Verteego.com Blog | The Sustainability Blog | Sustainability News and Tips

Reducing GHG emissions: Cost-effective options

April 30, 2009 – 12:29 pm by Keenan

With the debate and growing consensus about the drastic effects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have on the planet, our quality of life, and the economy, it is surprising how little research has been done to identify practical and sensible solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. There is very little information available on what steps should be taken first to reduce emissions on the global or even national level. There is even less information about the estimated costs or reducing emissions. In a study on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions in the US, McKinsey & Company has identified abatement solutions with marginal costs of less than $50 per ton of CO2e. While some of the abatement options require "strong, coordinated, economy-wide action," there are some negative marginal cost options that can be effective on the business or residential level, including updating lighting and electronic equipment and improving the building envelope. The study ...

Posted in Business, Environment | No Comments »

Interview of Mary Jo Padgett, Environmental & Conservation

April 25, 2009 – 5:45 pm by Jeremy

Mary Jo Padgett met through a brillant American-living-in-Paris good friend of ours, Nicholas Chriss, something like 12 months ago. Mary Jo definitely knows what it takes to help people and businesses go green. You'll find why and how in this interview: Gérants verts par DECIDEURS TV

Posted in Environment, Policy | No Comments »

Verteego unveils its library of application connectors

April 19, 2009 – 7:41 pm by Jeremy

Thanks to our partnership with the Information Technology department of top-tier engineering University Ecole Centrale Paris (where I took my year of M. Eng. in Computer Science & Telecommunications ;-), we are proud at Verteego to announce the immediate availability of a library of application connectors for sustainability reporting online app Verteego Report and carbon management software-as-a-service Verteego Carbon. As a start, we chose alongside with 3 highly motivated student-engineers from Ecole Centrale Paris, Matthieu Boutin, Cédric Siéwé, and Denis Pierre, as well as their academic supervisors Christophe Rittano, Olivier Ezratty, and Alexandre Otparlic, to Keep It Simple Stupid and focus on an ERP we know very well at Verteego for being a (very satisfied) customer of them: Entreprise-Facile.com. Indeed, our business operations and back-office are successfully supported by Entreprise-Facile.com. The connector enables Entreprise Facile customers who choose to become customers of Verteego as well (to enhance and manage their sustainability ...

Posted in Business, Technology, Verteego | No Comments »

AIG Bonuses: Sustainable business or a waste of taxpayer money?

March 19, 2009 – 1:34 pm by Keenan

American International Group, already the recipient of over $170 billion from the US government, has come under fire in recent days for paying out $165 million in bonuses. Without government intervention AIG would have failed, and now the taxpayer money that is supposed to be used to save it, is being paid to the employees who helped put AIG on the verge of failure. My question is: Is this the most efficient use of the funds to get AIG back on track? The public outcry all the way up to President Obama himself has made it clear that many people feel bonuses are not the most efficient way to get the company back on track. The general consensus is that the funds would be better spent improving and building up and stabilizing the insurance giant, not enriching its employees. At least part of the public outcry comes from the perception that taxpayer money ...

Posted in Business, Debate, Policy | No Comments »

Sustainability at Ben and Jerry’s

March 16, 2009 – 1:08 pm by Keenan

Ben and Jerry's recently held a conference in Paris to promote their line of fair-trade ice cream. Ben Cohen, the Ben behind Ben and Jerry's, discussed the economic downturn, saying that fear and greed have proven to be poor and unsustainable business practices and that we must build a new economy based more on compassion. He elaborated on Ben and Jerry's sustainable practices and the culture of sustainability that exists within the company. He specifically discussed their fair-trade ice cream program, in which they pay a small premium to farmers and producers in developing countries. By paying a small premium, Ben and Jerry's profit margin is slightly reduced, but that little amount makes a world of difference in the lives of farmers, their families, and their communities. Ben and Jerry's has a long history of social and environmental sustainability, dating back to long before it was fashionable to do so. Since ...

Posted in Business, Events, Social sustainability | 1 Comment »

Who reads sustainability and CSR reports?

