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News 14 Carolina on Green Plus

Please go to www.gogreenplus.org to learn more about Green Plus, the program to help small business with practical, affordable sustainability expertise. This site was our blog during the beta testing process for the program.

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The Institute for Sustainable Development launched Green Plus, our online suite to provide affordable, accessible triple bottom line sustainability expertise to small businesses on February 16. Our new web home is www.gogreenplus.org.

Click here to see a story by News 14 Carolina

No furnaces but plenty of heat…

“From the outside, there is nothing unusual about the stylish new gray and orange row houses in the Kranichstein District, with wreaths on the doors and Christmas lights twinkling through a freezing drizzle. But these houses are part of a revolution in building design: There are no drafts, no cold tile floors, no snuggling under blankets until the furnace kicks in. There is, in fact, no furnace.” From the Dec. 26, 2008 New York Times…

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Applications being accepted for 2nd round of Green Business Fund grants

(from the North Carolina Department of Commerce – for more information, contact Charles Winkler – 919-733-3438)

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Commerce’s Office of Science and Technology is now accepting applications for the second round of N.C. Green Business Fund grants. The grants are designed to develop and commercialize promising technologies, products and services in the areas of biofuels,

Innovative use of sewage knocks 15% off of Akron, Ohio’s electricity bill

 Schmack BioEnergy designed an incredible methane-powered sewage plant for Akron, Ohio, that is saving that city 15% in electrical costs. 

“Akron’s methane-powered sewage plant is the only system of its kind in the United States. But other cities,

Durham News Herald Discussion of Green Plus

November 13, 2008: “Enter Green Plus, a Web site currently being developed by the foundation’s Institute for Sustainable Development. It is intended to help small businesses get guidance on green practices.” For the full story, click here.

Stonyfield Farm Ce-Yo Gary Hirschberg to speak at UNC Chapel Hill Nov. 11

 

Gary Hirschberg - Ce-Yo, Stonyfield Farms

 ISD Fall Sustainable Small Business Fellow Richard Johanson has reviewed Gary Hirschberg’s “Stirring it Up: How to Make Money and Save the World”. To download a copy of his review and the key lessons from the book, click here.

“Can U.S. Go ‘Green’ Even When Oil Prices Drop?” For NPR by Linton Weeks

“The right way to think about a price on carbon emissions is not to make life miserable for consumers or prevent them from using energy the way they want to. The right way is

99 year old Smith’s Dairy takes environmental measures that boost its bottom line

 

Steve Schmid, CEO of Smith Dairy in Orrville, Ohio

 (From The Plain Dealer, Oct. 19, 2008 – Orrville, Ohio) “… launching a major environmental initiative in  these times actually makes a lot of practical business sense, Schmid believes. “We’re saving money by  paring down on our delivery routes and having our trucks spend less time parked but running their  engines, and minimizing waste in our manufacturing plants. All that helps the bottom line.”

 

One source of his family and company values is a religious belief that demands what he calls “good stewardship of the earth.” 

 

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Idaho: Green manufacturing companies, big and small

From the New York Times: “IDAHO may be best known for its potatoes — it produces, after all, a third of all the potatoes in the United States. But its economy is increasingly being driven by technology and green manufacturing companies, big and small.”

From WIRED: Army Looks to Build World’s Strongest Solar Array

 ”The U.S. military has been making all sorts of bold declarations in recent years about the  need to wean itself from fossil fuels. It is “imperative” that the Department of Defense  ”apply new energy technologies that address alternative supply sources and efficient  consumption across all aspects of military operations,” thundered one Pentagon report.”