COMPANY ROUND UP: 17 Jan 2008
A weekly round up of companies making the news for climate change related activities.
| Alcoa, Shell, 52 others named founding reporters of climate registry Environmental Leader Fifty-four organisations, some governmental, have been named Founding Reporters of the The Climate Registry. As Founding Reporters, they have voluntarily pledged to measure, independently verify and publicly report their GHG emissions. The Climate Registry was established by thirty-nine U.S. States, five Canadian provinces, three Native American tribes, two Mexican states and the District of Columbia. |
| Apple launches its greenest laptop yet businessGreen Apple yesterday launched its thinnest ever MacBook laptop amidst claims that the light weight laptop underlined its recent commitments to improve the environmental credentials of its technology. |
| BA bolsters carbon offset scheme businessGreen Just a day after Virgin Atlantic revealed it is to undertake the first test flight of a biofuel powered airliner, BA yesterday made a play for environmentally-conscious passengers with the news it is to revamp its carbon offset scheme and support research into aviation's contribution to global warming. |
| Carbon credit write-downs hit project developers Environmental Finance Downward revisions to the carbon credit portfolios of London-listed developers Camco and EcoSecurities have driven down their share prices in November. Meanwhile, shares in another developer, AgCert, hit a new low as it faces serious delivery problems for next year. |
| CarbonNeutral company outlines global expansion plans businessGreen UK-based carbon offset provider The CarbonNeutral Company has confirmed it is considering setting up operations in the Middle East as part of its global expansion plans. |
| Castell tipped to take over as BP chairman Independent Sir William Castell, chairman of the Wellcome Trust, has emerged as the board favourite to become chairman of oil giant BP when Sir Peter Sutherland retires next year. |
| Centrica pays £20m for 10 per cent stake in fuel-cell boiler maker Ceres Independent Centrica has agreed to invest up to £20m in Ceres Power, an Imperial College spinout developing fuel-cell boilers that Centrica's chief executive Sam Laidlaw says could "transform the domestic central heating market". |
| Day4 Energy to triple solar technology production Globe-net Day4 Energy Inc. has announced receipt of its first batch of proprietary photovoltaic production machinery from German supplier ACL-eco Tec two months ahead of schedule. The equipment is part of a production line expansion that will more than triple Day4's current annual production capacity from 12 MW to 40 MW by the end of the second quarter of 2008. |
| Dominion Virginia Power's energy-saving light bulb exceeds half-million sales mark Consumers are seeing new light, thanks to Dominion Virginia Power's discount program for energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. Sales in the three months have totaled 568,822 bulbs, almost four times the goal of 150,000 bulbs set for 2007. |
| Duke energy receives advocacy excellence award Duke Energy received the prestigious Advocacy Excellence Award from the Edison Electric Institute last week. Duke Energy Chairman, President and CEO James E Rogers accepted the award in recognition of the company's comprehensive advocacy program to promote energy efficiency with customers and employees, and at the federal, state and local levels. |
| Eco designs heat pump based heating and cooling systems for Europe's 'factory of the future' Edie.net 'The Factory of the Future' is a £20 million investment by the UK Government, the European Union and leading international companies, including Boeing and Rolls Royce, in the engineering of tomorrow - and the day after. |
| Finnish court actions could delay Baltic gas link Reuters Environmental concerns in Finland over the Nord Stream consortium's plans to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany could cause months or even years of delay to the project, officials said. |
| Fujitsu announces "Pervasive Green" initiative in retail industry Fujitsu Transaction Solutions Inc has announced its "Pervasive Green" initiative in the retail industry, a company-wide mission to develop and promote products that are created and used in an environmentally friendly manner. |
| GE Global Research demonstrates scalable low cost, nano-based solar cell Business Wire GE Global Research, the centralised research organization of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced that scientists on their Nano Photovoltaics (PV) team have demonstrated a scalable silicon nanowire-based solar cell, which has the potential to achieve up to 18 per cent efficiency and be produced at a dramatically lower cost than conventional solar cells. |
| Georgia power gets greener Environmental Leader Georgia Power has signed its fifth deal with a renewable power producer, reports the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The 20 year deal is with Yellow Pine Energy Company which has a wood biomass-fired facility near Fort Gaines, Georgia, that will begin operating in 2010 with an output of 100 megawatts. |
