Frankly Green

The Greening of Proxy Season

Investors are targeting more companies than ever before with environmental proposals. And they're going beyond oil to homebuilding, retail, and more

by Moira Herbst

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Thanks to Chris S. for this article

Dan Nielsen is on a mission. As a manager of the pension fund for the United Methodist Church in Evanston, Ill., he helps steer $14 billion in assets into "socially responsible" investments. He won't touch companies that make money from alcohol, tobacco, gambling, pornography, or weapons. And each year, he looks beyond those sectors to target companies in the fund's portfolio where he thinks improvements need to be made.

Nielsen, who has an MBA from the University of Chicago, says he shows companies how social issues affect shareholder value. He's made headway with companies like Wal-Mart (WMT), developing a code of conduct for supplier factory conditions in countries like India.

Interesting Tidbit - Wind Power

From my friend Frank P.

Ever wonder how much a tree helps reduce CO2? It is an average of 12 tons per tree planted over its lifetime.

Ever wonder how much 1 MW of wind power reduces atmospheric CO2? 1200 to 1400 tons annually!!

It does add up!

Upscale Restaurants Shun Bottled Water

By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press Writer

Berkeley,Calif.

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I am happy to see this!! Let's hope other restaurants follow the lead of Chez Panisse and Poggio!!

Bye-bye bottled water. Hello eau de tap. A new trend is in the pipeline, with some upscale restaurants ditching packaged H2O in the name of conservation.

The bottled water backlash, which recently spread to the venerable Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, is spurred by environmental concerns over the energy used in transportation as well as the disposal of all those containers.

"We just decided this was something we had to do," said Mike Kossa-Rienzi, general manager of Chez Panisse, where owner Alice Waters has pioneered the eat local, eat fresh concept. "It just makes sense to us to not have to use all the energy and resources to bottle water in Italy and then truck it to our restaurant and then after that deal with the recycling of it."

Chez Panisse stopped serving bottled non-sparkling water last year and expects to stop serving bottled carbonated water in a few weeks, just as soon as the restaurant's new carbonator is installed, said Kossa-Rienzi, who visited a San Francisco restaurant, Incanto, to see how it made the switch some years ago.

Across the San Francisco Bay at Poggio in Sausalito, Larry Mindel has been serving filtered tap water — he has a machine that filters and carbonates — since the restaurant opened in 2003.

Environmental concerns are one factor. Another is price. Even though he could charge diners double or triple what he pays for water, he said it gives him a "stab" to pay so much — or charge others — for something that falls from the sky.

Global Warming Issue Rising to New Level

Check out this CNN video report on global warming - The issue of global warming is rising to a whole new level, thanks to Al Gore. 

Garbage and Social Networks

My friend Matt McCall runs a site called VC Confidential. In a recent post on VC Confidential he presents and interesting idea for using social networks to create a little community competition to encourage positive environmental behavior. Check out his post here. His post can also be found on Always On: The Insider's Network.

Upcoming Green TV Shows

Two upcoming series on the Discovery Channel worth watching -

Planet Earth - an 11-part show narrated by Sigourney Weaver. Each episode features breathtaking footage of events and places caught on film for the first time - from the mating ritual of the blue bird of paradise (it took more than 300 hours of video before the cameraman finally caught a glimpse) to a surreal-looking, snow covered Gobi Desert. It premiers on March 25 at 8pm. It will also appear on April 22 (Earth Day) in an 11-hour marathon.

Big Ideas for a Small Planet - A weekly three hour show on the Sundance Channel kicks off on Tuesday April 17. This original series is hosted by journalist Simran Sethi and activist Majora Carter (a MacArthur "Genius" Fellow) that profiles ecological trailblazers, from scientist to fashion designers. More inspiring than foreboding, these thrilling shows remind us that in our day-to-day lives, it is easy - and worth it- being green!!

