Top Stories

How Cisco's Packaging Diet Saves $24 Million a Year.—reliability high.
"The savings that Cisco is seeing from its packaging diet are sensational, to say the least: The pilot program alone would lead to $24 million in annual savings. And by focusing on packaging material content, volume and transport container efficiency, the company will save on materials and transportation costs as well. One product line reduced packaging by 33 percent and increased transportation load utilization by 50 percent resulting in $1.3 million annual savings. The most dramatic improvement for a product was 450 percent increase in transportation efficiency with savings of $1.8 million. Cisco's efforts provide the necessary business case for other ITC providers to green their packaging." Story at GreenBiz blog.

eBay Commits to Saving Up to a Quarter of a Million Acres of Rainforest for Consumers who Choose to Reuse.—reliability high.
"For the first 250,000 people that pledge to reuse on eBay, the company will protect an acre of rainforest in their name through a new collaboration with Team Earth, a unique coalition of NGOs, private sector companies and individuals convened by Conservation International (CI). In tandem with the launch of the Green Team Challenge, eBay will unveil its new green shopping hub, designed to help consumers access the millions of green products available on the marketplace." From Business Wire. [eBay has had a green tinge for years, but now it is pushing green marketing.]

Companies, Industries, Markets and Supply Chains

Innovative Website Helps Suppliers Respond to New Sustainability Requirements from Retailers.—reliability medium.
Consulting firm Five Winds International launched a website to help suppliers meet the requirements of such firms as Wal-Mart, Tesco and Marks & Spencer. "The company researched retailers’ programs and developed specific tools to help suppliers understand how to get ahead of retailers’ requirements. Designed specifically for brand managers and sustainability managers at consumer goods manufacturers, the new website includes" a calculator to estimate your score on Wal-Mart's Supplier Sustainability Assessment questionnaire and other resources. From 2Sustain. Five Winds page here.

Lanxess uses sugar cane power.—reliability medium.
"Germany-based rubber company Lanxess started its new onsite bagasse-powered cogeneration plant in Porto Feliz, Brazil. The 4.5 megawatt (MW) renewable-based power plant produces electricity and steam for use in Lanxess' iron oxide pigment production at the site. The project started in 2008 and cost around EUR 8 million ($10.9m). Lanxess says the new cogeneration plant enables the company to significantly cut CO2 emissions at the site which will be 44,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalents less than in 2002's emissions." Accompanying video says it allows the plant to do without fossil fuels completely. See ICIS Green Chemicals blog.

E.ON debuts no-win, no-fee carbon saving service.—reliability high.
"Energy giant E.ON has this week announced the launch of a [UK] business service that promises to cover the upfront cost of carbon saving projects as part of a "no-gain, no-fee" arrangement. The company has teamed up with onsite renewables specialist Self Energy UK to provide the new Energy Performance Guarantee (EPG) service, which emulates the government's recently announced Pay As You Save green home loan scheme by allowing businesses to pay back the initial upfront cost of building improvements over time through reduced energy bills. Under the scheme, E.ON's Sustainable Energy business and Self Energy UK will pay for the installation of onsite renewable energy systems, such as rooftop solar panels or wind turbines." See BusinessGreen story.

And on the same note: Solar Systems for Cheap from Sungevity, TXU Energy.—reliability high.
"Sungevity has launched its new, 10-year residential solar lease with no upfront costs. The monthly fee covers all maintenance, monitoring, cleaning and insurance. ... TXU Energy is bringing solar power leasing to residents in Texas through a partnership with SolarCity. There is no upfront cost for the lease, and a monthly fee will cover the installation, monitoring, repair and insurance for the system. TXU Energy says that a 4-kilowatt residential system, which would be appropriate for a three- or four-bedroom home, would cost about $35 a month." See GreenBiz story.

New Green Chemistry companies.—reliability medium.
"here are several new green chemistry companies that came to my attention." List with brief descriptions and links to Synthezyme, Allylix, Pennakem, Butalco, Glycos Biotechnologies and Reluceo. See ICIS Green Chemicals blog.

Government and Regulation

China joins India with formal backing for Copenhagen Accord.—reliability high.
"China has today joined with India in formally signing up to the Copenhagen Accord, making it the last major emerging economy to endorse the controversial agreement. In a letter to the UN climate change secretariat, Chinese climate negotiator Su Wei said the UN could "proceed to include China in the list" of countries that formally support the agreement and have made voluntary pledges to tackle domestic carbon emissions. The news comes just hours after Indian environment secretary Jairam Ramesh told the country's parliament that India had similarly agreed to be formally listed in the Copenhagen Accord. ... Attention will now turn to Russia, which is the last remaining major greenhouse gas emitter not to formally endorse the agreement." See story at BusinessGreen.

California watchdog sees climate policy job losses.—reliability high.
"California's aggressive climate change policy is likely to lead to modest job losses in the near term due to higher energy costs and other factors, the state's independent budget watchdog said. The Legislative Analyst's Office was responding to a request by Republican state Senator Dave Cogdill to study the effects of California's 2006 climate change law, which mandates changes to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. ... "Reasons for this include the various economic dislocations, behavioral adjustments, investment requirements, and certain other factors," it said. The total effects on the economy near- and long-term are likely to be modest, since energy costs are a relatively small share of expenses for most people living and doing business in California, it said." See story at Reuters.

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