| Guidance achieves carbon neutrality Business wire Specialised technology adviser, Guidance, that builds and supports web technology solutions has announced that the company achieved carbon neutrality in 2007 – a full 18 months ahead of its goal. For 2007, the company's purchase of renewable energy credits offset 100 per cent of the carbon emissions associated with its business activities. The renewable energy source derives from wind and biomass production facilities. The company's commitment to using renewable energy credits helps avoid more than 99 tonnes of CO2 per year, which has the equivalent impact of not driving more than 243,000 miles. |
| Heinz releases 2007 CSR Report Environmental Leader Heinz new Corporate Social Responbility Report says the company is promoting sustainability initiatives through innovative packaging. For example, the iconic glass Heinz ketchup bottles are now manufactured using 100 per cent post-consumer reground and recycled glass; and Heinz soups in the UK are now packaged in lighter cans that result in reduced consumption of steel and tinplate by 1,400 tonnes annually and decreased food miles through improved fuel efficiency.Heinz also says it is managing waste, water and energy to achieve significant reductions in resource use and greenhouse gas emissions. |
| HSBC tops first ever ranking of banks on climate change strategies HSBC came out on top in a new report by the Ceres investor coalition that analyses climate change governance practices of 40 of the world's largest banks. But according to the repot, the banking sector still has a long way to go in confronting the business challenges posed by global climate change. |
| Hydrogen power plant plan for UAE Independent Hydrogen Energy, a joint venture of BP and Rio Tinto, is in talks to build what would be the world's first hydrogen power plant in the United Arab Emirates. The $2bn (£1bn) project, which is being studied by the BP–Rio venture and Abu Dhabi Future Energy, the Government-owned alternative energy company, is seen as a possible answer to the emirate's rapidly rising energy needs. |
| Iberdrola poised to hit jackpot with renewables IPO Environmenal finance Iberdrola is set to float its renewables business at the top of its projected price range – to a mixed reaction from investors. |
| IBM launches updated range of green retail technologies businessGreen IBM is seeking to tap into high street stores' burgeoning appetite for green initiatives and products with the launch of a revamped portfolio of retail technologies that it promises will deliver significant energy savings. |
| Insurers launch green products Environmental Leader Two major insurers, Fireman's Fund and Lexington Insurance, a member company of AIG, are launching green insurance programs that allow homeowners to reconstruct property with environmentally-friendly materials, reports the Houston Chronicle. Fireman's is launching its programme in Southern California where wildfires recently destroyed numerous homes, and Lexington is piloting its policy in a handful of East Coast states. |
| KPMG employee travel programme promotes trains over planes Environmental Leader KPMG UK is launching a program that promotes greener travel and provides money for the charity Help the Hospices, reports the Transnational. The new program rewards rail travel with extra points from American Express, in an effort to reduce air travel. |
| Lightbeing Creatons commits to low carbon web hosting businessGreen Newly-launched web design and hosting company Lightbeing Creations has signed a deal with the world's first solar-powered datacentre provider in a move that will offer its customers a low-carbon means of running their websites. |
| M&S and Oxfam to launch UK's biggest clothing recycling campaign Marks & Spencer and Oxfam have joined forces to launch the M&S and Oxfam Clothes Exchange, the biggest programme in the UK to encourage consumers to recycle their clothes. The Exchange is designed to both raise money for Oxfam's work to tackle poverty and injustice and to reduce the one million tonnes of clothing sent by the public to landfill in the UK each year. The announcement marks the first anniversary of Plan A, M&S' 'eco-plan'. |
| Motorola debuts fuel cell powered phone businessGreen A Canadian firm has produced the world's first mobile phone fuel cell that fits into a normal handset amidst claims that the cell lasts twice as long as conventional batteries. |
| NanoGram secures $32 million for solar technology Clean Edge News NanoGram Corporation, a leading developer and licensor of core process technology for the manufacture of unique nanostructured materials for optical, electronic and energy applications, recently announced that it has closed on a third equity round of $32M to date to expand its solar technology and nanomaterials solutions businesses. |
| Nordex supplying first multi-megawatt turbines to the US in 2008 Webwire Nordex will be getting off to a strong start to the new year with a major contract in the United States. The company has entered into an agreement with US developer Everpower Renewables, New York, for the delivery of 25 N90/2500 kW turbines for the Krayn wind farm in Pennsylvania, plus after-sales service with a value of around EUR 68 million. |
