A rundown of some of the latest green living news from the business world.
There seems to be no shortage of companies announcing they are "going green" lately, which indicates that the business community has realized the growing number of customers who value sustainable, environmentally responsible practices. While not every corporation has taken meaningful steps toward eco-friendly business, here are a few recent headlines from companies that are working to promote the green lifestyle in word and/or deed:
- Discovery Communications this month aqcuired TreeHugger.com, a green living-oriented Website founded in 2004. The acquisition is part of Discovery Communications' Planet Green initiative, which aims to provide original television programs about conservation, the environment, organic living and sustainable development. By adding TreeHugger.com to its stable of products, Discovery Communications gains an online resource that attracts 1.4 million unique visitors each month and provides weekly and daily newsletters, radio and video content, a blog and other user-generated content.
- Cox Newspapers Inc. recently launched Living Green, a new online channel that will be featured on the Website of each of Cox's 17 daily newspapers. The channel will feature both local and shared news and features on such subjects as recycling, water conservation, climate change and other issues. Each Living Green site will also offer regular episodes of the online series "Meet the Greenes," along with user blogs, reader tips and links to other resources.
- EarthLab, a new online community, aims to help people "become knowledgeable and active about the climate crisis. The resource says it offers "the most comprehensive carbon and lifestyle calculator available," an ECP calculator that also lets users create personal plans for improvement and track their results over time. EarthLab also features a primer on climate change; environmental news; tips for green living at home, at work and on the road; features; online discussions; and more.
- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is expanding its use of wind power to offset the greenhouse gas emissions generated by its corporate computers. The program, which started last year, will now include 837 computers and is expected to result in a reduction of 160 tons of greenhouse gas emissions for all of 2006 and 2007. Other clean-energy projects of the organization include the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in Alberta, which gets 40 percent of its electricity through wind or hydro power; Fairmont Kenuak, a 13-cabin retreat that is 50-percent solar powered; the Fairmont St. Andrews in Scotland, which uses a system that recovers waste heat to provide space heating and hot water; and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa, which replaced 4,440 incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent lights expected to save 203,000 kilowatt-hours of energy and $61,000 in energy costs a year.
The copyright of the article What's the Green News? in Green/Simple Living is owned by Shirley Siluk Gregory. Permission to republish What's the Green News? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
 |
