets spent on shared, finite energy and resources.  It’s a conversation worth having.  I, for one, am not tired of talking about Sustainability.

Read XKCD.

*Randall said I could use his image. http://xkcd.com/about/

Let’s clear up a few things. No one is coming to your house to confiscate your incandescent bulbs and force you you install twisty compact fluorescent bulbs.

There is no need to stockpile or horde them like tulip bulbs or canned milk.*

Even though CFLs are vastly more energy-efficient, last 10 times as long, cost less to operate and provide just as nice light.

We know, you think the light is weird or you have concerns (legitimately!) about the potential health risks if you break one. (For the record, here’s how to clean up a broken CFL and why and how to recycle  CFLs responsibly and safely.)

And maybe you just don’t like being told what you can and can’t buy for your home.

For now, at least until 2014, you can have your incandescent bulbs.

From Ecogeek.com:

A Congressional spending deal made late last night includes a provision that prevents the Department of Energy from enforcing the incandescent light bulb ban set to go in effect in January for another nine months.

The first phase of the ban, which still remains on the books but just can’t be enforced, includes higher efficiency standards for 100-watt bulbs.  By the end 2014, all incandescents will be phased out.  and this delay may now cause them to lose money to foreign competitors still selling the cheaper bulbs.

In the meantime, American light bulb makers are hot on the task of making the change from incandescents to more efficient bulbs like halogen, CFLs and LEDs that customers will love.

New out of the gate are Philips’ energy efficient EcoVantage incandescent bulbs, available exclusively at Home Depot stores and online via Amazon.com.

From SustainableBusiness.com

Philips Lighting is launching a new line of incandescent light bulbs designed to meet federal energy efficiency standards that will take force in the US over the next few years.

While not as efficient as compact fluorescent or LED bulbs,  EcoVantage bulbs will likely appeal to people who are unhappy with the quality of light delivered by the more energy efficient technologies.

The new bulbs, which use halogen elements, provide energy savings of about 28% compared to conventional incandescents. That meets or exceeds efficiency standards established in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007. Wattage options are as follows:

According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), lighting alone accounts for 22% of electricity use in the US, and there are over 4.4 billion medium screw-based light sockets.

In the spirit of this Martin Luther King, Jr. day, here’s a thought to consider for how we live and work:

“On some positions, Cowardice asks the question, “Is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “Is it politic?” And Vanity comes along and asks the question, “Is it popular?” But Conscience asks the question “Is it right?” And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right.”
-Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As applied to Sustainable practices, asking “Is it Right?” is a compass heading for making the best choice in any situation.

What are the short-term and long-term impacts of your action? How does this decision play out locally and globally? Does a choice I make today have a negative or detrimental impact on others or the planet we share?

Learn more about Dr. Martin Luther King’s Life and Enduring Legacy for Nonviolent Change

My years of experience as a sea kayaker in commercial waterways taught me an inviolate truth about big ships. They move inexorably slowly at first but are practically unstoppable once up to speed.

What does Sustainability mean for one of the world largest manufacturers of fossil-fuel burning, GHG-emitting, resource-consuming products? For GM, sustainable business practices mean nothing short of survival as a leaner, more efficient, more customer-responsive enterprise.

The auto maker is putting Green front and center with its first sustainability report as a new company, claiming 2011 wins that align profits, people and the planet.

I’m more intrigued by GM’s environmental stewardship goals for the next decade.

1. Reduce energy intensity from facilities by 20 percent.
2. Promote use of 125MW of renewable energy by 2020.
3. Reduce carbon intensity from facilities by 20 percent.
4. Reduce volatile organic compound emissions from assembly painting operations by 10 percent.
5. Protect water quality and reduce water intensity by 15 percent.
6. Reduce total waste from facilities by 10 percent.
7. Promote existing landfill-free facilities while working to achieve 100 landfill-free manufacturing sites and 25 non-manufacturing sites.
8. Promote and engage in community outreach on environmental and energy issues by completing one outreach activity per plant on an annual basis.
9. Secure Wildlife Habitat Certification (or equivalent) at each GM manufacturing site where feasible by 2020.

As a new member of the 2012 Rutgers Environmental Stewards class, it’s all I’m thinking about.  If each of us took even one of these sustainability goals for our business and home, we’d all come out ahead. Which ones appeal to you, are doable, measurable and would make a real difference in your life and communities?

Visit GM’s Sustainability site

Read the press release