In celebration of Pollution Prevention Week and amid an atmosphere of intelligent concern for the environmental health and safety of products we use in every day life, the EPA has launched a simple online guide for the eco-labeling programs it supports; the Greener Products Portal.
Consumers, small businesses, retailers, manufacturers, and institutional purchasers can use the Portal to search for products that are included in EPA-approved product labeling systems. Using a set of 3 drop down boxes to narrow their inquiries folks can find information on a wide range of products; from appliances to building materials, from automotive products to cleaning products. This tool can be useful for a wide range of people; from parents to industrial purchasers, and the many demographics in between.
For those most concerned with… [view entry]
Rieselfeld Center
Two areas of Freiburg have been developed as eco-villages — Rieselfeld and Vauban. The eco-villages showcase integrated planning based on principles of sustainability.
Rieselfeld, the larger of the two, was built on land that was formerly used for sewage disposal. It lies toward the western outskirts of Freiburg. There are about 4,500 apartments in buildings of 3 to 5 stories housing around about 10,000 people. Most of the buildings are built to a “low energy” standard for heating requirements, which we are told is about 65 kwh/square meter (in Europe they use kilowatt-hours as a basic energy metric in the way we use BTUs).
Solar panels and green roofs appear throughout the development. The ecumenical Maria Magdelena Church has a solar PV system on its… [view entry]
Cross-posted from the Sustainable Business Leader Program blog.
On May 23rd the Sustainable Business Leader Program, Cambridge Local First, and the Cambridge Energy Alliance hosted a new kind of business sustainability workshop: a business-to-business conversation featuring the Cambridge Brewing Company, a handful of business-centered sustainability services, and a score of small business representatives curious about their own green options.
By having many of the players in the room at the same time, small Cambridge businesses were able to comfortably learn how they could make their businesses more environmentally friendly while saving valuable natural resources and money.
The workshop featured a presentation by Phil “Brewdaddy” Bannatyne, owner of Cambridge Brewing Company, who highlighted the steps that his business took to “go green,” including much… [view entry]
Cambridge, MA-Friday, April 24: Over 300 people, including your faithful Energy 2.0 correspondent, assembled in Walker Memorial Hall at MIT to hear from some of the major players and most provocative thinkers in the field of sustainability. Unlike the content you’ll find here, which stretches all the way from global energy policy to insulating your water pipes, the Sustainability @ MIT conference was exclusively focused on the big picture.
Just another reminder of the MIT Sustainability Summit-Starting this Friday:
Location: Walker Memorial Building 50 142 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02139
Click here for more details
Description: The MIT Sustainability Summit, Discovering New Dimensions for Growth, brings together students, engineers, business leaders, academics, environmental activists, and public servants to discuss how we can most effectively support each other as we face the opportunities and challenges of transitioning to a sustainable world.
For questions contact:
Catharina Lavers clavers@MIT.EDU
Start Time: 9:30
Date: 2009-04-24
