Tag Archives: energy

Building Energy Efficiency: “Cities are the answer! What was the question?”

By Namrita Kapur | Bio | Published: April 7, 2010

Doug Foy, prominent Massachusetts-based environmental strategist, caught my attention with this quote at the Harvard Business School Think Tank on Energy, Environment and Business. Doug’s point was that the 100 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. are a key lever for addressing carbon emission reductions. He cited that while nationally, 40-50% of carbon emissions come [...]

Posted in EDF Climate Corps, Energy Efficiency | Also tagged buildings, EDF Climate Corps, efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Fellowship, MBA, MBAs | 1 Response

China Takes the Lead on Clean Energy Jobs: How the U.S. Can Still Win

By Guest Author | Published: March 1, 2010

This post is by Tony Kreindler, media director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund. A majority of Americans are worried that the United States’ role in the world economy will diminish in the coming years, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. But the truth is, China is already beating the [...]

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Innovation | Also tagged China, green, green jobs, jobs | 3 Responses

Consumed by Consumption

By Greg Andeck | Bio | Published: February 23, 2010

Last month, I attended my first Solutions Lab in Durham, North Carolina. For those that don't know, Environmental Defense Fund is hosting Solutions Labs around the country to bring together sustainability thought leaders from all walks of life. To be honest, I was a little skeptical that the "unconference"-style event (one where attendees choose the [...]

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Events & Activities, Innovation, Solutions Labs, Supply Chain Management | Also tagged consumer, consumer product, consumer products, life-cycle analysis, products, sustainability, sustainable, unconferences | Leave a comment

Not All Smart Grids are Green Grids

By Guest Author | Published: December 1, 2009

This is a guest post by Jim Marston, director of EDF's Texas office. Now we’re talkin’. Austin is already known as one of the “greenest” cities in the nation, and it looks like we’ll soon be even greener – and smarter, too. The U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Nov. 24 announcement of $620 million in “smart [...]

Posted in About Us, Innovation | Tagged energy | Leave a comment

Treasure Hunting for Gigatons

By Dave Witzel | Bio | Published: July 6, 2009

While on her way to present at the Conference Board Business and Sustainability Conference, Gwen Ruta's flight ran into weather and she got rerouted to Harrisburg, PA. Her misfortune was my luck as I got to present her slides and participate in a great conversation about what companies are already doing to reduce greenhouse gas [...]

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Events & Activities, Fleet Vehicles | Also tagged alcoa, BT, building, carbon, climate change, corporate fleets, efficiency, GE, SAIC, treasure hunts, trucks | Leave a comment

Elevator Pitch for a Tall Building

By Dave Witzel | Bio | Published: May 5, 2009

As part of the strategy planning effort for the Innovation Exchange we've been working on refining a clear statement of what it is we will produce and how. Here's the most recent version of our "elevator pitch" though, as Gwen points out, it would have to be a pretty long ride… Goal: The goal of [...]

Posted in About Us | Also tagged business, green, planning, strategy, sustainability | 1 Response

Continuing the IR2009 panel discussion at FortuneGreen

By Julie Stofer | Bio | Published: April 21, 2009

What a whirlwind this conference has been – some new information, some of the same old stories – but many opportunities for interesting discussions. One interesting discussion I followed was the Innovations Review 2009: Green Advances for a New Economy panel hosted by Gwen Ruta and Fortune's Julie Schlosser with guests from Bon Appetit, REI [...]

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Fleet Vehicles, Innovation, Private Equity | Also tagged fleet vehicles, FortuneGreen, IR2009, twitter | Leave a comment

Why don’t we pick the low-hanging fruit?

By Marc Gunther | Bio | Published: April 16, 2009

As a reporter who writes about business and the environment, I've heard the expression "low hanging fruit" used to describe energy efficiency many times. Google the words "low-hanging fruit energy efficiency" and you’ll get 57,100 hits. Maybe 57, 101 by now. I've spent parts of the last month or so helping Environmental Defense Fund write [...]

Posted in Energy Efficiency | Also tagged Innovation | 1 Response

Energy Innovators Just Wanna Have Fun

By Miriam Horn | Bio | Published: March 10, 2009

One of our most striking discoveries while working on Earth: The Sequel was just how much fun energy innovators are having. (First came the book, and the Discovery TV show airs tonight at 10pm ET.) Bernie Karl spent $20,000 building an ice hotel in the Alaskan interior, and another $700 a day on diesel refrigeration, [...]

Posted in Innovation | Also tagged Earth: The Sequel, Innovation | Leave a comment