The Public Bike System (also known as Bixi, a portmanteau of bike and taxi) was designed from the ground up for sustainability and flexibility.  Every aspect of the docking station is modular and designed for simple repair, replacement, recycling and expansion. The solar-powered stations are installed without any excavation or construction and do not require external power, so they can be installed and moved according to demand.  Electronic monitoring and communications systems built in to the docking stations provide real-time usage metrics, including the location and status of all docked bikes.

There are many benefits of using a bikeshare system instead of a privately owned bicycle.  Capital Bikeshare manages all aspects of repair, maintenance and storage.  Sharing bicycles allows more people to use fewer bikes, which reduces manufacturing and materials use.  Because their bikes are based on a common design, broken bikes can be harvested for working parts, further reducing waste.

Bikeshare systems have tremendous potential to augment existing public transit options.  Capitol Bikeshare can reduce the load on the Washington Metro, which has experienced record riderships in recent years, while decreasing fossil fuel use and traffic congestion.

Visit www.capitalbikeshare.com to become a subscriber for a yearly fee of $75.
The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is an excellent resource for those interested in commuting by bike.

One easy thing that every one can do is purchase carbon offsets. Carbon offsets are basically the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) in one area to offset the carbon emissions in another (in this case, shipping). A business or individual pays for a carbon offset, and that money is used to fund projects that reduce GHGs. These projects commonly include renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geothermal), methane collection, and carbon sequestration.

If you use UPS, FedEx or USPS, you can use Green Shipping as an easy way to offset your package’s carbon footprint. Take the tracking number of your package and enter it into Green Shipping’s calculator to determine its carbon footprint. Then you can purchase the right amount of offsets to make your purchase completely carbon neutral. Accounts are free for individuals, and they also offer business tools for any business that wants to offset the carbon emissions produced by their shipping. Green Shipping uses Bonneville Environment Foundation as their offset partner, certified by Green-e and endorsed by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Another great option is to purchase eco-friendly shipping supplies. The number of companies that use recycled materials is on the rise, but here are just a few to get you started:

• USPS priority mail boxes: In 2007, USPS became the first shipper to get Cradle to Cradle certification at the silver level. This is a third-party certification that reviews specific criteria to assess the environmental attributes of materials used in products. MBDC examined a total of 1,4000 individual ingredients in 60 packaging items before awarding the certification, and based their decision on criteria such as toxicity, renewable energy, water stewardship, and recyclability.
• Caremail: All of Caremail‘s products use recycled materials, in a range from 50 to 100% post-consumer recovered fiber. Most are recyclable and/or biodegradable, and several are re-usable. Their packaging peanuts are also biodegradable, because they use potato starch instead of styrofoam.
• Globe Guard products: Globe Guard products carry a variety of shipping materials that use recycled materials; for example, their corrugated boxes are made from 100% post-consumer waste material. Globe Guard also donates one percent of each online purchase to 1% For the Planet, an organization that brings together over one thousand eco-minded businesses that contribute to its qualified environmental organizations.

Waste
While Americans produce 1584 pounds of solid waste per capita per year, Canadians produce only 921 pounds.  Americans also use 100 gallons of water per day.  Canadians use slightly less at 87 gallons/day.

Incentives and Rebates
The Canadian government has an extensive system of rebates and incentives to encourage sustainability.  For instance, British Columbia subsidizes energy efficient vehicles, refrigerators, composters, furnaces, boilers, pumps, windows, toilets, and more. Click here  and here for more details and a list of programs.

Energy Policy
Canadians also rely on more sustainable energy sources.  Hydropower is in use across the country, comprising 58% of energy production nationwide and a full 92% of the energy in Quebec.  Hydro-Quebec, the province’s power company, also has pilot programs in wind power and methane recapture.  They even provide grants for home geothermal heat pumps.  And the price?  Quebec has some of the lowest electricity rates in North America.

Room For Improvement
The Oil Sands of Alberta – The oil reserves in Alberta may be crucial to Canada’s economy, but the product produces even more CO2 emissions than regular oil.
The Kyoto Protocol – Canada just isn’t going to make it here.  Their emissions have risen since 1990, not fallen.
Solar Power and Electric Vehicles – Cold and wet weather seriously interfere with these crucial technologies.

Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP) is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. This legislation will enable a rapid transition to a low-carbon, 21st century economy that will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing the climate. BICEP is a project of Ceres, and has 20 members including Nike, Starbucks, Best Buy, Ben & Jerry’s, Gap, Target, and eBay. Visit the press room to view some of their recent involvement in both federal and state legislation, or view their FAQ page for an overview of their policy stances and why effective legislation will benefit the U.S. economy and create jobs.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a non-profit organization that acts on the behalf of 551 institutional investors holding $71 trillion in assets under management, and 60 purchasing organizations such as Dell, PepsiCo and Walmart. CDP operates the only global climate change reporting system, harnessing the collective power of corporations, investors and political leaders. The project’s aim is to accelerate solutions to climate change and water management by putting relevant information at the heart of business, policy and investment decisions. Over 3,000 organizations in some 60 countries around the world now measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, water management and climate change strategies through CDP, and the data is made available for use by a wide audience. Visit their reports page to view information on water disclosure, cities, supply chain, public procurement, and investors. CDP also releases a leadership index which recognizes companies that show clear consideration of business-specific risks and potential opportunities related to climate change and good internal data management practices for understanding GHG emissions.

