Posted August 27, 2009
In This Issue
GreenMedia Connect – Your Social Media Network
The Internet Costs…Plenty…….
Some Simple Facts About ISO 14001
Green Bags are In
SustainCommWorld PRESENTS
For in-house presentation or to sponsor for a group of clients or prospects, we’ve built a set of half day and full day seminars and workshops to aid you
in your sustainability program development.
* The Sustainability Toolkit
* Ready, Aim, Fire – Growing Your Green Team
* Sustainable Communication
* The Green Exhibit-Lowering your exhibit costs by going green
* The Green Event: Producing green corporate events
* The Green Trade Show
Call for a brochure now and get the updated, complimentary whitepaper, “Through the Sustainability Lens.”
805 524 6970
or email: [email protected]
DELL WINS TOP SPOT PER THE CORPORATE INDEX BENCHMARK REPORT 2009
Capturing environmental metrics from 40 companies within the computer hardware, software, professional services, and network and telecommunications sectors, Technology Business Research announced that Dell took the lead position in its Global Business Sustainability Service’s inaugural Corporate Sustainability Index (CSI) Benchmark Report for 2009.
With an overall score of 317.9, Dell bested firms such as British Telecom (265.2), IBM (258.5), and Hewlett-Packard (255.1), scoring particularly well
in areas of renewable energy, recycling and embedded sustainability strategy. Dell’s environmental commitments are bearing fruit and elevating
the company to the position of most environmentally progressive IT vendor in the world for 2008.
The CSI report provides data and details on a wide array of sustainability metrics, informing IT vendors, customers, employees and financial markets of
competitive sustainability initiatives, market trends and industry issues. For the first time critical performance metrics including emissions, energy,
renewable energy, annualized emission reductions, water utilization, recycling rates, public environmental commitments, etc., are incorporated
into a single, comprehensive view of vendor sustainability activities and environmental strategies.
resources for your use
We have been building a set of remarkable resources from the various conferences we’ve produced, speaker presentations and files that companies
have shared.
White Papers, Sustainability Reports and more
They’re available to you -at no charge – and well worth checking out.
Archived podcasts from The Green Media Show, Conference and Expo, Boston
Archived videos from the Boston
Conference from AlernativeChannelTV
Sustainability Reports, Policies and Statements
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Our Resource Centers at SustainCommWorld sites also have archived Green Media Newsletters.
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JOIN OUR SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORK NOW – GREENMEDIACONNECT
The NETWORK for marketing, advertising, publishing and enterprise communication professionals seeking profitable and sustainable supply chains
has launched. Join us today. Add your ideas, ask your questions, view videos, download resources and listen to podcasts.Visit now, set up your account and invite your colleagues to join us online. There’s no charge – share the resources and add your own.
Lisa Wellman
At home with my husband (the guy I call my “Gestalt Technologist”) recent discussions turned to what he is calling the Smart Everything Era. Our world
today and into tomorrow, filled with common products with uncommon capabilities as we build technology into everything.
We’re already well on our way. Our toaster adjusts itself for bread or bagels. Devices testing the stress of parts of mechanical devices are standard and everywhere. Personal communication devices that are cameras, music players, and multi-application computers abound and we think nothing
of it. RFID technology is growing in usage and expanding into more and more fields and applications.
What if we could have water filters that also tested for impurities?
Thermostats that tested and reported air quality? Paper that reported its chain of custody?
Digital devices are being embedded in everyday products and providing them with multi-functional capabilities. Objects will be increasingly tagged with
digital descriptors, sensors and counters that are capable of reporting name, function, history, location(s) and more. The implications are
astonishing and intriguing.
We’re creating a “smart” environment. From the perspective of sustainability that means that individuals as well as businesses and institutions can be
provided with a constant stream of feedback from everything that uses energy. And one would think that both optional and mandatory sustainability
compliance and reporting will become increasingly metered, automated and automatic. The tools can be in place to enable us to measure and manage our
energy use – everywhere and with everything.
Certainly food for thought.
Lisa Wellman
CEO, SustainCommWorld
THE INTERNET COSTS…PLENTY Part Two
Last month we discussed the cost of our digital world. We’re continuing the column. There’s much more information to present and a very real issue. Just
last month we received a piece from The Nation pitching a digital subscription. The rationale was stated as follows (directly copied from
their email):
* Saves time (we post and deliver via e-mail the day it goes to press);
* Saves trees (no paper and ink);
* Saves energy (no cross-country shipping);
* Saves our planet (carbon neutral);
* Saves postage (rates just went up again, big time);
* Saves space (even the older ones are hard to toss);
* Saves the trip your old copy finally makes to the recycling center;
* Saves them forever (on your hard drive, a CD-ROM or portable device).
