Great breakdown of types of Greenwashing

http://sinsofgreenwashing.org/findings/the-seven-sins/

Sin of the Hidden Trade-off

A claim suggesting that a product is ‘green’ based on a narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, such as greenhouse gas emissions, or chlorine use in bleaching may be equally important.

Sin of No Proof

An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification. Common examples are facial tissues or toilet tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing evidence.

Sin of Vagueness

A claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. ‘All-natural’ is an example. Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. ‘All natural’ isn’t necessarily ‘green’.

Sin of Worshiping False Labels

A product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement exists; fake labels, in other words.

Sin of Irrelevance

An environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products. ‘CFC-free’ is a common example, since it is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.

Sin of Lesser of Two Evils

A claim that may be true within the product category, but that risks distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes could be an example of this Sin, as might the fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicle.

Sin of Fibbing

Environmental claims that are simply false. The most common examples were products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified or registered.

Wal-Mart Sustainable Product Index

I hope it's not greenwashing. It sounds wonderful. It can't happen soon enough. The devil will be in the details. 



*2. WAL-MART TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT INDEX*

In a move likely to further drive sustainability initiatives up consumer-product supply chains, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.(Bentonville, AR) has announced plans to develop a new product index that’s designed to assess the sustainability of consumer products. “Customers want products that are more efficient, last longer, and perform better,” saidWal-Mart President and CEO Mike Duke during a meeting with 1,500 suppliers, associates, and sustainability leaders at the company’s headquarters on July 16. “And increasingly, they want information about the entire lifecycle of a
 product so that they can feel good about buying it.”

Wal-Mart will introduce the sustainability product index in three phases, beginning with a survey of the energy and climate, materials efficiency, natural resources management, and people and community policies and practices of its more than 100,000 global suppliers. In the second phase, Wal-Mart will create a consortium of universities that will collaborate with suppliers, retailers, and others in the development of a global database of product lifecycle information. The third phase will involve the development of an index translating this information into product ratings, the company said.

Excellent Definiton of Clean Technology

Clean Technology is a term that covers broad categories of clean, environmentally sustainable technologies. The Clean Tech Open lists these areas :

Clean Tech Open Defines Clean Technology

Air, Water and Waste

Entries in the Air, Water & Waste category focuses on improving resource availability, conservation and pollution control. With respect to waste, the category focuses on cradle-to-cradle approaches to reduction, reuse and recycling technologies, as well as innovative business models and approaches to materials usage.

Air examples include services, instruments and equipment related to emission control, treatment or reduction technologies. Also included are creative approaches to greenhouse gas reduction, including carbon conversion and sequestration.

Water examples include treatment, storage and monitoring, recycling and conservation technologies.

Waste examples include: waste management equipment; sorting; resource recovery processes; pollution prevention, control, and treatment technology; as well as waste reduction through innovative recycling processes and new recyclable materials, such as bio-based plastics.

Example technologies include:

• Water monitoring-on-site in-situ real-time water monitoring for pathogens
• Cooling solution
• On-site wastewater recycling-industrial and commercial applications
• Advanced water metering
• Storm-water and flood control, rainwater harvesting
• Smart irrigation
• On-site water disinfection
• Membranes for water treatment
• Advanced filtration without membranes
• Produced water (from oil exploration and drilling)
• Energy efficient water pumping
• Reverse osmosis
• Advanced filters and filtration (air or water)
• Emissions controls
• Scrubber technology
• Carbon and GHG monitoring and control
• Carbon sequestration
• Carbon Capture and storage
• Technology enablers for Carbon markets
• Reduction and remediation of VOCs
• Waste cleanup and remediation
• DI water supply
• Agricultural waste treatment
• Recycling
• Microbial water treatment
• Bio based packaging solutions
• Methane capture and storage
• Soil technology
• Natural pesticides

Energy Efficiency

The Energy Efficiency category comprises technology that can significantly reduce wasted energy (including natural gas), driving toward the common goal of saving the equivalent of "a power plant a year" (a/k/a "Negawatts").

Examples include advanced light sources and controls, smart / user-friendly energy management systems, energy-efficient water heaters and other appliances, high-efficiency industrial process systems, motors, pumps, and advanced space heating and cooling systems.

Example technologies include:

• Pumps for water / material
• Industrial process improvements
• Natural gas monitoring and control (industrial or residential)
• LED lighting
• Advanced lighting controls
• Water heating
• HVAC solutions
• Heat pumps
• Waste heat management
• Efficient heat transfer
• Utility scale natural gas controls
• Display systems for energy management
• Materials use in microelectronics manufacturing
• Deposition and sputtering processes
• Alternatives to heat intensive processes
• Cooling solutions
• Glass materials production
• Pure manufacture techniques for fuel cells

Green Building

The Green Building category focuses on reducing the environmental impact of building construction or operation through improved design or construction practices, new or innovative use of building materials, or new hardware or software applications. Technologies are applied directly to the built environment. Technologies are applied directly to the built environment. (Building energy efficiency submissions will be considered in the Energy Efficiency category).

