- HOME
- About
- Topics
- Angelides
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- California Attorney General Race
- California Congressional Races
- California Democratic Party
- California Legislative Races
- California Lt. Governor Race
- California Secretary of State Race
- California State Budget
- California State Controller
- Campaign Finance Reform
- Campaigns
- Cell Phones
- Children and Families
- Consumer Rights
- Corporate Accountability
- Criminal Justice
- Death With Dignity
- Disaster Preparation
- Discrimination and Civil Rights
- Education
- Elections and Voting
- Electoral College
- Energy
- Environment
- Flood Control
- Food Safety
- Gas Prices
- Governor's Election Race
- Gun control
- Health Care
- Health Insurance
- High Speed Rail
- Hiram Johnson's Corner
- Housing
- Human Rights
- Humor
- Immigration
- Infrastructure
- Initiative Reform
- Insurance Commissioner Race
- Labor
- Language and Politics
- Legal System
- Media and Communication
- Minimum Wage
- Open Government
- Pharmaceutical Companies
- Politics
- Preschool
- Presidential Election 2008
- Prison Reform
- Privacy
- Privitization
- Prop 85 Parental Notification
- Prop 86 Tobacco Tax
- Prop 87--Alternative Energy
- Prop 90
- Prop 91--Transportation Funding
- Prop 92- Community Colleges
- Prop 93--Term Limits
- Props 94-97--Tribal Gaming
- Props 98 and 99
- Racial Disparities
- Redistricting/Reapportionment
- Responsible Lending
- Retirement Benefits
- Site of the Day
- Structure of California Government
- Taxes
- Toxic Chemicals
- Transportation/Transit
- Water
- Westly
- Workers' Compensation
- Stories
- Green Business is Good Business in California
- Eminent Domain, the Kelo Case, and Propositions 98 and 99
- The “Job Killer” Frame in California and What’s Really Going On: Fear
- Why Doesn't Abel Maldonado Want Voters to Have a Real Choice in November?
- First in a Series of Essays by Sheila Kuehl on the 2008 California State Budget: Background Information
- Assessing the Effects of Medi-Cal’s Ten Percent Across-the-Board Provider Reimbursement Reductions on Access, Services and the Pharmacy Provider Network is our site of the day
- Treasurer Bill Lockyer: California’s Unsung Champion of the Underserved
- Protecting Our Air and Atmosphere Against Republican Rollbacks in California
- Cavala: For Republicans, It Indeed Looks Like the Winter Of Discontent
- Schwarzenegger and Republican Legislators Losing With California Voters on Budget According to PPIC Poll
- California Prop 98 Heading for Rejection by Voters—Rival Prop 99 Has Narrow 8 Point Lead
- California Reaches Record Recycling Levels - Legislation Proposes Recycling Expansion
- Directory
- Donate
- Contact Us
RSS Advertise Here
Deliver your message to thousands of readers every day.
Our readers are influential opinion makers - politicians, journalists and activists.
Our latest headlines
- BREAKING NEWS: Senate Fails To Pass Compromise California Budget With All 15 Republicans Voting No
- Proposition 11’s Redistricting Reform and the Kind of Refreshing Change Obama Called on Americans to Demand
- Voting Rights For All: Putting It to Work in California
- Still Hearing Obama’s Speech--And Surprise -- It’s McCain/Palin
- California Senate Slated to Vote This Morning on Version of Governor's August Budget Proposal
- The Mile-High Milestone
- A Modest Proposal for the LPGA
About Us
The California Progress Report is published by Frank D. Russo, a longtime observer of and participant in California politics.
About Frank Russo.
About California Progress Report.
Got a news tip? Want to write a guest column? Contact Frank here.
Sponsors
Books
Green Business is Good Business in California
By Beth Trask
Manager
Corporate Partnerships Program
Environmental Defense Fund
It's official: Green business is good business.
Environmental Defense Fund just released "Innovations Review 2008: Making Green the New Business as Usual," an inaugural report documenting more than 20 examples of how forward-thinking companies are turning environmental action into tangible business benefits. Not surprisingly, more than a third come from California-based companies.
EDF's report is a result of six months of research. We talked with dozens of experts from the manufacturing, IT, finance, packaging, fleet management, and other disciplines and reviewed a couple hundred new technologies, processes, and creative ideas.
The innovations selected for the report clearly illustrate how environmental issues can be viewed not as challenges to be overcome, but as opportunities to be harvested. They are helping companies save money—in some cases millions a year—reduce risk, attract new customers, increase market share and recruit and retain top-notch employees.
Some represent radical departures from "business as usual"—what we call the "game-changers." For example:
• The first 100% solar-powered data center: Using a water and air-cooled air conditioning system, virtualization software, solar tubes for natural light to decreased energy demands, AISO.net has achieved the first fully solar-powered data center, while saving $3,000/month on utility bills and cultivating loyal clients.
• A Net Zero Energy building: A Silicon-Valley based engineering firm (Integrated Design Associates) taps geothermal and solar energy, along with ultra-green building design to achieve what experts believe is the first "net-zero energy/net-zero carbon emission" commercial building in the U.S.
Other innovations represent more incremental changes—but if widely adopted across industries, they would generate tremendous environmental benefits:
• Shortening employee commutes: Sun Microsystems is taking cars off crowded freeways by helping 55% of its workforce to telecommute, reducing the company's carbon footprint by nearly 30,000 tons of C02 a year.
• Overcoming barriers to solar power: Solar companies are leveraging a tool called Power Purchase Agreements to finance, install and maintain solar systems for host companies in return for a 15 to 20-year fixed-rate power contract (often at prices lower than those offered by the local utility).
• Green building insurance: Fireman's Fund launched the first suite of insurance products design to protect the value of green buildings and promote green renovations after a loss. The price of coverage is typically 5% less expensive than convention policies because the superior quality of green structures presents fewer property risks.
The bottom-line finding of Innovation Review 2008: In a resource-constrained world, environmental sustainability is no longer the purview of boutique eco-brands. It's what all companies can do and must do in order to be successful and competitive in the 21st century.
Beth Trask works to incorporate Environmental Defense's corporate partnership innovations into new companies and industries. With a focus on California’s business community, she collaborates with companies to leverage new and proven best practices that provide distinct business benefits and produce significant environmental results. In particular, she specializes in marketing sustainability initiatives to employees, customers, and other key constituents. She has a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University and began her career working for local government and business associations in northern California.
Comments
Post a comment
Get Email Updates
Want the California Progress Report by email? Once a week, we'll send you the latest and greatest headlines.
© 2008 California Progress Report Our copyright and fair use policy.
Powered by Mandate Media. Logo design by Jane Norling.