March 13, 2009 – 11:09 am by Keenan

The popularity of sustainability reports among larger companies has increased rapidly in recent years. Back in the 1980's, only chemical companies issued "sustainability reports." Those reports were really just environmental impact reports. Today, over 50% of the Global Fortune 100 and more than 2000 companies worldwide from every imaginable industry issue sustainability reports that focus not only on environmental issues, but also on economic, social, and governance issues. As sustainability has become mainstream, critics of CSR have raised concerns about the usefulness of the reports. Are CSR reports just a marketing tool and greenwashing, or do they actually provide useful information about a company's performance? Does CSR increase shareholder value? Can CSR coexist with or even enhance capitalism? But one of the most frequent questions raised is: Who, if anybody, actually reads CSR reports? A survey conducted by GlobeScan found that about half of the general population in North America, Australia, ...

Posted in Business, Policy, Social sustainability | 1 Comment »

EPA Proposes Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

March 11, 2009 – 4:03 pm by Keenan

A new rule proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency will require just over 13,000 facilities accounting for nearly 90% of US greenhouse gas emissions to report their greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would require companies in a broad range of industries that emit at least 25,000 metric tons of CO2e per year to report their emissions. The EPA is proposing that companies report emissions on a facility level, and then aggregate the information into a corporate profile. In this way, the information can be easily broken back down into facility-level data so that the emissions can be analyzed in greater detail. While the plan would cover nearly 90% of GHG emissions in the US, the reporting threshold of 25,000 metric tons of CO2e means that small businesses will be largely unaffected by the regulation change. According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, "This is a critical step toward helping us better ...

Posted in Business, Environment, Policy | 4 Comments »

The Sustainable Office - Download all 10 steps to sustainability

March 2, 2009 – 4:37 pm by Keenan

The ten-part series The Sustainable Office is now available for download so that everyone can benefit from the cost-saving, impact-reducing tips. Improving the performance of your office in each of the 10 areas is guaranteed to make your workspace a bit greener while making your employees happier and more productive. The ideas suggested are cheap and easy-to-do actions that will increase your business' sustainability and reduce its carbon footprint. I hope you enjoy the green tips and that you put them to good use! (Tip #1: Don't print this PDF!!!) Click here to download The Sustainable Office now! .

Posted in Business, Environment | No Comments »

The Sustainable Office – Part 10: Measure and Report Sustainability Performance

February 19, 2009 – 4:11 pm by Keenan

Here we are. The final installation in the 10-part series on sustainability in your office has arrived. Just to recap briefly, here is a list of the previous nine topics covered in The Sustainable Office. . 1. Computers 2. Lighting 3. Paper and Ink 4. Commuting 5. Packaging 6. Water 7. Air 8. Furniture 9. Food And the final, most important, sustainable-est thing you can ever do for your office: Measure and Report Sustainability Performance!!! That's right. If you don't believe me, just ask Lord Kelvin: "If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it." What a man. Measure your performance The best way to improve on things is to know where you stand, make improvement goals, make an action plan, and then measure again to see if you have met your goals. Measuring your business' performance and creating performance indicators allows you to identify the areas in which you can improve the most or that need the most attention. Measuring performance can ...

Posted in Business, Environment, Policy | 5 Comments »

The Sustainable Office – Part 9: Food

February 13, 2009 – 2:15 pm by Keenan

Choosing a sustainable diet is not only one of the best ways to reduce your impact on the environment, but it can also substantially improve your health and quality of life. Encouraging your employees to eat green will reduce your organization's impact on the environment, and just may give you a happier and more productive team. Here are some recommendations for reducing your impact through food. 1. Go organic Providing your employees with organic food has many benefits. Substituting organic food for other food reduces your organization's impact because organic farming, due to its emphasis on natural processes, uses natural pesticides and less water while enhancing soil quality and biodiversity. In many cases, organic produce is healthier than non-organic because fewer pesticides are used. 2. Go local/seasonal Buying food that is produced locally reduces the emissions associated with transportation. Because it has to travel less distance, less time passes between harvesting and selling, ...

Posted in Business, Environment | 1 Comment »