Examples include improved site planning, water management systems, reduction of hazardous materials in building construction or operation, use of new environmentally friendly or recycled materials, systems to improve indoor environmental quality and systems for improved waste reduction or disposal.

Example technologies include:

• Insulation materials
• Cement alternatives
• Cement production techniques
• Building integrated PV (BIPV)
• Indoor air filtration systems
• Modular housing
• Disaster relief housing
• Architectural Designs for thermal management
• Office environment
• Low VOC carpeting and flooring
• Water saving toilets, showers, plumbing
• Residential heat pumps
• Recycled materials for use in building material
• Design improvements to commercial environment

Renewable Energy

The Renewable Energy category includes innovations that use, enable and accelerate the migration to renewable energy. Renewables encompass technologies that use waste streams to directly produce energy.

Examples include low-emission power sources, such as solar, biofuels, wind, wave and tidal energy and hydropower.

Example technologies include:

• Solar for energy production
• CIGS
• Thin film solar manufacture
• Concentrating solar PV
• Coatings for solar panels
• Polysilicon supply and manufacture
• Residential scale solar deployment
• Ethanol
• Biobased fuels
• Tidal energy
• Wave energy capture
• Landfill gas to energy systems
• Agricultural waste to energy systems
• Hydropower
• Turbine blade design
• Advanced fluid flow designs
• Wind power aerodynamics
• Wind power conversion efficiency

Smart Power, Green Grid and Energy Storage

The Smart Power, Green Grid and Energy Storage category encourages links between information technologies and electricity delivery that give industrial, commercial and residential consumers greater control over when and how their energy is delivered and used. It includes improvements in all forms of energy storage, from battery technology for consumer-scale products to large chemical, metal, biological or other approaches to storage of utility-scale energy, as well as methods for controlling or increasing the efficiency of energy storage or energy transmission.

Examples include wireless metering and use of real-time pricing information, intelligent sensors, batteries, fuel cells, fly-wheels, and advanced materials or systems for energy transmission, such as hardware and software controls.

Example technologies include:

• Advanced metering
• Network architecture for power management
• Cloud computing, applied to grid
• Batteries
• Novel battery chemistry
• Nickel-metal hydride improvements
• Hydrogen storage
• Li-ion cells
• Form factor improvements
• Improved cycle life for batteries
• Depth of discharge for batteries
• Solid oxide fuel cells
• Novel catalysts in batteries, fuel cells
• Advanced fuel cell membranes
• Methanol fuel cells
• PEM fuel cells
• Flywheels
• Grid scale hardware and infrastructure
• Power storage for intermittent, renewable resources
• Monitoring and deploying power generated from renewables
• Transmission efficiency
• Electrical engineering and controls for power distribution
• Novel metals and alloys for power transmission
• Superconducting power transmission
• Real-time power monitoring

Transportation

The Transportation category encompasses transportation and mobile technology applications that improve fuel efficiency, reduce air pollution, reduce oil consumption or reduce vehicle travel (not limited to automobiles). Technologies are applied directly to transportation systems or vehicles.

Examples include new vehicles and new types of transport services and infrastructure, efficient batteries, fuel cells, bio-based transportation fuels and use of information technologies.

Example technologies include:

• Fleet management hardware and software systems
• Routing and data solutions for public transportation operators
• Logistics management
• Carpooling solutions
• Hybrid motor systems
• Storage of energy specifically applied to vehicles
• Plug in hybrid vehicles
• All electric vehicles
• Fuel cell vehicles
• Biodiesel applications
• Intermodal tracking and monitoring
• NOX/SOX reductions for ocean going vessels
• Cold-ironing systems
• Diesel particulate matter filters for Locomotives
• Combustion designs
• Fuel blends
• Flex fuel engines and applications
• Drivetrain conversion kits
• Route management via GPS networks
• Exploiting GPS and location information
• Monitoring and control of driver behavior

Smart Grid - Trying to learn what it is and what it isn't

In an effort to learn about the Smart Grid, I went to the Department of Energy (DOE) website and came upon this: http://www.oe.energy.gov/1165.htm.

The Smart Grid: An Introduction
Put it to Work

“The Smart Grid: An Introduction” (PDF 4 MB) is a publication sponsored by DOE’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. It is the first book of its kind to explore – in layman’s terms – the nature, challenges, opportunities and necessity of Smart Grid implementation. Give one to key staff, your colleague, your lawyer, your accountant or your spouse…and watch the lights go on.