Why 'Organic' Now Comes in Leather

By Sara Schaefer Munoz

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I think there need to be some standards set with regards to the labeling of organic. As this article points out, there are some real inconsistencies - With organic food surging in popularity, retailers are now taking the concept beyond the grocery aisle. A flurry of companies are pitching organic furniture, linens, cosmetics -- even so-called organic leather. But organic nonfood products aren't as tightly regulated as food. And even if something is made with organic material, some industry experts say, that doesn't necessarily mean it's 100% environmentally friendly…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that product fibers like cotton or wool that are labeled "organic" be produced without the use of most conventional pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. However, the department doesn't regulate how these textiles are processed. This means consumers could potentially buy a chair made with organically grown cotton, but the chair could be treated with a chemical dye or flame-retardant. The Organic Trade Association has standards for textile handling and processing -- which ban things like toxic dyes -- but the guidelines are voluntary.

Environmental advocates say there are similar issues with organically labeled cosmetics. Labels can say they are made with organically grown products like lavender or oranges, but still contain synthetic ingredients such as triethanolamine or fake fragrance. "You have to really read the label," says Jane Houlihan, vice president for research at the Environmental Working Group, a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. She says consumers can also check which brands have potentially unhealthy ingredients in the group's database of cosmetics at www.ewg.org/skindeep.

The words "natural" and "green" can also fluster consumers. Textiles made from 100% natural cotton often mean that no dyes or chemicals were added to the cotton, but it doesn't guarantee the cotton was grown without the use of pesticides or other chemicals.

Quote for the Day

"The issues that confront us may seem so huge, so complicated, so difficult to deal with that it's hard to believe that anything we can do will have a meaningful impact. But there are a lot of us in the world. A lot of people doing a lot of little things could have a huge impact. And by doing something, we are also demonstrating that lots of people really do care." - Michael Norton in 365 Ways to Change the World

Not all Carbon Offsets are Created Equal

As I mentioned in a Previous Post, for my birthday my friends Bill and Marie gave me a years worth of carbon offsets. For those of you not familiar with carbon offsets, here is a definition: A carbon offset is a service that tries to reduce the net carbon emissions of individuals or organizations indirectly, through proxies who reduce their emissions and/or increase their absorption of greenhouse gases.^[1] A wide variety of offset actions are available; tree planting is the most common. Renewable energy and energy conservation offsets are also popular, including emissions trading credits.

The intended goal of carbon offsets is to combat global warming.^[2] The appeal of becoming "carbon neutral" has contributed to the growth of voluntary offsets, which often are a more cost-effective alternative to reducing one's own fossil-fuel consumption. However, carbon offsets are not without controversy, with some environmentalists and economists questioning the overall benefits of the practice.

There are many companies and organizations offering carbon offsets, but all carbon offsets are not created equal. This WSJ article talks about how carbon offsets work and mentions a few of the players. My friend Rip also sent me a link to a report on carbon offset providers. So by all means, buy carbon offsets or give them as a gift, but do a little homework first to make sure you are spending your money wisely! Stay tuned for more!

Best Time to Buy a Hybrid Car: Right Now

Prices are dropping and most still have tax incentives. But it may end by summer, Edmunds.com says.

By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer

March 16 2007: 10:07 AM EDT

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We purchased a hybrid about a year ago and love it! There are still some good tax incentives too. As this article points out, if you are thinking about buying one, now is a good time - -- If you're thinking of buying a hybrid car, this would be a good time to act on that impulse, according to a pricing and cost analysis by the automotive Web site Edmunds.com.

To cover the expense of the complex systems, auto makers tacked big price premiums onto the hybrid versions of their cars, and those premiums usually outweighed the savings in gas costs.

"In the past, our research showed that the 'True Cost to Own' a hybrid vehicle was exorbitant," said Alex Rosten, Manager of Pricing and Market Analysis for Edmunds.com.

Now, however, federal tax incentives can cover much of the cost difference. And the supply of hybrid vehicles is beginning to exceed demand, resulting in bigger negotiated dealer discounts and cash incentives from manufacturers.