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Source: Scientific American.com By David Biello

Abundant natural gas may undermine alternative energy sources, whether nuclear or electro-fuels

• ARPA-E Alternative Energy Technologies Slide Show

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.—The artificial leaf promised to revolutionize the world by bringing reliable modern energy to those mired in poverty. But the company founded to commercialize the research—Sun Catalytix—has found that it needs to concentrate its efforts on something likely to make money in the nearer term, namely the kind of flow batteries that might provide large amounts of energy storage on the U.S. electric grid.

The alternative energy landscape is in tumult, judging by the recent fourth annual summit of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy, or ARPA–E. A glut of cheap natural gas threatens to sweep all other energy sources before it. The so-called “shale gale,” as Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski put it at the recent ARPA-E energy summit, is forcing a rethink of energy strategy. “Before this so-called shale gale came upon us, groupthink had most of us focusing on energy scarcity,” Murkowski noted. “The consensus now is that we have abundant energy. We can’t fall into the trap of groupthink again.”
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Source: Energy Manager Today.com by: Bob Zak is senior vice president of facility solutions at Ecova, the total energy and sustainability management company.

Did you know that if you operate or own commercial buildings in certain parts of the country you are now or may be soon required to track your building’s energy performance through the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program?  In an effort to drive down energy consumption and promote sustainability, many cities, counties and states have passed legislation that requires buildings of a certain size and ownership type to report utility consumption via ENERGY STAR’s web based reporting tool, Portfolio Manager. Some municipalities will even charge a fine if a company fails to report energy performance.

What Is ENERGY STAR?

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping us all save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.  According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 18% of all the energy produced in the United States is employed to cool, heat, light, or accomplish other functions within commercial buildings.  ENERGY STAR for buildings uses a tool called Portfolio Manager to capture cost and consumption information from a building’s utility bills. Using this information, ENERGY STAR then measures the performance of a building against the national average for similar building types. Depending on the main function of a building, ENERGY STAR uses the appropriate algorithm to apply a rating from zero to one hundred.
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Source: Energy Manager Today.com

The US Department of Energy Technical Assistance Program (TAP) has published a resource with tools and tips for public sector organizations to use in developing a benchmarking plan.

Benchmarking — comparing a metered building’s current energy performance with its energy baseline — can help building managers compare performance over time or between similar types of building, or document savings from conservation measures. Whether benchmarking as a part of an energy management plan or to meet requirements of a policy or program, having a benchmarking plan helps organizations implement their efforts.

Designing a Benchmarking Plan provides an 11-step outline through the planning process with resources to help organizations at each step. Read the rest of this entry »

Source: Environmental Leader.com

Johnson & Johnson has set up a fund for greenhouse gas reduction projects like chiller optimization and solar PV installations — just one example of how companies are allocating capital for long-term environmental performance, according to a report by the World Resources Institute.

Aligning Profit and Environmental Sustainability: Stories from Industry looks at what’s needed to bridge barriers between existing corporate behavior and environmentally sound business practices. WRI interviewed sustainability managers from AkzoNobel, Alcoa, Citi, Greif, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Natura, Siemens and others about how companies scale up strategies that are good for business and the planet.

Companies usually have separate capital expense and operating expense budgets, the report says, and this practice can make it difficult to increase one budget to benefit the other. In Johnson & Johnson’s case, the special fund for GHG-reduction projects increases its capital budget, and the operating budget is then adjusted to account for expected savings. This allows the company to invest in projects that cost more upfront, but have lower operating costs.
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Source: Environmental Leader.com

Waste and energy use reduction are the top facility-related improvements retailers are undertaking to improve their sustainability performance, according to a report released today by the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

The second annual Retail Sustainability Report, which aims to provide a detailed view of the industry’s adoption of sustainability programs, was based on a survey of 35 RILA member retailers, representing more than 65,000 locations and $1 trillion in global revenue, as well as interviews with 10 members companies.

Nearly all surveyed companies have initiatives to reduce waste and increase recycling, the report said. Companies reported recycling at stores not only reduces costs, it engages the store employees — some of the sector’s biggest advocates.

Over the next two years, companies will increasingly focus on green building practices, management of greenhouse gas emissions and water use, the report said.
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