For additional information on the Smart Grid Book please contact DOE’s Director of the Federal Smart Grid Task Force, Eric Lightner at Eric.Lightner@hq.doe.gov. For hard copies of “The Smart Grid: An Introduction,” contact Kim Richardson at krichardson@energetics.com. Download a copy here: The Smart Grid: An Introduction (PDF 4 MB)

My "book" review:

I ordered a hard copy and have now attempted to read it twice. I shudder to think what the taxpayer spent on this glossy piece. First, it was rushed to me via Fed Ex - $$. It is a spiral bound book of 43 pages on very thick paper, full of color and pictures and buzz words ( "killer ap" is my favorite), full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. The simplest questions are not answered, barely answered, or have answers that make no sense. Please DO NOT order this booklet or recommend it to anyone else. One of the main points of the clean/green/sustainability movement is to reduce and eliminate waste. I shudder a second time to think how many trees died to make this booklet.

I won't waste my time or anyone else's going into detail of the problems with this document. So I will give just one of the more egregious examples and then move on to what what was good about it.

I'm having a hard time finding the basic definition of what is the smart grid. Page 2 tells me that before we get a Smart Grid we need a Smarter grid. That the Smart Grid is a decade or more in coming. Yet, what is the Smart Grid?

There is a lot of info about what the Smart Grid will do for me. Yet, what is the Smart Grid. Is there a 30 second elevator speech that just spits it out to the uninformed?

I think I found it on Page 10.... "The Smart Grid: What it is. What it isn't" is the title of the chapter. "The electric industry is poised to make the transformation from a centralized, producer-controller network to one that is less centralized and more consumer-interactive." Pages 11 and 12 go on to say "...two-way digital communication and plug-and-play capabilities that exemplify a smarter grid ...". Advanced Metering Infrastructure, visualization technology and phasor measurement units are then discussed. Are these the Smart Grid? or enablers?

Ah ha! Page 14 tells me the Smart Grid is NOT a smart meter. Energy sources such as wind, solar, and plug in hybrids are NOT the Smart Grid.

I give up.

What appears to be useful in this document? The last 4 pages.

Page 40 is a list of resources. I have not read them yet but they look as if solid info could be found on them.

Pages 41-43 are a Glossary of terms. Next to none of these terms were in the previous 40 pages, but it looks to be extremely useful to learn the lingo. Unfortunately, Grid, Smarter Grid, and Smart Grid are not defined.

Zeta Communities- Green modular townhouses

Zeta Communities had a write up in the Chronicle this week. I researched the company and some work on modular green building. Here are my thoughts:

1. The Zeta website and some of the interviews with the owner state that they use Just In Time manufacturing to bring down their costs. I don't understand this since they are in the process of finishing their first building and in discussion about further developments. Without having a flow of materials to receive and process Just In Time, this makes no sense to me. I am pleased that they are thinking about this approach as it does save a lot of waste.

2. The pricing of the units are very high. These could only be used in areas with very high costs of building. I did not see anywhere how much of the cost would be offset by having a net zero energy home. But if you save $2000/year on a house that costs $400,000 and a piece of land to put it on that costs $200,000.... it doesn't seem like much of a savings.

3. Of course the $2000 is straight cost on your energy bills - it's not the true cost to the environment. Until that gets quantified and the government somehow forces that into the equation, there is no practical way for individuals to justify their current cash expenditure.

3. I've heard the term eco-chic. I think if this gets going, it is going to be zero energy housing for the rich.

Venture Capital and Clean/Green Tech

Yesterday I had lunch with Dr. Lee Ng from Siemens Technology to Business Group which provides VC funding. I also attended the eBIG kickoff Clean Tech SIG and spoke to a VC at that event. The consensus is that companies are getting first round funding and angel investing but not getting second round and will fold. The companies that were providing VC funds have asset allocation models. Since their less risky investments have lost value, their VC allocations are now more of their portfolio and too high a percentage.

More tomorrow on what I learned.....

Learning about cleantech, green tech,and sustainable supply chain.

In my efforts to return to the work force after being a stay at home Mom, I am researching cleantech, greentech, and sustainable supply chain. At every event I attend, at every informational interview I do, I learn something new or get a new idea or insight. In this blog I plan to capture what I've learned during my search. Also, I plan to comment on various initiatives as to my assessment if they are real or it they are hype or greenwashing or pr.

I also plan to write my assessment if various initiatives actually are better for the environment or the world in a holistic sense - not just trying to solve one problem while creating another. I hope this blog will generate some discussion as I am eager to learn as much as I can on these topics.