Free Guide to Environmental Responsibility for Smaller Companies Published in Spanish

January 16, 2004

Green Business Network, producer of GreenBiz.com, and ifPeople, which works to create value in businesses and institutions by incorporating sustainability, have produced a Spanish-language edition of a popular and comprehensive environmental resource guide for smaller businesses.

Mejorando el Impacto Ambiental de Su Empresa ("Greening Your Business: A Primer for Smaller Companies"), a free, downloadable 14-page guide, covers a full range of environmental issues encountered by smaller firms across all sectors. Major sections cover reducing waste, energy and water efficiency, toxics and hazardous substances reduction, meetings and travel, product life cycle, and green building design and construction.

Each section offers an overview of the topic, some basic tips, and links to additional resources.

The original guide was produced in English by Green Business Network, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that produces GreenBiz.com, ClimateBiz.com, and other free informational Web sites. The guide was translated and adapted by ifPeople, which works with companies and organizations in the US and Argentina to implement responsible practices.

Both the English and Spanish editions may be downloaded by going to either http://www.GreenBiz.com/smallbiz or http://www.ifpeople.net/resources.




More Than 100 Food Lion Stores Earn ENERGY STAR

In 2003, the Salisbury, N.C.,-based grocery store chain Food Lion eliminated greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 40,000 cars. For demonstrating environmental leadership by being the first supermarket company to earn the ENERGY STAR at more than 100 stores, Food Lion, LLC will receive EPA recognition at a ceremony Tuesday, Jan. 20 in Raleigh, N.C.

To earn the ENERGY STAR, stores must demonstrate that they are among the top 25 percent in the country in terms of energy efficiency, using EPA's national energy performance rating system. The rating system allows supermarkets and grocery stores, as well as office buildings, hotels, hospitals, and K-12 schools to rate their energy performance on a scale of 1 to 100. Those earning 75 or greater are eligible for the program. More information on the program is available at: http://www.energystar.gov.

Food Lion has been an ENERGY STAR partner since 1998, and received the Partner of the Year award for excellence in energy management in 2002 and 2003.




EPA Guidelines Promote Truck and Locomotive Idling Reductions

Each year, idling trucks and locomotives consume 1.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel and emit more than 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, EPA estimates. To reduce negative health and environmental impacts associated with long-duration idling, EPA has released two guidance documents that create incentives for using technologies that either reduce air emissions from idling or prevent idling altogether. Reduced idling decreases maintenance costs and engine wear, diminishes particulate matter and toxic air pollutant emissions, and creates less noise for nearby residents. With the new guidance, state and local environmental agencies can quantify the emission reductions to show how the reductions will contribute to meeting national air quality standards for particulate matter or ground-level ozone. A companion guidance explains how these emissions reductions may be used to meet certain requirements under EPA's New Source Review (NSR) permitting program (located online at http://www.epa.gov/ttn/oarpg).

Long haul trucks and switch yard locomotives idle for a variety of reasons, ranging from the need to supply air conditioning or heat to a truck's sleeper compartment to maintaining locomotive engine oil and fuel warmth during cold weather. Technologies such as trucks plugging into a unit at an electrified truck stop or locomotives using lower emitting auxiliary power units can significantly reduce emissions. Recent successful pilot projects in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and California have demonstrated the effectiveness of idle-reduction technologies in reducing emissions of oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, and air toxics, substantially reducing noise levels, and conserving fuel. Copies of the guidance documents and information about EPA's anti-idling program are available online at http://www.epa.gov/smartway




Ten Major Corporations Pledge Greenhouse Gas Reductions

3M, International Paper, and Kodak are among 10 corporations announcing targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under EPA's 'Climate Leaders' – a voluntary program that works with companies to measure greenhouse gas emissions and set aggressive, long-term emissions reduction goals. The program also added 13 new companies – Caterpillar, Gap, Frito-Lay and Xerox among them. In its two years, Climate Leaders has grown to include 54 corporations whose revenues add up to more than 6 percent of the United States' gross domestic product.

With these announcements, 20 of the 54 companies in Climate Leaders have set emissions reduction goals, which EPA estimates will prevent a total of 7.5 million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year. These reductions go beyond the expected rate of improvement in their respective industry sectors and are equal to the greenhouse gas emissions of five million cars per year.

The ten new reduction goals are:

  1. 3M of St. Paul, Minn. pledged to reduce total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from 2002 to 2007
  2. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. pledged to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent per Manufacturing Index from 2002 to 2007
  3. American Electric Power of Columbus, Ohio pledged to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 4 percent below an average 1998-2001 base year by 2006.
  4. Cinergy Corp. of Cincinnati, Ohio, pledged to reduce its total greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent from 2000 to 2010.
  5. Eastman Kodak Company of Rochester, N.Y. pledged to reduce its total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent from 2002 to 2008.
  6. FPL Group Inc. of Juno Beach, Fla. pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent per kilowatt-hour from 2001 to 2008.
  7. Interface, Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. pledged to reduce its U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent per unit of production from 2001-2010
  8. International Paper of Stamford, Conn. pledged to reduce its total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2000 to 2010.
  9. PSEG of Newark, N.J. pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent per kilowatt-hour from 2000 to 2008
  10. United Technologies Corporation of Hartford, Conn. pledged to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 16 percent dollar of revenue from 2001 to 2006.

Miller Brewing and General Motors were the first companies in the program to set reduction goals in March 2002.

The thirteen new Climate Leaders Partners are: 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn.; American Electric Power, Columbus, Ohio; Calpine Corporation, San Jose, Calif., Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill.; The Collins Companies, Portland, Ore.; Frito-Lay, Plano, Texas; Gap Inc., San Francisco, Calif.; NiSource Inc, Merrillville, Indiana; Polaroid Corporation, Waltham, Massachusetts; Praxair, Inc., Danbury, Connecticut; Roche Group U.S. Affiliates, Basel, Switzerland; Tenneco Automotive, Lake Forest, Ill.; and Xerox Corporation, Stamford, Conn. 3M and American Electric Power announced both their membership in Climate Leaders and their greenhouse gas reduction goals. Working with EPA, the remaining companies will complete their greenhouse gas inventories and develop emissions reduction targets. These targets must be aggressive, long-term, and exceed business-as-usual performance for the partner's industry sector.

Partner companies report emissions of the six major greenhouse gases from all major on-site emissions of greenhouse gases and emissions related to the electricity they purchase. Companies may also report emissions and reductions from a number of other activities including investments in offset projects.

More information on EPA's Climate Leaders program is available at http://www.epa.gov/climateleaders/.