Similar to CDP, the Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) project helps investors identify how an organization’s activities and supply chains contribute to deforestation. The project aims to create transparency and address a key challenge within investor portfolios. Participating companies are asked to disclose how their operations and supply chains are impacting forests worldwide, and what is being done to manage those impacts responsibly. The disclosure information will be reported annually, enabling investors to identify the sustainable businesses of the future as well possible risks related to a company’s forest footprint. FFD is currently endorsed by 58 financial institutions representing more than $5 trillion collective assets under management.

The report finds that climate change is happening and human activities are very likely the primary cause.  The report acknowledges the uncertainty about risk but affirms that there is enough reason to begin acting now.

According to the National Research Council, local, state, and private sector efforts are valuable, but they will not be able to achieve the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions needed to avert a climate crisis.  The report calls for strong federal policies to set national goals and engage international efforts.  To effectively address climate change mitigation, the U.S. must reduce GHG emissions, prepare adaptation strategies, fund scientific research and technology development, and promote communication between experts and the stakeholders that make the country’s climate policy.

The National Research Council is the research body of the National Academies.  Sponsored by NOAA, the report was authored by renowned scientists and engineers, economists, business leaders, a former governor, an ex-congressman, and policy experts.

For more information about America’s Climate Choices, visit the America’s Climate Choices website.

Climate change adaptation involves coping with the changes that will occur, creating a society that is resilient in the face of climate change.  Adaptation strategies would include planning for impacts on public health, coastal areas, agriculture, forestry, ecosystems, water, and energy.  Recognizing its importance, the EPA has recently embraced climate change adaptation as a central concern of the agency.

About a month ago, the EPA released its Policy Statement on Climate Change Adaptation.  The EPA has identified climate change action as one of its priorities, and the Policy Statement will guide the agency in developing and implementing a climate-change adaptation plan and integrating the plan into its program’s policies, rules, and operations.

In coordination with the EPA’s national headquarters, every national-program office and regional office will be required to develop an implementation plan showing how it will carryout the measures called for within the agency wide plan.  The individual offices will be allowed the flexibility to decide how they can best meet agency wide goals and requirements, making for a more efficient climate change adaptation process.

The EPA website provides resources on both climate change and climate change adaptation.  It’s time to follow the EPA’s lead and not only ask ourselves how we can limit climate change, but also how we will adapt to a changing natural environment and remain a strong global society in the future.

Apple

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post on the Consumer Electronics Show and the release of their 2010 CEA Sustainability Report. Apple was featured in the report as a case study for sustainable product design. CEA commended them for being the first in the industry to complete a comprehensive life cycle analysis for every product that Apple ships to determine where its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions came from. This analysis helped Apple to see that 97% of its GHG emissions are directly associated with its products (e.g. manufacturing, customer use) and only 3% are due to facilities. Knowing where a business’s emissions are coming from is a crucial first step to any improvement plan. Apple’s Environment page includes a helpful graphic that breaks down each life cycle stage of a product an the relative impact on the environment.

Since most of Apple’s emissions are from their products, their focus has been on designing their products to use less material. According to their website, their iPod classic achieved a 50% reduction in carbon emissions between 2001 and 2010. They also have used smaller packaging techniques to increase transportation efficiency. And in regard to their product use category, which accounts for 46% of their total carbon emissions, Apple has designed every single product to meet the government’s Energy Star guidelines.

Although facilities only account for 3% of Apple’s total carbon emissions, they have still been making some improvements. Most impressive is the fact that three locations (Austin Texas; Sacramento, California; Cork, Ireland) are 100% powered by renewable energy. They’ve also begun offering a biodiesel commuter coach to some employees, currently only used by up to 800 Apple employees per day.

In January, Apple was awarded a patent for a solar-powered portable device. Although this is just a “step in the green direction” and many other patents and existing products are already out there for solar-powered charging techniques, it’s still a smart step and a strong example for others to follow. As a leader in the electronics market, whatever Apple does will cause others to take notice.

Another possible move is the development of some of Apple’s commercial real estate in Cupertino. Apple has reportedly hired Forster + Partners for the design, a well-known design firm that pays particular attention to green issues such as using renewable energy resources and incorporating the best energy-efficiency techniques into materials and equipment.

