Greg Galitzine
| Helping environmentally-conscientious business leaders choose environmentally-friendly solutions.
carbon footprint
Carbon Trust
June 13, 2007
Who knew Belfast, Ireland pumps out 4,800 tons of carbon dioxide a year? This news comes way of the Carbon Trust. This organization further goes on to say in the UK, 40% of carbon emissions come from business and this number is 35% in Belfast.
This really shows business plays a major a role in reducing carbon emissions. As this article explains, business can reduce their energy costs by up to 20% and in the process enhance their reputations.
This is obviously a win/win for business and I am looking forward to seeing a continued embrace of environmentally friendly technology by business.
Rackspace
June 13, 2007
We are in the era of corporate initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions which at the same time should further a company’s image. Generally there is energy conservation savings coupled with green publicity which makes the move to green a win/win.
It is wonderful to see how many companies are jumping on the green technology bandwagon.
Rackspace has just announced such a green initiative. Dubbed internally as "GreenSpace," the company-wide program will promote energy conservation, carbon offsets and employee education to reduce Rackspace's contribution to climate change.
More details can be found here.
Computers Need to go Green
June 14, 2007
Articles like this one really show how the typical PC has a way to go before it becomes green. Or at least much greener. Computers generate as much as 35 mullions tons of gas each year and this equates to about 100 million flights! It is unclear from this article if this is PCs in the UK or the world.
It takes around 1.8 tons of chemicals, fossil fuels and water to produce a PC, and its operation generates 0.1 tons of CO2 in a typical year.
Top 10 Green Ideas
June 15, 2007
Have you ever wanted to go green but weren’t sure the best way to go about it? What are the top 10 ways to go green you ask? Well here is a list from Worldwatch Institute.
1) Walk or Bike to work
a. This one is pretty obvious but may be tough to do if your company is really far from your home and/or you currently fly to work.
Carbon Footprint Secrecy
June 15, 2007
The issue of carbon footprint and the potential to be carbon neutral paired with using this information as a positive PR vehicle can be seriously hampered by a company’s need for secrecy. Google is not a huge fan of letting the world know how many servers it has and as such detailed “we are carbon neutral talk,” is seriously hampered. Here are some details on carbon footprints and secrecy from the Environmental Leader.
Cold Ironing
June 16, 2007
Either my brain is taking a break or this article is confusing. Well perhaps it can be both at the same time. Regardless… It seems the shipping industry is considering going green and the Port of Oakland is experimenting with technology which allows ship to switch to electric power while docked.
Connecting to shore-based electricity to power the onboard systems while the ship is docked could eliminate as much as 1,000 pounds of exhaust pollutants during a single containership port call. Now this is one green technology we can all get behind.
This technique of connecting to power lines from shore is called cold ironing and a company called APL has developed a technology allowing cold ironing to take place for $225,000 per vessel as opposed to original industry estimates of 1.5 million.
Green Hiring May Be Illegal
June 19, 2007
In the perfect green world we would all commute no more than a few miles to work and do so in vehicles which require the least amount of fuel. In this scenario employees could even bike or walk to work on many days. Imagine how much energy would be saved in fact in an efficient distribution of workforce talent to companies located near where the talent lives.
The only problem here is it may be illegal for employers to ask questions about the vehicle employees drive or where they live. You certainly aren’t allowed to make a hiring decision about someone because they live at a certain address.
These rules of course are there to ensure companies do not discriminate but it may in fact also ensure companies are not able to minimize their carbon footprint effectively.
While I am no HR expert, it seems there may be a need to loosen up a hiring regulation or two so companies with a green conscious can act more responsibly.
Carbon Calculator
June 20, 2007
There is no better way to educate the world’s youth than to actually put things in terms they understand. When it comes to carbon footprint there are a few ways of doing this. One is to make a really intriguing videogame where the main character goes from scene to scene with a massive vacuum cleaner and sucks up carbon emissions.
Another idea is to develop a cellphone-based carbon calculator for this demographic so people can see to what extent they contribute to global warming, etc. In addition this application suggests steps you can take to reduce your footprint. Here are the details from Scenta in the UK.
Save the Planet
June 21, 2007
Here are some unique perspectives on going green and in fact are five things you can do to go green – or at least save the planet. It is up to you to decide which is more important. Ideas in the article are electing Al Gore for President and not buying anything from China. If you want to know the hows and whys, be sure to read more here.