| POET opens first ethanol production facility in State of Ohio Clean Edge News POET recently opened its 22nd ethanol production facility and the first in the state of Ohio. The facility will, according to the company, be equipped with technology that decreases its environmental footprint. That technology includes POET's patent-pending BPXTM process that eliminates the need for heat in the cooking process of producing ethanol, reducing energy usage by 8-15 per cent in comparison with conventional plants. |
| Private investors and conservation interests hope to protect redwood forests of Humboldt An alliance of private capital investors and conservation interests have joined forces to try to ensure that 197,000 acres of redwood forests be permanently kept in sustainable timber management, while 12,000 acres of old-growth and environmentally significant habitat are preserved. |
| REI building second green prototype store Environmental Leader REI announced plans to open its second prototype green building store in Round Rock, Texas, later this year. The first opened in 2007 at the University Oaks Shopping Center in Boulder, CO. "Boulder helped bring our commitment to the next level, representing a new REI standard for sustainability," said Brain Unmacht, REI's senior VP. |
| San Diego nonprofits receive largest set of 'green' grants awarded by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation in California Reuters San Diego nonprofits working to improve the environment are the recipients of the first and largest set of environmental grants provided by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation in California since announcing its $20 billion Environmental Initiative to reduce climate change. |
| Sierra Nevada Brewery to get 34% of power from solar Environmental Leader Sierra Nevada Brewery in Chico, California is installing a 1.3 megawatt solar power system. The panels will be installed in two phases by Chico Electric and will provide 34 per cent of the brewery's power. |
| SkySail to slash shipping emissions businessGreen German heavy cargo shipping specialist Beluga Shipping GmbH is trying to sail its way out of high oil prices with an innovative sail system that it hopes will immediately reduce cargo ships' fuel consumption by up to 15 per cent. |
| Spitsbergen Travel is first Norwegian company to join WWF's Climate Savers scheme Spitsbergen Travel is the first Norwegian company to sign an agreement with the WWF Climate Savers scheme which commits companies to primarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions on an absolute level. Spitsbergen Travel has committed to reduce the company's CO2 emissions by 16,867 tonnes in the period 2008 – 2013. This cut equals a reduction of about 2,800 tonnes per year which is as much as the annual emissions of 6,000 cars. The company has also committed to become carbon neutral by 2010. |
| TXU awarded nothing in wind case RenewableEnergyAccess A Dallas judge has reversed an earlier jury verdict and ruled that Dallas-based TXU Corp. is not entitled to any damages in a contract dispute with wind farm operator FPL Energy. The dispute centered on claims that FPL Energy had not supplied levels of wind energy from three West Texas wind farms as agreed upon in a contract. |
| UBS launches new greenhouse index businessGreen The growing complexity of the financial instruments exploiting the burgeoning global carbon market was underlined yesterday as investment bank UBS launched the first derivatives index designed to track the greenhouse effect. |
| Virgin preps biofuel flight for next month businessGreen Virgin Atlantic announced yesterday that it is to undertake the first biofuel-powered test flight of one its Boeing 747s next month. |
| Wal-Mart's green electronics goal faces challenges Environmental Leader Wal-Mart set the goal of one day using only renewable energy and creating zero waste, and it challenged its suppliers to similar goals. To help meet that goal, Wal-Mart had an enormously successful campaign for green packaging, but its move into green electronics is proving a bit more complicated, Reuters reports |
| Wave technology secures £3m backing businessGreen EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable energy subsidiary of energy giant EDF, has announced it is to plough £3m into UK-based Renewables Energy Holdings (REH) as part of a deal that will give it unique access to the company's wave power technology. |
| WWF and Fairmont join forces to address climate change WWF, the global conservation organization is to work together with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts (Fairmont) to combat climate change. WWF and Fairmont will work closely over the coming months to measure the hotel group's current CO2 footprint according to UN protocol, set a world-class CO2 reduction target by June 2008, thereby becoming a member of WWF's global Climate Savers program, and develop a Fairmont-wide emission reduction plan. |
| Xantrex signs large solar supply contract Globe-Net The Vancouver based solar company, Xantrex Technology Inc., has announced a contract with SOLON AG to supply solar grid-tie inverters for the European, North American and Australian markets. The contract, valued at $12-million, will unfold over the course of 2008 and marks an increase of 60% over a similar 2007 contract. |
| Xcel Energy announces RFP for 25MW of solar in colorado Clean Edge News Xcel Energy recently announced that it is seeking new solar power generation as part of its ongoing commitment to generate more power from clean, renewable energy sources. |
