(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Tulsa, OK – March 19, 2012 – Parisleaf Printing and Design recently completed the CurrentState™ Sustainability Audit and received Platinum Certification – the highest certification level available.
The Client’s Challenge
Parisleaf is a Printing and Design company located in Gainesville, Florida. Parisleaf provides a variety of services which include printing, branding packages, web and logo design.
Parisleaf’s largest challenge is that traditional print related goods and services can have a significant negative impact on the environment. Negative impacts occur at all stages of the paper life cycle - the harvesting of trees, the processing of wood fiber into pulp and the disposal of paper products at the end of their useful life.
However, Parisleaf has overcome these challenges. They offer carbon negative printing and web solutions to its clients. Parisleaf is able to achieve this because of their innovative green practices and the steps they take to mitigate their effect on the environment. Continue reading →
DURHAM, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) introduces new mid-power XLamp® ML-C and ML-E LEDs, bringing increased versatility and flexibility to a wide spectrum of lighting applications. Designed to accelerate the adoption of LED lighting, the expanded XLamp ML family now offers red, green and blue color options, high-voltage and three different price-performance options in the proven and reliable ML package. The ML LED high-voltage options can enable the use of more efficient, smaller drivers to lower cost for applications such as LED replacement lamps.
“From a full white color temperature spectrum and different power ratings to the offer of color LEDs, the family of ML products gives us the capacity to offer our customers a full range of lighting options.”
XLamp ML LEDs deliver the flexibility and optimization needed to quickly design a portfolio of products for multiple lighting applications, including architectural, hospitality, emergency vehicle, decorative lighting, and linear florescent LED replacements. With a shared 3.5mm x 3.45mm footprint, customers can quickly and easily expand or update their product portfolio by leveraging a common ML package. Continue reading →
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HonestBuildings.com announced today the release of its beta platform, a free web service allowing users to find and compare information, ratings and reviews for any commercial or residential building in the U.S.
“We are bringing transparency and connectivity to the massive real estate industry, which has traditionally been fragmented, opaque and inefficient”
Simply by searching for an address or zip code, anyone can access reviews, Honesty Ratings™, energy data, projects and renovations, and view the people and organizations associated with that building, for free.
“We are bringing transparency and connectivity to the massive real estate industry, which has traditionally been fragmented, opaque and inefficient,” said Riggs Kubiak, CEO of Honest Buildings. “Our goal is to connect people, catalyze transactions, and accelerate the development of high performance buildings on a global scale.”
Anyone can use Honest Buildings to compare buildings based on size, location, type, ratings, associated organizations, and the types of projects that have been completed, helping them to make better-informed decisions about real estate. Continue reading →
As green building practices become more commonplace in the global construction industry, the goal of designing zero energy buildings, or buildings that consume as much energy as they produce through on-site and renewable energy systems, has emerged as the next major frontier. A number of countries and regions have already established long-term targets and regulations requiring zero energy building construction that will come into effect over the coming years, some as soon as 2016. These stringent regulations will accelerate adoption around the world, causing the industry to undergo a significant transformation in the coming years. According to a new report from Pike Research, worldwide revenue from zero energy buildings will grow rapidly over the next two decades, reaching almost $690 billion by 2020 and nearly $1.3 trillion by 2035. That represents a compound annual growth rate of 43%, with much of that growth occurring in the European Union.
“Following the surge in LEED and other green building certifications worldwide over the last few years, zero energy building has emerged as the ‘holy grail’ in green building design,” says research analyst Eric Bloom. “Technically, zero energy building design is feasible for many building types in many regions, but concerns about the upfront cost continue to impede it in the market.” Continue reading →
Approximately five billion pounds of carpet are replaced each year in the U.S. Much of the old carpet, along with plastic soda bottles and textiles can be woven into new carpet fibers.
By following the tips below, you can make more eco-friendly choices when buying and disposing of carpets and rugs.
✔ Choose natural fiber carpets and rugs - The vast majority of all carpet and rugs are made of petroleum-based synthetic fibers. These fibers are not biodegradable and come from a nonrenewable source. By choosing natural fiber carpets and rugs, you are not only reducing the amount of petrochemical based products you will have in your home, but you will also be able to avoid the trip to the landfill at your carpets end-of-life. Natural fiber carpets can be shredded and used as mulch because it is biodegradable. Continue reading →
The Student Services Building, the University’s “one-stop shop” for help on enrollment matters, financial aid, career services and more, has won a new sustainability award.
The building, which opened last fall, has now won five awards for its eco-friendly design.
The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), in conjunction with the Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), honored the structure’s design with its 2011 Innovation in Green Building award.