Google

Google has been making great efforts to improve their data centers. Their data center page gives a helpful overview and explains efficient computing, how their measure their data center efficiency (a Power Usage Effectiveness metric), their Server Retirement Program to maximize machine reuse, data center best practices, and notes from the Efficient Data Center Summit held in 2009. (They also mention their plans to attend a European Data Centre Summit this week in Switzerland).

Just like Apple, Google also uses biodiesel shuttles to help their employees commute to work in a more eco-friendly way. Google claims to drive “thousands of employees” in their shuttles every day — certainly higher than Apple’s 800. Google also supports employees that choose a carbon-free commute (e.g. cycling, walking) by donating to their favorite charities based on how often they self-power their commute. Google’s green operations page details several other initiatives, including the use of goats for grass grazing (instead of lawnmowers), details of their carbon offsets, the Climate Savers Computing initiative, participation in the Green Power Market Development Group, their LEED-certified office in San Francisco, and the use of Energy Star-rated office equipment.

Google’s green innovation page highlights some of their more creative projects. The Google PowerMeter is a free energy monitoring tool that allows you to view your home’s energy consumption online. Tracking your energy is a great tool to help you reduce energy use, but right now the PowerMeter is only available in a few areas in the U.S. and Europe. Google has invested over $38 million into two North Dakota wind farms, and they’ve agreed to invest in the Atlantic Wind Connection project. Since renewable energy projects (e.g. wind, solar) require expensive capital, it’s important to have investments like this to get them started.

Other long-term projects from Google include Enhanced Geothermal Systems and related investments to geothermal energy research (Potter Drilling, AltaRock Energy, Southern Methodist University Geothermal Lab, and Stanford University). And the RE<C project is aimed at taking calculated financial risk to accelerate clean energy down the cost curve. The goal is to help make renewable energy (RE) cheaper than coal (C), hence the name RE<C.

Overall, it’s great to see these two companies making concentrated efforts to reduce their carbon footprints and both have made some significant progress. Both Apple and Google continue to redesign their products (in Google’s case, data centers) and facilities using a variety of methods and practices. But it’s Google’s commitment to long-term projects such as renewable energy investments and home energy use monitoring that really gives them the edge in the race to sustainability.

Image sources: Apple.com and Google.com

Although climate change is never tied to one specific weather event, it does influence weather.  Climate change drives the environment that impacts storms and droughts, multiplying the intensity of weather events.  In an article for Planet Ark, Deborah Zabarenko describes extreme weather as the “New Normal Climate.”

The article goes on to discuss the costs associated with the increase of climate driven extreme weather events.  The City of Chicago’s 4,400-mile sewer system has been constructed over the past 150 years and is not equipped to handle the extreme storms and floods that are projected for the future.  For the City, it is imperative to forecast future storms and floods.

The City estimates that it will cost between $690 million and $2.5 billion to cope with extreme weather for the remainder of this century.  Homeowners and businesses will be faced with costs that far exceed the City’s estimate.  Economic losses from natural disasters were $25 billion per year in the 1980s.  Through the last decade, the cost has increased to $130 billion per year.  As the global climate continues to change and weather becomes even more extreme, we can only expect these costs to increase.

Water risk is a lack of water that arises from water scarcity, water pollution, and water competition.  In the private sector, this risk can cause financial disruptions, increase costs, lead to revenue losses, and compromise growth.  Sectors most vulnerable to water risk include the food and beverage industry, the power industry, mining, and some manufacturing.  Water risk poses such a significant threat to business that last year the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) identified water as a potential material use that public companies should disclose to investors.

In line with the SEC’s sentiment, in 2010, the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES) released a report studying corporate disclosure of water risk (view the full report).  The study looked at the water risk reporting of 100 publicly traded companies across eight of the most water-vulnerable sectors.  The report’s intention is for investors and companies to learn from the reporting practices of these 100 case studies and promote a better understanding of how water risk impacts a company’s operations, supply chains, and products.  But CERES was surprised to find that even in sectors most threatened by water risk, reporting on risk and corporate water performance is weak.  As water quality and scarcity becomes an even more severe issue, companies will be forced to take water risk more seriously.

Recognizing water’s relationship to future prosperity, the World Resources Institute (WRI), in partnership with Goldman Sachs’ Center for Environmental Markets and General Electric, is developing a Water Index to chart water risk across regions and sectors.  The Water Index will help investors understand and forecast water’s impact on businesses and investments.

The Water Index will rely on publicly available data provide information on water quality and water scarcity indicators.  This data will be presented spatially on interactive map overlays that allow users to compare and combine risk scenarios.  Because water is a local issue, risks will vary by region and sector.  Although some groups have attempted to calculate companies’ water footprints, this is one of the first attempts at quantifying water’s impact on companies.

The pilot project will focus on the water risks of thermal power generation in China.  WRI and its partners hope to highlight potentials for reducing water risk in this sector by providing recommendations for making the sector less vulnerable.  This pilot is just the start of what may prove to be an instrumental tool for aiding corporate water risk reporting and for businesses to ensure future growth and success.