by Beth Gray

The March 2010 issue of Financial Executive is devoted to the financial aspects of “going green.” Targeted to members of the “C-suite,” specifically Chief Financial Officers, the magazine often explores and provides insights into new and growing trends in the business world. The March 2010 issue is no exception and is devoted to what is arguably one of the most relevant topics for any business leader: sustainability and the financial elements that come with a company’s decision to “go green.”

A variety of articles make up this particular issue and all offer telling insights into the necessity of businesses to consider the economic benefits of incorporating sustainability into their operations, product line, and overall culture. In Jeffrey Marshall’s article titled, “Whatever Happened to the ‘Paperless’ Society,” for example, he notes that in the late 1970s and early 1980s many scholars and executives predicted that by the 21st century we would be living in a paperless society; interestingly, though, that prediction has not come true. Marshall’s article examines several reasons why the business community as a whole has not migrated toward a completely paperless society while making a strong case for continued dedication to achieving a “less paper” society. Marshall points out, for example, that the rise in e-ticketing processes saves the ticketing entity between $9 and $16 per ticket. Additionally, as Marshall points out, it is much more difficult for a paper document to be lost or stolen than it is for an electronic document, playing on the growing need for information security within various organizations. Read the rest of this entry »

by Amy N. Panzarella, SPHR

The concept of “going green” has taken on an entirely new meaning, look, and feel for American Public University System (APUS). APUS is proud to announce that our 2009-2010 graduates will be donning eco-friendly regalia during the commencement ceremony at Constitution Hall on May 21, 2010.  This environmentally friendly regalia look and feel like the traditional cloth previously utilized.  However, the regalia are made of 100% recycled plastic bottles!  Understandably, it is tempting to envision over 450 “Lady Gaga” look-a-likes walking through the procession to receive their diploma wearing gowns made of plastic bottles.  Alas, the reality is that the regalia, known as the “GreenWeaver” line, come from Oak Hall, a company out of Salem, Virginia.

Oak Hall is the leading manufacturer of academic apparel and is leading the charge in helping colleges and universities stay true to their promise to remain environmentally conscious.  The GreenWeaver regalia are made from approximately 23 bottles per gown.  As of March 1, 2010, 3.5 million plastic bottles have been reclaimed from landfills to produce GreenWeaver regalia.  APUS President Wallace Boston signed the American College and University President’s Climate Commitment (ACUPCC) in September 2007.  We believe our commencement ceremony is the appropriate forum to showcase our support to this commitment.  We are proud to recognize the achievements of our 2009-2010 graduates on May 21 while saving over 10,350 plastic bottles from being permanently deposited into our landfills!  This effort is merely a foreshadowing of what our university can accomplish using innovative ideas and forward thinking to accomplish the commitment made by President Boston and APUS.

To learn more about the May 21, 2010 commencement ceremony held at the Daughters of The American Revolution Constitution Hall, visit the website at http://www.apus.edu/student-affairs-center/commencement/index.htm.

Images of the Three Gorges Dam from Nasa's Earth Observatory Website.

China’s Three Gorges Dam project is marred in controversy and serves as an example of man’s attempt to harness nature and nature’s stubborn resistance.  Officially approved in 1992 by the Chinese government, the project was originally conceived by China’s most famous Nationalist leader, Sun Yat-sen, decades earlier in 1919.  The project is intended to harness the power of the unruly Yangtze River which in the last 2,000 years has flooded the towns and villages that rest on its banks more than 1,000 times.  Several of these floods have caused tremendous loss of life.  Perhaps the most significant of these floods occurred in 1931 when more than 300,000 lost their lives in the cities of Nanjing and Wuhan and another 40,000,000 were left homeless.  While the Yangtze’s flooding has caused much death and destruction, the Chinese have recognized that there may be value in the river’s power.

The Chinese government sees great potential in using the river as a major source of renewable power for a nation that is growing in both population and energy dependence.  The Dam, once completed, would generate 18,000 megawatts of power, more than eight times that of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River.  The project which has been estimated to cost some $24 billion has created tremendous controversy for several reasons, however.  Human rights activists, for example, have voiced concerns over the required relocation of entire villages and towns.  Scientific American reported in an article that the Chinese government had ordered the relocation of “some 1.2 million people in two cities and 116 towns clustered on the banks of the Yangtze.”  Though promised fair compensation for their land, many of those evacuated have reported that they have been offered as little as 50 yuan, or $7 a month, as compensation. 

Besides the toll the project is taking on the immediate lives of the individuals living in the area, there are extensive and significant environmental concerns associated with the project.  Though the project was eventually approved, environmentalists inside and outside of China raised concerns that the “Three Gorges Dam…had the potential of becoming one of China’s biggest environmental nightmares.”  Though Chinese officials have previously denied any environmental fallout from the project, some are beginning to realize that recent events and environmental phenomena are significantly linked to the Three Gorges Dam. 

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by Jen Tussing

As a company or individual wanting to “go green” by lowering their carbon footprint, a course of action to consider is using Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), also called Green tags or Tradable Renewable Certificates.  These are certificates issued by a government agency to a power company which utilizes environmentally friendly methods to generate electricity. Sources of green power include solar, wind, geothermal, biomass (including wood and wood waste), biodiesel and ethanol, and low impact hydropower. In a company which uses these sources, in a state which participates with the Renewable Energy Credits program, the company is offered one credit for a set amount of energy produced, typically 1,000 kilowatt hours. The credit is given a distinct number so that it can be tracked, the power is fed into the grid, and the company offers the credit for sale. These credits are commonly tracked using two ways: REC contracts including an audit of the chain of custody and REC tracking systems. 

Using renewable credits can lower one’s carbon footprint because when renewable energy sources are used, the demand for fossil fuels is reduced. This is beneficial due to the fact that unlike fossil fuels, non-biomass renewable sources of energy do not directly emit greenhouse gases.  Renewable Energy Credits allow companies and individuals the flexibility to support renewable energy development and protect the environment when green power products are not locally available.  Purchasing Renewable Energy Credits serves the purpose of laying claim to and accounting for the associated attributes of renewable energy based generation. 

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by Beth Gray

In the most recent issue of McKinsey & Company’s publication, McKinsey Quarterly, the editors explore the looming issue of water scarcity through a special report and two interviews with leaders of two companies, Nestle and Rio Tinto, who are taking the problem very seriously as they formulate their business plans for the coming years.

In “The Business Opportunity in Water Conservation,” Giulio Boccaletti, Merle Grobbel, and Martin R. Stuchtey explore methods for turning water scarcity into business opportunity.  The authors point out that the issue of water scarcity has come to such a crisis level that in 2004, for example, Pepsi Bottling and Coca-Cola “closed down plants in India that local farmers and urban interests believed were competing with them for water.”  Global companies are finding that they are increasingly unable to operate in areas where water is particularly scarce – as is seen in the example above.  When such companies are able to continue operations in areas of the world in which water is scarce, they must often take significant (and often expensive) measures to ensure that any waste water runoff will not contaminate scarce drinking supplies for local communities. 

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