Reading this one would suppose that electrons were free. They are not. Digital information is being created, accessed and stored every second and
there is en energy cost for this activity as well as for the manufacturing and powering of the devices needed to create, store and access it. IDC
reported in their white paper The Diverse and Exploding Digital Universe of March 2008, that in 2007 the amount of information created, captured and
replicated exceeded available storage for the first time. By 2011, the researchers noted, the digital universe will be 10 times the size it was in
2006.
A recent report from Discovery Institute stated, “From YouTube, IPTV, and high-definition images, to “cloud computing” and ubiquitous mobile
cameras-to 3D games, virtual worlds, and photorealistic telepresence – the new wave is swelling into an exaflood of Internet and IP traffic. We
estimate that by 2015, U.S. IP traffic could reach an annual total of one zettabyte (1021 bytes), or one million million billion bytes.” That’s at
least 50 times larger than it was in 2006.
Every aspect of this growth requires energy. Technology remains the key engine of U.S. economic growth and its competitive edge. Numerous
researchers have cautioned that the capacity and hardiness of the grid is a problem.
Regardless of whether you’re analog or digital, energy is and will be a major issue for the U.S. economy, so take note. Avoid risk. Plan your
business strategies with these issues in mind.
SOME SIMPLE FACTS ABOUT ISO 14001 2004 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT STANDARD
ISO 14000 is a series of international standards on environmental management. Developed by the International Organization for Standardization, it defines a voluntary environmental management system and, when used in conjunction with the appropriate goals set by the company itself with management commitment, the standards help improve corporate performance.
ISO 14001 specifies a framework for an Environmental Management System (EMS). Utilizing this framework, an enterprise can have its program
certified by a third party.
There are five main elements of the framework.
1. An environmental policy. This should commit businesses to legislative/regulatory compliance, the prevention of pollution, continual improvement, and appropriate objectives and targets. A business must streamline and improve its environmental programs, such as its green buildings, green transportation systems and renewable energy programs.
2. Planning. This covers a review of environmental aspects: legal and other requirements; objectives and targets; and the setting up of a management
program to achieve them.
3. Implementation and operation. This includes management structure, training, communications, documentation, operational control and emergency
preparedness. It means providing resources for staff, defining who does what, identifying training needs, communicating effectively and exerting
effective control over the activities relevant to your significant environmental impacts
4. Checking and corrective actions. These are monitoring and corrective actions, records and audits. This means using accurate measurement methods,
regularly checking the progress towards objectives, taking action to rectify any non-conformance with environmental policy or legal requirements,
recording the operation of your EMS, and conducting audits to identify problems and to prove conformity with the business requirements.
5. Management Review. This is necessary to close the loop. That is, to ensure that the system continues to be suitable, adequate and effective
through changes made in light of experience. The system is in constant recertification, measuring improvement, setting new goals and working
towards them.
GREEN BAGS ARE IN
You’ve seen them everywhere… those large bottom totes that everyone uses at the grocery store. They’re so popular many corporations have bought them
for their own personal use. But did you know these bags may actually pay you money back?
That’s right, your local grocery store may offer a discount at checkout for not using its plastic bags! Values range from $.05 – $.025 per bag, per use
and because they are reusable, the savings could be considerable – all while promoting your branding message
Value-added Features
In today’s uncertain economy, it’s nice to have a product that offers so much return value on your marketing investment. Here are some other key
value-added features to these bags:
First, they’re cost effective! They’re the right choice when you’re looking for a low-cost, high impact marketing vehicle to promote your message. Plus,
their reusability means repetitive marketing impact for your brand.
Next, they’re mobile! Many corporations have already learned that if tens of thousands Green Bag of people are now walking around with these bags showing a grocery store’s logo, why not also have them carry around their own corporate brand?
Case in point: one large company bought thousands of bags and simply gave every employee 4 bags with some to spare for their customers! Their
reasoning?…”Let’s have our own brand out there working for us. It’s far less expensive than apparel but has the same ‘mobile marketing’ reach.”
That’s because these totes aren’t only used at the grocery store. They easily find their way to the pool, the park, the beach, the little league,
and more! They make great tradeshow items with high visibility.
When promoting “green”, recyclable polypropylene bags are environmentally friendly and often composed of a proportion of recycled post consumer
products. We work with suppliers who continually improve their eco responsible practices. Other bag materials include natural jute fibers or
organic cottons.
World wide we consume nearly 1 million plastic bags per minute. Although many of these bags are recyclable, each year Americans return only 0.6
percent of the 100 billion plastic bags they use and toss the rest. You can help make a real difference and promote the brand!
Leslie Herzka
ColorPre