The inaugural award recognizes a college or university that is revisiting the way it develops its physical campus and examines how the school is using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) as a tool for campus greening. Continue reading →
“CurrentState is a necessity for every company that is serious about going green”Ramon Ginah, CFO – Francesca Furzi
“I would highly recommend CurrentState for any company exploring sustainability”Tim Gilbert, Plant Manager – FasCast Inc
(Press Release) Tulsa, OK – January 13, 2012 – Caelus has released the CurrentState™ sustainability audit for business.
The world of sustainability can be a confusing place. It is easy to get lost in the sea of acronym-rich reporting initiatives, certifications, eco-labels and regulations. However, the most important thing for businesses is missing – a comprehensive tool that tells tells companies exactly what they need to do. This is why we developed CurrentState™.
The CurrentState™ Sustainability Audit is a ‘best practices gap analysis’ and a ‘business practices maturity analysis’ combined into one tool – nothing more, nothing less. Simple elegant, and in our opinion a game-changer.
Does this sound simple? That’s because it is. Why hasn’t this been done before? Because nobody has created a framework that clearly and comprehensively defined sustainability – until now.
Sustainability Defined
CurrentState™ is based on our Three Tiers of Sustainability™ framework. Our framework clearly defines sustainability and in our opinion has been the ‘missing link’ in sustainability consulting. Our framework organizes sustainability into three primary activity groups: Green IT, Facilities and Business. These three groups are further divided into 25 (more specific) sub-groups. If an activity is related to sustainability in business, it will have a place in the framework.
By having a comprehensive framework, we are able to answer another very important question all businesses have – Are we doing everything that we can in order to go green?
Why CurrentState™?
In addition to being a revolutionary approach, CurrentState™ offers business other distinct advantages.
CurrentState™ is delivered directly to your desktop. No need for time-consuming, money-wasting meetings. Time is money, especially when your paying by the hour. CurrentState™ is not charged by the hour and delivers the same questions a consultant would, but at your convenience and with no chance of missing anything
This method of collecting information is efficient. What we do with the information once we receive it is also efficient. We have automated many of the non-analytical steps of the consulting process, so as soon as qualified sustainability consultant begins on your case, they will be able to begin analysis immediately. This allows us to deliver a Findings Report in a matter of days, not weeks or months.
Another advantage is that CurrentState is focussed. CurrentState™ does not count carbon or advise you on the ROI of specific projects. It is focused on determining exactly the activities your organization needs to conduct or consider. The result – your team will not be wasting valuable time hunting for data for activities that may not be needed.
Finally, your Findings Report will spell out in specific terms exactly what tasks need to be done (Quick Wins) and what things you need to consider (Recommendations) in order to improve your sustainability performance. Ratings and analysis for each sub-category is also generated. For most organizations, these tasks can be used as the basis of a sustainability implementation plan. Add some resourcing, budget and do a little ROI analysis and you will have a plan that leaves no leaf unturned and would make any CSO proud.
The Findings Report
The Findings Report is ‘boardroom ready’ and is delivered in both PowerPoint and pdf formats. Each report will contain over 100 specific quick wins (shorter-term, easily achievable tasks) and recommendations (longer-term activities). “In essence, if you add resource requirements and budget to the report, you will have a nearly complete Sustainability Program. This is exactly what our clients are doing and their reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.”
The Findings Report can be used as:
a blueprint to develop a sustainability program;
a method to demonstrate to management, a board or the public an organization’s sustainability achievements;
a way to quickly identify gaps in your current sustainability efforts;
a way to document and track sustainability performance from period to period;
and a way to determine current compliance with major international standards and certifications.
In the five years to 2016, revenue in the Green & Sustainable Building Construction Industry is forecast to increase at an average annual rate of 23% to $245.4 billion, including a rise of 18.3% in 2012.
An upturn in total building construction activity will drive this growth, as the sector recovers from the aftermath of the Great Recession and the real estate market collapse. Additionally, firms will likely benefit from growing environmental concerns, consumer sentiment toward energy-efficient products and sustainable materials and demand for energy cost-savings renovations. This trend will likely be supported by ongoing government incentive programs, designed to promote sustainable building practices. For this reason, industry research firm IBISWorld has added a report on the Green & Sustainable Building Construction industry to its growing Commercial & Institutional Buildings report collection. Continue reading →
(3BL Media / theCSRfeed) Tulsa, OK – March 19, 2012 – Parisleaf Printing and Design recently completed the CurrentState™ Sustainability Audit and received Platinum Certification – the highest certification level available.
